No. 6 Denver (17-8-4, 9-8-2-2 NCHC) at Colorado College (12-15-4, 6-10-3)

Tuesday, 7:07 p.m. at World Arena, Colorado Springs

Radio / streaming: 104.3 FM / NCHC.tv (subscription)

Series: Denver leads, 178-118-20; the teams tied 4-4 on Jan. 19.

Overview

This game is a makeup of the Jan. 18 game that was postponed due to inclement road conditions that prevented the Pioneers from reaching Colorado Springs. The teams tied 4-4 the next night at Magness Arena, with DU picking up the extra NCHC point by winning the shootout. Before Saturday’s 5-2 victory over Miami, Denver had not scored more than two goals since that first meeting with CC, and went 3-4-1 over the next eight games. The Tigers, meanwhile, clearly were emboldened by their showing in Denver, sweeping Miami and splitting with then-No. 3 Minnesota Duluth before tying No. 1 St. Cloud State and losing twice in overtime before trouncing No. 8 Western Michigan, 8-2, on Saturday night. … CC is getting massive production from its seniors, who have 111 points (most in the NCHC and fourth most nationally) and its freshmen, specifically forward Ben Copeland (18 points), who had four goals Saturday, defenseman Bryan Yoon (18) and forward Grant Cruikshank (16). Senior Trey Bradley, who scored twice against DU in the 4-4 tie, leads the Tigers with 27 points and 12 goals. … Junior Alex Leclerc is 12-14-4 with a .911 saves percentage and 2.79 GAA. … DU sophomore Devin Cooley is among the NCAA leaders with .930 (fifth) and 2.01 (10th) numbers. He and freshman Filip Larsson split last weekend’s games, with Larson winning on Saturday. … Junior Liam Finlay added four assists against Miami and leads the Pioneers with 31 points. Senior Jarid Lukosevicius scored twice Saturday, ending a seven-game goal drought, and building his team lead to 15 markers. … DU is trying to win the Gold Pan for a record fifth consecutive season.

Three keys for Denver

1. Mind your gaps – At 10,000 feet (roughly the altitude of the World Arena press box), CC’s Olympic-sized home sheet looks like a giant rectangle. The Pioneers, especially, those who haven’t played on it yet will have to be especially careful of their spacing and gap control. This looks to be the fastest CC team Mike Haviland has had in his five seasons there, and you can bet the Tigers will try to exploit that.
2. Who steps up? – Denver might be missing forwards Brett Stapley (injured vs. Duluth two weekends ago), Ryan Barrow (injured Saturday) and Jared Resseguie. On Saturday, Jack Doremus stepped up with two goals in a 17-second span to break open a 1-1 game. Who will help shoulder the load? Kohen Olischefski has done a good job in Stapley’s place, and Cole Guttman moved onto the checking line with Colin Staub and Jaakko Heikkinen on Saturday.
3. Let ’em roll – DU generally tries to roll four lines and all three D pairs, and with this being its third game in five nights, it will have to. Therefore, it behooves the Pioneers to gain an early lead so they’re in a position to do so as long as possible.

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