Sport | Men's Ice Hockey |
---|---|
First meeting | January 6, 1950 Colorado College 16, Denver 0 |
Latest meeting | March 9, 2024 Denver 4, Colorado College 3 |
Next meeting | TBA |
Statistics | |
Meetings total | 325 |
All-time series | Denver leads 192–122–23 |
Largest victory | Colorado College, 16–0 (1950) |
Longest win streak | Denver, 22 (1959–1963) |
Current win streak | Denver, 1 (2024–present) |
The Battle for the Gold Pan (also called The DU/CC Rivalry, or known locally as The Gold Pan) is a series played between the Colorado College Tigers and the University of Denver Pioneers hockey teams. Denver currently holds the trophy after defeating Colorado College 4-3 on March 9th, 2024 to retain the trophy.
The Gold Pan is among the top rivalries in American college ice hockey. [1] [2] With over 300 games played, only Michigan and Michigan State have more games played among top rivalries, which also include the Green Line Rivalry, between Boston University and Boston College and the Border Battle, between the Minnesota and the Wisconsin.
The University of Denver and Colorado College hockey teams began playing one another in 1949–50, the first season for the University of Denver men's team. Colorado College has had a hockey program since 1938. The two schools were charter members of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA), which was founded in 1951. The schools are also charter and current members of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC), founded in 2011 with play starting in the 2013–14 season.
Both colleges are private schools with small student populations on Colorado's Front Range. Colorado College (enrollment near 2,000 students) is located in Colorado Springs, while the University of Denver (undergraduate enrollment near 6,000 students) is located in Denver. The two campuses are only 65 miles apart, right off of I-25. As of the 2022–23 season, home ice for the Colorado College Tigers is Ed Robson Arena, sitting at 6,060 feet above sea level, while the home ice for the Denver Pioneers is Magness Arena, at 5,370 feet, with both arenas featuring NHL-size rinks. Previously, CC had played at the Broadmoor World Arena, which has a larger, Olympic-size rink and sits at 6,250 feet. Nearly 300 NHL and other professional hockey players have passed through the hockey programs of the schools.
Both schools have produced Hobey Baker Award winners. Colorado College has had two Hobey Baker winners, Peter Sejna (2003) and Marty Sertich (2005). The University of Denver has had two Hobey Baker Award winners also, Matt Carle (2006) and Will Butcher (2017). Both Colorado College and the University of Denver have eight players who were finalists for the Hobey Baker Award since its inception in 1981; as of the end of the 2017/18 Season.
Plans for Robson Arena, estimated to cost $38 million, were first announced in 2018. The arena namesake is Colorado College 1954 alum and former CC Tiger hockey player Edward Robson. The new arena has a capacity of about 3,400, less than half that of The Broadmoor World Arena. [3] The new arena also features an NHL-sized rink, removing a distinct difference between the schools' venues. Robson Arena will sit near 6,050 feet above sea level, roughly 200 feet below the Broadmoor World Arena. Colorado College planned to break ground for the new arena in 2018, initially hoping for it to be ready for play by 2020. [4] [5] [6] Changes made during the planning process, most notably the addition of a parking garage and a shift in the arena footprint within its city block, led to delays. While demolition on the project began in 2018, groundbreaking for the new arena took place in 2020, with a planned opening for the 2021–22 season. [3]
The Gold Pan format is as follows: Four games are played every regular season between Colorado College and the University of Denver, both schools playing two home games and two away games. The games are played on two separate weekends series in the regular season. One series is played near the beginning of the regular season, and the other series near the end of the regular season. The series are played in a Home & Home Series, where both teams play on their home ice once per series (unlike most college weekends series, which play at only one team's home ice). The team with the better record out of the four games is able to claim the Gold Pan, till next year. If a season series is tied, than the defender of the Gold Pan retains the coveted trophy for another year. With the NCHC ruling, if after an overtime period a game remains tied, both schools will continue to play in a tiebreaker until a winner is declared. A game that goes to a tiebreaker is still counted as a draw in the overall record and Gold Pan record, the tiebreaker is merely to see who is given a bonus point in NCHC standings. Post-season matches are not counted for the Gold Pan, but are counted overall in the rivalry.
The two schools first met in January 1950 and have faced off against one another at least four times every year since then, as well as multiple playoff matches. There have been a few games postponed or even canceled due to violence between fans and players back between the 1960s thru the 1980s. Up until the 1990s, there was no formal series trophy for the season series, as the CC/DU games were merely for "bragging rights". In the 1993/94 season, then-DU coach Frank Serratore and CC coach Don Lucia decided to create a traveling trophy for the season series winner between the schools. That first Gold Pan trophy was a rusty old gold pan from Cripple Creek, Colorado that had actually been used for prospecting. [7] That first trophy was lost in Denver after the 2003–2004 season. The current trophy was created by Colorado sculptor Mike Halterman and donated by the Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mine in 2005. [8]
In 2011 with the NCAA realignment of college hockey conferences, Colorado College and the University of Denver joined together to create the NCHC, bringing the rivalry with them. The first season in the NCHC (2013/14 season) led to the conference rule of a shootout if a game is tied after overtime. On November 8, 2013, CC and DU played the first ever regular season shootout in college hockey in Colorado Springs. CC and DU played to a 1–1 tie after overtime, DU would win in the shootout 2–0.
On February 20, 2016, the teams faced off for their first outdoor match, at Coors Field in Denver, billed as the "Battle on Blake" in reference to the location of Coors Field at the corner of Blake Street and 20th Street. [9] Denver won the match 4–1 in front of 35,144 spectators. [10]
Colorado College victories | Denver victories | Tie games |
|
Team | Total Goals |
---|---|
DU Goals | 1,453 |
CC Goals | 1,208 |
TOTAL Goals | 2,661 |
Type | Leader | Leaders W – L – T | Total Matches |
---|---|---|---|
DU Home Games | DU | 109 – 52 – 11 | 172 Matches Total |
CC Home Games | DU | 76 – 68 – 10 | 154 Matches Total |
Neutral Games | DU | 6 – 2 – 0 | 8 Matches Total |
Overtime Games | DU | 12 – 8 – 19 | 39 Matches Total |
Playoff Games | DU | 18 – 14 | 32 Matches Total |
Gold Pan Games | CC | 47 - 47 - 16 | 108 Matches Total |
Decade | Leader | Leaders W – L – T | Total Matches |
---|---|---|---|
1950s | CC | 24 – 23 – 0 | 47 Matches Total |
1960s | DU | 35 – 2 – 1 | 38 Matches Total |
1970s | DU | 29 – 19 – 0 | 48 Matches Total |
1980s | DU | 33 – 13 – 3 | 49 Matches Total |
1990s | CC | 25 – 17 — 4 | 46 Matches Total |
2000s | CC | 23 - 16 - 6 | 45 Matches Total |
2010s | DU | 26 - 14 - 6 | 46 Matches Total |
2020s | DU | 10 - 2 - 3 | 15 Matches Total |
Day of Week | Leader | Leaders W – L – T | Total Matches |
---|---|---|---|
Friday | DU | 79 – 56 – 12 | 147 Matches Total |
Saturday | DU | 84 – 50 – 9 | 143 Matches Total |
Sunday | CC | 7 – 3 – 0 | 10 Matches Total |
Monday | CC | 2 – 1 – 0 | 3 Matches Total |
Tuesday | DU | 4 – 3 — 0 | 7 Matches Total |
Wednesday | DU | 1 - 0 - 0 | 1 Matches Total |
Thursday | DU | 3 - 11 - 0 | 14 Matches Total |
The Broadmoor World Arena in Colorado Springs, Colorado is an 8,000 seat multi-purpose arena and entertainment venue. The arena opened in 1998. In addition to the main arena, the adjacent Ice Hall contains two practice rinks, one NHL-sized and one Olympic-sized.
The North Dakota Fighting Hawks men's ice hockey team is the college ice hockey team at the Grand Forks campus of the University of North Dakota. They are members of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) and compete in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I ice hockey. North Dakota is widely regarded as a premier college hockey school and has one of the most storied programs in NCAA history. UND has made over 30 appearances in the NCAA tournament, appeared in the Frozen Four 22 times, and has won 8 NCAA Division I Championships. The program has also achieved 15 WCHA Regular season Championships, 5 NCHC Regular season Championships, and 12 Conference Tournament championships. The school's former nickname was the Fighting Sioux, which had a lengthy and controversial tenure before ultimately being retired by the university in 2012 due to pressure from the NCAA. The official school nickname is now the Fighting Hawks, a name that was chosen by the university on November 18, 2015.
The Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey team is the college ice hockey team at the Twin Cities campus of the University of Minnesota. They are members of the Big Ten Conference and compete in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I ice hockey. The Golden Gophers are one of the most prominent and storied programs in college hockey, having made 41 NCAA Tournament appearances and 23 trips to the Frozen Four. They have won five NCAA national championships, in 1974, 1976, 1979, 2002 and 2003. The team also shared the 1929 National Intercollegiate Athletic Association championship with Yale, and captured the national Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) championship for amateur hockey in 1940.
College ice hockey is played principally in the United States and Canada, though leagues exist outside North America.
The Denver Pioneers men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents the University of Denver. They play at Magness Arena in Denver, Colorado. The Pioneers are a member of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC). Previously, they were members of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA), from its creation in 1959 to the end of its men's hockey competition in 2013.
The 1969 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournament was the culmination of the 1968–69 NCAA University Division men's ice hockey season, the 22nd such tournament in NCAA history. It was held between March 13 and 15, 1969, and concluded with Denver defeating Cornell 4–3. Three games were played at the Broadmoor World Arena in Colorado Springs, Colorado while the consolation game was played at the newly opened Cadet Ice Arena.
The Colorado College Tigers men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents Colorado College. The Tigers are a member of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference. They began play at Ed Robson Arena on the CC campus in Colorado Springs starting in the 2021 season.
The National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) is an NCAA men's Division I hockey conference for teams in the Midwestern United States. The league was formed on July 9, 2011 and began playing for the 2013–14 season, the same season that the Big Ten Conference began competition, as a combination of six previous members of the WCHA and two of the CCHA. The league is headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
The 1990 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 31st conference playoff in league history and 38th season where a WCHA champion was crowned. The tournament was played between March 1 and March 12, 1990. First round games were played at home team campus sites while all 'Final Four' matches were held at the Civic Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. By winning the tournament, Wisconsin was awarded the Broadmoor Trophy and received the WCHA's automatic bid to the 1990 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.
The 1988 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 29th conference playoff in league history and 36th season where a WCHA champion was crowned. The tournament was played between February 25 and March 7, 1988. First round games were played at home team campus sites while all 'Final Four' matches were held, for the first time, at the Civic Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. This was the first year in the tournament's history that the championship game was held at a neutral site which it would continue to do henceforward (as of 2014). By winning the tournament, Wisconsin was awarded the Broadmoor Trophy and received the WCHA's automatic bid to the 1988 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.
The 1986 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 27th conference playoff in league history and 34th season where a WCHA champion was crowned. The tournament was played between February 28 and March 15, 1986. First round and semifinal games were played at home team campus sites while the championship match was held at the DU Arena in Denver, Colorado. By winning the tournament, Denver was awarded the Broadmoor Trophy and received the WCHA's automatic bid to the 1986 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.
The 1982 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 23rd conference playoff in league history and 30th season where a WCHA champion was crowned. The tournament was played between March 4 and March 14, 1982. First round and semifinal games were played at home team campus sites while the championship match was held at the Winter Sports Center in Grand Forks, North Dakota. By winning the tournament, Wisconsin received the WCHA's automatic bid to the 1982 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.
The 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season began in October 2014 and ended with the 2015 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament's championship game in April 2015. This was the 68th season in which an NCAA ice hockey championship was held, and the 121st year overall in which an NCAA school fielded a team.
The Battle for Pikes Peak is a college ice hockey rivalry series that is played between the Colorado College Tigers and the Air Force Falcons.
The 2016–17 Denver Pioneers men's ice hockey team represented University of Denver in intercollegiate college ice hockey during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season. The head coach was Jim Montgomery and the team captain was Will Butcher. The team won the 2017 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournament. The team's leading scorer was Troy Terry.
The 1956–57 Colorado College Tigers men's ice hockey team represented Colorado College in college ice hockey. In its 2nd year under head coach Tom Bedecki, the team compiled a 25–5–0 record, outscored opponents 205 to 106, and won the 1957 NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament. The Tigers defeated Michigan 13–6 in the championship game at the Broadmoor World Arena in Colorado Springs, Colorado. CC tied the record for the most goals scored in a championship game (1950) and combined with the Wolverines for the most total goals in a title game (19). As of 2018 this is the last time Colorado College has won the national title in ice hockey.
Nicholas Halloran is an American professional ice hockey forward who currently plays for Tappara Tampere in the Liiga.
The Ed Robson Arena in Colorado Springs, Colorado is a 3,400-seat ice hockey arena on the campus of Colorado College. The arena opened on September 18, 2021.
The 2021–22 Colorado College Tigers men's ice hockey season was the 82nd season of play for the program and the 9th in the NCHC conference. The Tigers represented Colorado College and were coached by Kris Mayotte, in his 1st season.
The 2022–23 Denver Pioneers men's ice hockey season was the 74th season of play for the program and 10th in the NCHC. The Pioneers represented the University of Denver in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season, were coached by David Carle in his 5th season and played their home games at Magness Arena.
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