Never let it be said the Denver hockey team doesn’t have any Olympic spirit.

Not only did Pioneers coach Jim Montgomery and his staff heartily endorse Troy Terry‘s decision to answer Team USA’s call to play at PyeongChang, South Korea, but DU will play three of its next four games on Olympic-sized ice sheets, beginning with Friday’s NCHC tilt vs. old friend Colorado College.

In all seriousness, after a Saturday grudge match at Magness Arena, the Pioneers head to St. Cloud State for a pair of games next weekend on another wide surface that will have a huge say in which team wins the NCHC’s Penrose Cup, aka regular-season championship.

The Pioneers will be without the services of Terry for those four games, so the question becomes, how do you replace the highly skilled Highlands Ranch native who plays important minutes in every situation in the lineup for four important contests?

And bear in mind, CC and DU tied both earlier meetings this season, with each winning an extra point for NCHC purposes in bonus time, while the Pioneers shellacked then No. 1 St. Cloud at Magness in November, prompting Montgomery and Huskies coach Bob Motzko to debate whether Lite beer “tastes great” (Montgomery) or is “less filling” (Motzko) after the Saturday game.

The answer to the latter question has been debated for at least as long as Rodney Dangerfield has been disrespected. While the answer to the former is you don’t replace Terry. The junior assistant captain is vital part of the team’s fabric, a point-per-game-plus scorer and a power-play monster (seven of his 11 goals have come there).

However, it opens up some interesting possibilities for other players on the DU roster to get added minutes – even strength and up and down a man.

Here is a look at some likely candidates to see their roles and ice time increase at this critical juncture. These take into account who could play in Terry’s spot on the right wing of center Dylan Gambrell and left wing Jarid Lukosevicius as well as on the top power-play unit with those two, Henrik Borgström and defenseman Ian Mitchell.

Top-line duties:

The most logical candidates would seem to be four right-shooting Pioneers who mainly play wing, though two of whom have made appearances at center.

Junior Colin Staub is plug and play anywhere in the lineup. His superior board work, tenacity, intelligence and defensive acumen would likely open up more space for Gambrell to create and shoot and for Lukosevicius to fire away. Staub, who has 17 points, also would keep my personal moniker for the top line, “the Junior Achievers” intact.

Sophomore Liam Finlay would bring many of the puck skills Terry possesses. His flair for the creative and recently re-energized play (he was very good vs. Duluth) would also seem to complement the Gambrell-Luko tag team. Finlay hasn’t finished as much this season as he did a year ago (just four goals among his 11 points), but he wouldn’t need to playing with two sharp shooters. However, his history suggests he’s been better when playing with Borgström.

Freshman Kohen Olischefski is the other wing (along with Staub) flanking Borgström of late, and he’s shown he can play with high-skill players. He has an excellent shot, and unlike some of his peers, he’s less hesitant to unload it when he sees an opening. He also has the skating ability to hang with Gambrell.

Of the three, Finlay played outside the top six the most recently. A fourth candidate, and one one who falls into the Staub plug-and-play category, is junior Logan O’Connor, who has the speed and skill to also hang (and join the Junior Achievers to boot!). O’Connor (15 points) has moved in and out of the top six all season, but he hasn’t looked out of place when he’s been there, and his speed opens up some space for linemates.

The guess here is you’ll see a combination of players in that role. I do think Finlay will play with Borgström more, and that combination will require Staub or O’Connor with them, so Olischefski or one of the plug-and-plays seem like the most likely candidates.

On the power play:

The second power play unit, typically Staub, Finlay, Olischefski and some combination of defensemen Michael Davies, Blake Hillman and Adam Plant, has gotten better and

better as the season’s worn on. I would be hesitant to pull one of the forwards out of this group to go with Borgström, Gambrell, Lukosevicius and Mitchell.

The Mayhem plan would be to shift a defenseman to play with Mitchell on the top unit, and here’s why.

CC still resorts to traps at times and relies on its counter attack to generate offense. The Tigers typically play their fastest players on their PK. A second D probably decreases the likelihood of Shortie making a guest appearance this weekend.

And next weekend, the Pioneers face one of the league’s fastest, most skilled teams in St. Cloud. The Huskies’ forwards wasted no time transitioning and creating chances. Again, two D on the power play would be a nice hedge against their hijinx.

And of course, the Pioneers have a hugely skilled D corps, and as important, one that is largely healthy.

The potential downside is you’re adding some minutes to a group that plays a lot of them already, but the educated guess here is that won’t be an issue given how rarely the D has been at full strength this season.

One more thing …

Terry’s Olympic absence should give Montgomery and his staff an even better idea of who can handle what down the stretch. It offers a chance to build depth further both for the season’s final push and for the future, starting next season when it’s a good bet DU will need a lot of players on its roster to take on substantially bigger roles.

Bear also in mind also that Terry came back from his last international adventure highly energized. He scored 28 of his 45 points after returning from the 2017 World Junior Championships, and they tended to come in bunches. He had nine multi-point games in that stretch – twice racking up five points and twice more getting three.

He was at his best in the biggest games, getting nine points in four NCAA Tournament games. And we all know how that worked out.

So celebrate Troy and Team USA, and don’t worry about DU in the interim.

©First Line Editorial 2017-18