CC falls to DU as Pioneers claim fourth straight Gold Pan

As quickly as Colorado College gained momentum on Saturday, the Tigers lost it.

CC junior Hunter McKown scored early in the third period to cut Denver’s lead to one goal.

But just minutes later, the Tigers committed back-to-back penalties and gave the Pioneers a 5-on-3. DU took advantage of the energy swing and scored two goals to end the third period, eventually winning 4-1.

“You score there, the building’s going nuts, you can’t take a penalty,” CC coach Kristofer Mayotte said. “When you take one, you can still get fueled by the kill. You just can’t take the next one.”

DU got off to an early start, scoring two goals in the first period. The Pioneers scored one of those on a power play and held CC to just three shots in the game’s first 12 minutes.

Neither team had many chances in the second period, combining for seven shots.

Despite CC’s rough first period, the Tigers were still within reach — and McKown’s penalty-shot goal got them even closer. After the penalty shot the 3,859 fans at Ed Robson Arena — an arena record — erupted and showed energy that hadn’t been present all game.

That energy, though, quickly evaporated.

CC’s Tommy Middleton got called for interference two minutes later. And a minute into Denver’s power play, Logan Will got called for tripping.

Only 27 seconds into the 5-on-3, Denver’s Kyle Mayhew fired a shot from behind that went past CC goalie Kaidan Mbereko.

“We score, the building’s going nuts, I thought we were coming,” Mayotte said. “You have to be more careful, and you have to learn from those.”

CC pulled Mbereko for an extra skater with less than two minutes remaining, and shortly after, Denver scored an empty-netter to seal the win.

Though the Tigers lost by three goals, Mayotte applauded his team’s effort in the second and third periods.

The Tigers held Denver to 12 combined shots in those periods after allowing 15 in the first period. CC also saw several promising scoring chances that could have easily given the Tigers momentum. But Denver’s Magnus Chrona stopped all of them.

“We got better as it went on,” Mayotte said. “I liked our push. We loosened up a little bit.”

Denver’s win seals the Pioneers’ fourth Gold Pan in a row. They are 131-1 in the last 15 games of the Battle for the Gold Pan.

The loss is Colorado College’s fifth in a row. All five of them came against top 10 opponents — one against No. 5 St. Cloud State, two against No. 9 Western Michigan and two against No. 4 Denver.

Colorado College, once tied for second in the NCHC standings, is now seventh.

Despite the skid, Mayotte and company aren’t discouraged. Their past wins over high-quality opponents give them hope that they can climb the conference ladder.

“I don’t watch us and think, ‘ Man, we’re way out of it,’ or that we’re struggling,” Mayotte said. “We’re just not winning. I don’t think we’re playing poorly, but we have to find a way to win.”

CC’s next opportunity to break the losing streak is next weekend on the road against Omaha.

The Mavericks have won six of their last seven games and are fourth in the NCHC standings. The Tigers swept Omaha at Ed Robson Arena in December.