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 his first NHL 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.
"You can't script it any better than that," Colborne said.