Best college hockey rivalries:

One of the most played rivalries in college hockey, the Battle for the Gold Pan between Denver and Colorado College clocks in at on our rankings. While its history pushes it up the charts, Denver’s dominance in recent years has somewhat diminished the rivalry. Still, it’s always a must-watch. 

It's important to note that the Battle for the Gold Pan does not encompass all games played between Denver and Colorado College. The trophy was <a href="https://letsgodu.com/2019/03/09/the-history-of-the-gold-pan-as-told-by-frank-serratore-and-don-lucia/">established</a> by former Tigers coach Don Lucia and former Pioneers coach Frank Serratore in the 1993-94 season. Denver leads in hoists of the Gold Pan, 19-13. 

But the Gold Pan only encompasses the regular season games, and the rivalry between the two teams is much older. It’s currently neck-and-neck with Michigan and Michigan State for most games played ever between two teams in college hockey. Denver leads the all-time series, 205-125-22. 

Given the Pioneers’ dominance in the series and overall in college hockey, it’s hard to believe that it started off as a terrible program. The Tigers easily dispatched Denver in each matchup between 1950 and 1950. The closest margin of defeat was two goals; the largest was 16. Denver finally won in the tenth game between the two schools by just one goal. 

But the Pioneers improved quickly, going on an eight-game win streak between 1952 and 1954. A few years later, they’d win their first of 11 national championships in 1958. Beginning in 1959, Denver would go on a 21-game winning streak over the Tigers, and would fail to win just six of its next 60 games against CC between 1959 and 1970. It was the era of Denver’s dynasty, marked by four national championships and two more trips to the Frozen Four. 

Meanwhile, it was the worst of times in Colorado Springs. The Tigers had been destroyed by the abrupt resignation of the coach that had led them to a national championship, Tom Bedecki, in 1958. In the 1960-61 season, the team finished 0-23. Denver won the national championship with what is considered one of the best teams to ever play college hockey. 

But the 70s marked a turning point for Denver. Despite a bevy of talent that came through the program, the Pioneers would not touch a national championship trophy until 2005. The program experienced a decades-long downturn due in various degrees of significance, to: the university's financial struggles, the NCAA banning Canadian major-junior players (a majority of Denver's team) from playing, NCAA sanctions as a result of that ban, and a few other reasons. Colorado College wasn't faring much better, but managed to win 18 of the 43 battles between the two schools over the course of the 70s. 

Even still, the games were heated. In 1965, the staff at Colorado College’s Broadmoor Arena had to bring out fire hoses to subdue a crowd riled up over a fight between DU player Bob Peers and CC player Davey Palm. The teams were not allowed to play against each other in the regular season in the 66-67 season, and when they met in the playoffs, Palm and Peers were not allowed to participate. Tigers goaltender Scott Owens recalled hiding in his own net to shield himself from the chickens pelted at him by Denver fans (who were not known as the Bleacher Creatures until the mid-80s). 

Both teams gained ground in the early 2000s, and the peak of the rivalry came in the 2004-05 season. Each was ranked at various points during the season. Yet Denver dominated again. The Pioneers shut out the Tigers 5-0 to secure the Gold Pan, then shut them out again in the WHCA title game in St. Paul. Then, Denver defeated them 6-2 with six power-play goals in the NCAA semifinals before securing another national championship, their second in two years. It was bitter for the Tigers. 

It was after the first of them, in 2004, that the original Gold Pan was lost. This story from the Denver Post describes the various theories of where it may have gone. All anyone knows is that Denver is for sure responsible, as they controlled it at the time. The two teams introduced a 20-pound bronze sculpture as a replacement in 2007. Denver has been its primary keeper.