Since the winter break, it has been a given the Pacific Rim Line is going to get points for Denver. As we saw this weekend against Nebraska-Omaha, even when a team is focusing a lot of its attention on that line, it still scores.

Freshman Dylan Gambrell did the honors Saturday, but line mates Danton Heinen and Trevor Moore made the plays with the puck to find him open in the slot.

While the group finished with 118 points in 34 regular-season games, what’s truly remarkable is how many have come since Christmas (86). Gambrell has 30 of his 42 since then, Moore has 29 of his 39 since then, and Heinen has 27 of his 37 and 10 of his 15 goals.

“The intensity and physicality always go up when you’re in playoff hockey, and we’re going to be ready for it as I’m sure UNO will be,” Pioneers coach Jim Montgomery said.

Expect UNO and subsequent postseason foes to review plenty of video about DU’s top line?

With that in mind, where else could scoring come from for the Pioneers in the postseason?

Opposing coaches have said on of the keys to DU’s success has been their ability to keep sending out line after line to play at a high tempo. The Pioneers’ speed and skill can – and often does – wear down foes.

Beyond the top line, here are some other places scoring help can come from.

The defense. Will Butcher is fourth on the team in points (27) and Nolan Zajac is sixth (16).  As a group, the blue line really tightened things up in the second half of the regulars season, and Adam Plant and Matt VanVoorhis are active. VanVoorhis, in particular, can rifle the puck. Given he typically plays in the third pairing with freshman Blake Hillman, who has improved by leaps and bounds this season, I think he will have some offensive opportunities when teams focus on Butcher and Zajac.

The overlooked line. The second and fourth lines (if you can call them that) each have a double-digit goal scorer in Quentin Shore (11) and Matt Marcinew (10), and they each have a freshman with six goals – Troy Terry with Shore and Jarid Lukosevicius with Marcinew. The “overlooked line”? That would be the one centered by Gabe Levin, with Emil Romig and  freshman Colin Staub. Levin’s scoring was down a bit this year, and for periods of time Romig and Staub weren’t the lineup fixtures they are now, but this group puts a lot of pressure on the puck and is getting more and more quality scoring chances. Romig, as he has been several games lately, was one of the best Pioneers on Saturday. He could have had three goals had not Kirk Thompson played as well as he did in making 44 saves.

The players you’d expect to score likely will, but every year others emerge. Last year, Grant Arnold went all season without a goal, then had two in the NCAA opener against Boston College. Who will be this season’s Grant Arnold? Maybe it will be Arnold.