Troy Terry grew up in Highlands Ranch, played youth hockey in the Denver area and cheered for the DU Pioneers.

Colin Staub grew up in Colorado Springs, played youth hockey for the Jr. Tigers and cheered for Colorado College.

Three seasons ago the juniors came together with one common goal four times a season – beat CC.

They’re two of the four Coloradoans on DU’s roster, and they talked this week about the Gold Pan rivalry. Both said you can throw DU’s 14-game win streak out the window. It will be an intense series.

“We’re going to see their best game, so we have to put forth our best game,” Staub said. “The games are intense, physical. There’s a lot of hits going on. It gets heated, and the games are really fun because of that. We look forward to playing them, they look forward to playing us. It’s an exciting weekend.”

That physicality – the most obvious outward sign of the programs’ general dislike for, but respectful competition between, one another, also stands out to Terry.

“They’re always really physical games,” Terry said. “Even as a young kid coming to games I could always pick up they’re always big rivalry games. There was definitely no love lost.”

That DU is coming off its eighth national championship and sits No. 1 in both major polls only adds seasoning to a recipe for a spicy weekend series, facing off first at Magness Arena on Friday before heading south to World Arena on Saturday.

“We all know what it means to them, and any team we play this year it’s going to be their biggest game of the year,” Terry said. “It’s amplified when it’s Colorado College.

“They’re having a good year. I think it’s going to be like the games I grew up watching, a high-paced game. Both teams are going to be laying everything on the line.”

Staub recalls a time when playing for CC might have been the be-all, end-all.

“Growing up playing hockey in Colorado Springs, playing for CC is one of the ultimate goals for those players, myself included at the time,” he said. “I saw myself playing college hockey, and I wanted to play college hockey in Colorado so it was a natural jump.

“Obviously I’m super happy to be here. And I definitely love being here more than I would have at CC.”

Staub said the rivalry was so impactful that it actually sparked his interest in playing hockey, something no one else in his family had done prior to him.

“I went every year. I played for the Jr. Tigers in youth hockey, so from the time I was Mite until I was a Bantam I was going to DU-CC games at the World Arena,” he said. “I even went to them before I started playing hockey. Just the environment of the games and the excitement in the arena was one of the reasons I got into hockey.

“They mean a lot to me as a player and as a person, so I’m really looking forward to this weekend.”

Freshman Jack Doremus and senior Rudy Junda are the other two Colorado natives on the Pioneers. Junda, whose family had DU season tickets when he was a youth hockey player in the state, said streak or no streak the rivalry has just as much juice as ever, particularly with DU feeling as though it hasn’t yet hit its stride this season.

“There’s a lot of things we need to grow in,” the senior said. “So playing CC is an awesome opportunity because emotionally you don’t have to worry about getting up for it, that’s easy given the rivalry. And they’re a good hockey team. The competition will be good for us. There’s really nothing you can’t get up for in this series.”

Coach Jim Montgomery checks in to talk about the DU-CC rivalry

The Rude Awakening tackles the topics of DU vs. CC and player down time

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