Game Preview: No. 7 Denver vs. Western Michigan

The Denver Pioneers men's hockey team (3-0-1, 0-0-0-0) is set to return from its bye week with its NCHC opener against the Western Michigan Broncos (3-3-0, 0-0-0-0) on Nov. 2-3 at Magness Arena.

PROMOTIONS
• Stop by the marketing table on the west concourse to pick up your free game program, poster and enter the raffle to win a signed Kevin Ulanski replica jersey
• With the Pioneers scoring three goals last game, the Smiling Moose was on the loose and all fans in attendance received a coupon for a free sandwich as they exited the game. Cheer on Denver this weekend for your chance to walk out with a coupon for a free sandwich from the Smiling Moose
• Sign your child up to be a Stone Law Bench Kid prior to each Denver Hockey home game at https://stonelawllc.com/du/. (Ages 5-12 Years Old)

DENVER: SNAPSHOT
• Freshman Emilio Pettersen leads the Pioneers with eight points (2-6-8)
• The Pioneers are undefeated through four games for the first time since starting 4-0-0 in the 2012-13 season
• Denver allows 1.25 goals per game, tied for fewest in the NCAA, and scores 4.25 goals per game, ninth-most in the NCAA
• The Pioneers have outscored their opponents 17-5 and 6-0 in the third period

DENVER: LAST SERIES
Denver 4, Alaska-Fairbanks 1 | Denver 3, Alaska-Fairbanks 3 (OT)
• The Pioneers scored three goals in 2:16 late in the 1st period on Friday and two goals in 1:17 late in the 3rd period on Saturday
• Freshmen Emilio Pettersen and Cole Guttman led the Pioneers with one goal and three assists each
• Denver went 1/12 (8.3%) on the power play and 7/10 (70.0%) on the penalty kill
• Devin Cooley made 45 saves on 49 shots

DENVER: UP NEXT
Denver at St. Cloud State – Nov. 9-10
• Denver travels to St. Cloud, Minn. for its first of two road trips before Christmas break
• The Pioneers are 50-44-6 all-time against the Huskies and went 3-1-1 against the conference foe last season

WESTERN MICHIGAN: SNAPSHOT
• The Broncos have dropped two of their last three games with losses to then-No. 10 Michigan and Bowling Green
• Three of Western Michigan's six games have been decided by one goal with the Broncos going 2-1-0 in those games
• The Broncos await the return of junior forward Wade Allison who has 59 points through 58 career games and has not played since sustaining an injury in January 2018

WESTERN MICHIGAN: LAST GAME
Bowling Green 4, Western Michigan 1
• After scoring the first goal of the game, the Broncos allowed four-straight goals to drop their second game of the season series against Bowling Green
• Austin Cain made 14 saves on 17 shots before being replaced by Trevor Gorsuch who made 12 saves on 13 shots
• The Broncos went 0/6 on the power play and 3/4 on the penalty kill

WESTERN MICHIGAN: UP NEXT
Western Michigan vs. Omaha – Nov. 9-10
• The Broncos will host Omaha for the first of two series against the Mavericks this season
• Western Michigan went 2-2-0 against Omaha last season with both teams winning at home

NCHC HONORS
• Emilio Pettersen was named NCHC Rookie of the Month after registering two goals, six assists and a +7 rating in October
• Cole Guttman was named NCHC Rookie of the Week on Oct. 22 after recording one goal, three assists, six shots and a +4 rating in two games against Alaska-Fairbanks

FIRST IN CLASS
• Denver's freshmen class has combined for 19 points (5-14-19), tied for 3rd in the NCAA
• Emilio Pettersen leads NCAA freshmen with eight points (2-6-8) and is tied for fourth with a +7 rating
• Four freshmen have recorded three or more points through four games this season

HOT STREAKS
• Emilio Pettersen is on a four-game point streak with two goals and six assists
• Jarid Lukosevicius is on a four-game point streak with two goals and three assists
• Ian Mitchell has three assists in his last two games
• Cole Guttman has one goal and three assists in his last two games
• Liam Finlay has five goals and one assist in the last three games

LES IS MORE
• Graduate transfer Les Lancaster leads the Pioneers with 18 shots and is third among NCAA defensemen with 4.50 shots per game
• Lancaster scored the game-winning goal against Alabama-Huntsville on Oct. 13 and the game-tying goal against Alaska-Fairbanks on Oct. 20 with 35 seconds remaining in regulation

MILLER HOCKEY COMPLEX
• The new home of Denver hockey is named after University of Denver's Board of Trustees member John A. Miller, his wife, Sandy, and their family
• The 4,464 square foot space houses the Pioneers' lockers, lounge, sauna, kitchen, training room and equipment room
• More than 200 donors contributed to the renovation

YOUNG PIONEERS
• At 28, David Carle is the youngest coach in Division I college hockey
• The Pioneers have the fourth-youngest team in college hockey with an average age of 20 years/8 months
• At 24, Colin Staub is Denver's oldest player and more than six years older than Brendan Budy (18), the Pioneers' youngest player
• The Pioneers have 20 freshmen and sophomores, the most since the 2007-08 season when Tyler Bozak was a freshman

NHL CENTRAL SCOUTING
• Brendan Budy and Sean Comrie were each named to the NHL Central Scouting preliminary players to watch list for the 2019 NHL Draft, receiving C ratings as potential fourth, fifth or sixth round selections

EXPERIENCED STAFF
• Assistant Coach Tavis MacMillan served as head coach of Alaska-Fairbanks from 2004-07
• Assistant Coach Dallas Ferguson served as head coach of Alaska-Fairbanks from 2008-17
• Volunteer Assistant Coach Steven Reinprecht played 663 NHL games over 11 NHL seasons, winning a Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche in 2001
• Team Manager Ben Scrivens played 144 NHL games over five NHL seasons in addition to representing Canada at the 2018 Winter Olympics

PIONEER MOVEMENT
Interested in making a donation to the hockey program? Click Here. Your contribution will make a direct impact on the success of YOUR Pioneers. Thank you for your unwavering support of our student-athletes and their quest for excellence.

- PIONEER TOGETHER-
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Next Event

Players Mentioned

Sean Comrie

Devin Cooley

Liam Finlay

Cole Guttman

Les Lancaster

Jarid Lukosevicius

Ian Mitchell

Emilio Pettersen

Colin Staub

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Upcoming Events

Upcoming Event: (1) Ice Hockey versus USA Hockey Under-18 Team on Oct 10, 2026 at 6 p.m. MT

Upcoming Event: (1) Ice Hockey versus Michigan on Oct 16, 2026 at 7 p.m. MT

Upcoming Event: (1) Ice Hockey versus Michigan on Oct 17, 2026 at 6 p.m. MT

Upcoming Event: (1) Ice Hockey versus Boston College on Oct 23, 2026 at 7 p.m. MT

Upcoming Event: (1) Ice Hockey versus Boston College on Oct 24, 2026 at 6 p.m. MT

Upcoming Event: (1) Ice Hockey versus Omaha on Oct 30, 2026 at 7 p.m. MT

Results

Completed Event: (1) Ice Hockey at Alaska Anchorage on October 3, 2026 , Win , 4, to, 1

Completed Event: (1) Ice Hockey at Alaska Anchorage on October 2, 2026 , Win , 6, to, 2

Completed Event: (1) Ice Hockey versus (3) Wisconsin on April 11, 2026 , Win , 2, to, 1

Completed Event: (1) Ice Hockey versus (1) Michigan on April 9, 2026 , Win , 4, to, 3 , 2OT

Completed Event: (1) Ice Hockey versus (1) Western Michigan on March 29, 2026 , Win , 6, to, 2

Completed Event: (1) Ice Hockey versus (3) Cornell on March 27, 2026 , Win , 5, to, 0