After scoring three third-period goals to defeat No. 9 UMass 4-2 on Friday, the No. 7 Denver Pioneers hockey team (12-4-3, 3-3-2-1) returns to Magness Arena looking to sweep its final non-conference series of the season. Puck drop is set for 7:07 p.m. at Magness Arena.
 
DENVER: LAST GAME
DU 4, UMass 2 (Denver, Colo. - January 3, 2020)
• Trailing 2-1 at the second intermission, the Pioneers scored three third-period goals to win the rematch of the 2019 National Semifinal. Prior to Denver's comeback win, the Pioneers were 0-4-1 when trailing after two periods and the Minutemen were 8-0-0 when leading after two periods
• Cole Guttman scored the game-winning goal with 2:07 left in regulation
• Guttman had one goal and one assist...Slava Demin had one goal and two assists, a career-best game...Magnus Chrona made 20 saves
• The Pioneers went 0/5 on the power play and 4/4 on the penalty kill...Denver outshot UMass 33-22
 
DENVER: SNAPSHOT
• The Pioneers are 4-1-1 in their last six games after going 1-3-2 in the six games prior. Denver is 6/25 (24.0%) on the power play and 18/19 (94.7%) on the penalty kill in their latest stretch
• Denver ranks 3rd in the NCAA in shots on goal per game (35.00). The Pioneers have outshot their opponent in 17 of their 19 games this season and are 12-3-2 in those games. Denver has outshot its opponent in eight straight games and has outshot its opponent by double digits on seven occasions
• The Pioneers' penalty kill ranks 4th in the NCAA, going 65/71 (91.5%). 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-6th in NCAA scoring and has one goal and five assists in his last five games
• UMass averages 3.58 goals per game, 7th in the NCAA, and allows 1.89 goals per game, 6th in the NCAA
• The Minutemen fire the 4th-most shots on goal per game in the NCAA (34.58), led by John Leonard who is T-3rd in the nation with 82 shots
• In the third period, UMass is outscoring its opponents by a +19 margin, outshooting opponents by a +108 margin and is 12-1-1 when leading or tied ahead of the final frame
• The Minutemen defense accounts for 54 points, representing 31% of the team's scoring and ranking 3rd 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 4-1-0, 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
• Guttman has three goals and two assists in his career vs. UMass
 
GUTT CHECK
• Cole Guttman is on a four-game point and goal streak with five goals and one assist
• Guttman had three goals and three assists in his first 14 games of the season
• This season, Denver is 7-0-2 when Guttman scores a point. Guttman is T-1st in the NCAA with four game-winning goals
 
BRINK REPRESENTS U.S. AT WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP
• Bobby Brink represented the U.S. at the 2020 World Junior Championship in the Czech Republic, finishing the tournament with one goal and one assist in five games
• The U.S. lost to Finland 1-0 in the quarterfinal round on Jan. 2, ending the Americans' four-year streak of medaling at the World Junior Championship
• 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
• 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 and 2-0-1 when tied after the second period
• The Pioneers have a +22 overall goal margin, 9th in the NCAA, as well as a +29 margin in the second and third periods, T-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 23-3-5 against non-conference opponents since the 2017-18 season
 
FINE FRESHMEN
• Chrona has a 2.12 GAA, 2nd among NCAA freshmen, a .919 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 7th among NCAA freshmen
 
MITCHELL'S POINT
• Since last season, Denver is 21-2-4 when Ian Mitchell scores a point and 15-14-4 when he does not
• This season, the Pioneers are 9-0-0 when Ian Mitchell scores a point and 3-4-3 when he does not
 
HOME COOKIN'
• Denver is 32-10-8 at home since the 2017-18 season, posting a .640 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 will close its final non-conference series of the season with a matchup against No. 9 UMass on Saturday, Jan. 4

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