The Denver Pioneers are set to match up against UMass in the semifinal of the 2019 Frozen Four on April 11 at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, N.Y. Puck drop is set for 6:30 p.m. MT.
 
DENVER: SNAPSHOT
• Since the start of the NCHC postseason on March 15, the Pioneers have won five of their last six games, outscoring opponents 17-6 with three shutouts
• In the last six games, Denver has averaged 2.83 goals per game, T-10th in NCAA, and 1.00 goals against per game, T-1st in the NCAA
• The Pioneers are the only team in the NCAA with two goalies in the Top-5 for SV% and Top-10 for GAA. They combine for a 1.86 GAA and .935 SV%
• Denver's power play is 24/160 (15.0%), 48th in the NCAA, and its penalty kill is 124/149 (83.2%), 21st in the NCAA. In the last six games, the Pioneers are 2/20 (10%) on the power play, 22nd in the NCAA, and 21/22 on the penalty kill (95.5%), 7th in the NCAA
• The Pioneers have gone 5-5-1 against NCAA tournament teams and 3-3-1 against Frozen Four teams this season
 
DENVER: REGIONAL RECAP
DU 2, OSU 0 | DU 3, AIC 0 (West Regional - Fargo, N.D.)
• FIlip Larsson made 50 saves on 50 shots. He is one of only six goalies in NCAA history to record back-to-back shutouts in a regional tournament since the NCAA instituted the new postseason format in 2003
• Juniors and seniors were responsible for seven of the Pioneers' nine points, including every goal
• Filip Larsson, Colin Staub, Liam Finlay and Les Lancaster were named to the all-tournament team. Larsson was tabbed tournament MVP
• Denver went 0/6 on the power play and 9/9 on the penalty kill
 
UMASS: SNAPSHOT
• Since the start of the Hockey East postseason, the Minutemen have won four of their last five games. UMass it outscoring its opponents 19-7 with three shutouts in that stretch
• UMass averages 3.77 goals per game, 3rd in the NCAA, and 1.97 goals against per game, 6th in the NCAA
• The Minutemen are 8-4-0 against NCAA tournament teams and 2-1-0 against Frozen Four teams this season
• Cale Makar leads UMass with 48 points (16-32-48) in 39 games, tied for the highest-scoring defenseman in the NCAA
 
UMASS: REGIONAL RECAP
UMass 4, Harvard 0 | UMass 4, Notre Dame 0 (Northeast Regional - Manchester, N.H.)
• Brandon Boeing and John Leonard led the Minutemen with two goals and one assist each
• Filip Lindberg made 30 saves on 30 shots over the weekend
• UMass went 1/6 on the power play and 4/4 on the penalty kill
 
DENVER/UMASS: UP NEXT
National Championship (April 13, 2019 - KeyBank Center)
• The winner of the semifinal will face the winner of Providence/Minnesota Duluth in the 2019 National Championship
 
DENVER & UMASS
• Denver is 3-0-0 all-time against UMass, outscoring the Minutemen 15-4
• The Pioneers and Minutemen have an equivalent number of seniors (3) and freshmen and sophomores (19), both numbers were the most among NCAA tournament teams
• Denver went 5-0-1 and UMass went 7-4 against mutual opponents
 
PIONEERS IN THE FROZEN FOUR
• This season marks Denver's *16th Frozen Four in program history and third Frozen Four in the last four years. The Pioneers have reached the sixth-most Frozen Fours in the NCAA and have won the second-most National Championships (8), tied with North Dakota (8) and behind Michigan (9)
• Denver has six remaining members from the 2017 National Championship team (Erich Fear, Tyson McLellan, Liam Finlay, Jarid Lukosevicius, Michael Davies, Colin Staub)
• Denver has gone 3-3-1 against Frozen Four teams this season, going 2-3-0 against Minnesota Duluth and 1-0-1 against Providence
*Denver's appearance in the 1973 NCAA tournament and Frozen Four was vacated due to NCAA infractions
 
PIONEERS IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
• The Pioneers received a bid in the NCAA tournament for the *29th season in program history and 12th straight year, making them the NCAA's active leader in consecutive appearances
• Denver is 5-5-1 against NCAA tournament teams this season
*Denver's appearance in the 1973 NCAA tournament and Frozen Four was vacated due to NCAA infractions
 
NCAA TOURNAMENT LEADERS
• Jarid Lukosevicius enters the Frozen Four with 105 career points (62-43-105), 3rd-most among all players in the Frozen Four. He leads all players at the Frozen Four with 62 career goals and 20 career game-winning goals
• Les Lancaster leads all players at the Frozen Four with 66 career assists
• Jarid Lukosevicius and Colin Staub lead all players at the Frozen Four with 157 career games played. Staub leads all players with 149 consecutive games played
• Jarid Lukosevicius leads all players at the Frozen Four in NCAA tournament scoring with nine points in 11 games (8-1-9)
 
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
• Devin Cooley has a 1.85 GAA, 6th in the NCAA, and a .934 SV%, 4th in the NCAA
• Filip Larsson has a 1.87 GAA, 10th in NCAA, and a .935 SV%, 3rd in the NCAA
• Jarid Lukosevicius is T-1st in the NCAA with seven game-winning goals
• Denver's freshmen class is 3rd in NCAA scoring with 104 points (33-71-104)
• Emilio Pettersen is 4th among NCAA freshman with 30 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
 
SPENCER PENROSE AWARD FINALIST
• David Carle was named a finalist for the 2019 Spencer Penrose Award, given annually to the CCM/AHCA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Coach of the Year
• Since the award's inception in 1951, Denver has captured four Penrose awards, tied with Boston College, Boston University and Clarkson for the most among any Division I program. Previous Pioneer recipients include Murray Armstrong (1961), Ralph Backstrom (1986), George Gwozdecky (2005) and Jim Montgomery (2017)
 
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 12-0-2 when Jarid Lukosevicius scores and 12-11-3 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

FROZEN FOUR WATCH PARTIES:
Catch your Denver Pioneers in the 2019 Frozen Four at any of our watch party locations at Crimson & Gold, Stadium Inn, The Pioneer or Cherry Cricket – Cherry Creek.  Click here for more information on the pre-game watch party in Buffalo or any of our watch parties across the country.
 
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.

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