ST. PAUL, Minn. — The fifth time proved to be the charm for Colorado College against Denver.

The Tigers upset the No. 3 Pioneers 1-0 on Friday to advance to the NCHC Championship Game. CC’s win avenges two sweeps against the Pioneers in the regular season.

“I’m incredibly proud of our guys,” CC coach Kristofer Mayotte said, “And the effort and the commitment and the belief and the character.”

The Tigers didn’t get anything to show for it, but they started the game smoothly. CC outshot DU 12-5 in the first period and won the puck possession battle.

An efficient start carried into the second period, when Colorado College got the game’s only goal.

Junior Hunter McKown scored from the left side on a power play — who else would it have been?

The power-play goal was the 14th of the year for McKown, who leads the NCAA in the statistic.

“When you score the way he scores and can do it in this league and can do it when he’s the marked guy … it takes someone special to do it,” Mayotte said.

From there, CC had the lead and it turned into a game of keep away — and that’s a game the Tigers do well.

The Tigers have the NCHC’s second-best defense statistically, which showed on Friday. They held Denver to 0-for-4 on the power play and outshot the Pioneers 26-23.

With under two minutes remaining, DU pulled goalie Matt Davis for an extra skater.

Early into the advantage, DU saw a few chances and held the puck in its attacking zone. But with 43 seconds remaining, the Pioneers made a fatal miscue. Carter Mazur got called for slashing, giving CC a power play.

With the Tigers starting the power play in their attacking zone, Davis had to return to goal. CC won the faceoff, kept the puck in its half for the remaining 43 seconds and never gave DU another chance to pull Davis — clinching the one-goal win.

“It feels great just for the guys in the room, the guys that I played with,” fifth-year defenseman Bryan Yoon said. “It’s been a long ride, but it’s been great.”

In addition to CC’s exceptional defense, Kaidan Mbereko recorded his fourth shutout of the year. The freshman had 23 saves, a few of which were acrobatic.

Mbereko was on his game, and he credits the guys in front of him for helping him remain comfortable.

“They’ve been good all year,” Mbereko said. “Those guys make my job easier. It was a team effort, and those guys really stepped up.”

After ending the regular season on an 0-11-2 skid, the Tigers have won three postseason games in a row. They swept No. 7 Western Michigan last weekend before Friday’s win over the Pioneers.

Mayotte stressed the importance of taking steps after sweeping WMU. He noted how his team grew from its first series against the Broncos to playing better in series two before winning both games of the playoff showdown.

The coach sees a similar linear progression in Friday’s win. CC won after steadily improving in each regular-season game against DU.

“When losing a lot is your adversity, it’s so hard to continue to be enthused about what the potential is,” Mayotte said. “It’s more than buy-in. You don’t do any of this stuff without the people and their commitment and their toughness and their character.

“We still built belief and still continued to get better.”

Mbereko was at the bottom of team dog piles in each of CC’s last two games.

The goalie admitted that the one in Kalamazoo, Mich. was more raucous, as the Tigers had a week to prepare for their next game. They only have one day before battling for the NCHC championship.

CC will play in its first conference championship game since 2013, when the Tigers fell to Wisconsin in the WCHA tournament. The Tigers haven’t won a conference tournament since 1978, when they won the WCHA title.

Even after a landmark win like the one Friday, the celebration won’t last long, as CC has a chance at history on Saturday.

“We’ve talked a lot about how to build belief from struggles, and now we get to play for a championship,” Mayotte said. “Ultimately, this was the vision and belief.”

Mbereko added, “Now we have to get after it tomorrow.”