Top-ranked Denver went into the lair of a motivated rival and got six points, thus putting itself on the path to re-establishing itself in the NCHC race.

While there is no shame in .500 in a conference this tough, the Pioneers’ aims are much higher. Here are a few observations about this past weekend’s sweep of Minnesota Duluth.

Say what?

If someone told you that your team went on the road, swept a ranked foe and did so with just one point (an assist) combined from its top three scorers, what would you think? Preposterous? Unlikely?

That is exactly what DU did at Duluth. Leading scorer Troy Terry was blanked two nights in a row. He’d scored in 11 of the Pioneers’ first 12 games. Leading goal scorer Henrik Borgstrom was blanked … two nights in a row. He’d scored in all 11 games he’d played before that (he missed one game because of the flu). And third-leading scorer Dylan Gambrell managed an assist – though it was a big one – on the only goal in Friday’s 1-0 win.

Not surprisingly, the Pioneers also went 0-for-5 on the power play after coming in hitting at 30 percent.

Clearly the Bulldogs’ spent a lot of preparation and effort on stopping the Pioneers’ leading scorers.

On the other hand

The good news for DU’s offense is Logan O’Connor, Jarid Lukosevicius and Jake Durflinger got the three goals on the weekend, and freshman Kohen Olischefski showed the speed and skill he was known for in junior to initiate the play on which Durflinger scored the winning goal Saturday.

O’Connor’s goal was his second (the first was a shortie vs. North Dakota), and Durflinger’s was his fourth, making him the leading goal-scorer among freshmen.

Lukosevicius’ sixth tally marked a continuing turn-around for the junior. A few weeks ago I wrote how he was due to break out because there was no way he was going to maintain a 4 percent shooting rate.  His shooting percentage is now up to 14.6. He gets lost a bit in the attention of some his more heralded peers, but he has kept finding openings and is getting rewarded for it.

This type of scoring depth will be vital as the calendar flips into 2018.

TJ’s on a heater

Senior Tanner Jaillet allowed six goals in a 7-6, come-from ahead loss at Western Michigan on Nov. 4. Everyone has a bad day at the office once in a while, but that was an eye opener.

Should we have been surprised that he allowed one goal – all weekend – vs. the Bulldogs?

No.

Since the WMU series, he has allowed a total of 10 goals in six games, and half of those were in one game vs. North Dakota, meaning he’s given up a total of five in the other five games.

What’s more, those games were against then No. 1 St. Cloud State (3 goals total), the then No. 3 Fighting Sioux (I mean, Hawks) and the No. 15 Bulldogs, aka April’s national championship opponent. This probably was the toughest stretch of DU’s season. Throw in Notre Dame and the Boston schools earlier, and there is no question the first 14 games have been the toughest stretch to start a season in a long time at DU.

The injury bug

One thing to watch for, and one thing I will certainly look into, this week is the status of defenseman Adam Plant, who has absorbed a series of monstrous hits in the past few weeks and has been in and out of the lineup. As you know, he is a critical component of the Pioneers’ defense. … The news that face-off ace and fellow In-N-Out fan Tyson McLellan is down with an injury also bears watching. The rest of DU’s centers have been uneven in the circle this season. Some can be very good at times, but as a puck possession team, winning draws is a massive help.

Up next

Resurgent Colorado College visits Magness Arena on Friday night at 7:05 p.m., before DU travels to World Arena on Saturday for a 6:05 p.m. start in this season’s first round of the Gold Pan. The way the series has gone the past three seasons, with DU riding a 14-game win streak in it, maybe it should be called the Crimson and Gold Pan until further notice.

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Copyright First Line Editorial. 2017