The No. 8 Denver Pioneers (10-4-2, 4-4-0-0) renew a WCHA matchup against the Wisconsin Badgers (8-7-3, 4-3-3-0) with a two-game series at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wis. Puck drop is set for 6 p.m. MT on Friday. 

DENVER: SNAPSHOT
• The Pioneers are on a three-game winning streak after emerging from a 20-day break with a non-conference weekend sweep against Merrimack and UMass Lowell on Dec. 28-29
• Denver has allowed only one goal in each of its last three games. The Pioneers allow an average of 2.12 goals per game, 10th in the NCAA, and score an average of 3.38 goals per game, 11th in the NCAA
• Emilio Pettersen and Jarid Lukosevicius lead the Pioneers with 17 points. With linemate Cole Guttman, the trio has combined for 44% of Denver's goals
• Colin Staub is on a six-game point streak with two goals and four assists, while Ryan Barrow is on a four-game point streak with two goals and two assists

DENVER: LAST SERIES
Denver 3, Merrimack 1 | Denver 4, UMass Lowell 1 (Dec. 28-29)
• Cole Guttman paced the Pioneers with one goal and two assists
• The Pioneers went 3/8 on the power play and 7/8 on the penalty kill
• Devin Cooley made 23 saves on Friday, while Filip Larsson made 20 saves on Saturday

DENVER: UP NEXT
Denver vs. Omaha - Jan. 11-12
• The Pioneers will return to conference play for a two-game home series against the Omaha Mavericks on Jan. 11-12 at Magness Arena
• Denver is on a 12-game winning streak against Omaha, leading the all-time series 27-9-2

WISCONSIN: SNAPSHOT
• The Badgers have not played in 27 days. Prior to the break, they were on a three-game winning streak without a regulation loss since Nov. 17 at Ohio State
• Wisconsin's leading scorer, freshman defenseman K'Andre Miller, is representing the U.S. at the World Junior Championship. Behind Miller's 17 points, Tarek Baker leads the Badgers with 15 points (4-11-15)
• The Badgers are 7-2-1 in the Kohl Center, averaging the fifth-most goals per game in the NCAA on home ice (4.20) 
• At 75.9%, Wisconsin's penalty kill ranks 54th in the NCAA

WISCONSIN: LAST SERIES
Wisconsin 5, Michigan State 3 | Wisconsin 3, Michigan State 0 (Dec. 7-8)
• Sean Dhooghe led the Badgers with two goals and two assists
• The Badgers went 2/7 on the power play and 5/5 on the penalty kill
• Daniel Lebedeff played both games in net with 35 saves on 38 shots

WISCONSIN: UP NEXT
Wisconsin vs. USNDTP U-18 (Exhibition)
• The Badgers host an exhibition against Team USA (U-18) on Jan. 12 before returning to Big Ten play for seven straight weeks to close the regular season 

DENVER VS. WISCONSIN
• Denver and Wisconsin were both members of the WCHA from 1969-2013 before joining the NCHC and Big Ten, respectively
• The Pioneers are 3-1-1 in their last five games and 5-3-2 in their last 10 games against the Badgers
• The last time Denver lost to Wisconsin was on Dec. 1, 2012 and the last time they lost in the Kohl Center was on Feb. 18, 2012

LUKO LEADS THE WAY
• Jarid Lukosevicius is T-10th in NCAA goal scoring with 11 goals and T-7th in NCAA plus/minus rating with a +14
• Denver is 6-0-1 when Lukosevicius scores and 4-4-1 when he doesn't
• Jarid Lukosevicius has the all-time school record and is the NCAA active leader in career game-winning goals with 17. The all-time career leader is Austin Ortega (Omaha '14-'17 - 23)

TOP LINE PRODUCTION
• Emilio Pettersen, Jarid Lukosevicius and Cole Guttman have combined for 30 even-strength points and 15 even-strength goals this season, accounting for 32% of the Pioneers' even-strength points and 41% of the Pioneers' even-strength goals 
• Pettersen, Guttman and Lukosevicius have skated on Denver's top line for 14/16 games this season, the exception being Dec. 8-9 at North Dakota

2019 IIHF WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP
• Ian Mitchell (Canada) and equipment manager Nick Meldrum (U.S.) are participating in the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship in Vancouver and Victoria, B.C.
• Emilio Pettersen (Norway) finished 5th scoring at the Division I - A tournament with three goals and three assists in six games

TOUGH ROAD AHEAD
• Denver's strength of schedule ranks 2nd in the NCAA according to the KRACH ranking on CollegeHockeyNews.com
• Denver has only eight home games remaining in its schedule and will play its final non-conference games of the regular season against Wisconsin

REINPRECHT HOMECOMING
• Pioneers volunteer assistant coach Steven Reinprecht tallied 162 points (72-90-162) in 154 games at Wisconsin. During the 1999-2000 season, Reinprecht was recognized as Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) Player of the Year as well as American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) First-Team All-American

FRESH FACES
• Denver's freshmen class has combined for 58 points (19-39-58), T-2nd most in the NCAA, trailing Quinnipiac (60) and tied with Niagara (58)
• Emilio Pettersen is T-2nd among NCAA freshmen with 17 points (5-12-17)
• Cole Guttman is T-6th among NCAA freshmen with a +11 rating

SPECIAL TEAMS
• The Pioneers are 9-1-1 when scoring a power-play goal and 1-3-1 to the contrary
• In the last four games, Denver is 3/15 on the power play and 11/12 on the penalty kill
• Emilio Pettersen is T-1st among NCAA freshmen with four power-play goals

WORKING OVERTIME
• The Pioneers have played five overtime games this season, T-5th in the NCAA. Denver is 2-1-2 in the extra period

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 $2.5 million 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

NHL CENTRAL SCOUTING
• Sean Comrie was named to the NHL Central Scouting Players to Watch list for the 2019 NHL Draft, receiving a C rating as potential fourth, fifth or sixth round selection

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:
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