We saw signs previously, but Henrik Borgstrom hadn’t delivered on the potential that led the Florida Panthers to draft him in the first round of June’s NHL Entry Draft.

That changed Saturday night when the lanky freshman center scored his first two NCAA goals to spark No. 10 Denver’s 3-1 victory over No. 2 Boston University that gave the Pioneers a sweep of the school they also eliminated from the NCAA Tournament in June.

After a slow start Saturday, the Pioneers (2-2) showed the same resolve they displayed for much of Friday’s 4-3 triumph. They matched and at times exceeded the Terriers’ tenacity on the puck and became more physically engaged as the contest wore on.

Borgstrom gave the Pioneers a 1-0 lead just 1:37 into the second period when he picked a short side corner from the outside edge of the left circle.

After the Terriers tied the score less than a minute into the third period on Kiefer Bellows‘ goal from nearly the identical spot on the right-hand circle, Borgstrom struck again.

Sophomore Troy Terry carried the puck up the ice and found Borgstrom on the move at the left dot. The freshman drove the net and lifted a backhander over Jake Oettinger to give DU the lead for good.

Freshman Tyson McLellan, the fulcrum of a highly effective third line, added an empty-net goal to complete the Pioneers’ most impressive home sweep since it knocked off North Dakota in February. Borgstrom assisted on that tally to complete a three-point night.

Here is what we learned:

Saturday night lockdown

Despite a lackluster start, getting outshot 9-3 in the first period, the Pioneers stayed in the game thanks to stellar goaltending from Tanner Jaillet (24 saves), who bailed out the defense after a couple of errant clearing passes. Aside from the odd miscues, the defense did a good job not allowing the Terriers lengthy stays in the offensive zone.

Counter balance

One of the more noticeable differences between the teams was how effective the Pioneers’ third and fourth lines were. Once again the McLellan-Evan Janssen–Logan O’Connor trio was consistently generating pressure, often after moving the puck from the DU zone. And the fourth line of Kevin Conley, Evan Ritt and Colin Staub  brought more of the same. Contrast that with BU’s heavy doses of its top two lines. Over the course of two physical games that clearly caught up to BU. As an added bonus, both lines drew penalties.

Isn’t that special

It was another mixed bag for the Pioneers on special teams. After doing next to nothing on their first four power plays, they generated some chances on their fifth and Borgstrom tallied as the sixth was expiring. They finished 1 for 7 with the man advantage. Their penalty kill again was strong, killing off 5 of 6 tries, with only Bellows’ odd-angle strike spoiling a potentially perfect night.

Notes

Defenseman Will Butcher added an assist for the second night in a row, giving him points in three consecutive games. Jarid Lukosevicius , who was around the net all game, had an assist, and he and McLellan had points in both games. … DU dominated in the face-off circle, winning 32 of 53 draws (60.4 percent). Matt Marcinew won 14 of the 32.