After the Colorado College Tigers lost in a shootout against their rival University of Denver Pioneers, the Gold Pan trophy will stay up north for a seventh straight year.
The Tigers needed to win both games of the series in order to reclaim the award. They lost on Feb. 6, with the score tied 2-2 through five minutes of overtime, and lost the potential extra point in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) standings by falling in the ensuing penalty shootout.
Denver controlled the game for much of the first period, but a strong performance by CC’s goalkeeper Jackson Unger ‘29 denied them anything to show from it. With less than a minute in the first period, Tiger center Klavs Veinbergs scored a power play goal from right in front of the crease, assisted by Gavin Lindberg, to take a 1-0 lead going into the second period. Immediately after the goal, DU was called for interference.
Taking that penalty into the second frame, the Tigers’ power play capitalized again. Just 26 seconds into the period, Veinbergs scored a second power-play goal to put the Tigers ahead 2-0.
However, the tides would soon turn. DU scored a power-play goal of their own 3:37 into the second and greatly disrupted the Tigers in the offensive zone for the rest of the period. With the Tigers struggling to possess the puck, Pioneer forward Jake Fisher gathered the rebound after his shot hit a Tiger defender’s skate, putting the puck in the top of the net to level the game at 2-2.
The Tigers generated more consistent pressure in the third period but were unable to pull ahead. Both Unger and DU goalkeeper Johnny Hicks made some massive saves throughout the period, sending the game to overtime. Each keeper made five saves in overtime, with the Tigers unable to score despite having a power play in the extra minutes.
After the five-minute overtime period, the game was officially a tie, but the game was sent into a shootout for an extra point in the NCHC standings. DU’s Kristian Epperson scored the only goal in the shootout to send the Tigers’ fans home after a long night.
“Unfortunately, we just didn’t manage a lead very well.” Tigers head coach Kris Mayotte said. “You look at the second period and a lot of our detail [throughout,] a lot of our structure without it just disappeared.”
After Friday’s nailbiter loss, the Tigers traveled to Denver for the second game of the series on Saturday, losing 4-1. They split the following series against St. Cloud State University, and now sit seventh in the NCHC standings.
The Tigers return with a home series this weekend against Western Michigan. Games are Friday, Feb. 20, at 7 p.m. and Saturday, Feb. 21, at 6 p.m.