The No. 3 Denver Pioneers (9-3-0, 6-2-0) host No. 8 North Dakota (6-4-1, 4-4-0) in a two-game WCHA series this weekend. Puck drop at DU’s Magness Arena is set for 7:37 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 30 and 7:07 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 1. Friday's game will be televised live on FSN Rocky Mountain and Saturday's game will be webcast live on Pioneer Vision at www.DenverPioneers.com. Both games will be broadcast live locally on Mile High Sports Radio AM 1510.

THIS WEEKEND’S STORYLINES

No. 3 Denver is second in the WCHA with 12 points, while No. 8 North Dakota is fifth with eight points.

The Pioneers are third in the nation in scoring defense at 1.67 gpg, while North Dakota is tied for fourth at 1.91 gpg.

UND leads the all-time series against Denver 126-107-7 (.54), but the Pioneers are 7-3 in last 10 games against the Fighting Sioux.

The DU hockey program will celebrate Parents’ Weekend with a special on-ice ceremony during the first intermission of the Dec. 1 contest.

North Dakota junior forward Ryan Duncan captured the 2007 Hobey Baker Award as the nation’s top college hockey player.

FOR OPENERS
DU and UND split a two-game series in Denver last season. The Pioneers won 4-3 in overtime on Feb. 23 before losing 3-0 on Feb. 24.
DU is 7-3 against ranked opponents this season.
DU has allowed two goals or less in all nine wins and three or more goals in all three losses.
Pioneer freshmen and sophomores have netted 35 of the team’s 38 goals.

TEAM NOTES
Denver is ranked No. 3 in both polls for the second consecutive week. The No. 3 ranking marks DU’s highest ranking since a No. 2 ranking on Oct. 10, 2005.

PLAYER NOTES
DU goaltender Peter Mannino has captured three Red Baron WCHA Defensive Player of the Week honors this season. Mannino has a 3-2 record with a 2.82 GAA and .906 Sv% in five career games against North Dakota. He stopped a career-high 44 shots in DU’s 4-1 win over the Fighting Sioux in the 2005 NCAA National Championship game.
Redshirt sophomore Brock Trotter (6-8--14) leads DU in scoring for the second consecutive season.
Trotter tallied his eighth goal in DU’s 5-1 loss at CC on Nov. 23. Trotter ranks fifth in WCHA overall scoring.
Freshman Tyler Bozak (6-4--10) leads all DU freshman in points, goals and assists. Bozak is third among WCHA rookies in scoring.
Sophomore Tyler Ruegsegger (7-6--13) registered his team-leading fifth multi-point game with a goal and assist in DU’s 3-2 win over CC on Nov. 24. Ruegsegger is tied for fifth in WCHA overall scoring.
Senior Tom May (2-1--3) netted his first career game-winning goal in the 3-2 win over CC.

COLORADO COLLEGE RECAP
Denver split (1-5, 3-2) a two-game series against Colorado College last weekend. Brock Trotter netted DU’s lone goal in the 5-1 loss, while Tyler Ruegsegger, Rhett Rakhshani and Tom May scored in the 3-2 win. Peter Mannino went 1-1 with a 3.52 GAA and .865 Sv% in the series. DU was 0-for-6 on the power play and 9-for-11 (81.8%) on the penalty kill in the two games.

PIONEERS ALL-TIME VS. NORTH DAKOTA
North Dakota owns a 126-107-7 (.540) advantage against Denver in the series that started in 1950. DU is 60-47-3 (.556) against the Fighting Sioux in Denver, including a 3-6-1 mark in the last 10 games at Magness Arena. The Pioneers are 3-2-0 in their last five games against North Dakota and 7-3-0 in their last 10.
 
MANNINO MASTERING OPPONENTS
Peter Mannino has posted an 9-3-0 mark with a 1.68 GAA and .935 Sv% as Denver’s first No. 1 goaltender since Adam Berkhoel in 2003-04. Mannino has allowed two goals or less in DU’s nine wins, including two shutouts. He ranks second in the WCHA in winning percentage (.750), and fourth in goals against average and saves percentage. Mannino ranks sixth in the nation in winning percentage, ninth in saves percentage and 11th in goals against average. Mannino has posted a 47-21-4 career record with a 2.28 GAA and .920 Sv%. Mannino ranks second all-time at DU in saves percentage, third in goals against average and shutouts (11), and ninth in wins. 

TROTTER LEADS PIONEERS IN SCORING
Redshirt sophomore Brock Trotter (6-8--14) leads Denver in scoring for the second consecutive season. Trotter has tallied at least one point in eight of 12 games, including career-high tying three-point efforts against Minnesota (11/2) and Minnesota State (11/17). Trotter is DU’s current career scoring leader with 25-34--59 in 57 games. Last season, Trotter became the first DU freshman to lead the team in scoring since Dave Shields in 1986-87. He tallied five points in 2005-06 before a season-ending Achilles tendon injury.

BUTLER AND THOMAS ANCHOR BLUELINE
Junior All-American candidate Chris Butler (0-5--5) and senior captain Andrew Thomas (0-3--3) anchor DU’s blueline. Thomas is tied for second on the team with eight penalties, while Butler leads the team with a +12 plus/minus rating. Junior Patrick Mullen (1-5--6) has played defense in all 12 games this season after seeing action at forward and defense last season. Mullen and freshman Chris Nutini (1-0--1) have scored the defensive corps’ lone goals.

SCOUTING THE FIGHTING SIOUX
North Dakota (6-4-1, 4-4-0) is 2-3 in its last five games after starting the season 4-1-1. The Fighting Sioux split (8-3, 2-4) a two-game series against Minnesota Duluth last weekend. Juniors T.J. Oshie (7-4--11) and Ryan Duncan (3-8--11), and sophomore Robbie Bina (0-11--11) lead the team in scoring. Duncan captured the 2007 Hobey Baker Award after netting 57 points on 31 goals and 26 assists as a sophomore. Jean-Philippe Lamoureux (6-4-1, 1.61 GAA, .933 Sv%) is the team’s top goaltender. North Dakota is fifth in the WCHA on the power play at 16% (8-for-50) and first on the penalty kill at 90.7% (49-for-54).
Head coach Dave Hakstol has posted a 84-49-12 (.667) mark in four seasons at North Dakota.

POWERING DOWN
The Pioneers were hold scoreless on the power play last weekend against Colorado College. DU has been held without a power-play goal in seven of 12 games this season. DU is seventh in the WCHA on the power play at 12.9% (8-for-62). Tyler Ruegsegger leads DU with four power-play goals, while Brock Trotter has netted two.

ON THE DEFENSIVE
The Pioneers stingy defense has limited opponents to 1.67 goals per game, which leads the WCHA and ranks third in the nation. DU is 9-0 when limiting opponents to two goals or less. The Pioneers were 18-4-0 in 2006-07 when holding opponents to two goals or less. 

ABOUT THE PK
The Pioneers are 34-for-36 (94.4%) on the penalty kill over the last eight games. DU is fourth in the WCHA on the penalty kill at 89.3% (50-for-56).
 
LARGEST FRESHMEN CLASS HAS CONTRIBUTED
Head coach George Gwozdecky’s largest freshmen class of 13 student-athletes has made immediate contributions. Tyler Bozak (6-4--10) is second on the team with a +10 plus/minus rating and tied for second in goals. Anthony Maiani has added 3-2--5, including two game-winning goals, while Kyle Ostrow (4-1--5), Dustin Jackson (1-3--4) and Jesse Martin (2-1--3) have contributed as well. Freshman Marc Cheverie seeks his first career start in net for the Pioneers.

FIRST GOAL = BIG GOAL
The Pioneers have tallied the first goal in seven of 12 games. DU is 6-1-0 when scoring first this season. Brock Trotter has scored the first goal in two games this season.

FAST STARTS
DU has enjoyed a sizzling 121-87 shot advantage and has outscored their opponents 14-7 in the opening stanza. DU has outshot its opponents by over five shots per game and has outshot its outshot its opponents in seven of 12 games.

PIONEERS CLOSING GAMES
The Pioneers are 7-0 when leading after two period and have outscored opponents 11-6 in the final stanza. The six goals allowed in the final period rank second in the WCHA.

STREAKING
Freshman Tyler Bozak tallied 5-3--8 during a career-high, five-game point streak from Nov. 2-23. Brock Trotter has netted 3-6--9 in the last six games, while Tyler Ruegsegger has 3-2--5 in the last three games.

DU ON OLYMPIC-SIZED ICE
The Pioneers are 2-1 on olympic-sized ice sheets this season. DU posted a 6-3-1 mark on olympic-sized ice surfaces last season.

DU VS. RANKED TEAMS
The Pioneers are 7-3 against ranked teams this season. DU finished last season with a 9-8-1 record against ranked teams and were 7-8-2 against ranked opponents in 2005-06.

COLORADO FLAVOR
The 2007-08 DU roster sports eight Coloradans. Zach Blom (Englewood), Jon Cook (Denver), Stephen Cunningham (Boulder), Chris Nutini (Centennial), Tyler Ruegsegger (Lakewood), John Ryder (Colorado Springs) and J.P. Testwuide (Vail) all hail from the Centennial State.

OH BROTHER
Freshman defenseman Jon Cook is the brother of former Pioneer Steven Cook (2005-07). Their sister, Dominique, is married to former Pioneer and Avalanche player Mark Rycroft.

NHL DRAFT PICKS
The Pioneers boast eight NHL Draft picks on this year’s roster. DU has one third round pick (Brian Gifford), three fourth round picks (Chris Butler, Andrew Thomas and Rhett Rakhshani), one sixth round pick (Tyler Ruegsegger) and three seventh round picks (Marc Cheverie, Jesse Martin and Matt Glasser).

NHL PIONEERS
Four former DU Pioneers are currently playing in the National Hockey League. Matt Carle (San Jose), Wade Dubielewicz (New York Islanders), Matt Pettinger (Washington) and Paul Stastny (Colorado) are former DU players playing in hockey’s premier professional league. Stastny ranks 20th in overall NHL scoring with 9-16--25.

HALL OF FAME SON
Junior forward Patrick Mullen is the son of Hockey Hall of Famer Joe Mullen. Patrick’s dad tallied 1,063 points in 16 NHL seasons and helped the Calgary Flames (1989) and Pittsburgh Penguins (1991 and 1992) to Stanley Cup championships.

USHL CONNECTION
The DU roster has 11 players that honed their skills in the United States Hockey League. Chris Butler (Sioux City), Brian Gifford (Indiana), Anthony Maiani (Sioux City), Peter Mannino (Tri-City), Jesse Martin (Tri-City), Tom May (Des Moines), Patrick Mullen (Sioux Falls), John Ryder (Ohio), J.P. Testwuide (Waterloo), Andrew Thomas (Waterloo) and Brock Trotter (Lincoln) joined DU from the USHL. DU’s roster also has six players from the British Columbia Hockey League and five from the North American Hockey League.

MAGNESS MAGIC
DU has sold out 64 consecutive regular season games at Magness Arena (6,026). The streak started with a sellout crowd on Oct. 22, 2004, when the Pioneers raised their sixth NCAA National Championship banner prior to puck drop against St. Cloud State. The Pioneers are averaging 6,047 fans this season after seven home dates.

CHAMPIONSHIP HOCKEY
The Pioneers are tied for second in NCAA Division I men’s ice hockey with seven NCAA National Championships. DU captured national championships in 1958, 1960, 1961, 1968, 1969, 2004 and 2005.

ON THE HORIZON
The Pioneers travel to St. Cloud State for a two-game WCHA series on Dec. 7-8.