In their 12^th straight NCAA tournament appearance, the No. 6 Denver Pioneers are set to face the No. 9 Ohio State Buckeyes in the West Regional Semifinal at Scheels Arena in Fargo, N.D. on Friday, March 29. Puck drop is set for 2 p.m. MT.

WATCH PARTIES
• Catch the game at one of our watch parties at Stadium Inn, Crimson & Gold or The Pioneer 

DENVER: SNAPSHOT
• The Pioneers have won three of their last four games, outscoring opponents 12-6 in that stretch
• Denver has limited its opponents to 2.08 goals against per game, 9th in the NCAA. The Pioneers have posted six shutouts this season
• The Pioneers are the only team in the NCAA with two goalies in the Top-10 for save percentage. Devin Cooley is 3rd with a .934 SV% and Filip Larsson is 9th with a .929 SV%
• Denver has gone 3-5-1 against NCAA tournament teams this season
• Liam Finlay leads Denver with 35 points (15-20-35) in 38 games. The junior forward averages .92 points per game compared to .50 ('16-17) and .37 ('17-18)
 
DENVER: LAST TIME OUT
UMD 3, DU 0 | DU 6, CC 1 (March 22-23, 2019 - Xcel Energy Center)
• Denver fell to No. 4 UMD in the NCHC Frozen Faceoff semifinal after the Bulldogs scored 42 seconds into the third peirod and added two empty netters. The Pioneers responded in the third-place game, scoring six goals for the third time this season
• Ian Mitchell had two goals and two assists on Saturday, while Liam Finlay and Tyson McLellan each had three-point games
• Filip Larsson made 30 saves on 31 shots on Friday. Devin Cooley made 22 saves on 23 shots on Saturday
• Denver went 1/7 on the power play and 5/6 on the penalty kill
 
OHIO STATE: SNAPSHOT
• The Buckeyes have one win in their last seven games (1-5-1), losing three one-goal games in that stretch
• Ohio State has gone 6-3-1 against NCAA tournament teams this season
• The Buckeyes have 16 juniors and seniors, the most of any tournament team. Eight of Ohio State's top 10 scorers are juniors or seniors, led by Mason Jobst who has 36 points (17-19-36) in 35 games and leads all players in the tournament with 164 career points (69-95-164) in 149 games
• Sophomore Tommy Nappier has split time in net with senior Sean Romeo, but Nappier leads the duo with a .934 SV%, 1.91 GAA and four shutouts in 19 games
 
OHIO STATE: LAST TIME OUT
PSU 5, OSU 1 (March 17, 2019 - Value City Arena)
• After winning the Big Ten regular-season title and earning a first-round bye in the conference tournament, the Buckeyes lost to Penn State, 5-1, in the semifinal
• Ohio State went 0/4 on the power play and 1/2 on the penalty kill. John Witala scored the Buckeyes' lone goal, while Tommy Nappier made 31 saves on 35 shots
 
DENVER/OHIO STATE: UP NEXT
West Regional Final (March 30, 2019 - Scheels Arena)
• The winner of the regional semifinal will face the winner of St. Cloud State/American International College for a spot at the 2019 Frozen Four in Buffalo, N.Y.
 
DENVER VS. OHIO STATE/BIG TEN
• The Pioneers are 6-6-0 all-time against the Buckeyes, falling 5-1 to Ohio State in the NCAA Midwest Regional final in Allentown, Pa. last season
• Denver is 2-1-0 all-time against the Big Ten Conference in the NCAA tournament
• The Pioneers are 8-2-1 all-time against the Big Ten Conference and 282-239-33 all-time against members of the Big Ten Conference
 
PIONEERS IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
• The Pioneers received a bid in the NCAA tournament for the 30th season in program history and 12th straight year, making them the NCAA's active leader in consecutive tournament appearances
• Denver enters the NCAA tournament tied for having the fewest seniors (3) and most freshmen and sophomores (19) on its roster
• The Pioneers have nine players with NCAA tournament experience. David Carle is among six head coaches making his NCAA tournament head coaching debut and six head coaches behind the bench for his alma mater
• Denver has six remaining members from the 2017 National Championship team
• The Pioneers are 9-8 all-time in regional semifinals and 4-0 since 2015. Denver is 4-4 in regional finals and 2-1 since 2015
 
NCAA TOURNAMENT LEADERS
• The Pioneers have five of the Top-10 active scorers in NCAA tournament games, Jarid Lukosevicius is 1st with eight points (7-1-8) in nine games
• Colin Staub and Jarid Luksosevicius are T-1st among all players entering the NCAA tournament with 155 career games played
• Jarid Lukosevicius is 1st among all players entering the NCAA tournament with 20 career game-winning goals
 
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
 
NCAA LEADERS
• Denver's freshmen class is 3rd in NCAA scoring with 103 points (33-70-103)
• Devin Cooley has a 1.85 GAA, 4th in the NCAA, and a .934 SV%, 3rd in the NCAA
• Filip Larsson has a 2.08 GAA, 12th in NCAA, and a .929 SV%, 9th in the NCAA
• Jarid Lukosevicius is T-1st in the NCAA with seven game-winning goals
• Emilio Pettersen is T-4th among NCAA freshman with 29 points
• Cole Guttman is T-7th among NCAA freshmen with 12 goals
• Slava Demin is T-6th 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 11-0-2 when Jarid Lukosevicius scores and 11-11-3 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-6th-most in the NCAA. Denver is 4-1-5 in the extra period, T-2nd in the NCAA in overtime wins
 
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
 
PIONEER MOVEMENT:
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