The No. 8 Denver Pioneers answered several questions on Saturday.

How would they respond after a third consecutive dominant victory, on the road and against a struggling, but fired-up opponent?

Can the Pacific Rim Line keep it going game after game?

Will scoring come from elsewhere?

Do they have the goaltending to play deep into March?

The first answer: They dominated host Western Michigan for a second night in a row, 4-1, to win their seventh game in a row – their longest run this decade – and improve to 12-1-3 in 2016. The victory gives DU an 19-8-5 overall record, and their 15-5-2 NCHC mark has them within striking distance of one of the top two spots in the conference.

“(We have) a five-man attack, wave after wave. We’re a tough team to play right now,” DU coach Jim Montgomery said on 104.3 FM after the game. “What championship hockey is, that’s the way we’ve been playing the last five weeks.”

The second answer: Yes. Junior Trevor Moore got the Pioneers on the scoreboard with 1:23 to go in the first period, freshman Dylan Gambrell had a goal and two assists, and sophomore Danton Heinen set up goals Nos. 2 and 3. Six more points for the PRL and 77 in the first 16 games of the new year. In other words, you can pretty much take it to the bank that the trio will give you four to five points per game.

The third answer: Yes. The one line that didn’t score Friday, teamed up to seal the outcome late in the third period when freshman Colin Staub lit the lamp. And the D chipped in a goal for the second night in a row.

The fourth answer: It appears so. Sophomore Tanner Jaillet was good when he needed to be, making 32 saves for his 12th victory of the season. It was the fifth start in a row he allowed just one goal, though he exited last Thursday’s vs. Colorado College after the first period due to what was reported to be an illness.

Nolan LaPorte‘s one-timer from the boards somehow eluded Jaillet, ending his  bid for his third shutout of the season with 1:15 to play.

“I didn’t know how it snuck in,” Montgomery said. “(Jaillet) told me it was a knuckleball. He was great all weekend.”

Allowing goals early and late in periods was a problem for DU earlier this season. That’s another area that has turned around, and Saturday offered further evidence. Moore’s power-play rocket with 1:23 to go in the first period staked the Pioneers to a lead they would not relinquish.

The first period stood in contrast to Friday, when DU bombed the Broncos with four goals and effectively ended any comeback hopes midway through the second when it responded to WMU’s only tally. Saturday, the Broncos came out firing and registered the game’s first nine shots on goal.

“After that first (media) timeout we talked about they gave everything they had now we have to start winning more battles and put more pucks behind them,” Montgomery said.

Defenseman Matt VanVoorhis extended DU’s lead just 1:07 into the second with another laser of a shot.

“He always wants to shoot the puck. It just depends if he gets the opportunity,” Montgomery said. “He was cranking it today.”

After getting assists on the Pioneers’ first two goals, Gambrell cashed in one while DU was shorthanded with 5 minutes left in the period. Staub scored at nearly the same point in the third period, his second tally in three games, to slam the door shut.

“I thought every line could have had two goals tonight,” Montgomery said. “They’re just missing the finish that the top line is getting.”

By the numbers: It isn’t just the seven-game win streak that is impressive, but how the Pioneers have accomplished it. DU is outscoring foes 32-12 during the run. Too small of a sample? OK. Let’s look at the 16 games in 2016 so far. The Pioneers have 55 goals, opponents have 29. …

At least three other streaks were extended Saturday. Gambrell now has 20 points during an 11-game points streak. Heinen has a 10-game run with 21 points. Defenseman Will Butcher picked up another assist, giving him a five-game scoring streak. The junior has 26 points in 31 games and is climbing the scoring charts for blue liners. …

Moore’s goal gave him 15 points in his past seven games and 26 points in the new year. Only Gambrell, with 27, has more.

More on the masked man: Jaillet has seen his goals-against average drop (to 2.32) and his save percentage rise (to .923) during the Pioneers’ hot streak. Saturday’s near-miss at the goose egg brought to mind some of his better performances of the season.

He shut out Michigan State on Oct. 17, needing to make just 16 saves. He also blanked next weekend’s foe, Nebraska-Omaha, on Jan. 8, stopping 35 shots in a game that spun DU’s season into a positive direction.

His best performances, save-wise, were stopping 45 shots in a 1-1 tie at Minnesota-Duluth on Nov. 14 and 41 saves in a 6-4 win against then-No. 2 North Dakota two weeks ago.

Chipping in: The one DU trio held off the scoresheet Friday, the line of Staub, Gabe Levin and Emil Romig resumed  its success against the Broncos this season on Saturday.

Levin scored in the team’s first meeting on Jan. 15, and Romig tallied the next night off a feed from Staub. Levin and Romig set up Staub’s clincher in the third period Saturday.

@MagnessMayhem