As second acts go, this one was first rate.

Denver scored five even-strength goals in the second period to rout Colorado College, 5-1, on Thursday night at World Arena in Colorado Springs.

Five Pioneers scored goals, and two of them – junior center Cole Guttman and senior wing Kohen Olischefski – also had an assist. Magnus Chrona made 24 saves and had a shutout for the first 53:53 of the game.

The Denver goal blitzkrieg came after a lethargic first period in which Chrona was called upon time and again to make timely saves.

“The first period we looked like a team that hadn’t played in two weeks,” Denver coach David Carle said. “Magnus Chrona turned his best performance of the year in the first period and allowed us to get going in the second.”

It didn’t take long for DU (8-12-1) to get going in the second.

Senior Ryan Barrow scored six seconds after being freed from the sin bin just 57 seconds into the stanza.

Guttman struck less than three minutes later, and at 6:32 freshman defenseman Antti Tuomisto made it 3-0. Olischefski and sophomore defenseman Justin Lee completed the deluge with goals in the final 4:04 of the period.

The quantity of goals pleased Carle, but how they were manifest delighted the coach as well.

“We were able to execute offensively. We were able to bear down on our chancesGold Pan games offer DU a chance to regain momentum,” he said. “Four of our five goals all had a net-front presence.

“We started skating a lot more in the second period. … We looked like we played with a little more pace and purpose and upped the intensity.”

The Tigers (4-13-2) averted a shutout when Brian Hawkinson scored with 6:07 remaining in the game. It was reminiscent of DU’s 6-1 victory on Jan. 2 when Hawkinson, younger brother of former Pioneer Brad, scored CC’s only goal.

Note: DU center Brett Stapley is out for the year. He had undisclosed surgery two weeks ago. … This marked the third time in 21 games that DU hit the five-goal plateau.

Next: Denver can retain the Gold Pan with a victory Saturday night against the Tigers at Magness Arena. Face-off is 7 p.m.

©First Line Editorial 2021