GAME #18

20/RV DENVER PIONEERS (9-6-2, 4-3-1-1 NCHC)

at 18/RV Rensselaer Engineers (8-6-3, 3-3-3  ECAC)

 

Date:  Saturday, December 14, 2013

Puck Drop:  5:00 p.m. (MT)

Site:  Troy, N.Y.

Arena:  Houston Field House (4,800)

TV:  None

Internet:  Live audio stream via PioneerVision and live video stream via rpitv.org

Radio:  Live on 105.5 FM ESPN Radio with Jay Stickney (play-by-play) on the call.                 

Twitter:  @DU_Hockey

All-Time Series:  Denver leads RPI in the all-time series 12-1.  The two teams first played in 1954.  This weekend’s series marks the first trip for the Pioneers to Troy to face RPI since Jan. 2-3, 1982.

Last Time Out:   Emil Romig scored 3:02 into overtime on Friday to secure a 2-1 win for Denver.  David Makowski also scored in the win and Sam Brittain made 22 saves.

Up Next:   Denver will conclude its current three-game roadswing with a single game at UMass on Tuesday night in a 5 p.m. puck drop.

 

DROPPING THE PUCK...

• Denver will close out its weekend series at No. 18 RPI on Saturday night in a 5 p.m. (MT) puck drop that will be aired live on Denver’s 105.5 ESPN Radio and video streamed via the internet at rpitv.org.

• The Pioneers will be looking for their fourth two-win weekend this season when they face RPI on Saturday - Denver swept Merrimack, Colorado College and Western Michigan previously this season.

• Following Friday’s 2-1 overtime win at RPI, 10 of Denver’s 17 games this season have ended in a tie or been decided by a single goal.  A total of seven of the Pioneers’ games this season have gone to overtime, with DU owning a 1-4-2 mark in those contests.

• Friday’s 2-1 overtime win at RPI snapped a 10-game winless streak for the Pioneers in overtime games - dating back to a 4-3 OT victory over Minnesota Duluth on March 16, 2012 in the WCHA playoffs.

• Friday’s game vs. RPI marked Denver’s third against a ranked opponent this season.  DU is 2-1 against ranked teams in 2013-14.  The Pioneers posted a 10-8-2 mark in 20 games against ranked foes last season.

• Friday’s victory marked only the second time this season that Denver won when it did not score the game’s first goal.  The Pios are now 2-4-2 when their opponent nets the first score of a game in 2013-14.

• The Pioneers current six-game road swing, which includes last weekend’s trip to Oxford, Ohio, will see Denver log a total of 5,410 airline miles in addition to another 279.7 road miles via bus.

• Denver is 5-3-1 in games against non-conference opponents this season (1-1-1 on road) and has outscored its foes 23-16 over those nine games entering Saturday’s contest at RPI.

• RPI head coach Seth Appert, in his eighth season with the Engineers, spent eight seasons as an assistant coach on the Denver hockey staff from 1999-2006 and was a member of each of the Pioneers’ NCAA National Championship Teams in 2005 and 2006.

• Current DU head coach Jim Montgomery spent four seasons on the staff at RPI from 2006-2010 prior to being named as the head coach/general manager of the Dubuque franchise of the United States Hockey League.

• Denver goalie Sam Brittain leads the nation with a 1.66 goals against average and ranks third nationally in save percentage at .945.

• Denver’s combined special teams are No. 3 nationally at 58.6.  The Pios penalty kill unit is No. 1 nationally at 91.7 and its power play group checks in at No. 6 nationally at 24.4.

• The Pioneers have only allowed their opponents a pair of power play goals over their last 33 opportunities with a man advantage.

• The Pioneers team defense is tied for first nationally with UMass Lowell at 1.88 gpg.