Game Preview: No. 7 Denver vs. Western Michigan

After winning 5-2 on Friday, the Denver Pioneers men's hockey team (4-0-1, 1-0-0-0) looks to continue its undefeated start to the season in an NCHC matchup against the Western Michigan Broncos (3-4-0, 0-1-0-0) on Saturday, Nov. 3 at Magness Arena. Puck drop is set for 7:05 p.m.

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 Dineen 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
• Emilio Pettersen, Liam Finlay and Jarid Lukosevicius lead the Pioneers with eight points each
• The Pioneers are undefeated through five games for the first time since starting 9-0-0 in the 2001-02
• Denver allows 1.40 goals per game, fourth-fewest in the NCAA, and scores 4.40 goals per game, seventh-most in the NCAA
• The Pioneers have outscored their opponents 22-7 and 7-0 in the third period

DENVER: LAST GAME
Denver 5, Western Michigan 2
• Jarid Lukosevicius netted a hat trick and Liam Finlay, Michael Davies and Ian Mitchell each had multi-point games
• The Pioneers scored three goals in the second period
• Denver went 1/2 on the power play and 2/3 on the penalty kill

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 three of their last four games with losses to then-No. 10 Michigan, Bowling Green and No. 7 Denver
• Three of Western Michigan's seven 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
Denver 5, Western Michigan 2
• Hugh McGing scored twice for the Broncos, while Ethen Frank had two assists
• Western Michigan never held the lead despite tying the game twice in the second period
• Ben Blacker made 24 saves on 29 shots in his first start of the season

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 21 points (5-16-21), 4th in the NCAA
• Emilio Pettersen is tied for 2nd among NCAA freshmen with eight points (2-6-8)
• Cole Guttman is tied for 3rd among NCAA freshmen with a +8 rating
• Four freshmen have recorded three or more points through four games this season

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

LES IS MORE
• Graduate transfer Les Lancaster leads the Pioneers with 21 shots and is 2nd among NCAA defensemen averaging 4.20 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

Michael Davies

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