Amid the Avalanche’s offseason moves, it’s probably fair to say that the signing of center Joe Colborne would have sailed mostly under the radar (or under the crossbar) if he hadn’t played for two seasons at the University of Denver.
By early in the second period Saturday night, though, Colborne already had a hat trick in his first game for Colorado, and his three-goal night proved crucial as the Avalanche went on to take a 6-5 season-opening win over the Dallas Stars in front of a sellout crowd of 18,007 at the Pepsi Center.
New Avalanche coach Jared Bednar, whose considerable dues-paying came as a player, assistant coach and head coach in both the ECHL and American Hockey League, also came away victorious in his first NHL regular-season game in any role.