It appears the days of massive shot margins and gimme victories in the Gold Pan rivalry might be going the way of inexpensive housing on the Front Range.

Colorado College played fast and free and shocked No. 1 Denver with a last-minute goal in regulation to tie the score at 4. The Tigers earned an extra point Friday night at Magness Arena with a double-overtime, 4-on-3 power-play goal. The outcome ended the Pioneers’ 14-game winning streak over their rivals from the south.

“We need to be tougher, we need to play with more pace, we need to be more desperate,” DU coach Jim Montgomery said. “I think we gave up five odd-man rushes in the first. One of our goals is three or less in a game, and we gave up five in the first. So clearly we’re not all on the same page.”

In a game with numerous swings of momentum, the Tigers had the last two of them, surprising Denver, which had taken a 4-3 lead with 2:28 to play Jaakko Heikkinen‘s goal of an assist from Logan O’Connor, who was at times a one-man gang for the Pioneers.

But CC co-captain Mason Bergh roofed a shot over Tanner Jaillet with seven seconds left after a mad scramble in the DU zone with Tigers goalie Alex Leclerc pulled for an extra attacker.

“We had to hold it together in the third and we couldn’t do it,” said DU captain Tariq Hammond, whose blast from the left point beat Leclerc a split second too late at the end of overtime. “We had too many breakdowns. We were kind of cheating to the offensive side of the puck, not protecting the puck, and it’s costing us right now.”

After a scoreless 5-on-5 overtime, the game went into the NCAA books as a tie. In the subsequent 3-on-3 OT for the third NCHC point, freshman Christiano Versich found some space in the high slot during a 4-on-3 power play and snapped the puck past Jaillet (27 saves).

“”All the credit goes to the guys leading this team,” CC coach Mike Haviland said. “There was no panic going into the third period. We kept saying ‘we can win this game.’ ”

Denver (9-3-3, 5-3-1-0 NCHC) played without sophomore defenseman Michael Davies for the third period and both overtimes due to an undisclosed injury. The Pioneers already were without senior defenseman Adam Plant (upper body).

“Once you lose a guy like that it’s tough to bounce back, but that’s why we work on situations like that in practice every day so we’re ready to rock,” Hammond added. “You’ve got to battle through those kinds of things.”

The game featured goals with 17 seconds or fewer remaining in every period of regulation.

The Pioneers spent most of the first two periods chasing the game, alternating stretches of pressuring the Tigers’ defense by possessing the puck for lengthy periods with spans of allowing odd-man rushes and committing careless turnovers in the neutral and defensive zones.

That changed in the final two minutes of the second period, when first Dylan Gambrell, then Ian Mitchell scored wrap-around goals on Leclerc (34 saves) that showcased the pair’s speed and skill.

With 1:56 to go in the second the right-shot Gambrell took the puck from left to right behind the net on his backhand, he pivoted on Leclerc’s right doorstep, brought the puck to his forehand and fired it between the CC netminder’s pads.

Mitchell basically replicated the move, finishing it with 17 seconds to go and giving DU its first lead of the game in the process. It was his first NCAA goal.

Colorado College (7-7-1, 3-5-1-1 NCHC) tied it with 8:55 to go in regulation when former Colorado Rampage youth hockey player Nick Halloran collected a rebound of a Bergh shot to Jaillet’s right and put it it in. It was the second goal on the night for Halloran, who also assisted on Bergh’s tying goal.

Jaillet didn’t have much of a chance on either of the Tigers’ first two goals, both of which came in part because of defensive breakdowns.

Onrushing defenseman Kristian Blumenschein gave CC its first lead with 8 seconds to play in the first when he beat Ryan Orgel to a pass from the right point to Jaillet’s right. Blumenschein tapped the puck beyond the goaltender’s reach into the net.

After the Pioneers tied it 5:26 into the second after O’Connor and Colin Staub teamed up on a hustle play deep in the CC zone, the Tigers took their second lead on another long-pass play. Bergh controlled the puck in the left corner and fired a pass through the slot to a waiting Halloran on the right side of the crease. Halloran’s shot beat a sliding Jaillet to the post.

The entire package proved to be another wake-up call for a Pioneers team that thus far has been very good at times and very average at others. That has to change, Hammond said.

“You can’t take any team in our conference lightly, and this just proves that tonight,” the captain said.

Hold the line

Montgomery relied heavily on the Gambrell-Staub-O’Connor and the Heikkinen-Jake Durflinger–Liam Finlay trios in the second period. Top line stalwarts Henrik Borgstrom and Troy Terry sat for lengthy stretches during the period.

“The Gambrell line was clearly our best line,” Montgomery said. “Clearly (moving Staub to Borgstrom’s wing) was to get other people going. Colin Staub is just an unbelievable teammate, as is Logan O’Connor. Staubie sometimes gets the short end of the stick. I need him to help other players to work like he does. I didn’t want to split up 7 (Gambrell) and 22 (O’Connor) because they’ve been playing really good for us.”

Denver’s three stars

1. Logan O’Connor. A goal, the assist on Jaakko Heikkinen’s goal and energy all over the ice.
2. Dylan Gambrell. A goal, two assists and won 10 of 18 face-offs.
3. Ian Mitchell and Jaakko Heikkinen. Both freshmen scored goals – Mitchell’s the first of his NCAA career. Mitchell played a ton of minutes and Heikkinen won 60 percent of his face-offs.

Notable

The Pioneers’ five scratches included three injured players – Plant, fellow defenseman Sean Mostrom and center Tyson McLellan, whom Montgomery said will miss two months because of an undisclosed injury. Defenseman Erich Fear also did not play and has been battling an injury. … Youth was served Friday. Each team dressed just eight upperclassmen among its 18 skaters. All eight of CC’s are juniors; the Tigers don’t have a senior on their roster. Two of DU’s were seniors, Hammond and Rudy Junda.

Up next

Game 2 of the series is Saturday at 6:05 p.m. at World Arena in Colorado Springs.