March 11, 2015 After finishing the 2014-15 regular season with a record of 20-12-2, the [7/8] DU Pioneers begin their NCHC Tournament title defense this coming weekend as the [6/6] UMD Bulldogs visit Magness Arena for a best-of-three playoff series. Tickets to all three of Denver's quarterfinal matchups with Minnesota-Duluth can be obtained by clicking HERE.
Friday's game (puck drop - 7:37pm) will air live on The Zone 1600 AM while Games 2 and (if necessary) 3 (both 7:07pm starts) of the series will be broadcast on ESPN Denver 105.5 FM.
Denver went 13-5-0 at Magness Arena during the 2014-15 regular season which was the second-best home record in the NCHC (UND, 14-3-3) and eighth-best (tied) in the NCAA. The Crimson & Gold led the NCHC in both power play pct. (29.9) and penalty kill pct. (87.9) on home ice during the regular season and outscored opponents 68-39 over the course of their 18 home games.
The Bulldogs, meanwhile, recorded the second-best road record in the NCHC during the regular season, going 11-6-0 away from AMSOIL Arena. Minnesota-Duluth had the conference's worst power play in 2014-15, going 28-for-150 (18.7%) with the man advantage. On the road, UMD's PK% was the second-best in the NCHC during the regular season (85.2%).
Denver split its regular season series with Minnesota-Duluth two games apiece, with each team earning one road win and one home win.
"We're definitely anticipating a hard-fought series with the Bulldogs," Denver head coach Jim Montgomery says. "We had some good battles with them during the regular season and we know they're a quick, explosive team so we'll have to compete hard in all three zones and play smart, tenacious, Pioneers-style hockey in order to be successful this weekend."
Sophomore DU forward Trevor Moore won the NCHC's in-conference scoring title in 2014-15 with 13G-17A-30P, edging teammate and Hobey Baker Award candidate Joey LaLeggia (12G-17A-29P) by a single point. Freshman forward Danton Heinen finished third with 9G-17A-26P. Heinen currently leads the conference in overall scoring with 14G-28A-42P on the season, three points ahead of Moore and seven ahead of LaLeggia, who ranks first in the NCHC and third in the NCAA in scoring by a defenseman with 12G-23A-35P total.
LaLeggia and his fellow DU blueliners combined to total 98 points in 2014-15, the second-highest total in the NCAA (UND, 101). He and his fellow seniors totaled 113 points on the season which was the second-most of any senior class in the NCHC (UND, 120) and sixth-most in the nation. Senior forward Daniel Doremus currently leads the conference in plus/minus with a rating of +22, five points ahead of second-place Adam Krause, UMD's captain. Krause will miss Friday's game due to a suspension he received following last Saturday's loss at Western Michigan.
