How did the Pioneers achieve the no. 1 ranking?

The University of Denver Pioneers were coming off a six-game win streak that had the Pioneers at no. 2 in the nation when they had to make the road trip to take on the North Dakota Fighting Hawks. The Pios were able to go 1-0-1 during their trip to Grand Forks in two incredible hockey games. On Monday, they were ranked no. 1 in both the USCHO.com and USA Hockey polls for the first time since 2010.

It wasn’t that long ago when Denver lost their opening two games against Ohio State and Boston College and people were ready to hit the panic button. Since then the Pioneers have gone 7-0-1 and find themselves atop the rankings. Let’s take a look at how they got here:

It all starts with goaltending. Tanner Jaillet has been incredible during this stretch and has to be the number one reason for the amazing run. Jailett deservedly was awarded NCHC Goaltender of the week for his efforts against the Fighting Hawks. He is currently boasting a .934 save percentage and 1.66 GAA, good enough for sixth in the nation.

Jailett wouldn’t be able to put up the numbers he has without the stellar defense corps that plays in front of him. Led by senior captain Will Butcher, this team has one of the deepest defensive corps in the nation. Adam Plant scored a huge goal to put the Pioneers ahead in the first period of the second game of the series. All of the defenseman deserve a mention because there was lots of pressure put on them at the beginning of the season, and so far they have lived up to the hype.

The most important factor to this Denver hockey team has been freshman phenom Henrik Borgström. After the departures of last season’s leading scorers in Danton Heinen and Trevor Moore, the Pios were looking for a player that could step-in and try and fill the void in offensive production. The first-round pick of the Florida Panthers has been able to step in and do just that. Borgström currently leads the team in points with six goals and five assists. He had one goal during each night against North Dakota, and both of them were gorgeous top shelf wrist-shots.

#FlaPanthers‘ Henrik Borgstrom scored his 5th goal of the season tonight, on the power play, a bullet from the right circle: pic.twitter.com/YrfmPwC3YB

— Panthers Prospects (@fla_prospects) November 12, 2016

#FlaPanthers Henrik Borgstrom scored his 6th goal of the season tonight, and it was an absolute snipe: pic.twitter.com/d88rUtZItX

— Panthers Prospects (@fla_prospects) November 13, 2016

Troy Terry has been creating a ton of scoring chances for the Pioneers and seems to have found some chemistry on the BLT line with Jarid Lukosevicius and Borgström. Terry currently has three goals and three assists but is a guy that can score in bunches and should lead this team in scoring by the end of the season.

Dylan Gambrell was out for two weeks after wrist surgery and since he has been back he’s made a huge difference for the offense, especially on the power play. Before Gambrell’s return, the Pioneers were at a dismal 12.5% PPG conversion rate. Since he’s been back the last two weeks, the Pios have been converting at a 26.3% PPG rate.

Of course, it is still very early in the College Hockey season but what the Denver Pioneers have been able to do has been nothing short of impressive. They have been playing some special hockey over the past month and deserve the no. 1 ranking. Now, the question is, how long will the ranking last?