We present a technique that can be used in the study of a conjecture by Danilov and Koshevoy, concerning triples (A, B,C) of n x n complex selfadjoint matrices such that C = A B. The conjecture proposes an explicit formula, in terms of traces of compressions of A and B, for one associated hive. We also use this technique to show why an earlier attempt to prove the conjecture fails for n = 4. AMS 2020 Subject Classification: 15A18.