DENVER - No. 1 Denver (14-5-3, 10-3-3 WCHA) heads to No. 3 Wisconsin (13-6-3, 9-5-2 WCHA) for a key two-game WCHA series on Jan. 22-23. Puck drop is set for 6:07 p.m. MT both nights at Kohl Center. Friday's game will be televised live on FSN Rocky Mountain. Both games can be heard on FM 104.3 the FAN and www.DenverPioneers.com.

THIS WEEKEND'S STORYLINES

DU is 13-2-2 all-time at the Kohl Center.

The Pioneers went 5-0 against the Badgers last season.

DU head coach George Gwozdecky and UW head coach Mike Eaves helped Wisconsin to the NCAA title in 1977.

DU's Matt Donovan and UW's Derek Stepan, John Ramage and Jake Gardiner helped Team USA to the goal medal at the 2010 IIHF World Junior Tournament.

FOR OPENERS

Denver returns to action after charting a 1-1 overtime tie and 3-2 win against Alaska Anchorage on Jan. 8-9.

The Pioneers are second in the WCHA with 23 points, while Wisconsin is tied for fourth with 20 points. League-leading Minnesota Duluth (25 pts.) has two league games in hand on the Pioneers.

DU is tied for first with Miami in the latest PairWise Rankings.

The Pioneers achieved their first regular-season No. 1 ranking in both polls on Jan. 11, 2010, since holding the top spot in the USCHO.com/CSTV poll on Feb. 14, 2005.

DU goaltender Marc Cheverie leads the WCHA in goals against average (1.97), saves percentage (.932), winning percentage (.812) and a nation-leading five shutouts.

DU began the season as the top-ranked team in the first USCHO.com/CBS Sports Poll. The No. 1 ranking was DU's first since the start of the 2005-06 season.

PIONEERS ALL-TIME VS. WISCONSIN
Wisconsin leads the all-time series, 71-55-9, including a 31-28-5 mark in Madison. DU has outscored the Badgers, 75-50, in 17 meetings at the Kohl Center. DU went 5-0 vs. Wisconsin last season, including a 3-0 win in the last last meeting at the 2009 WCHA Final Five on March 20. DU is 6-4 in its last 10 meetings against the Badgers.

RYDER AND WRENN OUT FRIDAY
Defensemen John Ryder and William Wrenn will miss Friday's game after receiving game disqualification penalties and automatic one-game suspensions at the 20-minute mark of the third period against Alaska Anchorage on Jan. 9. Ryder and Wrenn are expected to travel to Wisconsin for this weekend's series.

LAST TIME OUT
Tyler Ruegsegger scored with 38.9 seconds left in the game to give Denver a hard-fought 3-2 win over Alaska Anchorage on Jan. 9. Rhett Rakhshani setup the game-winner with a no-look pass between his legs from behind the Anchorage net to Ruegsegger at the right circle. Patrick Wiercioch and Joe Colborne added goals for the Pioneers, who outshot UAA 29-22.
Marc Cheverie stopped 20 shots to earn his 12th win. DU went 1-for-6 on the power play and UAA was 1-for-3.

IN THE POLLS
DU is ranked No. 1 in the USCHO.com/CBS College Sports and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls for the second consecutive week. DU is predicted to win the WCHA in annual Grand Forks Herald's preseason coaches poll and Madison.com media poll. The last time Denver was picked to win the WCHA was in 2002-03 when the Pioneers finished seventh.

ABOUT THE 2009-10 PIONEERS
DU has been led by senior forward Rhett Rakhshani (15-14=29) and junior goaltender Marc Cheverie (12-2-2, 1.97 GAA and .932 Sv%) this season. Senior Tyler Ruegsegger (11-16=27), sophomores Joe Colborne (8-13=21) and Patrick Wiercioch (4-13=17), and junior Jesse Martin (9-5=14) have made major contributions. Cheverie is tied for first in the nation in winning percentage, second in saves percentage and third in goals against average. He missed three games (Oct. 31-Nov. 7) with a left calf injury and DU went 1-1-1 without its No. 1 goaltender. Rakhshani, who is a candidate for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, is tied for second in the WCHA in goals and ranks fifth in scoring. Ruegsegger enters this weekend with a career-high, 11-game point streak (6-11=17), while Wiercioch is fourth in WCHA defenseman scoring. The Pioneers went 4-0-1 from Oct. 23-Nov. 6 and are 8-2-2 in their last 12 games. Rakhshani (3), Kyle Ostrow (3), Colborne (2), Ruegsegger (2), Martin, Anthony Maiani, Drew Shore and Matt Glasser have netted DU's 14 game-winning goals. Rakhshani and Colborne lead Denver with five power-play goals each. Shore leads DU rookies in scoring with 3-7=10. Ruegsegger leads the team with a +12 plus/minus rating. DU ranks first in the WCHA on the penalty kill (86.8%) and sixth on the power play (19.3%).

SPECIAL TEAMS
DU is 23-for-119 on the power play and 92-for-106 on the penalty kill. DU is 11-3-2 when scoring on the power play. The Pioneers are 75-for-82 (91.5%) on the penalty kill with Marc Cheverie in net.

CHEVY DRIVES DU TO NO. 1 RANKING
Goaltender Marc Cheverie has been one of DU's most valuable player this season. The Pioneers are 13-2-2 when Cheverie starts and 1-3-1 when freshman Adam Murray has started. Cheverie set the DU all-time consecutive shutout minutes mark at 223:51 this season and tied Peter Mannino's school record with his third consecutive shutout at Minnesota on Oct. 24. Cheverie earned INCH National Player of the Week, Red Baron WCHA Defensive Player of the Week and AHCA National Player of the Month (October) honors after becoming the first goaltender to shut out Minnesota in back-to-back games. He has also recorded shutouts against Ohio State, North Dakota and Nebraska Omaha. He was also named WCHA Defensive Player of the Week on Nov. 24. Cheverie stopped 47 of 50 shots in two games at the Wells Fargo Denver Cup to earn all-tournament honors. Cheverie is 5-0 with a 2.61 GAA and  .930 Sv% in six career games against Wisconsin. He has posted back-to-back shutouts in his last two games against the Badgers.

SCOUTING THE WISCONSIN BADGERS
The No. 3 Badgers return home after posting a 4-0 win and 6-5 loss at Colorado College last weekend. The 6-5 loss ended Wisconsin's eight-game unbeaten streak from Dec. 4-Jan. 15. Brendan Smith (9-21=30), Derek Stepan (6-21=27), Michael Davies (9-17=26) and Blake Geoffrion (15-6=21) lead the team in scoring, while Brett Bennett (6-4-0, 2.16 GAA, .902 Sv%) and Scott Gudmandson (7-2-3, 2.17 GAA, .923 Sv%) have shared the goaltending duties. Smith leads the nation in defenseman scoring and Geoffrion is tied for second with Rakhshani in WCHA goal scoring. Wisconsin leads the WCHA in scoring offense at 4.05 goals per game and ranks second in scoring defense at 2.27 goals per game. The Badgers rank third in the WCHA on the penalty kill (85.5%) and fourth on the power play (21.4%). Mike Eaves has posted a 156-117-37 record in eight seasons as head coach.

CARLE NAMED TO ALL-DECADE TEAM
Former Pioneer All-American and Hobey Baker Award winner Matt Carle was named to the College Hockey News All-Decade First Team for the 2000s on Jan. 12. Carle helped DU to back-to-back NCAA titles in 2004 and 2005, earned All-American honors in 2005 and 2006 and became Denver's first Hobey Baker Memorial Award winner in 2006. Carle finished his brilliant three-year DU career with 122 points on 29 goals and 93 assists in 112 games. Carle became the first player to earn WCHA Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year after leading all NCAA defensemen with 53 points on 11 goals and 42 assists in 2005-06. T.J. Hensick (Michigan), Brett Sterling (Colorado College), Peter Senja (Colorado College), Jordan Leopold (Minnesota) and Ryan Miller (Michigan State) joined Carle on the first team. Named to the second team were Thomas Vanek (Minnesota) and Ryan Potulny (Minnesota), Zach Parise (North Dakota), Nathan Gerbe (Boston College), John Michael-Liles (Michigan State) and Jeff Lerg (Michigan State).

TWICE AS NICE
Denver has had one player record two goals in a game 12 times this season. Rhett Rakhshani leads the team with five two-goal games, while Joe Colborne, Tyler Ruegsegger and Jesse Martin have each recorded a pair of two-goal games. Kyle Ostrow has tallied one two-goal game. 

JOE C. OFF TO FAST START IN SECOND HALF
Sophomore forward Joe Colborne has tallied 2-5=7 in four games in 2010. Colborne had 1-4=5 en route to all-tournament honors at the Wells Fargo Denver Cup after tallying 6-8=14 in 16 games during the first half of the season. Colborne has at least one point in 10 of his last 12 games. Colborne, who broke his left index finger at Ohio State on Oct. 16, earned Red Baron WCHA co-Offensive Player of the Week honors on Nov. 24 after netting four points on two power-play goals and two game-winning assists in DU's sweep of North Dakota on Nov. 20-21. He tied a career-high with three points (2g, 1a) and had 11 shots on goal in the 3-2 win on Nov. 21. Colborne has 13 career multi-point efforts and 19-33=52 in 60 career games.

RAKH CLIMBING
Captain Rhett Rakhshani (54-76=130) is DU's current career scoring leader. Rakhshani is tied for No. 39 on DU's all-time scoring list with Eric Murano (1986-90). He is also DU's current leader with 35 multi-point games.

RUEGSEGGER JOINS 100-POINT CLUB
Senior Tyler Ruegsegger became the 91st member of the Pioneer Century Club for 100-point scorers with an assist on Dec. 11. Ruegsegger has 51-58=109 in 128 career games and has 29 career multi-point efforts. He is tied for No. 62 on DU's all-time scoring list with five players.

WIERCIOCH MAKES HIS POINT
Sophomore defenseman Patrick Wiercioch is averaging close to a point per game during his two-year career at DU. Wiercioch has 16-36=52 in 56 career games. He injured his right knee after tallying a goal and an assist at Alaska Anchorage on Nov. 7, but returned to the DU lineup on Nov. 21 to help DU to a 3-for-11 effort on the power play. Wiercioch has points in 12 of his last 16 games. He earned Red Baron WCHA Defensive Player of the Week honors on Jan. 5 after being named to the all-tournament team at the Wells Fargo Denver Cup. Wiercioch was named to the All-WCHA second team and All-WCHA rookie team last season.

TEAM OF THE WEEK
DU was named Team of the Week by College Hockey News on Oct. 27 for its performance at Minnesota on Oct. 23-24. Marc Cheverie had 30 saves in each 3-0 shutout and Rhett Rakhshani tallied three of Denver's six goals. Minnesota suffered back-to-back shutouts for the first time since 1930.

ROOKIE CLASS LOADED WITH TALENT
DU arguably has one of the top freshmen classes in college hockey. The class is highlighted by forward Drew Shore, defensemen Matt Donovan and William Wrenn, and goaltender Adam Murray. Shore, Wrenn and Murray were standout members of the United States National Team Development Program in Ann Arbor, Mich., while Donovan was the top scoring defenseman in the United States Hockey League. Defenseman Paul Phillips and forwards Shawn Ostrow and Chris Knowlton complete the 2009-10 recruiting class. Shore (3-7=10), Donovan (2-7=9), Wrenn (0-6=6), Ostrow (2-1=3), Phillips (0-1=1) and Knowlton (1-0=1) have each registered points this season. Wrenn (SJ), Shore (FLA), Donovan (NYI) and Phillips (CHI) have all been selected in the NHL Entry Draft.

NEW LEADER IN THE CLUBHOUSE
Rhett Rakhshani is the first forward to captain the Pioneers since Mark Rycroft in 1999-2000.

EARLY HONORS
DU's Patrick Wiercioch was named to the 2009-10 Preseason All-College Hockey News Second Team and Inside College Hockey All-America Third Team. Wiercioch, Rakhshani and goaltender Marc Cheverie were named to the preseason All-WCHA first team by the Madison.com media poll.

CARLE RETURNS FOR SECOND SEASON
Sophomore David Carle returns for his second season as student assistant coach. Carle was forced to retire from competitive hockey prior to the 2008 NHL Entry Draft and his freshman season at DU after being diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). The disease is a thickening of the myocardium, which is the leading cause of sudden cardiac death in young athletes.

ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH
The 2009-10 DU roster sports seven Coloradans. Jon Cook (Denver), Chris Knowlton (Colorado Springs), Chris Nutini, (Centennial), Tyler Ruegsegger (Lakewood), John Ryder (Colorado Springs), Luke Salazar (Thornton) and Drew Shore (Denver) all hail from the Centennial State.

NHL DRAFT PICKS
DU's roster sports a program-high 13 NHL Draft picks this season. The total surpasses the 11 NHL draft picks DU had in 2006-07. Ten NHL teams have selected current Pioneers in the NHL Entry Draft from 2004-09. Sophomores Joe Colborne (16th) and Patrick Wiercioch (42nd) are the two highest drafted Pioneers in head coach George Gwozdecky's 16 years at DU. Student assistant coach David Carle was also selected in the seventh round in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft by Tampa Bay.

OH BROTHER!
Freshman defenseman John Lee is the younger brother of former North Dakota and Ottawa Senators defenseman Brian Lee. Student assistant coach David Carle is the younger brother of former Pioneer and current Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Matt Carle. Jon Cook is the younger brother of former Pioneer Steven Cook and current Pioneers Kyle and Shawn Ostrow are brothers.

TEN-FOUR GOOD PIONEERS
The DU roster has 10 players that honed their skills in the United States Hockey League and four players from the U.S. National Team Development Program. Nate Dewhurst (Des Moines), Matt Donovan (Cedar Rapids), Brian Gifford (Indiana), John Lee (Waterloo), Chris Knowlton (Des Moines), Anthony Maiani (Sioux City), Jesse Martin (Tri-City), Paul Phillips (Cedar Rapids), John Ryder (Ohio) and Patrick Wiercioch (Omaha) joined DU from the USHL. Rhett Rakhshani, Drew Shore, William Wrenn and Adam Murray joined DU from the USNTDP.

DU VS. RANKED TEAMS
The Pioneers are 8-2-1 against ranked teams and 54-36-9 against ranked teams over the last five seasons.

HOME ICE IS NICE
The Pioneers are 138-66-11 (.671) all-time in 11 years of competition at Magness Arena. The Pioneers are 8-2-3 at home this season and were 15-5-3 at home in 2008-09.

IN THE PROS
Tyler Bozak (Toronto), Chris Butler (Buffalo), Matt Carle (Philadelphia), Matt Pettinger (Vancouver) and Paul Stastny (Colorado) are former Pioneers currently playing in the NHL. Bozak has 1-4=5 in five games, Butler has 1-14=15 in 35 games, Carle has 3-21=24 in 47 games and Stastny has 10-35=45 in 49 games. Stastny was named to the 2010 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team on Jan. 1

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
DU travels to North Dakota on Jan. 29-30.