The No. 2 Denver Pioneers men's hockey team (1-0-0, 0-0-0-0) is set to close its series against the Alaska Fairbanks Nanooks (0-1-0, 0-0-0-0) on Sunday at the Carlson Center in Fairbanks, Alaska. Denver opened its 70^th Anniversary Season with a 4-3 win against Alaska on Saturday, getting multi-point contributions from Liam Finlay, Kohen Olischefski and Cole Guttman, who scored the game-winner with 1:03 remaining in regulation. Sunday's puck drop is set for 7:07 p.m. MT.
 
DENVER: SNAPSHOT
• Denver returns 19 players from the 2018-19 season, including 72% of its goal scoring and 81% of its point scoring. By comparison, the 2018-19 team entered last season returning 48% of its goal scoring and 46% of its point scoring
• Liam Finlay leads Denver skaters with 72 career points after posting a career-high 36 points last season
 
DENVER: LAST SEASON
24-12-5 (NCHC 11-10-3-3)
• Denver advanced to the Frozen Four for the third time in the last four years, made its 12th-straight appearance in the NCAA tournament and recorded its 18th-consecutive 20-win season
• In his first season behind the bench, David Carle led the fourth-youngest team in college hockey with a group of 19 freshmen and sophomores
• The Pioneers were undefeated in their first six games, going 5-0-1. Denver went on a seven-game winning streak from Dec. 8 - Jan. 12
 
DENVER: UP NEXT
October 11-12, 2019 at Lake Superior State (Taffy Abel Arena)
• The Pioneers will travel to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan for the first time in program history. Denver is 3-0-1 all-time against the Lakers, last defeating Lake Superior State 5-1 on Oct. 21, 2017 in Magness Arena
 
ALASKA FAIRBANKS: SNAPSHOT
• The Nanooks return eight of their top nine scorers, 85% of their point scoring and 88% of their goal scoring from last season
• Junior Steven Jandric led the Blue & Gold in scoring last season, posting nine goals and 15 assists
• Alaska Fairbanks brings back two goalies from last season, including starter Anton Martinsson who recorded a 2.72 GAA and .910 SV% in 2018-19
• The Nanooks have only seven Americans on their roster, making the U.S. the second-most represented nationality behind Canada (12) and ahead of Latvia (5)
• Alaska Fairbanks has not posted a winning season since going 19-13-2 under Dallas Ferguson in 2014-15. The Nanooks have a combined record of 45-85-14 in the last four seasons for a .313 winning percentage
 
ALASKA FAIRBANKS: LAST SEASON
12-21-3, (WCHA 12-14-2-2)
• In their first season under head coach Erik Largen, the Nanooks went 12-21-3 (12-14-2-2) with three more conference wins than the previous year to finish seventh in the WCHA
• Alaska Fairbanks' highlights included a 3-3 tie against then-No. 10 Denver (Oct. 20) and a 1-0 win against then-No. 4 Minnesota State (Feb. 23)
 
ALASKA FAIRBANKS: UP NEXT
Oct. 11-12, 2019 at Michigan Tech (MacInnes Student Ice Arena)
• The Nanooks will open WCHA play when they travel to Houghton, Mich. after getting swept by the Huskies on the road last season
 
DENVER VS. ALASKA FAIRBANKS
• The Pioneers are 7-2-1 all-time against the Nanooks
• Denver's last loss to Alaska Fairbanks was on Oct. 18, 2013 (3-2)
 
ROOTED IN ALASKA
• Head Coach David Carle is from Anchorage, Alaska
• Assistant Coach Tavis MacMillan played at Alaska-Fairbanks from 1990-1994, recording 192 points in 135 games. He served as assistant coach of the Nanooks from 1996-2003 (7 seasons) and head coach from 2004-2007 (3 seasons)
• Assistant Coach Dallas Ferguson played at Alaska-Fairbanks from 1992-1996, recording 104 points in 138 games. He served as assistant coach of the Nanooks 2004-2008 (4 seasons) and head coach from 2008-2017 (9 seasons)
• Joe Howe was hired as assistant coach of Alaska-Fairbanks in  after serving two seasons as the Pioneers' volunteer assistant coach and one season as the director of hockey operations
 
70TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON
• The Pioneers are set for their 70th Anniversary Season. Since its inaugural season in 1949, Denver has made 30 appearances in the NCAA tournament, 17 appearances in the Frozen Four and won eight National Championships, tied for the second-most titles among any college hockey program
• More than 150 alumni representing more than 60 years of Denver Hockey are expected to attend the 70th Anniversary Weekend set for Nov. 1-2 vs. Niagara
 
SURGING SOPHOMORES
• The Pioneers return every skater from last year's freshmen class which accounted for 30% of the team's point scoring and 26% of the team's goal scoring
• Emilio Pettersen, Cole Guttman and Brett Stapley were among the top six scorers last season
 
UP NEXT:
Denver will close its series with Alaska Fairbanks on Oct. 6 before traveling to Lake Superior State for a series on Oct. 11-12. The Pioneers return to Magness Arena for their first home series of the season on Oct. 18-19 vs. Boston College.
 
2019-20 SEASON TICKETS:
Season tickets for the 2019-20 season are on sale now, and can be purc­­­hased here. Check out the complete 2019-20 schedule here. 
 
SHOP PIONEERS:
Get dressed for Game Day! Get your Pioneers gear at ShopPioneers.com, the official online store of University of Denver Athletics.
 
OUR JOURNEY:
Fans interested in making a donation to the men's hockey program can do so by clicking here. Your contribution will make a direct impact on the success of YOUR Pioneers. Thank you in advance for your unwavering support of our student-athletes and their quest for excellence.   

-OUR JOURNEY, OUR TIME- 
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