It was the same story that DU and CC fans have seen so many times over the last four years – Kaidan Mbereko was strong, elite even, but ultimately wasn’t enough, and the Pioneers pulled away in the third period. At Magness Arena tonight, in front of 7,023 onlookers, the #7 Denver Pioneers (25-9-1, 14-8-1 NCHC) scored on the power play early then ran into a brick wall named Mbereko before scoring three times in the third to salt away the game and clinch their sixth-straight Gold Pan with a 4-1 victory over #20 Colorado College (17-15-1, 11-11-1 NCHC). Defenseman Eric Pohlkamp recorded a four-point night with three assists and the empty-net goal to seal the Senior Night victory and send off the most accomplished class in program history off in style.
The Pioneers have made a habit recently of making the opposing goaltender look like Georges Vézina reincarnate. After a 4-0 victory against North Dakota a few weeks ago, they turned around and only scored once on 35 shots against TJ Semptimphelter, and then last weekend, against St. Cloud State, Isak Posch stopped 76 of Denver’s 80 shots en route to a 3-1, 2-1 split. And through two periods of play tonight against CC, it looked like more of the same from Mbereko. The Pioneers outshot the Tigers 25-16 through the first 40 minutes, but only Samu Salminen’s power play goal, the result of a perfect pass from Pohlkamp across the slot, found its way past CC’s All-American goalie.
Fortunately, at the other end, 2024 Frozen Four Most Outstanding Player Matt Davis matched Mbereko save for save, and it wasn’t until Bret Link’s deft deflection early in the third period on a CC power play that the Tigers were able to solve him. The defensive struggle had, to no one’s surprise, yielded a 1-1 game entering crunch time.
Where Denver has so often shrunk from the moment in recent weeks and months, the Pioneers stepped up and delivered tonight, with a trophy on the line.
Six minutes after Link’s goal, Sam Harris made up for his many missed shot attempts with a beauty of a snipe, thanks to a perfect pass from James Reeder off the rush. Reeder threaded a pass through Stanley Cooley to Harris above the left circle, where the sophomore forward buried his shot short-side high. Reeder, for his part, added an insurance marker less than five minutes later, deflecting a Pohlkamp shot from the point past Mbereko to make it 3-1 before Pohlkamp’s empty-netter sealed the victory and his impressive night.
One of the reasons why the Pioneers have had trouble finding consistency this season is their jarringly frequent lack of timely scoring. In each of their losses since New Year’s, they either had the lead or were within two goals in the third period with a chance to pad their lead or mount a comeback. Denver’s inability to find the back of the net in key moments has prevented them from making any headway in the Pairwise Rankings (they’re currently #9) and kept them floundering in the middle of the NCHC pack.
But tonight, when they needed goals in the worst way against their bitter in-state rival, they elevated their game to meet the moment and ultimately prevailed. It was a gutsy effort that reminded fans of what this team is made of.
But now, the hard part of the weekend has arrived. Over the past month, against Arizona State, North Dakota, and St. Cloud State, Denver skated to Friday night victories before faltering in Saturday night losses. In fact, since the calendar turned to 2025, the Pioneers have swept a weekend just twice – both against Miami. And even though they clinched the Gold Pan tonight, they still have plenty to play for tomorrow night in Colorado Springs, namely home ice for next weekend’s NCHC Quarterfinal series.
The calculus is simple – win tomorrow night, and they play at Magness Arena next weekend as the conference’s #3 seed. If they don’t, then they’ll need some help and possibly some tiebreaker luck in Grand Forks in game two between North Dakota and Omaha.
There is plenty to celebrate tonight – the Gold Pan staying where it belongs is always worthy of pausing and smiling for a moment. But Denver’s ultimate goal and tasks to get there are still ahead of them. Step one this weekend is complete. Step two, finishing off the weekend sweep and clinching home ice, is up next. Which version of the Pioneers are we going to see?
Highlights
Samu Salminen and Eric Pohlkamp just blew the roof off Magness!!!#GoPios pic.twitter.com/xeI65t9WG2
— Denver Hockey (@DU_Hockey) March 8, 2025
Sam Harris with tonight’s @Safeway Goal of the Game and Magness Arena is once again on 🔥🔥🔥. pic.twitter.com/bggg74wCST
— Denver Hockey (@DU_Hockey) March 8, 2025
Eric Pohlkamp with his 3rd assist of the night on James Reeder’s redirection!#GoPios pic.twitter.com/buVvL7bRhm
— Denver Hockey (@DU_Hockey) March 8, 2025
Top photo credit: Isaac Wasserman/Clarkson Creative Photography via Denver Athletics
Nail biter of a game tonight. Another year with the Gold Pan in the trophy case.
If I read the tea leaves correctly, no matter what the outcomes of tomorrow night’s games are, DU has earned home ice for the first round of the playoffs. Which team they’ll play is still TBD.
The only way Denver finishes 5th and loses home ice for the playoffs is a regulation loss at CC, plus an Omaha OT win at North Dakota.
With over 7,000 in attendance last night that would mean over 800 people bought standing room only tickets? That’s impressive!
Solid effort by the Pios. Great to see them defend home ice and retain the Gold Pan.