COLORADO SPRINGS • The bad blood between these hockey teams is so embedded in their DNA that whenever the DU Pioneers and CC Tigers drop the puck, the on-ice officials should be Judge Judy, Dr. Phil and Jerry Springer.

You gotta keep ‘em separated. 

Well, pardner, good luck with all that.

A Seven Nation Army couldn’t hold the Pioneers and Tigers back.

With a rock-’em, sock-’em 4-3 victory on a Saturday night alright for fighting, the Pioneers beat CC for the 200th time in a college hockey rivalry as old and cold as Pikes Peak.

But for DU, beating the Tigers never grows old. The Pioneers have hoarded  possession of the Gold Pan, awarded to the winner of the season series, for six straight years.

“It’s always special, knowing how many great teams and great players have played in this series,” said Denver senior Jack Devine, who has won two national championships during his DU career. “It feels amazing to hoist the Gold Pan. I’ve hoisted it four times, and each time it feels even better than the first.”

The acrimony between these bitter rivals began in earnest only 23 seconds into the opening period, when a kerfuffle erupted after the first whistle between DU sophomore Kieran Cebrian and CC freshman Philippe Blas-Savoie. After the pushing and shoving was done, both players were banished to the sin bin for roughing.

That was just the beginning to the hostility that required the refs to call 16 penalties through two periods.

During a frustrating stretch to end the regular season, which has seen the Tigers tumble from No. 8 in the country to being stuck looking on the outside of the projected NCAA tournament field, the Tigers (17-16-1) have been guilty of losing their cool too often.

“We can’t waste energy with any of that nonsense,” CC coach Kris Mayotte said in a postgame radio interview.

The rancor reached a bone-rattling crescendo midway through the second period, when Denver fourth-line center Connor Caponi took a run at his CC counterpart, blasting Chase McLane into the Pioneers bench with his shoulder.

Or was it an elbow?

Mayotte took extreme exception to the hit, halting play with a challenge, demanding justice in the form of a major penalty.

When informed of the video review, DU coach David Carle was anything but agitated, obviously believing that the Tigers’ were whining without merit.

Want to guess the verdict?

Carle proved to be absolutely correct, as the Tigers’ appeal was denied, the officials declaring it a clean hit by Caponi.

“You never know,” said Carle, pointing out that the only available choices were to assess Caponi a five-minute major or no penalty at all. “But the standard all year has been direct contact.”

The ruling did not sit well with the rowdy student section in Ed Robson Arena, and the young Tigers faithful never, ever refuse a chance to express their dissatisfaction with their instate rivals by chanting: “(Bleep) you, Denver!”

The Pioneers built a 4-1 advantage early in the third period on goals by James Reeder and Zeev Buium. But despite losing any chance to wrestle the Gold Pan away from DU in a loss 24 hours earlier, the Tigers came roaring back, with two quick scores that made the final 10 minutes of the third period not for the faint of heart.

“Got a little chaotic,” Carle said.

A little? This was hockey inside a blender. And stuck right in the middle was Matt Davis, the senior goalie who now owns 58 career victories and guarantees the Pioneers are a legitimate threat to defend their national championship.

Davis made the last of a mind-numbing 23 saves in the third period by corralling a wicked blast from Tigers winger Gleb Veremyev fewer than 30 seconds before the final horn.

“It was a roller coaster,” Davis said. “They fought. They came hard. We did a good job of bending but not breaking.”

The victory ensured home-ice advantage for the Pioneers in the opening round of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference playoffs.

And guess who’s coming to our dusty old cowtown for that intense weekend of hockey?

Yep, those CC Tigers.

“This rivalry never gets old,” Davis said.

The bad blood in this series is as ancient as them thar hills where miners once panned for gold.

So you know these agitated Tigers won’t back down when they face off against the high-and-mighty Pioneers for the 345th time, carrying a powerful desire for vengeance in their hearts.

It’s a love-hate relationship. Good luck keeping ’em separated.