The No. 6 Denver Pioneers hockey team (17-7-5, 7-6-4-3) looks to snap a three-game slide in their final meeting of the regular season with the No. 1 North Dakota Fighting Hawks on Saturday at Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, N.D. Puck drop is set for 6:07 p.m. MT.
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DENVER: LAST GAME
North Dakota 4, DU 1 (February 14, 2020)
• Tied 1-1 early in the second period, the Fighting Hawks scored at 7:36 and 16:36 of the frame to build a lead the Pioneers could not overcome, despite outshooting North Dakota, 27-23
•
Bobby Brink scored Denver's lone goal with
Emilio Pettersen and
Ian Mitchell assisting on the power-play goal at 3:17 of the second period
• Denver went 1/4 on the power play and 1/3 on the penalty kill...
Devin Cooley made 19 saves...The Pioneers went 21-43 in the faceoff circle...
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DENVER: SNAPSHOT
• Denver is fourth in the NCHC standings, one point behind Western Michigan and three points ahead of St. Cloud State with one game in hand on the Huskies
• The Pioneers have lost three straight games for the first time since December 2015. The slide comes on the heels of an 11-game unbeaten streak that spanned from Dec. 13 -Jan. 25
• Denver has scored at least one power play goal in each of its last six games and is 7/27 (25.9%) in that span. Conversely, the Pioneers have struggled on the penalty kill in their three-game losing streak, going 7/13 (53.8%)
•
Emilio Pettersen leads the Pioneers with 26 points (8-18-26). In net,
Magnus Chrona has played 21 of 28 games with a 13-5-3 record, .918 SV% and 2.23 GAA. Chrona and
Devin Cooley have split starts for Denver since Jan. 17-18 at Omaha
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DENVER: UP NEXT
Feb. 21-22 vs. Miami (Denver, Colo.)
• Denver is 17-12-3 all-time against Miami and 7-5-3 against the RedHawks on home ice
• The Pioneers swept the RedHawks (5-2 W, 3-2 W) on Jan. 24-25 in Oxford, Ohio earlier this season
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NORTH DAKOTA: SNAPSHOT
• North Dakota is on a four-game winning streak, outscoring its opponents 16-4 in that stretch
• Jordan Kawaguchi leads the Fighting Hawks and is 2nd in NCAA scoring with 43 points (15-28-43) through 28 games
• Offensively, North Dakota leads the NCAA with 4.18 goals per game and a +2.18 goal margin per game
• Defensively, the Fighting Hawks allow the 6th-fewest goals per game in the NCAA (2.00) and their penalty kill ranks 5th in the nation, going 87/100 (87/100%)
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NORTH DAKOTA: UP NEXT
Feb. 21-22 at St. Cloud State (St. Cloud, Minn.)
• North Dakota is 15-13-3 all-time against St. Cloud State and 6-5-1 at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center
• The Fighting Hawks swept the Huskies (4-2 W, 2-1 W) on Nov. 22-23 in Grand Forks, N.D. earlier this season
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BRINK NAMED NCHC ROOKIE OF THE MONTH
•
Bobby Brink was named NCHC Rookie of the Month for January after leading conference rookies with nine points and six assists
• Brink tallied three goals, six assists and nine points in eight games. The Philadelphia Flyers prospect also led NCHC rookies with five power-play points, 21 shots and a +5 rating
• Brink scored at least one point in seven of his eight games in January, recording multi-point games against St. Cloud State (Jan. 11) and Omaha (Jan. 18)
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DENVER VS. NORTH DAKOTA
• Denver is 128-148-16 all-time against North Dakota with a 44-87-10 road record
• 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 2-2-1 in its last five games vs. North Dakota and 4-3-3 in its last 10
•
Ryan Barrow leads Pioneer skaters against the Fighting Hawks with five points in 11 games
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HOT STREAKS & MILESTONE WATCH
•
Bobby Brink is on a six-game point streak with three goals and four assists
•
Liam Finlay has played 149 career games and is on pace to play his 150th career game on Feb. 15 at North Dakota
•
Ryan Barrow has played 96 career games and is on pace to play his 100th career game on Feb. 28 at St. Cloud State
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STAT LEADERS
•
Cole Guttman is T-1st in the NCAA with five game-winning goals
•
Ian Mitchell is T-12th among NCAA defensemen with 23 points (6-17-23)
•
Magnus Chrona has a 2.23 GAA, 3rd among NCAA freshmen, a .918 SV%, 3rd among NCAA freshmen, and two shutouts, 2nd among NCAA freshmen. He is 13-5-3 this season with the 3rd-most wins among NCAA freshmen
•
Bobby Brink has 24 points (11-13-24), T-6th among NCAA freshmen, 11 goals, T-5th among NCAA freshmen, and 77 shots, T-5th among NCAA freshmen. He is on a six-game point streak with three goals and four assists
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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)
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SCORING STATS
• Denver is 13-0-2 when leading and 3-0-1 when tied after the second period
• The Pioneers have a +25 overall goal margin, 13th in the NCAA, as well as a +34 margin in the second and third periods, 3rd in the NCAA
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THREE IS A MAGIC NUMBER
• The Pioneers are 17-0-1 when scoring three or more goals and 0-7-4 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
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SUPER SOPHOMORES
• Denver's sophomore class ranks 2nd in NCAA scoring with 104 points (35-69-104) and accounts for 41% of the Pioneers' point production
• Sophomores
Emilio Pettersen,
Brett Stapley and
Cole Guttman are among the Pioneers' top five scorers
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MITCHELL'S POINT
• Since last season, Denver is 25-4-5 when
Ian Mitchell scores a point and 16-15-5 when he does not
• This season, the Pioneers are 13-2-1 when
Ian Mitchell scores a point and 4-5-4 when he does not
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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
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HOME COOKIN'
• Denver is 35-12-8 at home since the 2017-18 season, posting a .636 winning percentage and taking points from 78% of its games
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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
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UP NEXT: Denver Hockey presented by Centura Health closes its series with No. 1 North Dakota on Saturday, Feb. 15
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FROZEN FACEOFF TICKETS: Tickets for the 2020 Frozen Faceoff in St. Paul, Minn. are on sale now. More information is available here.
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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.Â
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. Â
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