Do you have a player or players on your team who need a pick-me-up? 22 and 24 can help.

Do you need help killing a penalty? 22 and 24 can do that.

How about the power play? 22 and 24 can help there, too.

Need strong play in any zone, along the wall, at the net front? 22 and 24 have it covered.

Whatever Denver needs, 22 (Logan O’Connor) and 24 (Colin Staub) seem to be able to provide it. And when an opponent wants to press its luck, DU has rolled a 7 with them.

While the Denver junior forwards don’t have the name recognition that some of their more heralded teammates have, including their current center and fellow jack-of-all-trades Dylan Gambrell (7), what they do have is the implicit trust of their coach.

Logan O’Connor is an every zone threat for Denver. Photo courtesy of Shannon Valerio and Denver Athletics

“They’re glue guys. They’re guys you can trust in any situation,” coach Jim Montgomery said. “We’ve needed them to play in top six roles this year because of a lack of veteran presence up front.

“What I’ve liked is their leadership qualities and how good they are every day. You can see guys like (freshmen Jake) Durflinger, (Jaakko) Heikkinen, (Ryan) Barrow starting to apply what they’ve learned from them all year and having an impact.”

Logan OConnor

The Gambrell-O’Connor-Staub tag team frustrated Colorado College’s dangerous top line time and again over the weekend and ultimately scored the goal that began a 6-1 rout in the deciding third game.

The recently formed trio has meshed well – and quickly – into a shutdown line for several reasons.

“All three of them are so good defensively, but also they make other teams’ best lines defend,” Montgomery said. “I think you saw it in effect on CC’s top line in the third game. They didn’t have many legs because they were defending so much.”

That was part of the plan, said Gambrell, who said he and his fellow juniors relish their roles.

Dylan Gambrell

“I think they’re both very tenacious, hard-working players,” the 2016 draft pick of the San Jose Sharks said. “That was our task – to build momentum when we’re on the ice and leave it for the next line that was coming out. I think we did a good job of that over the weekend. The hard work as well as communication helps us gel well as a line.”

The hard work is combined with keen minds. All three made the NCHC Academic All-Conference team, and O’Connor and Staub are NCHC Distinguished Scholar Athletes. That translates better to the ice that it might seem on the surface.

“I think all three of us know the system so well that we’re responsible defensively,” Staub said. “Our great defense is eventually going to help lead to great offense, both Gambrell and O’Connor are such smart players, they work very hard. It’s easy to play with guys who play like that.”

Even if they haven’t always played together, it can seem like it at times. The experience, intelligence and complimentary styles are big factors in that.

Colin Staub

“They both make the right play all the time,” O’Connor added. “They always know where support is and they can support the puck well. They know when to chip pucks in when no plays are there and grind teams down. They don’t always force plays. They look for that right play and don’t cause many turnovers, but create turnovers.”

And turnovers against the Pioneers have a habit of finding their way into opponents’ nets. Scoring hasn’t been a problem for any of the three. Gambrell’s 41 points are one off his number from a season ago and six behind his career high. Staub already has a career-high 21 points, and O’Connor’s 18 points have tied his.

How many NCAA teams have a shutdown line with 80 points? When you consider the top line of Hobey Baker Award semifinalist Henrik Borgström (49 points), Troy Terry (43) and Jarid Lukosevicius (32) has 124 points and 52 goals, that presents a problem for most foes.

And keep in mind the 7-22-24 line’s members are heavy special teams contributors. All three kill penalties, while Gambrell plays on a half wall on the top power play and Staub is a net-front presence on the second unit.

“Being able to play on special teams is a big point of pride for a lot of guys,” Staub said. “For me to play on both is a great opportunity to grow as a player. I definitely relish the role of being on the power play and on the penalty kill.

“The penalty kill is definitely something I’ve had to work on a lot the last three years with our system.”

Playing down a man might be where O’Connor feels the most at home, and it’s role that has led to two of his seven goals and several more near misses. It’s not a new development for him to thrive in such situations.

“I pride myself a lot on my penalty kill,” he said. “It’s been a staple of my game whole life. I have a good active stick and surprise teams with my stick. I try to catch teams off guard, and fortunately I’ve done that a couple times this year and hopefully I can continue to do so.”

The pride in a job well done and their attitudes, in addition to their intelligence, fierce work ethics and varied skill sets, has been what has taken all three into the most-favored nation status on the DU bench.

“It’s a belief in the process. They believe in how we play and why we play the way we do,” their coach said. “Mental toughness. Their attention to details, they’re attention to overcome any kind of adversity that happens to them within a game and also what happens to the team within a game.”

And as is often the case during tight games against highly skilled opponents, such as the ones they’ll see this weekend at the Frozen Face-off, starting with No. 8 Minnesota Duluth, those details can make the difference between moving on and scheduling tee times.

©First Line Editorial 2017-18