There was no shortage of incentive for No. 6 Denver on Saturday.

In front of a packed Magness Arena, on a night in which it honored its four seniors and facing in-state rival Colorado College, the Pioneers dominated en route to a 5-1 NCHC victory.

The triumph ensured DU (21-9-6, 11-8-5-4 NCHC) finished third in the league, and as a result it will play host to Omaha next weekend in a best-of-3 NCHC quarterfinal series.

Five players, including senior Michael Davies, scored goals and Magnus Chrona, starting back-to-back games for the first time since Devin Cooley returned from injury, made 22 saves.

Numbers don’t lie

Denver’s dominance was manifest in any number of ways aside from the scoreboard. The Pioneers outshot the Tigers 45-23 and owned the face-off circle, winning 38 of 62 draws (61 percent).

Yet Colorado College took an early lead on Nick Halloran‘s breakaway goal on the Tigers’ first shot of the game.

That’s how it stayed until DU leading scorer Emilio Petterson, who also had an assist, struck on a power play 3:29 into the second period to kick off a run of five consecutive goals. The goal was Pettersen’s 13th of the year.

Davies picked up the game-winner with 8:29 to go in the second. Remarkably, it was the steady senior’s first of the season.

With 4:47 to play in the period, Ryan Barrow added a shorthanded goal. It was the junior’s first tally since Jan. 10.

The Pioneers salted the game away with goals by Hank Crone and Cole Guttman (his team-high 14th, on another power play) in the third period. That gave DU a 3-0-1 mark against its rivals this season.

Notes

Twelve players had a point for the Pioneers, including captain Ian Mitchell, whose 32 points are a career high and include nine in the past six games. Center Brett Stapley also picked up an assist, and he, too, has nine points in the past six games. His 27 points also are a career best. Senior winger Liam Finlay also has a six-game point streak (eight points total). … Freshman forward Bobby Brink missed his seventh game in a row due to a lower-body injury. … DU twice tied Omaha at Omaha earlier this year. The teams did not play in Denver during the regular season.

©First Line Editorial 2020