Rivalries in any sport are fierce. The battle for the Gold Pan is no different. But often times, there’s a mutual respect between the two sides. The Gazette asked Colorado College coach Kris Mayotte and Denver coach David Carle about what they respect about the other as the Battle for the Gold Pan rages on this weekend. 

David Carle

For me, they play to a pretty good identity, night in and night out, with their puck pressure, their physicality. They’re predictable for themselves which allows them to play fast. I think they play a pretty aggressive style of game and open ice is hard to come by, and they put you on your heels defensively because of how they attack your net. You can definitely see that’s been pretty consistent over the last couple of years for them. 

They started getting some better players, some difference makers at all positions. Obviously, they’ve had Mbereko for a little while now. They’ve got a guy like Burkholder, who’s obviously out for the year, but they add a pro in Mats Lindgren who’s just named NCHC player of the month. 

Then up front, they’ve had the likes of Laba and Veremyev, but Beckner and Björck are very good. Bret Link’s a really good player, Veinbergs plays that identity-type game for them. Just probably an uptick in the recruiting. We all need good players to have good teams, and good players make coaches look good. 

Kris Mayotte 

It certainly just has to be buy-in and how he gets his guys to be on the same page. When you win as much as they’ve won and as consistently as they’ve done it, they recruit the right players, they recruit the right people that it doesn’t really seem to matter what name’s on the back of the jersey, you understand the way that they’re going to play, the style that they’re going to play. I think the other part of it is, they’ve always been known for a high-powered offense, but you don’t win in the big moments if you don’t know how to defend and if you’re not tough to play against. 

And I think that’s something that stands out, they’re not a one-dimensional team, they’re a complete team and again, that’s why they win as much as they do.