No. 4 Denver won its fourth consecutive Gold Pan on Saturday night. That isn’t news so much as Colorado College actually figured out how to score on senior goaltender Magnus Chrona.

After 350 minutes, 11 seconds, spanning nearly two full years, the Tigers finally flipped the switch on the goal light at Ed Robson Arena while the Pioneers’ Swedish giant was guarding the net. And all it took was a penalty shot by CC’s leading scorer, Hunter McKown, 4:04 into the third period. That was all Chrona and the Pioneers surrendered in a 4-1 victory.

Chrona was last dented by a Tigers scorer on Feb. 25, 2021. The offending party was Brian Hawkinson, a Colorado native and younger brother of former Pioneer Brad Hawkinson, who was part of the 2017 national championship team.

Think about it this way: it’s been more than six games vs. CC since Chrona has allowed a goal at 5-on-5 or on either special team.

Chrona and DU continue to pile up wins; this was his 17th, their 21st, further propelling DU beyond the all-important Tenzer Line. Chrona has a 2.11 goals-against average, which is tied for his career low, and a .916 saves percentage, second only to his career-best .920 of his freshman season.

The only season Chrona has surpassed his current win total was last season, when he had 28 en route to an NCAA title.

Dornbach quietly having a career year

Wing Casey Dornbach got the Pioneers on the board by burying a rebound while DU was on a power play in the first period. It was the grad transfer’s 12th goal, which tied his career high set during his sophomore season at Harvard.

His 28 points are second on the team to Massimo Rizzo’s 33, and one could argue he’s been the Pioneers’ most versatile and consistent player. Dornbach has played on all of the top three lines, and he’s registered points in 19 of 28 games, never going more than two games without a point.

DU getting many more contributions

Saturday’s second – and eventual winning – goal for DU came off the stick of senior captain Justin Lee. The defenseman’s fourth goal of the season also tied his career high, set two seasons ago.

Shortly after McKown’s goal, another DU defenseman lit the lamp – junior Mike Benning. Benning’s 5-on-3 tally was his eighth and gave him 24 points. The Florida Panthers draft pick had 15 goals – including the NCAA winner vs. Michigan – among his 38 points last season.

Benning is one of five Pioneers with 20 or more points, and freshman Aidan Thompson has 19 in 20 games.

Another member of the 20-point club, sophomore Tristan Broz has been the Pioneers’ hottest player over the past two months. After two points in his first 13 games, the Pittsburgh Penguins pick has 19 in 15 since.

On deck

If you looked only at the standings you might think Denver has a fairly easy homestand coming up given its opponents are in sixth and fifth place in the NCHC standings. However, this is North Dakota and Minnesota Duluth, and there is nothing easy about playing either program.

Both teams are down this season, and both will be particularly motivated given their NCAA Tournament hopes are somewhat remote.

The Fighting Hawks are 12-11-4, and they sit 20th in the Pairwise Rankings. Hosting an NCHC quarterfinal, or anything else, always is a huge advantage for North Dakota, but they’re nine points out of fourth place, even that will be a tall order. They could go on a heater and move up the Pairwise, but it would require knocking off DU, probably twice, to get that started. The Pioneers swept them at Grand Forks back in November for the first time in more than 12 years.

The Bulldogs are 12-15-1, 25th in the Pairwise, and almost certainly will have to win the NCHC tournament to get into the NCAA’s. They’re just two points ahead of North Dakota in the conference standings. DU also swept the Bulldogs in Duluth earlier this season.

©First Line Editorial 2023