Pioneers win Gold Pan for fourth time in a row

DENVER 5, COLORADO COLLEGE 1

COLORADO SPRINGS» The Denver Pioneers are golden, again.

For the fourth consecutive year, DU is the proud annual owner of the Gold Pan, the traveling trophy that serves as bragging rights with longtime conference rival Colorado College.

Sophomore sensation Henrik Borgstrom had a hand in the Pioneers’ first two goals, scoring the first, and senior goalie Tanner Jaillet produced his 76th career win in a 5-1 triumph over the Tigers at The Broadmoor World Arena.

The fourth and final game of the annual DU-CC series is Saturday night in Denver, but the Pioneers clinched the Gold Pan by virtue of their 1-0-2 record thus far; the trophy must be won outright. DU now has a 13-12 ownership edge since the trophy was introduced in 1993.

In extending their unbeaten streak to eight games (6-0-2), the second-ranked Pioneers (17-6-6, 10-4-3 National Collegiate Hockey Conference) took leads of 2-0 and 3-1 and were ahead 4-1 after two periods. Three forwards — sophomores Liam Finlay and Kohen Olischefski and junior Logan O’Connor — scored in the second period after CC goalie Alex Leclerc kept his team alive in the first.

Denver generally dominated the game, but Leclerc kept it relatively close for the Tigers (1213-4, 6-10-3) through the first 30 minutes.

DU played the first of four games without junior star winger Troy Terry, the Highlands Ranch native who is playing for the U.S. at the PyeongChang Olympics.

Jaillet is scheduled to make his 124th career appearance Saturday to tie Stephen Wagner (19962000) with a program record, and Jaillet now stands six wins shy of tying Ron Grahame (1970-73) for that school record.