Sam Harris didn’t really even look at where he was shooting the puck. He just let it rip.

In an instant, it hit twine, and Denver had finally broken through.

The Pioneers felt destined to come out on the wrong side of yet another stellar goaltending performance, but thanks to Harris’ team-leading 20th goal of the season and another shortly after by freshman James Reeder, No. 7 DU was able to pull away from rival No. 20 Colorado College for a 4-1 win that ensures the Gold Pan trophy stays in the Mile High City for a sixth straight season.

“(CC’s Kaidan Mbereko) makes some great saves throughout the night, but particularly in that first and second period,” Pios coach David Carle said. “You’d like to have a little bit more breathing room going into the third. I thought we showed some resiliency, stuck with it. Obviously, they make the play on the power to tie at 1-1. Not an easy team to beat, not an easy goaltender to beat. They defend at a really high level. We know we’re gonna have our hands full again tomorrow night with them.”

DU appeared to be in for a big night offensively as Samu Salminen scored a power play goal less than three minutes in and the Tigers gave the Pios plenty more chances on the man advantage, but Mbereko was up to the task, like every goalie that’s come to Magness Arena recently has been.

“These goalies in this conference, it is a world of a difference,” said sophomore defenseman Eric Pohlkamp, who transferred from Bemidji State last offseason. “Every goalie you play is really good. It’s hard to score in this conference. The guys said it at the beginning of the year, the NCHC is really hard to score and you’re seeing it right now.”

It was the first time in a few weeks that the high-powered DU offense scored four goals in a game, finally getting rewarded for a night that felt like it had been coming.

“I thought we were moving the puck on time early,” Carle said. “You certainly saw some of the speed off the rush. As the game went on, I thought they got a little bit better of getting in our way, so we had to fight through some stuff in the neutral ice, but that was a huge key for us.”

The second line of Harris, Salminen and Reeder scored all three goals and Pohlkamp got the fourth to go along with his three assists for his best night since joining the Pios.

“I was in a little bit of a slump there if you look at my numbers, (but I was just thinking about) staying with it and making the simple play,” Pohlkamp said. “It feels really good. I was kind of down these past couple weekends, but at the end of the day, you just want to win and in that locker room right now, it’s really fun.”

There was a lot more on the line this weekend than just a trophy as DU is still battling for home ice in the opening round of the NCHC tournament as well as seeding in the NCAA Tournament. Now, all they need is a point from the regular season finale Saturday night to secure home ice.

But trophies, especially in rivalries, never get old. The Pios just hope this is the first of several.

“It’s a nice feather (in our cap) for sure,” Carle said. “It’s a learned skill to have to put teams away, win trophies and we’ve now checked that box here tonight in front of our home crowd. You don’t get many opportunities to do it at home. That’s exciting for our fans. I thought our atmosphere was electric. Tomorrow night, we’re playing to try and get to play in front of them again next weekend. There continues to be a lot on the line. I loved the team effort we had tonight and we’ll need that again tomorrow to have success.”

GAME RECAP

No. 7 Denver 4, No. 20 Colorado College 1

What happened: The Pioneers (25-9-1, 14-8-1 NCHC) retained the Gold Pan for another season with an important win over the Tigers (17-15-1, 11-11-1 NCHC) in the final home game of the regular season at Magness Arena. DU took the lead less than three minutes in, but that was all the scoring until the third period when CC evened things up. Goals from Sam Harris and James Reeder gave the Pios the win in the final 10 minutes.

Star of the night: It’s been the season of special goaltending performances in the Mile High City as DU couldn’t put anything past CC goalie Kaidan Mbereko for much of the night as the junior from Aspen made 28 saves in the game and kept the Tigers in a game they really should’ve trailed by multiple goals after two periods. On the other side, senior DU goalie Matt Davis stopped 22 shots and got the biggest ovation during the pregame senior night festivities.

Quotable: “You kinda live for these guys. You saw the crowd tonight. The student section, they’re piling in for the warmups. I thought it was an awesome atmosphere. It was a blast to play in. Lucky enough, we get to play them tomorrow in their building, which will be a super-fun atmosphere with their stands right on top of you. It was a really fun game. It means a lot to these guys to win the Gold Pan, and you’re seeing it right now.” — sophomore defenseman Eric Pohlkamp

Up next: The Pioneers and Tigers each conclude the regular season on Saturday night down at Robson Arena in Colorado Springs. Puck drop is set for 6 p.m. with coverage on NCHC.tv and 104.3 the Fan.