Tempe, Arizona - The No. 4 Denver Pioneers (9-4-2, 1-3-2-1) look to split their series with the No. 20 Arizona State Sun Devils (8-4-1) in a Saturday matinee at Gila River Arena, home of the Arizona Coyotes. Puck drop is set for 4:30 p.m. MT.
 
DENVER: LAST GAME
ASU 4, DU 1 (December 6, 2019 - Tempe, Arizona)
• Johnny Walker scored a hat trick to help ASU defeat Denver for the first time in history. The Sun Devils scored twice in the first period, then sealed their victory with Walker's power-play goal at 18:40 of the third
• Jaakko Heikkinen scored Denver's lone goal at 10:34 of the third period. Magnus Chrona made 26 saves
• The Pioneers outshot the Sun Devils 34-30, went 0/5 on the power play and went 2/3 on the penalty kill
 
DENVER: SNAPSHOT
• After starting the season 8-0-0 averaging 4.12 goals per game, Denver has gone 1-4-2 averaging 2.14 goals per game
• Jaakko Heikkinen is on a three-game goal and point streak with three goals and two assists
• Ian Mitchell and Emilio Pettersen lead the Pioneers with 12 points each, while Bobby Brink and Liam Finlay are tied for second in team scoring with 11 points each
• The Pioneers' penalty kill ranks 7th in the NCAA, going 51/57 (89.5%). Denver has scored three shorthanded goals, T- 4th in the NCAA
• Magnus Chrona is 7-4-2 with a 2.22 GAA, 3rd among NCAA freshmen, a .918 SV%, 3rd among NCAA freshmen, and two shutouts, 2nd among NCAA freshmen
• Denver ranks 4th in the NCAA in shots on goal per game with an average of 34.53
 
DENVER: UP NEXT
Dec. 13-14 vs. Colorado College (Denver, Colo. & Colorado Springs, Colo.)
• The Pioneers and Tigers will return for the Battle for the Gold Pan. Denver leads the all-time series 177-120-20, going 2-2-1 last season and 1-2-1 in the regular season to lose the Gold Pan for the first time in five years. The all-time Battle for the Gold Pan series stands at 13-13
 
ARIZONA STATE: SNAPSHOT
• James Sanchez leads the Sun Devils with 17 points (4-13-17)
• ASU is 3-2 vs. ranked opponents this season. Prior to defeating No. 4 Denver 4-1, the Sun Devils were previously swept on the road at then-No. 3 Minnesota State (4-1 L, 5-0 L) and swept then-No. 9 Quinnipiac at home (5-3 W, 4-1 W)
• ASU has a +9 goal margin in the first period, 3rd in the NCAA, and is 7-1-1 when scoring the first goal of the game. The Sun Devils are 1-3-0 when allowing the first goal of the game and have not won a game in which they've trailed at the first or second intermission
 
ARIZONA STATE: UP NEXT
Dec. 14-15 at Michigan State (East Lansing, Mich.)
• The Sun Devils will travel to face the Spartans after sweeping Michigan State in a two-game series last season at Oceanside Ice Arena
 
DENVER VS. ARIZONA STATE
• The Pioneers are 2-1-0 all-time against ASU, sweeping the Sun Devils in their first series at Magness Arena on Jan. 6-7, 2017 (5-1 W, 6-1 W)
• Henrik Borgstrom, Troy Terry, Dylan Gambrell and Jarid Lukosevicius combined for seven goals and ten assists in Denver's sweep of ASU in 2017
 
HEIKKINEN NAMED NCHC FORWARD OF THE WEEK
• Jaakko Heikkinen was named NCHC Forward of the Week on Nov. 25 for his two goals and two assists against Western Michigan on Nov. 22-23
• Heikkinen led all Pioneer skaters with seven shots and recorded a +2 plus/minus rating. He scored goals in both games of the series, adding a pair of assists in Saturday's win to record his second-career three-point game
 
SCORING STATS
• Denver is 8-0-1 when leading after the second period
• The Pioneers have a +15 goal margin, T-14th in the NCAA, and have a +16 goal margin in the second period, T-2nd in the NCAA
 
PIONEERS IN ARIZONA
• In its 70-year history, Denver has had three alumni play for the Arizona Coyotes/Winnipeg Jets: Tom Martin (1984-1987), Ryan Caldwell (2007-2008) and Dakota Mermis (2017-2019)
• Alum Beau Bennett currently plays for the Tucson Roadrunners, the Coyotes' AHL affiliate
 
NON-CONFERENCE STREAK
• Prior to Friday's loss to ASU, the Pioneers were undefeated in 19 straight non-conference games with a 17-0-2 mark in that stretch
• Denver is 22-3-4 against non-conference opponents since the 2017-18 season
 
MITCHELL'S POINT
• Since last season, Denver is 20-2-4 when Ian Mitchell scores a point and 13-14-3 when he does not
• This season, the Pioneers are 8-0-0 when Ian Mitchell scores a point and 1-4-2 when he does not
 
HOME COOKIN'
• Denver is 30-10-8 at home since the 2017-18 season, posting a .625 winning percentage and taking points from 79% of its games
 
70TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON
• The Pioneers are playing in 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
 
UP NEXT: After closing its series with No. 20 Arizona State, Denver men's hockey presented by Centura Health returns to Colorado for the Battle for the Gold Pan in a home-and-home series with Colorado College on Dec. 13-14

DONATE: Fans interested in making a donation to the 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.  
 
SHOP PIONEERS: Get dressed for Game Day! Get your Pioneers gear at ShopPioneers.com, the official online store of University of Denver Athletics.

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