CC & DU Battle for the 262nd Time
From Rocky Mountain Newsby Pat Rooney
(left) DU Assistant Coach Steve Miller is in his 13th year at DU
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Records and trends typically can be thrown out the window when the Front Range rivals collide. That fact is well remembered by DU assistant coach Steve Miller as the teams prepare to close the regular season with a home-and-home series that begins tonight at Magness Arena.
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Almost a decade ago, during the 1997-98 season, CC was coming off an appearance in the Frozen Four and was destined for another berth in the NCAA tournament. DU was on its way to an 11-25-2 record, the worst in the 13-season tenure of coach George Gwozdecky.
But those disparate situations still made for one of the wildest series in the rich history of the rivalry.
"I remember that series. We went down there and they beat us 9-1, and I think it was 5-0 in the first period," Miller said. "They came back to Denver the next day, and we beat them 6-0. We won 11 games, and they won (26). And two of our 11 wins were against them, and they were a top-five program that year.
"You have to throw all the records out the door and everything that has happened the last half of the season. These are intense hockey games."
Unlike that memorable series, innumerable stakes will be on the line this weekend, including possession of the Gold Pan traveling trophy, positioning for the Western Collegiate Hockey Association playoffs and stature for the NCAA tournament selection committee.
By virtue of their sweep of DU earlier this season, CC needs one win or one tie to reclaim the Gold Pan for the first time since the 2002-03 season.
That might be one of the last things on the Tigers' minds after a recent tailspin in which they have lost four consecutive games and have gone winless in their past six.
DU has clinched home ice for the first round of the WCHA playoffs, which begins next week, though the Pioneers could finish anywhere from third, which would keep them out of the play-in game if they reach the Final Five, to fifth.
CC is in fifth place but one point ahead of Minnesota State and Michigan Tech. Nationally, the Tigers need wins to get better footing on an NCAA tournament bubble that has them tied for 13th in the PairWise rankings.
"It seems every year I've been here, when we play CC the last weekend of the year, there's always a lot riding on that weekend," DU senior goaltender Glenn Fisher said. "It's been like that every year. That's what makes this series fun.
"The Gold Pan is important to us, obviously. On top of that, there are a lot of other things riding on this."
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