No. 3 Denver (16-6-6, 10-4-3-3 NCHC) vs. Colorado College (12-12-4, 6-9-3-2 NCHC)

Friday, 8:08 p.m., at World Arena, Colorado Springs

Saturday, 7:05 p.m. at Magness Arena

TV / Radio: Friday, CBS Sports Network; Saturday, Altitude / 104.3 FM

Series: Denver leads, 175-116-19. The teams tied twice in December, with each one gaining an extra NCHC point with a goal in double overtime after DU had won the previous 14 match-ups.

Overview

The Gold Pan, which Denver has owned the past three seasons, is up for grabs this weekend. If DU sweeps or the series is a split, the Pioneers retain the trophy and bragging rights over their rivals to the south. If the Tigers win and tie or sweep, they reclaim it. … Speaking of the Tigers, they have a real shot at hosting a first-round NCHC playoff series, sitting just four points out of the top four in the conference. They have yet to reach the NCHC Frozen Face-off. DU, meanwhile, trails St. Cloud State by three points for first place and the Penrose Cup. CC split at North Dakota last weekend, winning on Friday, while DU was off after sweeping Minnesota Duluth the previous weekend.

Denver update

The Pioneers return to work for the first two of four anticipated games without junior forward Troy Terry, who is one of four college players on Team USA at the Olympics in South Korea. One storyline to watch is who plays on the top line with Dylan Gambrell (13 points, including five goals, in his past 10 games) and Jarid Lukosevicius (10 points, including seven goals, in his past 10 games). Another is who takes Terry’s minutes on special teams. … One thing is certain, senior Tanner Jaillet has been every bit as solid in net over the past 16 games as he was a season ago, when he won the Mike Richter Award as Division I’s top goaltender. Jaillet’s momentum – he has a .939 save percentage and 1.55 goals-against averages since the start of December – has carried him near the top of several statistical categories – five shutouts (T3rd), .927 save percentage (T6th), 1.95 GAA (T6th) and 15 wins (8th). If he plays both games, and there is no reason to think he won’t, he will tie the school record for games played (124) in net. … The Pioneers’ power play is eighth in the nation (23.5 percent), and it could feast on the Tigers’ spotty PK, which at 74.2 percent is the lowest rate in D-I. Meanwhile, Denver’s penalty kill is successful 84.4 percent of the time, the 10th best mark in D-I. Not that the Pioneers need to use it much; their average of 7.5 penalty minutes per game is the lowest in the nation. … Henrik Borgström‘s 37 points are tied for seventh in D-I and his 17 goals are tied for 11th with, among others, CC’s Nick Halloran. Gambrell’s 34 points are tied for 15th nationally, including with CC’s Mason Bergh.

Colorado College update

NCHC points leader Halloran (40), Bergh (34 with 15 goals) and Trey Bradley (25 points) are a fast and formidable top line for the Tigers, but they also account for 44 percent of CC’s goals and points. Stop them and CC tends to struggle. … The Tigers are finding some secondary scoring from juniors Westin Michaud (21 points) and Trevor Gooch (17) as well as freshmen Christiano Versich (17) and Troy Conzo (13), the NCHC’s reigning offensive player of the week. … However, the Tigers have been very good in one-goal games (7-3-3) and terrific on Saturdays, when they have 8 of their 12 victories. … Goaltender Alex Leclerc was very good against DU earlier this season, singlehandedly keeping the second game a tie. He’s 12-10-4 with 3.20 and .902 numbers. … This is the fastest CC has reached 12 wins in a season in six years.

How it could go down

The ties with DU earlier in the season were no fluke; the Tigers have defeated North Dakota twice, as well as Omaha and Western Michigan. CC is a program on the rise and that can only help The Gold Pan rivalry. However, Denver is coming off a break and was playing quite well before it. It would be an upset if The Gold Pan relocates this season.

A look back at the teams’ first two meetings:

CC ties DU at Magness Arena before picking up the extra NCHC point

DU returns the favor on Dec. 9 at World Arena

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