Backed by a boisterous pro-Pios crowd, DU cruised past Cornell in the opening round of the NCAA tournament with a 5-0 win Friday at Blue Arena. Five different goal scorers and 24 saves from freshman sensation goaltender Johnny Hicks were more than enough to set up a regional final showdown Sunday afternoon with .

“I thought we were excellent from the first drop of the puck,” Pioneers coach David Carle said. “Our speed was there all night long, with and without the puck. I thought the guys executed at a really high level.

“(Cornell) makes you earn every inch of ice out there and our guys were up to the task.”

put the Pios on the board first. He deflected a shot from defenseman Cale Ashcroft past Cornell goalie Alexis Cournoyer at 6:08 of the opening period.

It was the eighth goal of the season for Fisher, a sophomore center who was a fourth-round pick by the Avs in 2024. The Pios have now won 14 games in a row, an incredible surge that coincided with Hicks getting the call in net after fellow freshman Quentin Miller was injured.

It looks similar to the shape of the 2023-24 season, which included a midseason dip but ended with a run that led to the program’s record 10th national championship.

“It’s good to go through some adversity,” Fisher said. “We all stuck together, stuck through it and worked even harder. We went through the adversity and we learned from it, which is why I think we’re doing so well now.

“We are built for these moments.”

Denver native Kieran Cebrian made it a 2-0 lead at 15:33 of the first. The junior center got a piece of an Eric Jameson shot for his fifth goal of the season.

Not a lot happened for either team in the middle period, until the puck came to Harris in the high slot and the junior forward buried his 14th goal of the year with 4:29 to go in the second. If it didn’t feel like DU’s date with the Broncos was sealed, then it certainly was after Clarke Caswell extended the lead to 4-0.

Caswell, another of Denver’s deep and talented freshman class, potted his seventh goal of the year when he redirected the puck from Ashcroft with a half baseball swing at 5:06 of the third.

Cornell got closer on the shot clock as the game progressed, but the Big Red had few sustained offensive possessions and Hicks didn’t need to be Superman, let alone Matt Davis from two years ago, to befuddle the visitors from upstate New York.

Familiar foes face off for Frozen Four berth

While it might lack the geographical tie and historical hate of the Gold Pan series with Colorado College, Western Michigan has become a top on-ice rival for the Pioneers. Sunday will be the sixth meeting of this season between the two clubs and the 10th tilt in the past two campaigns.

“I think it’s awesome,” Fisher said. “They’re a great team, but we’re ready for this moment. We couldn’t be more excited for Sunday.”

The Broncos ended DU’s national title defense with a double-overtime win at the Frozen Four last year. Western Michigan also beat Carle’s club in overtime to win the NCHC Frozen Faceoff a year ago.

These two teams swept each other on the road during the regular season, but Hicks and the Pios exacted part one of their revenge with a 2-1 overtime victory in the semifinals of this year’s Frozen Faceoff. Now they have a chance for part two, with a trip to Las Vegas and the Frozen Four on the line.

“I can’t wait,” Harris said. “They ended our season last year. It’s great to play them again. It’s similar to last year. We are all pumped.”

It was a winding journey for Quentin Miller to get here, but he looks quite at home in net for the Pioneers. He made 29 saves Friday night, outdueling Colorado College star netminder Kaidan Mbereko in a 2-1 overtime win in front of the largest crowd ever for a hockey game at Magness Arena (7,073).

“He’s amazing. He’s the best person and kid too, so you just want to see him have success,” DU defenseman Boston Buckberger said. “I think what he’s done for our team, being kind of a brick and our foundation back there, we know we can rely on him. He’s bailed us out numerous times already. When we go the other way and get our chances, we’ve got to look back and give kudos and credit to him.

“If it weren’t for him, we wouldn’t have been able to come back (Friday) night. Huge credit to him. I just hope he keeps it rolling, because it����ap awesome.”

People toss around the term legend too loosely in sports, but Davis became one at DU after his incredible 2024 postseason run leading the Pioneers to an NCAA-record 10th national championship. He also helped the Pios back to the Frozen Four last year, and finished his career 6-1 in NCAA Tournament games with eight goals allowed.

Those are massive skates to fill. Enter Miller, who played for three different Canadian junior teams and 10 months ago wasn’t playing at all because of an injury.

A Montreal native, Miller was the backup goalie for the Patrick Roy-led Quebec Ramparts in 2022-23. That team won the Memorial Cup, and helped Roy return to the NHL with the New York Islanders. His work also made him a fourth-round pick in the 2023 NHL draft by his hometown Montreal Canadiens.

Miller was traded in the middle of the next season to Rimouski. He needed shoulder surgery in September 2024, so Rimouski, which was hosting the Memorial Cup, traded for another goaltender. When he was getting close to returning from the surgery, there wasn’t going to be obvious playing time for him, so he went west to the BCHL and joined the Chilliwack Chiefs.

That’s when the Pioneers got involved. Before players with CHL experience were granted NCAA eligibility, junior players often committed years in advance of college. The forthcoming rule change drastically altered the recruiting landscape last season.

“(Assistant coach Tavis MacMillian) learned of a guy in Chilliwack that was coming out of injuries, so just connections and people that we know up there,” DU coach David Carle said. “We didn’t have a long time to watch him, because he came back from injury sometime in late January, early February. We made the decision to recruit him and fortunately for us, he was able to get (33) games in through the BCHL playoffs.

“We have good connections in the Montreal organization as well, and they were supportive of him coming here. That all kind of factors into it.”

Miller played 10 regular-season games for the Chiefs, then helped them to the BCHL championship series before losing to the Brooks Bandits. The Pios not only had to replace Davis, but his backup from the past two seasons, Freddie Halyk, also transferred to Brown.

The three goalies on the roster are two freshmen — Miller and Johnny Hicks — plus junior Paxton Geisel, who had appeared in one game in two years.

“I think that was the big question coming into this year. We didn’t really have a goalie,” junior defenseman Eric Pohlkamp said. “But (Miller) has come in and he’s been fantastic. Even from game one against Air Force, he had a really good game, and he’s just embraced it. He’s super confident. He’s easy to play with. He’s getting better on his goalie breakouts and just keeps improving.”

Miller improved to 6-2-1 with a .941 save percentage after the win Friday night. He helped DU go to Western Michigan, the defending NCAA champs, and sweep the Broncos last weekend with 76 saves on 80 shots.

Colorado College was the better team for much of the first game in the Gold Pan series Friday night, but Miller was unflappable in net. He’s allowed one goal or fewer in six of his nine starts.

The Pioneers have a deep, but young group of forwards and an experienced defense corps. They don’t have a superstar talent like Zeev Buium, but Carle’s club boasts 14 NHL draft picks and a few others who will sign professional free agent contracts.

As Pohlkamp noted, goaltending was a big question. It might not be now, given how quickly Miller has settled in as the No. 1 guy.

“I think it����ap just his consistency,” Buckberger said. “I don’t think he’s really let in many bad goals. He’s just been so solid back there. Now he’s starting to play the puck better, like Matty Davis did so well. Just communicating with him, working in practice, seeing him grow as a goalie, it����ap been amazing.”

The Tigers got a bounce they desperately needed Friday night.

Sophomore defenseman Brady Cleveland scored with 3:43 remaining in the third period, and the sixth-seeded Tigers knocked off third-seeded University of Denver, 3-1, in Game 1 of a best-of-three NCHC conference tournament series Friday night at Magness Arena.

“You’re just really proud of (Cleveland),” CC coach Kris Mayotte said. “He’s come in here and worked his tail off and continued to get better. You need your big boys to be big boys in these moments, but you also need your unsung heroes to kind of rise up and get something like that for us.”

Kaidan Mbereko was fantastic in net for the Tigers, turning aside 32 shots. Matt Davis, who put together a historic postseason a year ago and led DU to its NCAA-record 10th national championship, had a strong night as well with 20 saves.

Cleveland’s shot from the top of the zone broke a DU player’s stick and re-directed into the Pioneers net to give CC its first lead of the game. It was also the first goal of Cleveland’s NCAA career, in his 52nd game.

“It’s something pretty special,” said Cleveland, who transferred from Wisconsin after his freshman season. “I think about all the extra reps and all the stuff people don’t see behind the scenes that led up to this moment. It’s pretty special knowing the hard work finally pays off. It’s something I’ll remember the rest of the my life.”

Ty Gallagher scored 32 seconds into a 5-on-3 for the Tigers to bring CC level early in the third period. DU’s Rieger Lorenz had a shorthanded chance, but barreled into Mbereko and was called for charging. It was Gallagher’s seventh goal of the season, which leads the CC defense corps.

Jack Devine gave the Pios the lead at 13:38 of the second period on a goal mouth scramble shortly after an offensive-zone faceoff. It was Devine’s 13th goal and team-leading 51st point of the season.

The Pios had a faceoff in the CC end in part because Tigers forward Gleb Veremyev was laying on the ice in pain at the other end. When DU transitioned the puck out of the defensive zone and away from Veremyev, the officials let play continue — much to the chagrin of a very animated Mayotte.

Junior center Noah Laba added an empty-netter for the Tigers in the final minute.

Despite allowing the only goal, the Tigers were much better in the middle period. Davis had very little to do in the first period, but needed to make several saves on shots from the slot in the second.

Mbereko kept the Tigers afloat despite a hot start from the Pioneers. Denver had the first 12 shots on goal of the game, and it took more than 10 minutes for CC to get its first shot on Davis.

“Unbelievable performance,” Laba said. “We know he has always has that in him. For him to go out there and show out in a big game is huge. We’re going to need him from here on out.”

DU retained the Gold Pan for the sixth straight season, winning three of the four regular-season matchups. Three of the games were tied in the third period, and the other ended up a one-goal contest.

Both of these teams got off to great starts to this season. The Pioneers set a program record by winning their first 12 games, spending eight weeks at No. 1 in both major polls. The Tigers won eight straight at the start, climbing as high as No. 8 in the national rankings.

Colorado College stumbled through January, losing seven of nine at one point, and the Tigers’ only path to an NCAA tournament bid is winning this series, then winning twice next weekend at the NCHC Frozen Faceoff in St. Paul, Minn.

DU entered this weekend at No. 9 in the Pairwise rankings, solidly in the NCAA field of 16, but what seed the Pios land is still to be determined.

Game 2 of this series is Saturday night at Magness, with Game 3 on Sunday evening if necessary.

“We know what they’re going to do, and they obviously know what we’re going to do,” Cleveland said. “It just comes down to who’s going to perform better. We came out on top, and we’re going to do it again.”

And when they win it, they acknowledge it with “Rocky Mountain High” so the rowdy students in sections 15-17 in the lower bowl can howl in joy one last time.

The DU Pioneers remained the gold standard in the Gold Pan rivalry, securing the trophy for the sixth consecutive season with a 4-1 victory on Friday night at Magness Arena.

It represented No. 7 DU’s 12th straight home win in the rivalry as they matched No. 20 CC’s physicality with skill and a master class in defense. The Tigers wore black and yellow but clearly wanted a black-and-blue game. They were whistled for four first-period penalties, setting the tone for a bruising affair.

The rivalry has been lopsided. But the intensity and the games have not been, decided by a combined two goals in the first two matchups this season.

With CC whipped into a frenzy after an opportunistic goal, Sam Harris shoved DU ahead 2-1 with a beautiful wrister with 9:19 remaining. James Reeder followed with a deflection into the net, allowing the Pios to exhale. The two teams face off in Colorado Springs on Saturday, but DU secured the pan because a tie in the series reverts back to the current holder of the trophy.

Just 92 seconds in, “Bad Boys” reverberated throughout the arena as CC was whistled for roughing. Several of these players were teammates in juniors, making it more personal. There was pushing in front of the net, shoving on the side of the net, but when the Tigers’ Gleb Veremyev applied a chock hold, the line was drawn.

“If you played with them in the past it makes you want to beat them in the future,” said DU star defensman Zeev Buium, whose team split the first two games with CC this season. “At the end of the day there are no friends out there.”

On the power play moments later, Eric Pohlkamp played give-and-go as Samu Salminen swatted the puck past Kaiden Mbereko with 17:03 remaining in the first period. The Tigers knotted the score on only their 16th power play goal of the season four minutes into the final period. Both schools showcased strong penalty-killing units, but DU’s shutout disappeared when Brent Link redirected Philippe Blais-Savoie’s blast off Matt Davis’ right shoulder.

DU proved the aggressor early, delivering 13 shots on goal to the Tigers’ four. Mbereko kept CC within arms reach with his wrist, glove saving a potential goal midway through the opening stanza.

Missed opportunities defined a more rhythmic second period as DU clung to a 1-0 lead with the teams ripping off 12 shots apiece. Mbereko stoned Carter King on a breakaway, and goalie Davis, who drew Friday’s loudest cheers when introduced on senior night, benefited from positioning and luck as CC’s Gavin Lindberg slammed a puck off the pipe.

For the past decade, DU vs. Colorado College hockey has been a rivalry in name only. Extrapolate the numbers any way you see fit; there is no other conclusion to draw. The Pioneers have held the trophy for five consecutive seasons and won 19 of their last 24 games against the 20th-ranked Tigers.

That includes 11 straight home wins at , where the 344th installment unfolds at 7 p.m. Friday, followed by a 6 p.m. Saturday game in Colorado Springs at . The teams split their December games, meaning that with a win Friday, No. 7 DU keeps the hardware because the defender of the Gold Pan gets the nod in the event of a tie series.

As Pioneer players walked into the arena for practice this week, CC was on the mind, even if the pan was not visible to the naked eye. Apparently, it goes on display in the locker room during the series. The case outside leading to the rink is reserved for national championship trophies.

DU aims to win its third in four years. CC has won two, in 1950 and 1957.

But even if the Pioneers are the Chiefs to CC’s Broncos over the past decade, the stakes provide purpose and motivation.

“Everyone is aware of it. It����ap the first trophy to win during a season as a freshman,” said star defenseman of the Gold Pan that was initiated in 1993. “When you come to Denver, you learn about the rivalry and understand why we all hate each other.”

As the defending national champions, the Pioneers wade knee-deep in high expectations. They are almost certain to make the 16-team NCAA tournament, but the season has not gone according to script. DU boasts a 7-3-1 record over its last 11 games and split last weekend’s series despite outshooting St. Cloud State 80-45.

Coach David Carle channeled former Notre Dame boss Lou Holtz in his message to his team. When it comes to problems, 90 percent of the people don’t care, and the other 10 percent are glad you’ve got them.

“We are in the time of the year where we would like to put our foot on the gas and get results. That can be mentally challenging. That����ap why feeling sorry for ourselves is wasted emotion,” Carle said. “There are actually a lot of people who are really happy when we lose. And they would love for us to be on the road in the NCAA playoffs or for us to slide out of the tournament picture. It����ap about staying positive and staying together. And there is a trophy on the line this weekend.”

What makes this weekend’s renewal interesting is that it could be a preview of the teams meeting the following week for the NCHC quarterfinals. The last time the two played four straight games was in 2004.

“It is a huge weekend. And to be at home (Friday) with the best fans is exciting,” said forward , who called the Pios’ win over CC at a sold-out Ball Arena in 2023 his favorite memory of the rivalry. “We are in a little bit of a worse spot as far as the conference standings. There’s extra pressure. But that����ap a good thing.”

The Tigers are experiencing a revival. After 11 straight losing seasons, CC won 21 games last season and owns a 17-14-1 record this year, led by star goalie . But the Tigers desperately need to start stacking wins to climb up the PairWise Rankings that determine at-large bids for the NCAA Tournament field. They enter the weekend series at , meaning it’s going to take an incredible hot streak for them to qualify for the tournament.

The first two games between DU and CC were decided by two goals.

The rivalry has been lopsided of late, but don’t be surprised if these games are not.

“One thing we have never struggled with is confidence. We know the talent we have in this room, and we know how much work we put in. There might be some outside noise, but we don’t worry about that,” said forward Jack Devine, the conference’s February player of the month. “I have been able to win three of those Gold Pans, and it would mean a lot to me and my class to win it again.”

The annual showdown between Denver and Colorado College, which dates back to 1950 and is one of college hockey’s most storied rivalries, has long been a local on-ice highlight since the trophy’s inception in 1993-94.

But with the Tigers’ competitive reemergence, the rivalry is more than just a trophy series these days. The showdown’s next chapter, set for this weekend, will feature two Top 10 teams with eyes on making deep postseason runs next March.

“Is there more on the line? Yeah, because both teams are competing for points in the PairWise, which is the computer system to pick the national tournament,” DU head coach David Carle explained. “We’re fighting for home ice, we’re fighting for the Penrose Cup (won by the regular-season NCHC champion). All those things make the points so much more valuable for both teams. So there’s a lot on the line for this weekend.

“And when this rivalry is good, it����ap good for Colorado hockey.”

While Colorado College won the first nine bouts against DU — including a 16-0 victory in the very first game on Jan. 6, 1950 — the Battle for the Gold Pan has been decidedly one-sided in favor of the Pioneers lately. DU’s won the last five Gold Pans and is 14-2-0 in the last 16 meetings. The Pioneers, who lead the all-time series 197-123-21, retained the trophy last season by winning three of four.

But 10th-ranked Colorado College (9-4-1) is back among the nation’s elite under Last year, the Tigers went 21-13-3, their most wins in a season since 2010-11, the last time Colorado College made the NCAA Tournament.

With this weekend marking the second straight Top 10 matchup between the rivals — the Pioneers were No. 4 and the Tigers No. 10 last March, marking the first Top 10 meeting between the teams since 2009 — the juice is back in the Gold Pan.

“Quite honestly when I got here it wasn’t much of a rivalry,” Mayotte said. “But what makes this series great is playing against each other in high-leverage situations and big moments. … That����ap what this rivalry is supposed to be. That����ap when it����ap at its best.”

While fourth-ranked DU (13-3-0) has remained a powerhouse under Carle in his seventh season, the Tigers are back in contention thanks to Mayotte’s organic roster-building, a handful of talented transfers and the opening of Ed Robson Arena four years ago. Mayotte called the 3,400-seat on-campus arena “an absolute game-changer.”

“To have a facility that����ap on campus and have our guys be able to invest the amount of time that it takes to become the best players they can be has been crucial,” Mayotte said. “It’s been easy to recruit to because players see the arena, believe in our program and they believe in what they can do here.”

Adding more fuel to the rivalry is how both teams’ seasons ended last year.

While the Pioneers won their record 10th national title, Colorado College was the first team out of the 14-team NCAA Tournament field by a mere .004 points. It was the second season in a row the Tigers fell one win short of the tourney, with a loss in the Frozen Faceoff championship costing them an automatic bid in 2022-23.

“Coming up short, it stung,” Mayotte said. “I think our guys understand the urgency of a college season and how delicate it can be at times. That remains with us.”

Entering this weekend’s matchup, DU can retain the trophy by winning Friday’s game in Colorado Springs and Saturday’s game at Magness Arena. Both games are at 7 p.m. The teams meet again in the regular season finale on March 7 and 8. Because the Pioneers already hold the trophy, Colorado College needs to win three of the four to get the Gold Pan back for the first time since 2018-19.

The Pioneers ripped off 12 straight wins to start the season, a program record and the most victories to start a campaign by a defending national champion since 2000. But Denver’s since come back down to earth, losing twice to Arizona State at home on Nov. 22 and 23, and then falling on the road to Western Michigan on Dec. 6.

DU got back in the win column the next day, beating the Broncos 3-2 in overtime, but senior forward Jack Devine knows this weekend’s series is critical for the Pioneers to end their first half on a high note.

“It was good to get a win last Saturday night, playing in a hostile environment up there, and it puts us in a good situation heading into another emotional series against a rival,” Devine said. “We need to get these two big wins heading into the break and set us up for the rest of the season.”

The Tigers also started red hot at 9-0, but have lost four of their last six. CC is headlined by Kaidan Mbereko, last year’s NCHC Goaltender of the Year, as well as a balanced offense paced by Boston University transfer Ty Gallagher.

“We’re playing well, we’re just doing it in spurts, and lengthy spurts at a time,” Mayotte said. “But when we’re not playing well, our breakdowns are too big and we’re finding ways to dig ourselves a hole. … We just have to tighten up some things and find a way to get results here, and find ways to increase our goal scoring.”

Should DU win the Gold Pan again this weekend, don’t expect to see it on display around Magness Arena.

The 20-pound bronze sculpture, which features a gold pan resting against hockey sticks, mounted on a wood base, is actually the second version of the prize after the original one went missing in 2004. The current trophy was created in 2007, and during Carle’s tenure, has resided in either the DU locker room or in the coaches’ office.

Why isn’t it in the trophy case just outside the Pioneers’ locker room, where DU’s 10 national titles reside?

“We care about the bigger trophies more,” Carle said.

They looked like a national championship contender in the final two periods.

A dominant effort in all three phases propelled the Pioneers to a 6-1 win in the first meeting with Colorado College in front of 7,021 fans — a record for hockey at this arena. Denver can lock up a fifth consecutive Gold Pan with a win Saturday night in Colorado Springs.

The Pioneers (5-1-1) bombarded Colorado College goalie Kaidan Mbereko with 23 shots on goal in the middle period. After a choppy first 20 minutes that had more post-whistle scrums than scoring chances, the second was a lot of one-way traffic in the Pioneers’ favor.

It didn’t get much better in the final period. Denver outshot Colorado College 48-20 for the game, and had 39 of the 52 shots on net in the final 40 minutes.

Shai Buium found Denver’s first goal at 4:56 of the second near the end of a power play. Mbereko sold out to his left for a shot that never made it to him, but it did end up Buium’s stick in the slot. His younger brother, Zeev Buium, was credited with the primary assist, the second time they’ve both been part of a goal this season.

Tristan Broz put the Pioneers in front at 7:32 of the period. Garrett Brown cut to the middle of the ice and laid off a pass for Broz, who didn’t miss with a one-timer for his third goal of the season.

Carter King added Denver’s third tally of the period at 10:23 while the Pioneers were shorthanded. Jack Devine scored twice in the final period — first on a tip-in and the second after an incredible end-to-end rush by Massimo Rizzo — to make it a runaway.

Freshman goalie Freddie Halyk made 19 saves in his second career start. No. 1 netminder Matt Davis did not dress. He’s considered day-to-day with a lower-body injury.

The Tigers were off to a 5-1 start, their best record after six games in 11 years. They also looked like an upset-minded bunch in the first 20 minutes.

Evan Werner opened the scoring for the Tigers at 6:09 of the first. He cut from left to right in the middle of the Pioneers’ zone and snapped a shot back against the grain past Hayk.

The Denver bench was not happy with the lack of a penalty call on the play that led to Werner shaking free — Sean Behrens had the puck along the right wall near the Pioneers’ bench, and coach Matt Carle felt he was separated from it illegally.

The rest of the first period had some hallmarks of a rivalry showdown — plenty of big hits, scrums after nearly every whistle … and a lot of misplaced passes and pucks bouncing off sticks.

Once both teams settled in, the Pioneers — ranked No. 2 in both of college hockey’s national polls entering the weekend — took complete control.

The Tigers will need to group. Denver only needs a split of the four-game series to retain the Gold Pan. The two sides play Saturday night at Ed Robson Arena and then have another home-and-home at the end of the regular season in March.

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Sean Pavlich says you can toss those records into the wild blue yonder.

“It does not matter when two academy teams get together,” the Denverite and former Falcons kicker told The Post in advance of the Air Force-Army football game Saturday at Empower Field, one of three huge college trophy games along the Front Range this weekend. “It is on. And anything can happen.”

Oddsmakers have pegged the unbeaten Falcons as 18-point favorites on a neutral field against the Black Knights of the Hudson, who come to the Front Range with a 2-6 record and riding a five-game losing streak that includes a 62-0 walloping at LSU.

But here’s the catch. Army has covered the pregame point spread in each of the last four meetings with Air Force and five of the last six. The last time the Black Knights were an underdog by more than two touchdowns, when Air Force was a 17-point favorite at the Academy in 2019, the Zoomies had to scrap for a 17-13 victory.

When the Commander-In-Chief trophy is on the line, Vegas goes out the window.

“In 1980, we go to Army and lay an egg, we lose at West Point,” recalled former Broncos GM Ted Sundquist, an Air Force fullback from 1980-83 and one of Pavlich’s teammates. “I go into that locker room and I look around and see the faces of those seniors … as a freshman fullback, I’d had a pretty good day, but fumbled twice and one of the fumbles led to an Army score. I saw the disappointment and heartache on their faces and I said, ‘Never again.'”

Sure enough, Sundquist and Pavlich went 3-0 against the Knights during the rest of the eligibility at Air Force. That’s the meaning of a rivalry, the emotional pull of a collegiate trophy game.

For only the second time ever, three of those storied trophy showdowns — CSU vs. Wyoming for the Bronze Boot in football, DU vs. Colorado College for the Gold Pan in hockey, and Air Force vs. Army for the CIC trophy in football — are taking place on the same weekend. And they’re all happening in one wild, 24-hour stretch across the Front Range, starting with the Boot game at 6 p.m. Friday inside War Memorial Stadium in Laramie, Wyo., between the Rams and Cowboys.

“It’s a different kind of hate,” explained former Wyoming wideout John Griffin, one of the famed “Black 14” who excelled for the Cowboys in the late 1960s, only to be kicked off the team by then-coach Lloyd Eaton.

“I guess you could say it’s one of those legacy games, a bragging-rights game that still resonates today. We don’t like them and they don’t like us.”

The Broncos are off and Avalanche are out of town, but the bad blood will still be bubbling to the surface. Welcome to Rivalry Weekend in Denver, kids. Throw out the records. And get ready to roll up your sleeves.

“It’s a gritty trophy”

In the history of three storied rivalries, the Boot, the Pan and Air Force-Army have been up for grabs on the same weekend just one other time before this one: Nov. 6-7, 2015.

Things worked out pretty well eight years ago — unless you rooted for the Cowboys or Tigers hockey, of course. CSU won big in Laramie, 26-7. Air Force rolled Army, 20-3. And the Pioneers swept the first of two home-and-homes with their longtime rivals, winning 5-3 at Denver and 3-1 in Colorado Springs. (DU went on to win the remaining two games as well the next February, including the series-capper at Coors Field on Feb. 20, 2016.)

“What really comes to mind is those games being so hard-fought,” said former DU forward Gabe Levin,

“They were (winless) and we were a team that was a pretty serious (national title) contender going into that game. But we still had a (mindset) that it wasn’t going to be an easy weekend.

“I remember, I was an assistant captain and Grant Arnold was a captain that (November series). Just talking to the guys, just basically (Arnold telling us) these games are gonna be as hard-fought as any that season — even though knowing, on paper, it wasn’t a close matchup, that’s how it was going to be.”

Like the man said, you’re dealing with a different kind of hate. A Pios team that eventually reached the Frozen Four, split its four regular-season meetings with national-champion North Dakota (2-2) and went 6-0 vs. Michigan State (2-0) and Western Michigan (4-0) got all it could ask for from a scrappy Tigers bunch that went 6-29-1.

“There were parts of (the CC) game where … they would take control of the game, then we would take control of the game, back and forth,” Levin recalled. “We were beating really good teams handily. I think we swept North Dakota (at home) that season. Trying to sweep Colorado College was just as difficult as any of those Michigan sweeps.”

The DU-CC series dates back to January 1950, although the Gold Pan wasn’t introduced as a traveling trophy until 43 years later.

The original pan that debuted in 1993 — once used for prospecting in Cripple Creek, so the legend goes — reportedly went missing a decade later under mysterious circumstances. A new pan, which weighs roughly 20 pounds, was introduced in 2007. And while not as storied as the Stanley Cup, it’s got some tales of its own to tell, Levin said.

“The Crimson & Gold Tavern? You can say it’s been there,” Levin laughed. “I think you’d be surprised at the lack of regulations or procedures about who actually has the Gold Pan.

“Lots of times, it would be, ‘Oh, yeah, that guy has it. Player X, he has the Gold Pan, it’s his responsibility right now.’ It wasn’t (left with) a freshman, but probably someone’s house, he’d take it home with him and then take it back to the rink the next day. It’s a gritty trophy.”

“It’s very cool”

While the Bronze Boot will be deliriously and almost immediately snatched up by the winners of CSU-Wyoming late Friday night, the CIC protocol is a little more nuanced.

For one, it’s heavy as sin. While the Boot checks in around 20 pounds, including the base, the CIC weighs about 170 pounds.

“I don’t think there’s a bigger trophy in college football than the CIC Trophy,” chuckled former AFA football coach Fisher DeBerry, who won it 14 times over 23 seasons. “I’ve always wanted to pick it up, but I never was strong enough to pick it up.”

The CIC is one of only two trophies in FBS — the NCAA’s Football Bowl Subdivision — that are competed for every year on a triangular basis, by comparing the head-to-head records of the three schools involved. (In the case of a tie, the previous season’s trophy-holder gets to keep the CIC.)

The winners are typically presented the trophy formally by the President of the United States, either on-site — in the case of the Army-Navy game, if that determines the overall winner — or at the White House.

When former President Ronald Reagan , he also presented the CIC trophy to some of the Falcons’ seniors. Sundquist still has a picture of himself with The Gipper in his office, resting right next to a flag that flew over the U.S. Capitol on the day of his graduation ceremony.

Trophy games are rooted in tradition, and no tradition is more treasured among service academies than the honor of singing their respective alma mater last following a historic victory.

“If the (Falcons) do win, if they do (clinch),” Sundquist said, “the big thing about after the game is singing the alma mater second.”

And the biggest thing about Rivalry Weekend? Pride.

If not for your alma mater, then for college sports in the Centennial State.

“(This weekend) is very cool, and here’s the reason why,” Sundquist continued. “I think college sports in general (here) … tend to get overlooked.

“It’s (coming) back at CU, I understand that, and that’s great for CU, it brings excitement and what not, but that’s a single guy (football coach Deion Sanders). And hopefully the program catches up with the guy.

“By and large, Sonny Lubick (at CSU) and DeBerry (at AFA) had a lot of success from a football perspective. You look at DU hockey and what they’ve done from a national perspective. We’re a little bit labeled as a ‘flyover state’ and I don’t think it’s fair for the players and the coaches and the alums and the fans and the schools and their programs. They play pretty darned good sports out there, and when they do, to have a weekend like this and to have three (trophy) games such as this, I think, is befitting of the caliber of sports that we play in the state of Colorado.”

A world-class wrestler who had the eye of several college wrestling powerhouses after winning his fourth state title for Greeley Central in 2019, Alirez instead opted to stay home and help build something at Northern Colorado.

Four years later, after claiming the 141-pound national title last Saturday night in Tulsa — the program’s first since the 1960s — Alirez has taken the UNC Bears to a level they haven’t seen in decades.

The Grading the Week staff can’t help but stand up and applaud.

Andrew Alirez — A+

The way Alirez did it, with a six-point move in the second period that came just as he appeared to be on the brink of disaster, would’ve been good enough for us. But to then throw “G-Town” a shout-out within melted our hearts.

Half of the enjoyment that comes from the NCAA Division I wrestling championships is luxuriating in the interviews with the freshly crowned national title winners.

While some get weird — like, say, — most others are some heart-warming combination of comedy, emotion and inspiration.

Alirez somehow hit all three, while also reminding us that there’s no place like home.

Deion Sanders cosplay — B+

Give Coach Prime credit for this much: He’s completely unafraid to do things on his time.

First, the CU Buffs football coach holds his introductory news conference in the middle of a Denver Broncos game. Then he interrupts the final day of March Madness at Ball Arena by coming out for his first spring practice presser in a cowboy hat and boots.

Coach Prime couldn’t remember the name of the TV show that inspired his western getup (“Yellowstone”) or his favorite character (Kevin Costner’s familiarly world-weary John Dutton) on said serial drama. But we weren’t about to avert our eyes from the spectacle.

Such is the state of CU football in the opening months of the Coach Prime era — where everything happening in Boulder is now must-see.

DU hockey — B

It’s hard to imagine a more excruciating way to close out a national title defense than with a pair of shutout losses — one coming at the hands of your hated rival.

Yet that’s exactly how things ended for the Pios, who were eliminated with a 2-0 loss to Cornell in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday a week after falling 1-0 to Colorado College in the NCHC tournament.

Add it all up, and DU was held scoreless in the final 121 minutes, 2 seconds of a campaign that also included 30 wins, the program’s 15th regular-season conference title and retention of the Gold Pan Trophy.

It would be silly for anyone to classify such a season a failure. We certainly don’t have the gall to do such a thing in this space. But it also isn’t a stretch to call it disappointing, either.

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Denver coach David Carle, who was awed by the size of his school’s student section Friday night in a 2-0 win over Colorado College, said he would love to play at Ball Arena again. He’s unsure how the scheduling logistics would work, though.

“It has to line up properly, to be quite honest, with probably a single game. So it’s not on the schedule for the next two years, I can tell you that,” Carle said. “But if it’s something that we can get a single-game type of an event, whether it’s against CC or another team with an opportunity to bid on a certain game, we are looking at that. And it’s something that we want to do. Hard to do it every year, but it’s something we definitely want to do again.”

Carle praised everyone involved in arranging the event, which brought the Battle for the Gold Pan to Ball Arena for the first time. It was a short-notice event: DU announced the change in venue Nov. 22, 2022, after the season had already started. The announced attendance: 17,952.

“I take a lot of pride in what tonight was, and that’s not even on the ice but the event,” Carle said. “I thought it was excellent from start to finish. Thought our people in our athletic department, in our university, did an unbelievable job. On short-notice, too. … Just an immense amount of pride tonight for the hockey community, but specifically for our fans and the (DU) brand and the following that we have within the state and the city of Denver.”

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