Maybe it was the throwback uniforms.

Maybe it was to help summon some energy from that ’57 team. Maybe it was a message from Colorado College hockey coach Scott

Owens to his team that the team which wore the original and made it mean something nationally actually has a NCAA championship banner hanging over the ice.

Look up.

Motivation or what ever you want to call it.

Then again, maybe it was the opponent. Maybe it was the bad blood with the northern neighbors that had the Tigers playing like a team with something to prove – even when it didn’t.

Whatever it was, Saturday’s 3-1 Tigers victory over Denver was anything but what it should’ve been. Bad attitudes were expected. But the game was a slug fest. The teams combined for 43 penalties totaling 110 minutes in the box. There were three 10-minute game misconduct penalties, three sizeable fights and numerous scuffles – and those were the just the ones the referees saw.Owens’ first postgame words: “Wasn’t pretty was it?”

From this vantage point, the Tigers looked like they took DU’s best punch and remained standing. Then the Tigers punched back.

“They scored,” Pioneers coach George Gwozdecky said. “That was the worst thing that could’ve happened to us. . . . . We’re shooting and sometimes hoping. They’re shooting and knowing.”

Remember Pioneers’ goalie Peter Mannino? He was the riddle the Tigers couldn’t solve – until recently that is. Mannino was 6-1-2 against the Tigers entering this season. He finished 7-4-2, and gave up eight goals in the last two games.

Mannino may as well be starring in his own version of Where’s Waldo.

Where’s Petey? Where’s Petey?

Mannino started the season as a Hobey Baker candidate. Saturday the Tigers chased him out of goal just 2 minutes 37 seconds into the second period. Gwozdecky had obviously seen more than he needed. Eight goals in a little more than four periods are enough to drive any coach crazy.

But it wasn’t all Mannino’s fault. The defense in front of him was shoddy at best. Then again maybe the Tigers are just that much better than the Pioneers right now.

“There’s no question in my mind that CC is by far the premier team in this league,” Gwozdecky said.

The Tigers seem to be playing their best hockey right now. And right now is when it matters the most.

Saturday was gravy or bragging rights in the series in the conference. In the standings, Saturday’s victory earned CC a tie with Michigan a top the PairWise rankings. The PairWise rankings are used to mimic the process used to select the NCAA Tournament field. If the tournament started today, CC would be a No. 1 seed.

There’s work to be done. And Tigers should have plenty of fuel remaining. Only the Tigers’ seniors have experienced the Final Five.Surely there are juniors, sophomores and freshmen who want to get there, too.

If they can’t find inspiration in that, they can always look to the rafters – or put on those throwbacks.

Colorado Springs Christian School’s Bethany Beck, left, hugged her teammates after the Lions defeated St. Mary’s to advance to the state 3A quarterfinals in Fort Collins on Thursday. Photo by KIRK SPEER, THE GAZETTE