The Denver Pioneers men's hockey team (12-4-2, 4-4-0-0) is set to return to Magness Arena for their first home game in 47 days. The Pioneers carry a five-game winning streak into their series against the Omaha Mavericks (6-10-2, 2-5-5-1). Puck drop is set for 7:37 p.m. on Friday and 7 p.m. on Saturday. 

DENVER: SNAPSHOT
• The Pioneers are on a five-game winning streak, their best stretch since starting the season 5-0-1
• The Pioneers average 3.56 goals per game, 10th in the NCAA, and allow an average of 2.22 goals per game, 14th in the NCAA
• Liam Finlay leads the Pioneers with 19 points, followed by each member of Denver's top line - Emilio Pettersen (18), Jarid Lukosevicius (17) and Cole Guttman (15)
• Ryan Barrow is on a six-game point streak with three goals and four assists, Michael Davies is on a four-game point streak with one goal and three assists and Colin Staub has seven points (2-5-7) in his last eight games
 
DENVER: LAST SERIES
Denver 6, Wisconsin 3 | Denver 4, Wisconsin 3 (OT)
• On Friday, Denver scored three goals in 2:19 early in the third period to defeat Wisconsin. On Saturday, the Pioneers battled from 2-0 and 3-2 deficits to win in overtime. Denver outshot Wisconsin, 40-16
• Liam Finlay led Denver with one goal and four assists
• The Pioneers went 1/8 on the power play and 4/6 on the penalty kill
 
DENVER: UP NEXT
Denver vs. Colorado College - Jan. 18-19
• The Pioneers and Tigers are set to continue the Battle for the Gold Pan with the first of two home-and-home series this season
• Denver has won four-consecutive Gold Pans, matching the record set by Colorado College from 1999-2002. The Pioneers lead the all-time series in the Battle for the Gold Pan, 13-12, and lead the all-time series, 178-118-19
 
OMAHA: SNAPSHOT
• The Mavericks are coming off a bye week after having won consecutive games for only the second time this season
• Mason Morelli leads Omaha with 21 points (12-9-21), followed by Fredrik Olofsson with 19 points (7-12-19)
• The Mavericks are 1-6-1 on the road with their lone victory coming on Nov. 10 at Western Michigan
• Omaha allows an average of 3.94 goals per game, T-59th in the NCAA
• The Mavericks convert at 25.3% on the power play, 7th in the NCAA
 
OMAHA: LAST SERIES
Omaha 3, Alaska-Anchorage 0 | Omaha 4, Alaska-Anchorage 0
• Mason Morelli and Zach Jordan led the Mavericks with three points each
• Evan Weninger posted back-to-back shutouts with 40 saves on 40 shots
• The Mavericks went 3/9 on the power play and 5/5 on the penalty kill
 
OMAHA: UP NEXT
Omaha vs. North Dakota - Jan. 18-19
• The Mavericks will host their first of two series against the Fighting Hawks
• Omaha went 2-3-1 against North Dakota last season, falling in the first round of the NCHC playoffs
 
DENVER VS. OMAHA
• Denver is on a 12-game winning streak against Omaha, leading the all-time series 27-9-2
• The Pioneers last lost to the Mavericks on Jan. 10, 2015 (1-0 L) and last lost to the Mavericks in Magness Arena on Nov. 2, 2013 (3-2 OTL)
 
WEEKLY HONORS
• Liam Finlay (2-4-6) was named NCHC Forward of the Week and Tyler Ward (2-2-4) was named NCHC Rookie of the Week for the stretch from Dec. 24 - Jan. 6
 
TOP LINE PRODUCTION
• Emilio Pettersen, Jarid Lukosevicius and Cole Guttman have combined for 32 even-strength points and 16 even-strength goals this season, accounting for 27% of the Pioneers' even-strength points and 35% of the Pioneers' even-strength goals
• Pettersen, Guttman and Lukosevicius have skated on Denver's top line for 16/18 games this season, the exception being Dec. 8-9 at North Dakota
 
HOME AGAIN, HOME AGAIN
• After last playing at home on Nov. 24, 2018, the Pioneers return to Magness Arena for the first time in 47 days
• The last time Denver had such a long stretch away from home was between Nov. 16, 1991 and Jan. 3, 1992 vs. Minnesota Duluth (48 days)
 
2019 IIHF WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP
• Ian Mitchell (Canada) had one goal and two assists in five games
• Equipment manager Nick Meldrum (U.S.) won a silver medal with the Americans
• Emilio Pettersen (Norway) finished 5th scoring at the Division I - A tournament with three goals and three assists in six games
 
LUKO LEADS THE WAY
• Jarid Lukosevicius is T-12th in NCAA goal scoring with 11 goals
• Denver is 6-0-1 when Lukosevicius scores and 6-4-1 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)
 
TOUGH ROAD AHEAD
• Denver's strength of schedule ranks 2nd in the NCAA according to the KRACH ranking on CollegeHockeyNews.com
• After wrapping up the non-conference schedule with a 8-0-2 record, Denver has 16-straight conference games to close the regular season
 
FRESH FACES
• Denver's freshmen class has combined for 67 points (24-43-67), T-1st in the NCAA with Quinnipiac
• Cole Guttman leads NCAA freshmen with nine goals
• Emilio Pettersen is T-4th in NCAA freshmen scoring with 18 points (5-13-18)
• Slava Demin is T-3rd among NCAA freshmen with a +14 plus/minus rating
 
SPECIAL TEAMS
• The Pioneers are 10-1-1 when scoring a power-play goal and 2-3-1 to the contrary
• In the last four games, Denver is 4/16 (25.0%) on the power play
• Ian Mitchell and Emilio Pettersen share the team lead with eight power-play points each
 
WORKING OVERTIME
• The Pioneers have played six overtime games this season, T-3rd in the NCAA. Denver is 3-1-2 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
 
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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