DENVER - After sweeping North Dakota in the NCHC quarterfinal series, the No. 5 Denver Pioneers (21-10-5, 11-10-3-3) look to defend their title at the NCHC Frozen Faceoff beginning with a semifinal matchup against No. 4 Minnesota Duluth on Friday, March 22 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn. Puck drop is set for 6:38 p.m. MT.
 
DENVER: SNAPSHOT
• The Pioneers are coming off their fourth sweep of the season and are unbeaten in six of their last eight games (5-2-1)
• Denver has limited its opponents to 1.25 goals per game in the last four games
• The Pioneers have split time between their goalies this season. Devin Cooley has played 19 games with a 1.89 GAA, T-5th in the NCAA, and a .933 SV%, 4th in the NCAA. Filip Larsson has played 18 games with a .927 SV%, T-9th in the NCAA, and a 2.14 GAA, 13th in the NCAA
 
DENVER: LAST SERIES
DU 2, UND 0 | DU 4, UND 2 (March 15-16 - Magness Arena)
• Denver swept North Dakota to advance to the NCHC Frozen Faceoff. The Pioneers went 4-1-1 in the season series with the Fighting Hawks, marking the first time since 2009-10 they won the season series and recorded three or more wins
• Filip Larsson played both games, posting 72 saves on 74 shots and earning his second career shutout on Friday
• The Pioneers went 1/7 on the power play and 7/7 on the penalty kill
 
MINNESOTA DULUTH: SNAPSHOT
• The Bulldogs have won five of their last seven games, sweeping Omaha in NCHC quarterfinal series
• Minnesota Duluth averages 3.19 goals per game, 11th in NCAA, and 2.06 goals against per game, T-8th in the NCAA
• The Bulldogs average 34.83 shots per game, 4th in the NCAA, and limit their opponents to 22.72 shots per game, 1st in the NCAA
• Minnesota Duluth is 14-3-1 when leading after the first period and 17-1-1 when leading after the second period
 
MINNESOTA DULUTH: LAST SERIES
UNO 2, DU 1 | UNO 4, DU 1 (March 15-16 - AMSOIL Arena)
• The Bulldogs outshot the Mavericks 74-47, went 1/10 on the power play and 8/8 on the penalty kill
• Mikey Anderson led Minnesota Duluth with three assists, while Hunter Shepard made 45 saves on 47 shots
 
DENVER/MINNESOTA DULUTH: UP NEXT
NCHC Championship (March 23 - St. Paul, Minn.)
• Denver looks to defend its 2018 Frozen Faceoff title and become the first three-time winner of the conference tournament. The Pioneers are 2-0 in the championship game (Winners: 2014, 2018), while the Bulldogs are 1-1 (Winner: 2017)
 
NCHC AWARD WINNERS
• Filip Larsson was named NCHC All-Rookie Team
• Ian Mitchell was named NCHC 2nd Team All-Conference
• Filip Larsson was tabbed a nominee for NCHC Goalie of the Year and Jarid Lukosevicius was tabbed a nominee for NCHC Forward of the Year
 
DENVER VS. MINNESOTA DULUTH
• Denver went 2-2-0 against Minnesota Duluth in the regular season, splitting both series. The Pioneers' wins were both shutouts (Nov. 16, 2018 | Feb. 16, 2019)
• The Pioneers have won eight of their last 10 games against the Bulldogs and are 17-5-2 against the Bulldogs in the last six years with 15 of those games being decided by one or fewer goals and an additional four being decided by two goals with an empty-netter
• Jarid Lukosevicius has nine goals in 15 career games against Minnesota Duluth
 
EXTENDING THE STREAK
• On March 15, Denver became only the third team in NCAA history to compile 18 consecutive 20 win seasons. The last time the Pioneers missed the 20-game threshold was 2000-01 when the team finished 19-15-4 under George Gwozdecky
• The Pioneers' streak of 18 straight 20-win seasons is the longest active streak in the NCAA. The NCAA record for consecutive 20-win seasons is held by Michigan, which had 25 from 1987-2012
• Denver has the second-most wins in the NCAA since the beginning of their streak with a 446-216-76 record, trailing only North Dakota (451-234-72)
 
PIONEERS IN THE NCHC PLAYOFFS
• The Pioneers are the only team in the conference to advance to the NCHC Frozen Faceoff in each year of competition. This marks the sixth straight season Denver has earned a spot in the conference tournament
• In the history of the NCHC Frozen Faceoff, the Pioneers are 7-3 overall, 2-3 in the semifinal, 2-0 in the championship and 3-0 in the third-place game
• Denver is the only two-time winner of the Frozen Faceoff, winning in 2014 & 2018
 
FROZEN FACEOFF ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
• The Pioneers have placed four forwards, three defensemen and two goalies on the all-tournament teams
 
NCAA LEADERS
• Devin Cooley has a 1.89 GAA, T-5th in the NCAA, and a .933 SV%, 4th in the NCAA
• Filip Larsson has a .927 SV%, T-9th in the NCAA, and a 2.14 GAA, 13th in the NCAA
• Jarid Lukosevicius is T-1st in the NCAA with seven game-winning goals
• Denver's freshmen class is 4th in NCAA scoring with 99 points (33-66-99)
• Emilio Pettersen is T-6th among NCAA freshman with 27 points
• Cole Guttman is T-7th among NCAA freshmen with 12 goals
• Slava Demin is 7th among NCAA freshmen with a +19 plus/minus rating
 
ACADEMIC HONORS
• Denver had 14 student-athletes named to the NCHC Academic All-Conference team and nine student-athletes named NCHC Distinguished Scholar-Athletes, second-most in the conference
• To be eligible for the NCHC Academic All-Conference Team, a student-athlete must compile a grade-point average of 3.0 or higher while having completed at least one academic year at his institution. Student-athletes who have accrued a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher are honored as NCHC Distinguished Scholar-Athletes, in addition to Academic All-Conference. Qualified freshmen will be added to the lists at the conclusion of the school year
 
LUKO LEADS THE WAY
• Denver is 10-0-2 when Jarid Lukosevicius scores and 11-10-3 when he doesn't
• Lukosevicius has the all-time school record and is the NCAA active leader in career game-winning goals with 20. Three players share the all-time career record (23)
 
WORKING OVERTIME
• The Pioneers have played 10 overtime games this season, T-5th-most in the NCAA. Denver is 4-1-5 in the extra period, T-2nd in the NCAA in overtime wins
 
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 19 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

POSTSEASON WATCH PARTY LOCATIONS:
For all nationally televised 2019 postseason contests throughout Denver Athletics, join one of Denver's official watch parties at the following locations: Crimson and Gold, Stadium Inn, The Pioneer and Smiling Moose.

PIONEER MOVEMENT:
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