On Nov. 6 and 7, the historic Battle for the Gold Pan returned to Colorado. Friday and Saturday night marked the 299th and 300th meetings between the Denver Pioneers and the Colorado College Tigers (CC), dating back to Jan. 6, 1950.

DU would secure the Gold Pan after a weekend sweep of CC.

On Nov. 6 in Magness Arena, in front of the first sold-out crowd of the season, Denver defeated CC 5-3.

The students were ready for the whiteout and they began arriving to their seats two hours prior to puck drop. Come game time, the student section was packed and ready to cheer on their Pioneers. Some students even had to find seats elsewhere because the student section was overflowing.

Junior Evan Cowley (Evergreen, Colorado) was in goal for the Pioneers and junior Tyler Marble was in goal for the Tigers.

Deafening cheers filled the arena as senior Quentin Shore (Denver, Colorado) won the opening face off against CC’s junior forward Sam Rothstein.

DU would get on the board first with a goal from junior Evan Janssen (Green Bay, Wisconsin) six minutes into the game. The assists came from sophomore Adam Plant (Penticton, British Columbia) and senior Gabe Levin (Marina del Rey, California).

It would not be long before CC would tie the game with a goal from junior Luc Gerdes (Eden Prairie, Minnesota). The first period would come to a close with the game tied at one.

Six minutes into the second period, Pioneer sophomore Danton Heinen (Langley, British Columbia) would net his fourth goal of the season with assists from Plant and freshman Dylan Gambrell (Bonney Lake, Washington).

Three minutes later, junior Matt VanVoohris (Edina, Minnesota) took a terrible hit that sent his head crashing into the boards. He lay on the ice, unmoving, for several moments before being tended to by the trainer. VanVoohris was able to skate off the ice, but he was diagnosed with a grade one concussion and would not return to play.

CC’s Alex Roos served a five-minute major penalty for the illegal hit on VanVoohris. Unfortunately, the Pioneers were unable to capitalize on this scoring opportunity.

“Our power play is trying to be too perfect. Guys want to make the perfect shot or make the perfect pass and when you try to do that, you’re a second too late and sticks or bodies get on the puck,” said DU head coach Jim Montgomery after the game.

With three minutes remaining in the second period, Denver sophomore Tariq Hammond (Calgary, Alberta) was put in the penalty box for elbowing.

Colorado Avalanche prospect, Will Butcher (Sun Prairie, Wisconsin), miraculously scored a goal while CC had the man advantage with the help of senior captain Grant Arnold (Centennial, Colorado).

The final goal of the period came with 20 seconds remaining off the stick of junior Trevor Moore (Thousand Oaks, California).

The tides changed a bit in the third period with CC scoring two goals in the first eight minutes. Gerdes scored his second goal of the night and freshman Trey Bradley (Tampa, Florida) brought the Tigers within one.

The Pioneers were able to hold off the Tigers for the remainder of the period, which led to Marble being pulled from the game to give CC a one man advantage.

Pioneer junior Matt Marcinew (Calgary, Alberta) scored his fourth goal of the season on the empty net to seal the victory.

The game may have been a bit closer than expected considering CC’s winless record, but Montgomery was satisfied with Denver’s outcome.

“Colorado College showed great character the way they came at us in the third. They won more one-on-one battles and made the game close,” he said.

On Nov. 7, the Pioneers traveled to Colorado Springs to battle the Tigers at the Broadmoor World Arena.

The opening period was scoreless, despite DU’s nine shots on goal compared to CC’s two.

The second period was much more heated. Shortly into the period, Arnold and freshman Jarid Lukosevicius (Squamish, British Columbia) were sent to the penalty box along with freshman Tanner Ockey (Calgary, Alberta) and freshman Trevor Gooch (Mantua, New Jersey) from CC. Halfway through the period, freshman Troy Terry (Denver) put the first point on the board. The assists came from Levin and Butcher.

Early in the third period, CC tied the game up, which brought the score to 2-1.

Newly named alternate captains, Butcher and senior defenseman Nolan Zajac (Winnipeg, Manitoba), received the points for the assists.

With about four minutes remaining in the game, Gambrell scored his first goal for DU to add to the Pioneers’ lead.

The final score of the game was 3-1.

The Pioneers’ weekend sweep resulted in retention of the Gold Pan Trophy and bragging rights until the rivals meet again at Coors Field on Feb. 20 for the Battle on Blake.

Next weekend, the Pioneers travel to Minnesota to take on the University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs on Nov. 13 and 14.