The No. 7 Denver Pioneers hockey team (11-4-3, 3-3-2-1) is set to return from holiday break and conclude its non-conference schedule with a rematch of the 2019 National Semifinal against the No. 9 UMass Minutemen on Jan. 3-4 at Magness Arena. Puck drop is set for 7:07 p.m. on both nights.

DENVER: LAST SERIES
DU 3, CC 0 | DU 3, CC 1 (Dec. 13-14, 2019 - Denver & Colorado Springs, Colo.)
• Game 1: Denver scored three goals in the third period and Devin Cooley made 24 saves to blank Colorado College
• Game 2: The Pioneers outshot the Tigers 37-21, including 18-6 in the second period, to secure the series sweep. Magnus Chrona made 20 saves
• Emilio Pettersen led the Pioneers with one goal and two assists, while Cole Guttman, Bobby Brink and Kohen Olischefski each had two points
• The Pioneers went 2/6 (33.3%) on the power play and 6/6 (100%) on the penalty kill...Denver outshot Colorado College 68-45
 
DENVER: SNAPSHOT
• The Pioneers entered their 19-day holiday break with a 3-1-1 stretch in their last five games, going 6/20 (30%) on the power play and 14/15 (93.3%) on the penalty kill. Emilio Pettersen paced Denver with six points (1-5-6) in those games
• Denver ranks 4th in the NCAA in shots on goal per game (35.11). The Pioneers have outshot their opponent in 16 of their 18 games this season and are 11-3-2 in those games. Denver has outshot its opponent in seven straight games and has outshot its opponent by double digits on six occasions
• The Pioneers' penalty kill ranks 5th in the NCAA, going 61/67 (91.0%). Denver has scored three shorthanded goals, T-5th in the NCAA
• Denver has split starts between Magnus Chrona and Devin Cooley since Nov. 22-23 series vs. Western Michigan
 
DENVER: UP NEXT
Jan. 10-11 vs. St. Cloud State (Denver, Colo.)
• Denver will host St. Cloud State for the first of two series between the teams this year. The Pioneers are 50-46-6 all-time against the Huskies and went 0-2-0 last season in a lone series in St. Cloud, Minn.
 
UMASS: SNAPSHOT
• Mitchell Chaffee leads the Minutemen with 24 points (12-12-24), is T-3rd in NCAA scoring and is on a four-game point streak with one goal and five assists
• UMass averages 3.67 goals per game, 7th in the NCAA, and allows only 1.78 goals per game, T-4th in the NCAA
• The Minutemen fire the 3rd-most shots on goal per game in the NCAA (35.28), led by John Leonard who ranks 3rd in the nation with 80 shots
• In the third period, UMass is outscoring its opponents by a +22 margin, outshooting opponents by a +114 margin and is 12-0-1 when leading or tied ahead of the final frame
• Matt Murray has started five of UMass' last seven games. He is 8-1-0 with a 1.57 GAA, 4th in the NCAA, and .924 SV%
• The Minutemen defense accounts for 52 points, 31% of the team's scoring and ranking 4th in the NCAA
 
UMASS: UP NEXT
Jan. 10-11 vs./at Boston College (Chestnut Hill & Amherst, Mass.)
• The Minutemen went 2-1-0 against Boston College last season
 
DENVER VS. UMASS
• Denver leads the all-time series 3-1-0, last meeting in the 2019 National Semifinal where the Pioneers fell 4-3 (OT)
• Sixteen players on Denver's roster played in the 2019 National Semifinal, including Cole Guttman who had two goals and one assist in the game
 
BRINK REPRESENTING U.S. AT WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP
• Bobby Brink was among 23 players named to the U.S. National Junior Team roster competing at the 2020 World Junior Championship in the Czech Republic
• Former Pioneer assistant coaches David Lassonde and Steve Miller are serving as assistants on the U.S. coaching staff
 
MITCHELL & WIERCIOCH WIN SPENGLER CUP CHAMPIONSHIP WITH CANADA
• Ian Mitchell and alum Patrick Wiercioch won Canada's 16th Spengler Cup Championship on Dec. 31. Mitchell finished the tournament with one goal and two assists in four games as the youngest player on the roster
• In its 93rd year, the Spengler Cup is the oldest club tournament in the world featuring six teams from five countries: Russia, Switzerland (2), the Czech Republic, Russia, Finland and Canada
 
SCORING STATS
• Denver is 9-0-1 when leading after the second period
• The Pioneers have a +20 overall goal margin, 10th in the NCAA, as well as a +16 margin in the second period, 2nd in the NCAA
 
NON-CONFERENCE STREAK
• Prior to Dec. 6 at Arizona State, the Pioneers were undefeated in 19 straight non-conference games with a 17-0-2 mark in that stretch
• Denver is 22-3-5 against non-conference opponents since the 2017-18 season
 
FINE FRESHMEN
• Chrona has a 2.13 GAA, 2nd among NCAA freshmen, a .920 SV%, 4th among NCAA freshmen, and two shutouts, 2nd among NCAA freshmen
• Brink's seven goals are T-4th among NCAA freshmen and his 51 shots rank 5th among NCAA freshmen
 
MITCHELL'S POINT
• Since last season, Denver is 20-2-4 when Ian Mitchell scores a point and 15-14-4 when he does not
• This season, the Pioneers are 8-0-0 when Ian Mitchell scores a point and 3-4-3 when he does not
 
HOME COOKIN'
• Denver is 31-10-8 at home since the 2017-18 season, posting a .633 winning percentage and taking points from 80% 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: Denver Hockey presented by Centura Health returns from its 19-day break ahead of non-conference home series on Jan. 3-4 against UMass

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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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