DENVER - The No. 4 Denver Pioneers (17-4-5, NCHC 7-3-4-3) return to home ice for the first time in three weeks with a series against the No. 10 Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs on Jan. 31 – Feb. 1. The Pioneers rank second in the NCHC standings, two points ahead of the Bulldogs and six points behind North Dakota with 10 games remaining in the regular season. Puck drop is set for 7:07 p.m. MT on Friday & Saturday.
 
DENVER: LAST SERIES
DU 3, MIAMI 2 | DU 5, MIAMI 2 (Jan. 24-25, 2020 - Oxford, Ohio)
• Friday: Denver recovered from an early two-goal deficit with an efficient power play and Griffin Mendel's game-winner at 6:15 of the third period. The Pioneers outshot the RedHawks 33-23
• Saturday: Denver took the lead at 2:10 of the first period and never trailed, outshooting Miami 17-6 in the final 40 minutes and improving to 8-0-3 in its 11-game unbeaten stretch
• Denver went 3/7 on the power play and 3/3 on the penalty kill
• Kohen Olischefski led the Pioneers with three goals and two assists...Liam Finlay had three assists...11 Denver skaters recorded at least one point
 
DENVER: SNAPSHOT
• The Pioneers are on an 11-game unbeaten streak (8-0-3), marking their best single-season unbeaten stretch since their 13-game winning streak from Jan. 21, 2017 – March 11, 2017. Denver has had a 13-game unbeaten streak three times in its history. The Pioneers' longest unbeaten streak in a single season is 26 games (1960-61)
• Denver allows the 7th fewest goals per game in the NCAA (2.08). The Pioneers have limited their opponents to two or fewer goals in each of their last four games
• The Pioneers' penalty kill is 5th in the NCAA, going 83/93 (89.2%). Denver has scored four shorthanded goals, T-6th in the NCAA
• Denver ranks 3rd in the NCAA in shots on goal per game (35.27). The Pioneers have outshot their opponent in 22 of their 26 games this season and are 16-3-3 in those games. Denver has outshot its opponent in 13 of its last 15 games and has outshot its opponent by double digits on 10 occasions
 
DENVER: UP NEXT
Feb. 14-15 at North Dakota (Grand Forks, N.D.)
• Denver is 128-147-16 all-time vs. North Dakota with a 77-55-5 mark at home
• The Pioneers went 0-1-1 vs. the Fighting Hawks earlier this season on Nov. 15-16, 2019 (1-1 T, 4-1 L). Denver is 2-1-2 in its last five games vs. North Dakota and 4-2-4 in its last 10
 
MINNESOTA DULUTH: SNAPSHOT
• Minnesota Duluth has one win in its last five games with a 1-3-1 mark. Prior to their recent slide, the Bulldogs had won five straight games
• Scott Perunovich leads Minnesota Duluth with 28 points (4-24-28) and is tied for 1st in scoring among NCAA defensemen
• The Bulldogs' power play ranks 5th in the NCAA, going 26/97 (26.8%)
• Hunter Shepard is 13-9-2 with a 2.38 GAA and .908 SV% this season, performing below his career numbers: 67-36-5, 1.96 GAA, .920 SV%
 
MINNESOTA DULUTH: UP NEXT
Feb. 7-8 vs. Omaha (Duluth, Minn.)
• The Bulldogs are 15-6-3 all-time vs. the Mavericks, sweeping Omaha on the road on Dec. 6-7, 2019 (6-3 W, 4-3 W)
• Minnesota Duluth is on a seven-game winning streak against Omaha
 
OLISCHEFSKI RECEIVES NCAA & NCHC WEEKLY HONORS
• Kohen Olischefski was named NCHC Forward of the Week and NCAA Second Star of the Week after his five-point performance in Denver's sweep of Miami
• Olischefski's five points led NCHC skaters and ranked second among NCAA skaters.  The Abbotsford, B.C. native scored twice in the Pioneers' 3-2 win on Friday and once in Denver's 5-2 win on Saturday, adding two assists
•  In addition to his point total, Olischefski tallied seven shots, two blocked shots, a +1 rating and a .833 faceoff percentage on six draws.
 
DENVER VS. MINNESOTA DULUTH
• The Pioneers are 126-81-13 all-time vs. the Bulldogs, recently going 0-1-1 in their series earlier this season at Minnesota Duluth on Nov. 8-9, 2019 (3-3 T, 5-2 L)
• Denver is 1-3-1 in its last five games vs. Minnesota Duluth and 5-4-1 in its last 10
 
HOT STREAKS
• Bobby Brink is on a three-game point streak with one goal and three assists
• Brett Stapley has one goal and eight assists in his last seven games
• Ian Mitchell has three goals and six assists in his last eight games
 
STAT LEADERS
• Cole Guttman is T-1st in the NCAA with five game-winning goals
• Ian Mitchell is T-11th among NCAA defensemen with 21 points (6-15-21)
• Magnus Chrona has a 2.18 GAA, 2nd among NCAA freshmen, a .919 SV%, 4th among NCAA freshmen, and two shutouts, 2nd among NCAA freshmen. He is 13-4-3 this season with the 2nd-most wins among NCAA freshmen
• Bobby Brink has nine goals, T-4th among NCAA freshmen, 68 shots, T-4th among NCAA freshmen, and 21 points (9-12-21), T-6th among NCAA freshmen
 
HOBEY HOPEFULS
• Ian Mitchell and Emilio Pettersen are among +75 nominees for the 2020 Hobey Baker Award
• First-round voting can be conducted on hobeybaker.com/vote. First-round voting closes on March 9, 2020
• Denver has had two Hobey Baker winners in its history: Matt Carle ('06) and Will Butcher ('17)
 
SCORING STATS
• Denver is 13-0-2 when leading and 3-0-1 when tied after the second period
• The Pioneers have a +32 overall goal margin, 8th in the NCAA, as well as a +39 margin in the second and third periods, 2nd in the NCAA
 
THREE IS A MAGIC NUMBER
• The Pioneers are 17-0-1 when scoring three or more goals and 0-4-4 when scoring fewer than three goals
• Prior to Jan. 17-18, Denver had scored three or more goals in each of its last six games
 
SUPER SOPHOMORES
• Denver's sophomore class ranks 2nd in NCAA scoring with 99 points (34-65-99) and accounts for 41% of the Pioneers' point production
 
MITCHELL'S POINT
• Since last season, Denver is 25-2-5 when Ian Mitchell scores a point and 16-14-5 when he does not
• This season, the Pioneers are 13-0-1 when Ian Mitchell scores a point and 4-4-4 when he does not
 
EXTENDING THE STREAK
• On March 15, 2019, the Pioneers became only the third team in NCAA history to compile 18-consecutive 20-win seasons. The last time Denver missed the 20-game mark was 2000-01 when the team went 19-15-4
• 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
 
HOME COOKIN'
• Denver is 35-10-8 at home since the 2017-18 season, posting a .660 winning percentage and taking points from 81% of its games
 
GWOZDECKY INDUCTED TO DENVER ATHLETICS HALL OF FAME
• Former head coach George Gwozdecky was named among 12 inductees for the 2020 Denver Athletic Hall of Fame class to be honored on campus May 16, 2020
• Gwozdecky posted a 443-267-64 record with the Pioneers from 1994-2013, winning back-to-back National Championships in 2004 & 2005, three WCHA regular-season titles, four WCHA playoff titles and posting 16 20-win seasons. He received the Spencer Penrose Award as National Coach of the Year in 2005
 
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 24-3-5 against non-conference opponents since the 2017-18 season
 
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 will return to the Mile High City for a series against Minnesota Duluth on Jan. 31 – Feb. 1
 
FROZEN FACEOFF TICKETS: Tickets for the 2020 Frozen Faceoff in St. Paul, Minn. are on sale now. More information is available here.
 
2020 DENVER ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME RECEPTION: Denver announced its 2020 Athletic Hall of Fame class in January. The inductees will be honored on the DU campus May 16. For more information, registration for the reception and donation information, click here. 

DONATE: Fans interested in making a donation to the hockey program can do so by clicking here. Your contribution will make a direct impact on the success of YOUR Pioneers. Thank you in advance for your unwavering support of our student-athletes and their quest for excellence.  
 
SHOP PIONEERS: Get dressed for Game Day! Get your Pioneers gear at ShopPioneers.com, the official online store of University of Denver Athletics.

-OUR JOURNEY, OUR TIME- 
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