No. 2 Denver (18-6-4, 10-3-3-2 NCHC) vs. Colorado College (7-17-2, 3-11-2 NCHC)

When: Friday, 7:30 p.m. at Magness Arena; Saturday, 6:07 p.m., World Arena

TV/Radio: Altitude2 (Friday) and 104.3 FM (both nights)

Previous meetings: Denver won both halves of a December home-and-home series by 3-1 margins.

Overview

Beware the underdog here. Colorado College has played well in spurts, winning and tying at No. 1 Minnesota-Duluth earlier in the season and defeating then-No. 13 North Dakota two weekends ago. The Tigers are getting exceptional goaltending from freshman Alex Leclerc and starting to generate more offense. Its record might not reflect it, but CC – which typically dresses 15 or 16 underclassmen – has improved over the course of the season. A victory or two over the Pioneers would make the Tigers’ season. … DU, like CC, had last weekend off. Don’t bet on the Pioneers coming out flat after a bye week. They tied and defeated North Dakota on the road after weekend off in November.

Who’s hot

Leclerc has been the Tigers’ best player over the past 12 games, when he’s gone 4-6-2 with a 2.22 GAA and .932 save percentage. … CC sophomore forward Mason Bergh has 12 goals, seventh in the NCHC, and a team-high 17 points. He and line mates Luc Gerdes (15 points) and Matt Hansen (9 points) have been the Tigers’ best line in 2017. … As good as Leclerc has been, junior Tanner Jaillet has been even better. He is 16-4-4 with a 1.89 GAA and .931 save percentage. … DU’s goals against (2.00) is the second best in the nation. … Pioneers forwards Henrik Borgstrom, Jarid Lukosevicius and Matt Marcinew each had nine points in January, with Borgstrom getting three goals. … Borgstrom and Dylan Gambrell lead DU with 25 points. Senior captain Will Butcher has 24 points (eighth-most among defensemen in D-I).

Need-to-know numbers

The 304 meetings between DU and CC are the second most of any Division I college hockey rivalry to Michigan-Michigan State’s 307. … DU’s 10-game winning streak is its third-longest ever. The longest one is 22 games (1959-63). … DU’s 30 victories during 2016 were the most in the nation. … The Pioneers’ 18 victories this season are tied for second-most in Division I. … CC started the second half on a 3-0-1 tear, then went 1-5 in its past six games. … DU is 2-2-1 in Friday games after the Christmas break, but 4-1 on Saturdays.

What to watch for

According to Mike Chambers of the Denver Post, DU sophomore Troy Terry is going to pull a “Gambrell”, aka come back earlier than expected from an upper body injury. Watch warm-ups closely Friday night.