Freshman Kevin Conley and No. 3 Denver finished off a sweep of N0.18 Omaha with a 5-0 route on Saturday night. Photo courtesy of Shannon Valerio, DU Athletics

The weekend wasn’t a perfect 10, but the scoreboard was.

No. 3 Denver finished off an NCHC sweep of No. 18 Omaha with a convincing 5-0 victory Saturday that vaulted the Pioneers (18-6-4, 10-3-3-2 NCHC) into a first-place tie with No. 2 Minnesota-Duluth.

Colin Staub scored two power-play goals, doubling his season total, and added an assist, and Tanner Jaillet and Evan Cowley tag teamed a 22-save shutout as DU got its first NCHC sweep since it gave Colorado College the broom treatment on Dec. 2-3. After a week off, the Tigers, ironically enough, are the Pioneers’ next opponent for a home-and-home series.

Matt VanVoorhis got his first tally of the season, Matt Marcinew got his eighth and Logan O’Connor struck for his fourth for DU, which also got three assists from freshman Liam Finlay and two from Evan Janssen.

“I wasn’t sure what we were going to get. I give credit to our four captains. Those four seniors (Will Butcher, Janssen, Marcinew and VanVoorhis) pulled the whole group together,” DU coach Jim Montgomery told 104.3 FM’s Jay Stickney. “Our focus and execution this weekend with me being worried what it was going to be like was awesome.

“I give credit to that entire locker room. It’s great to see players starting to understand what their role is and how well they’re playing. They’re gaining more confidence. It’s the second half of the year, we’re starting to score more goals, just like we did last year. That bodes well if we keep doing it.”

After giving up a power-play goal to the Mavericks’ on their first attempt Friday, DU killed off Omaha’s next nine chances over the weekend.

Meanwhile, the Pioneers’ man-advantage enjoyed a strong weekend, going 2-for-5 Saturday for a combined 4-for-11 weekend. The second unit, which included Staub, Janssen and Finlay, did the damage Saturday.

“That second power play unit was awesome tonight,” Montgomery said. “You could see it last night, they created so many opportunities. If we can get two power play units going …”

How dominant was DU’s weekend? After spotting Omaha the first two goals Friday, the Pioneers scored 10 of the next 11.

Denver outshot its guests 43-22 on Saturday and a combined 86-51 over the two nights.

By the numbers

It was a good night for the assistant captains. Not only did VanVoorhis end his goal drought but fellow assistants Marcinew and Janssen set career marks. Marcinew’s goal gave him a career-high 18 points as well as goals in four of the past five series. … Janssen’s helpers helped him establish a career high in points with 14.