Jarid Lukosevicius had the second period of a lifetime, scoring three times to give Denver the lead.
As the second period of the 2017 Frozen Four championship game came to a close, the scoreboard read Denver 3, Minnesota Duluth 1.
That might have just been to save space, because it really should have said "Lukosevicius" instead of Colorado's capital city.
Jarid Lukosevicius, a sophomore forward from Squamish, British Columbia, pulled off a hat trick in the span of less than eight minutes of second-period action, including his first two in a 16-second burst.
He opened up the scoring 4:44 into the second with a redirect of a Michael Davies shot that snuck over the left shoulder of Bulldogs netminder Hunter Miska.
THE PIOS STRIKE FIRST!!!
— NCAA Ice Hockey (@NCAAIceHockey) April 9, 2017
Jarid Lukosevicius tips it home to give Denver the 1-0 lead!! #NationalChampionship pic.twitter.com/NAaWo4YiKe
Before Minnesota Duluth could even take a breath, Lukosevicius made it 2-0 thanks to some nifty puck control by linemate Troy Terry. Terry ran circles around the Bulldog defense before Lukosevicius snagged the puck in front of the net and put it home.
Lukosevicius.... AGAIN!!!!!!!
— NCAA Ice Hockey (@NCAAIceHockey) April 9, 2017
2 goals. 16 seconds. Troy Terry on the setup this time... 2-0 Denver in the 2nd! #NationalChampionship pic.twitter.com/Tl3YsxwSby
After Alex Iafallo brought the Bulldogs back in it with a power-play goal, Lukosevicius completed the single-period hat trick after collecting a rebound and firing a laser into the back of the net.
WE'VE GOT A HAT TRICK!!!
— NCAA Ice Hockey (@NCAAIceHockey) April 9, 2017
Jarid Lukosevicius is living the dream right now... Denver now up 3-1 in the 2nd! #NationalChampionship pic.twitter.com/I9PEkBDdoD
The sophomore had 13 goals this season coming into Saturday's final, including a pair in the Pioneers' win over Penn State in the Midwest Regional final. Prior to that, he had not scored one since Feb. 10.
Of note, the last hat trick in the NCAA championship game came in 1993. The man who pulled that off? Jim Montgomery, who Lukosevicius knows as his head coach.
The last hat trick in the #NationalChampionship Game?
— NCAA Ice Hockey (@NCAAIceHockey) April 9, 2017
Denver coach Jim Montgomery knows something about that... pic.twitter.com/G8th82GW4W
