The newly-dubbed, “Pacific Rim Line” consisting of Trevor Moore (Thousand Oaks, California), Dylan Gambrell (Bonney Lake, Washington) and Danton Heinen (Langley, British Columbia) combined for seven points (3G-4A) to top Denver 4-1 over the Colorado College Tigers on Feb. 18 in Colorado Springs. In the prelude to Battle on Blake, Denver recorded their seventh straight victory over the Tigers.
The Pioneers got off to a rough start when they gave up a penalty within the opening minutes. Unaware of his surroundings, Heinen skated straight into CC goaltender Jacob Nehama to commit a goalie interference penalty two minutes into the first period.
The Tigers took advantage of the power play when Andrew Farny played Matt Hansen inside the left faceoff circle. Hansen drove his slap shot straight past Tanner Jaillet (Red Deer, Alberta) to give CC a 1-0 lead at 3:17.
Denver forward Emil Romig (Vienna, Austria) was whistled for boarding at 8:06. The Pioneers generated a few shorthand opportunities during CC’s powerplay, but couldn’t convert. As Denver killed the penalty, Ottawa Senators prospect Quentin Shore (Denver, Colorado) played a give-and-go with Heinen. Heinen found Gambrell, who was trailing on the play in the slot. The freshman forward converted to equalize the Pios at 10:41.
The second period was quieter from both sides. Jaillet was reportedly sick during the first intermission and replaced by Evan Cowley (Evergreen, Colorado). DU dominated possession, but struggled to finish their chances. Matt Marcinew (Calgary, Alberta) was called for tripping six minutes into the period, where CC gained momentum. The Tigers led shots on goal nine to eight, the majority of which were generated during the power play.
“I didn’t like our second period,” said Head Coach Jim Montgomery. “ I didn’t think we went to the net the same way [as the first period].”
Denver secured the win during the final period. Less than seven minutes into play, Will Butcher (Sun Prairie, Wisconsin) launched a wrist-shot from outside the left faceoff circle, which was initially blocked. Butcher collected the puck and redistributed it to Gambrell, who shot from the crease. Nehama deflected the freshman’s shot to Moore who buried the puck from the backside to give Denver a 2-1 lead.
Anaheim Ducks prospect Troy Terry (Denver, Colorado) extended Denver’s lead 3-1 at 17:17 on a breakaway played by Butcher and Adam Plant (Penticton, British Columbia).
With 1:17 remaining, Heinen scored Denver’s fourth goal. Gambrell picked up his second assist of the night on the play.
“This is probably the best effort we’ve had in this building in my three years with the program. We controlled the puck for at least eighty percent of the game and played smart, assertive hockey in all three zones and for all three periods,” said Montgomery.
