It took a little over 21 minutes before top-ranked Denver got on track, but when the Pioneers did, they were able to write a familiar finish to a matchup against Colorado College.

Sophomore Troy Terry had a hand in all three second-period goals for DU, and the hosts defeated the Tigers, 4-1, at Magness Arena on Friday.

The triumph was the 13th in a row against CC and the 12th consecutive win overall for Denver (27-6-4), which got 21 saves from Tanner Jaillet, defenseman Blake Hillman‘s first goal of the season and freshman Liam Finlay‘s fourth goal in the past four games.

Here are three takeaways:

Troy’s turn

Last weekend, Henrik Borgstrom put up four goals in two games at Omaha. Friday, it was his linemate Terry’s turn to take control of a game at a time the Pioneers needed someone to. Shortly after DU killed off a carryover penalty to Michael Davies for a questionable interference call, Terry got the Pioneers on the board, roofing a shot over CC goalie Alex Leclerc (36 saves) from a hash mark inside the right circle.

“After that, I think it opened up for us,” Terry said. “Sometimes that’s all it takes.”

 

Said coach Jim Montgomery, “The reason why we broke it open is we have Troy Terry on our team. I thought he was special tonight. Not only was he special with puck, but how hard he worked on puck possession and defensively, his backcheck was incredible.”

Terry was far from done in the period. A little more than five minutes later he found Finlay on the left doorstep while DU was on a power play, the first of its two man-advantage strikes.

“The way they sit back on the blue, the biggest thing is just attacking them with speed and through the middle. That’s how it happened,” Terry said. “I was able to get behind them. I just poked it at the net. Finlay’s had a nose for the net recently of course he was there and buried that.”

It’s Hillman time

Last season, Hillman scored six of his 11 points and two of this three goals in the postseason. If Friday is any indication, he might have another scoring binge in store this year.

His first goal of the season came off a nice drop pass from Terry, who had picked off a CC pass in the neutral zone, and put DU up 3-0 9:11 into the second period.

“I read their defenseman was passing to the wing and I was able to step in front,” Terry said. “I cut across and I heard Hillman calling. If Blake Hillman calls for the puck you give it to him. So I dropped it to him. I’m very happy for him. He’s played so well and deserved it.”

Though the numbers may not reflect it, the sophomore blue liner has been on top of his game for several weeks.

“He’s been playing his best hockey of the year the last five weeks,” Montgomery said. “A lot of times he tries to be perfect with his shot, unless you’re Henrik Borgstrom you don’t need to be perfect with your shot, he’s the only one who picks spots.”

Keeping their focus

There were any number of opportunities for things to potentially go sideways for DU.

Just 9:06 into the game CC had a chance to take a 1-0 lead when Matt Hansen scored what appeared to be a wraparound goal. However, after a lengthy video review proved inconclusive the Tigers came away empty-handed.

CC regained some momentum just 1:45 after Hillman’s goal, when Westin Michaud ripped a one-timer from the slot, courtesy of a nice feed from Ben Israel, past Jaillet to make it 3-1 midway through the second.

In the third period, the teams combined for 10 penalties, seven by CC, as play got much edgier.

“I think that’s playoff hockey,” Montgomery said. “The game’s 4-1 so they’re going to try to put some lumps and bruises on us. That’s what playoff hockey’s about. That’s why it’s a war of attrition.”

Added Terry, “We let it get away from us a bit with our discipline. We just don’t need to feed into any of their stuff. They’re going to try making it a special teams game to try to get back into it.”

After a few early exchanges, DU kept calm and kept the upper hand. For good measure the Pioneers salted the game away when Matt Marcinew converted a beautiful backhand, cross-crease pass from Jarid Lukosevicius on Leclerc’s right doorstep with 7:24 to play.

The question now becomes will the Pioneers’ streaks hit 14 and 13, respectively Saturday night?