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University of Denver Athletics

Jake Durflinger
Carol MacKay

Men's Ice Hockey

Game Preview: No. 6 Denver vs. Colorado College

The No. 6 Denver Pioneers (19-8-5, 11-8-3-3) look for their 18th-straight 20-win season as well as their fifth-straight Gold Pan trophy as they close the regular season with a home-and-home series against Colorado College, beginning on Friday at Magness Arena. Puck drop is set for 7:07 p.m. MT.
 
DENVER: SNAPSHOT
• The Pioneers have clinched home-ice advantage for the first round of the NCHC playoffs for the fifth-straight year
• Denver is unbeaten in five of its last six games, going 4-1-1 in that stretch
• Liam Finlay and Ian Mitchell each have five points (1-4-5) in their last five games, while Jarid Lukosevicius has four points (3-1-4)
• Denver has posted five shutouts this season (Cooley - 4, Larsson - 1) and is 16-0-1 in games when limiting opponents to two or fewer goals
 
DENVER: LAST SERIES
DU 4, Omaha 1 | Denver 3, Omaha 3
• The Pioneers took five of six available points from the Mavericks
• Denver went 1/6 on the power play and 8/11 on the penalty kill
• Filip Larsson made 25 saves on Friday and Devin Cooley made 31 saves on Saturday
 
DENVER: UP NEXT
NCHC Quarterfinals (March 15-17 - Magness Arena)
• The Pioneers look ahead to the first round of the NCHC playoffs. Denver has hosted the quarterfinal series for five straight years and have advanced to the NCHC Frozen Faceoff in each of those years
• Denver is the only two-time winner of the NCHC Frozen Faceoff
 
COLORADO COLLEGE: SNAPSHOT
• The Tigers have three wins in their last nine games, defeating Minnesota Duluth, Western Michigan and North Dakota
• Trey Bradley leads Colorado College with 29 points (13-16-29). Four of the Tigers' top five scorers are members of their senior class, which is T-6th in NCAA scoring (43-73-116)
• Colorado College has played 18 games decided by one or fewer goals and are 4-10-4 in those games. The Tigers are 0-5-4 in overtime this season
 
COLORADO COLLEGE: LAST SERIES
CC 3, UND 1 | UND 2, CC 1
• The Tigers' win on Friday erased the Fighting Hawks' chances of hosting the first round of the NCHC playoffs
• Trey Bradley, Bryan Yoon and Westin Michaud each logged two points, while Alex Leclerc made 68 saves on 71 shots
• Colorado College went 3/8 on the power play and 10/11 on the penalty kill
 
COLORADO COLLEGE: UP NEXT
NCHC Quarterfinals (March 15-17 - TBA)
• The Tigers will be on the road for the NCHC quarterfinal series
• Colorado College has never advanced to the Frozen Faceoff

DENVER VS. COLORADO COLLEGE
• Denver will close the Battle for the Gold Pan and the regular season with a home-and-home series against Colorado College
• The Pioneers have 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 are 179-118-20 all-time against Colorado College
• Denver is 1-0-1 against Colorado College this season and will secure the Gold Pan with a win or a tie in either of the remaining games in the season series
 
EXTENDING THE STREAK
• Denver is one win shy of its 18th consecutive 20-win season. 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 17-straight 20-win seasons is the longest active streak in the NCAA. Boston College holds the next longest active streak (9). 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 444-214-76 record, trailing only North Dakota (449-232-72)
 
NCAA LEADERS
• Devin Cooley has a .932 SV%, 3rd in the NCAA, a 1.94 GAA, 8th in the NCAA and four shutouts, T-8th in the NCAA
• Jarid Lukosevicius is T-1st in the NCAA with six game-winning goals
 
HOT AT HOME
• Denver is 10-2-4 at home, one of only five teams in the NCAA with two or fewer home losses
• The Pioneers have one home game remaining on their schedule (March 8 vs. Colorado College)

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 9-0-2 when Jarid Lukosevicius scores and 10-7-3 when he doesn't. He scored his first two goals in seven games on Feb. 23 vs. Miami
• Lukosevicius has the all-time school record and is the NCAA active leader in career game-winning goals with 19. The all-time career leader is Austin Ortega (Omaha '14-'17 - 23)
 
FRESH FACES
• Denver's freshmen class is 4th in NCAA scoring with 95 points (32-63-95)
• The Pioneers' freshmen class accounts for 37% of the of the team's total points and 34% of the team's total goals
• Emilio Pettersen is T-6th among NCAA freshman with 26 points
• Cole Guttman is T-8th among NCAA freshmen with 11 goals
• Slava Demin is 5th among NCAA freshmen with a +19 plus/minus rating
 
WORKING OVERTIME
• The Pioneers have played 10 overtime games this season, T-2nd-most in the NCAA. Denver is 4-1-5 in the extra period with the most overtime wins in the NCAA
 
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

PIONEER MOVEMENT:
Interested in making a donation to the hockey program? Click Here. Your contribution will make a direct impact on the success of YOUR Pioneers. Thank you for your unwavering support of our student-athletes and their quest for excellence. 

- PIONEER TOGETHER- 
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Players Mentioned

Devin Cooley

#1 Devin Cooley

Goaltender
6' 4"
Sophomore
Wenatchee Wild - BCHL
Liam Finlay

#13 Liam Finlay

Forward
5' 7"
Junior
Vernon Vipers - BCHL
Jarid Lukosevicius

#14 Jarid Lukosevicius

Forward
5' 10"
Senior
Powell River Kings - BCHL
Ian Mitchell

#15 Ian Mitchell

Defenseman
5' 11"
Sophomore
Spruce Grove Saints - AJHL
Slava Demin

#17 Slava Demin

Defenseman
6' 2"
Freshman
Wenatchee Wild - BCHL
Cole Guttman

#19 Cole Guttman

Forward
5' 9"
Freshman
Dubuque Fighting Saints - USHL
Emilio Pettersen

#20 Emilio Pettersen

Forward
5' 10"
Freshman
Muskegon Lumberjacks - USHL
Filip Larsson

#30 Filip Larsson

Goaltender
6' 2"
Freshman
Tri-City Storm - USHL

Players Mentioned

Devin Cooley

#1 Devin Cooley

6' 4"
Sophomore
Wenatchee Wild - BCHL
Goaltender
Liam Finlay

#13 Liam Finlay

5' 7"
Junior
Vernon Vipers - BCHL
Forward
Jarid Lukosevicius

#14 Jarid Lukosevicius

5' 10"
Senior
Powell River Kings - BCHL
Forward
Ian Mitchell

#15 Ian Mitchell

5' 11"
Sophomore
Spruce Grove Saints - AJHL
Defenseman
Slava Demin

#17 Slava Demin

6' 2"
Freshman
Wenatchee Wild - BCHL
Defenseman
Cole Guttman

#19 Cole Guttman

5' 9"
Freshman
Dubuque Fighting Saints - USHL
Forward
Emilio Pettersen

#20 Emilio Pettersen

5' 10"
Freshman
Muskegon Lumberjacks - USHL
Forward
Filip Larsson

#30 Filip Larsson

6' 2"
Freshman
Tri-City Storm - USHL
Goaltender