The Denver Pioneers men's hockey team is set to continue its non-conference schedule with a matchup against UMass Lowell on Saturday at the Tsongas Center. Puck drop is set for 5 p.m. MT.

DENVER: SNAPSHOT
• Before the 20-day break, Denver played four ranked opponents in five weeks, going 3-4-1. Five of those games were decided by one or fewer goals and three of the last five games required overtime
• The Pioneers average 3.33 goals per game, 12th in the NCAA, and allow an average of 2.20 goals per game, T-10th in the NCAA
• Freshman Emilio Pettersen and Jarid Lukosevicius lead the Pioneers with 15 points

DENVER: LAST GAME
No. 8 Denver 3, Merrimack 1
• Devin Cooley made 23 saves in the win
• Michael Davies, Liam Finlay and Ryan Barrow scored for the Pioneers
• Denver went 1/4 on the power play and 4/4 on the penalty kill

DENVER: UP NEXT
Denver at Wisconsin- Jan. 4-5
• The Pioneers will face off against a WCHA foe as they face the Badgers for the first time since Nov. 21, 2015 (6-2 W)
• Denver is 62-76-13 all-time against Wisconsin

UMASS LOWELL: SNAPSHOT
• The River Hawks return from a 21-day break in search of their second weekend sweep of the season, the first coming in a home-and-home series with UConn on Nov. 16-17
• UMass Lowell averages 2.88 goals per game, 28th in the NCAA, and allows 2.44 goals per game, T-20th in the NCAA
• Ryan Lohin leads the River Hawks with six goals and six assists. The Tampa Bay Lightning prospect has 11 points (6-5-11) in his last eight games
• The River Hawks are 1-3-1 in their last five home games, going 1/25 on the power play during that stretch

UMASS LOWELL: LAST SERIES
UMass Lowell 5, Boston University 3 | Boston University 5, UMass Lowell 2
• Both teams won on the road. UMass Lowell scored twice in the first and third periods to win on Friday, then failed to recover from the Terriers' three-goal first period on Saturday 
• Charlie Levesque led the River Hawks offensively with two goals and one assist. Chris Hernberg led the team in net with 48 saves on 53 shots in Friday's win and the final 45:58 of Ssturday's loss
• UMass Lowell went 1/7 on the power play and 3/5 on the penalty kill

UMASS LOWELL: UP NEXT
UMass Lowell at UMass Amherst - Jan. 4 
• The River Hawks renew their rivalry with the Minutemen for the first of two meetings between the programs this season

LUKOSEVICIUS SETS RECORD
• Jarid Lukosevicius' game-winning goal on Dec. 8 marked his third of the season and 16th of his career, setting the school record and tying him for 2nd in the NCAA this season
• Lukosevicius is the NCAA active leader in career game-winning goals. The all-time career leader is Austin Ortega (Omaha '14-'17 - 23)

FRESH FACES
• Denver's freshmen class has combined for 53 points (18-35-53), 3rd-most in the NCAA trailing Niagara (58) and Quinnipiac (55)
• Emilio Pettersen is tied for 7th among NCAA freshmen with 15 points (5-10-15)
• Cole Guttman is tied for 6th among NCAA freshmen with a +10 rating 

LUKO & THE FRESHMEN
• Emilio Pettersen, Jarid Lukosevicius and Cole Guttman have combined for 28 even-strength points and 14 even-strength goals this season, accounting for 33% of the Pioneers' even-strength points and 42% of the Pioneers' even-strength goals 
• Pettersen, Guttman and Lukosevicius have skated on Denver's top line for 13/15 games this season, the exception being Dec. 8-9 at North Dakota

TOUGH SCHEDULE
• The Pioneers faced No. 1 Minnesota Duluth, No. 2 St. Cloud State, No. 9 Providence and No. 14 North Dakota in a stretch of five weeks, going 3-4-1 in those games
• Denver's strength of schedule ranks 3rd in the NCAA according to the KRACH ranking on CollegeHockeyNews.com

WORKING OVERTIME
• The Pioneers have played five overtime games this season, tied for third-most in the NCAA. Denver is 2-1-2 in the extra period

SPECIAL TEAMS
• Emilio Pettersen and Ian Mitchell lead the Pioneers with seven power-play points. Pettersen leads NCAA freshmen with four power-play goals

2019 IIHF WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP
• The 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship is set to be held in Vancouver and Victoria, B.C. from Dec. 26 - Jan. 5
• Ian Mitchell is representing Canada at the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship, while Equipment Manager Nick Meldrum is representing Team USA
• Emilio Pettersen represented Norway at the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship – Division 1 Group A from Dec. 9-15 in Füssen, Germany, finishing tied for 5th in tournament scoring with three goals and three assists in four games

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 150 donors contributed to the renovation

YOUNG PIONEERS
• At 29, 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
• The Pioneers have 20 freshmen and sophomores, the most since the 2007-08 season when Tyler Bozak was a freshman

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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