DENVER -- Before Jim Montgomery officially filled the Stars' head coaching vacancy this summer, he called a team meeting with his University of Denver hockey team hours before his departure was sealed. He told them Dallas was the right fit for him, and he would become the next coach of the Stars.

"I was really happy for him," current Pioneers senior Jarid Lukosevicius said, "but at the same time, pretty sad."

This weekend marked Montgomery's first regular-season return to Denver as the Stars coach, a 3-2 loss to the Avalanche on Saturday night. He stayed in the city for an off day Sunday and practice at DU on Monday. (The Stars played in Denver during the preseason but did not stay overnight.)

Denver was the springboard for Montgomery to the NHL, and he became well-known in hockey circles after winning the national championship in 2017 and leading the program to the Frozen Four in 2016. He nurtured the careers of top prospects like Will Butcher (New Jersey), Troy Terry (Anaheim), Danton Heinen (Boston) and Henrik Borgstrӧm (Florida). He won the Spencer Penrose Award as the nation's top collegiate coach in 2017.

He also left a legacy at DU.

Current Pioneers coach David Carle was an assistant coach for 41/2 of Montgomery's five seasons in Denver and elevated to the top job when Montgomery left for Dallas. Carle witnessed the year-by-year progression of the team under Montgomery -- reached the first round in the first year, second round in the second, Frozen Four in the third and won the title in the fourth -- and said that will be a hallmark of Montgomery's Denver coaching career.

"I think he'll be known for that as much as anything else," Carle said. "His ability to constantly push the envelope to try and make the program get to another level year by year and have a really high standard of how we do things."

The transition to the NHL for Montgomery has been a mixed bag. The Stars have been decimated by injuries, especially on the blue line. The team's inconsistent work ethic troubled Montgomery as recently as this week, and Dallas' puck possession can still fall short.

But the Stars have pressured the puck more and better under Montgomery, and his style more fits the modern NHL than predecessor Ken Hitchcock's.

Montgomery is one of five former college coaches in the NHL and has repeatedly said that the lack of practice time has been the biggest adjustment in the professional game. Instead of playing twice a week like college teams do, NHL teams can play four times a week in four cities.

In college, he preached practice. In the NHL, he's resorted to teaching more through video.

"He preaches that you have to be good in practice in order to be good in the game," Lukosevicius said. "A lot of players like myself weren't ready for that. Honestly, I had no idea that practice was that important until he preached it, and now I try to be the best player in practice every day. Because of him."

Carle is as familiar with the DU program as anyone. He was a student assistant for four years at Denver after a heart condition ended his playing career. He worked for the last two Pioneers coaches (Montgomery and George Gwozdecky) and follows in both of their footsteps as the nation's youngest college head coach.

When Gwozdecky was let go in 2013, the decision was met with some criticism from some DU alumni. He led the team for 19 seasons, winning two national championships and building the program into a consistent power in college hockey.

So Montgomery's arrival came during a tough time for the program, and he helped marry the different eras by jumping into DU's past. He had lunches with players across the decades and opened his door to the hockey alumni.

"The way Monty came in and really just immersed himself in the Denver hockey tradition and culture I think won a lot of people over and showed everyone how much it means to him to have this opportunity to come and be a part of the Denver hockey family, tradition," Carle said. "He came in at a really challenging time and succeeded and stuck to guns and was just who he was. I think that's how he'll be remembered is just as a genuine person to who he is and someone who stuck to his core beliefs."

Carle said he hadn't seen Montgomery yet because a snowy Saturday night derailed their plans to meet up after their respective games. But Montgomery's wife, Emily, was at DU's game on Friday night and Montgomery's kids were back to greet the players their father used to coach.

Montgomery's roots in Denver were laid during those five years, but they could last a lot longer.

"It was great to be back in Denver," Montgomery said Saturday night. "I got a lot of friends here. Obviously, if DU wasn't playing, I'd have tons more. If we weren't playing, I'd be at DU. Love Colorado. Probably move back here when my career's done because I love living here."

Bad finish: The Stars were off Sunday and will practice Monday ahead of Tuesday's game in Edmontonthe Stars' first meeting with Hitchcock as the Oilers coach.

Dallas enters the game having lost three of the last four games. The Stars held a one-goal lead late in the third period before the Avalanche scored twice in the final three minutes.

"I think it's two wasted points," Stars forward Radek Faksa said after the game. "I think [we need to] just play smarter. I think we played a little bit scared to make some mistakes and that can't happen in the final minutes, especially against a team like that."