DENVER - With only two games left in the regular season, the No. 6 Denver Pioneers men's hockey team (20-9-5, NCHC 10-8-4-3) sits 3rd in the NCHC standings and is only two points shy of clinching home-ice advantage for the first round of the NCHC playoffs. The Pioneers look ahead to a home-and-home series against Colorado College this weekend with a chance to reclaim the Gold Pan. 

Last Weekend
St. Cloud State 5, No. 6 Denver 1
No. 6 Denver 5, St. Cloud State 2
*Rankings reflect last weekend
 
Upcoming Schedule
Denver at Colorado College – March 7
Denver vs. Colorado College – March 8
NCHC Playoffs (First Round) – March 13-15
 
Pioneers in the Polls
-Denver ranks 6^th in the USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls
-The Pioneers rank 6^th in the PairWise rankings
 
Race for Home-Ice Advantage
-The top four teams in the NCHC standings host a best-of-three first-round playoff series on March 13-15
-Denver is 3^rd in the NCHC standings, two points ahead of Western Michigan (4^th) and four points ahead of St. Cloud State (5^th) with two games left in the regular season. The Pioneers' magic number to secure home-ice advantage in the first round of the NCHC playoffs is 2 between Denver points earned and fifth-place team points lost for the remainder of the season
-The Pioneers have had home-ice advantage for the first round of the conference playoffs for 16 of the last 20 seasons, including each of the last five. Since 1999-00, Denver is 12-4 in advancing to the second round of the conference tournament when hosting a first-round series and 10-1 in the last 11 seasons
 
Extending the Tenzer Streak
-The Pioneers' streak of 19 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
-The streak began in the 2001-02 season and is affectionally known as the "Tenzer Streak," in honor of former Director of Hockey Operations David Tenzer who joined the program during the first year of the run and retired in 2017
- The last time Denver missed the 20-game mark was 2000-01 when the team went 19-15-4
 
Denver vs. Colorado College
-The Pioneers can secure home-ice advantage in the first round of the NCHC playoffs with two points, while Colorado College needs two wins and two Miami losses to avoid finishing 8^th in the conference for the third time in the last five years
-Denver is 182-120-20 all-time against Colorado College with a 103-54-11 home record and 72-63-9 road record. The Pioneers swept the Tigers (3-0 W, 3-1 W) on Dec. 13-14 earlier this season
- The all-time Battle for the Gold Pan series stands at 13-13. Denver lost the Gold Pan last season for the first time in five years
-The Pioneers are 3-0-2 in their last five games against Colorado College and 6-3-1 in their last 10
 
Highs & Lows
-Oct. 11 – Nov. 2: Denver opened the season on an eight-game winning streak, its best start to a season since its program-best 9-0-0 run in the 2001-02 season
-Nov. 8 – Dec. 7: The Pioneers had one win in eight games, going 1-4-3
-Dec. 7 – Jan. 25: Denver went on an 11-game unbeaten stretch, its best single-season unbeaten streak since the 2016-17 season (13)
-Jan. 31 – Feb. 15: The Pioneers lost four straight games for the first time since December 2015
 
Hot Streaks & Upcoming Milestones
-Bobby Brink is on a six-game point streak with three goals and four assists
-Liam Finlay is three points shy of 100 career points
 
Need for the Lead
-Denver is 11-0-2 when scoring the first goal of the game, 6-0-2 when leading after the first period and 16-0-2 when leading after the second
-Conversely, the Pioneers are 9-9-3 when allowing the first goal of the game, 5-7-1 when trailing after the first period and 1-9-2 when trailing after the second
 
Power-Up
-The Pioneers power play has scored at least one goal in eight of the last 10 games, going 12/43 (27.9%)
-Denver has converted at 27.5% on the power play in the last 17 games after converting at 19.0% through the first 17 games
-Four Pioneers have ten or more power-play points: Emilio Pettersen (18), Ian Mitchell (17), Bobby Brink (13) and Cole Guttman (13)
 
High-Ranking Stats
-Denver ranks 2nd in the NCAA in shots on goal per game (35.00). The Pioneers are 19-7-3 when outshooting their opponent and have done so in 29 of 34 games this season
-The Pioneers allow the T-11^th-fewest goals per game in the NCAA (2.29)
-Denver's goal margin per game ranks T-9^th in the NCAA (+0.97)
-The Pioneers sophomore class ranks 2^nd in NCAA scoring with 134 points (47-87-134), accounting for 43% of the team's production. Denver has three sophomores among its top-four scorers: Emilio Pettersen (12-21-33), Cole Guttman (13-14-27) and Brett Stapley (5-22-27)
 
National Leaders
-Cole Guttman is T-1st in the NCAA for game-winning goals (6) – (T-1^st NCHC)
-Ian Mitchell is T-7^th in scoring among NCAA defensemen with 30 points (9-21-30) - (2^nd NCHC defensemen)  
-Bobby Brink is T-12^th in scoring among NCAA freshmen with 24 points (11-13-24) – (2^nd NCHC freshmen)
-Bobby Brink is T-7^th in goals among NCAA freshmen with 11 (2^nd NCHC freshmen)
-Magnus Chrona is 3^rd among NCAA freshmen with a 2.21 GAA (2^nd NCHC goalies), 3^rd among NCAA freshmen with a .918 save percentage (1^st NCHC goalies) and 3^rd among NCAA freshmen with 15 wins (4^th NCHC goalies)
 
Birthday Month
-The Pioneers have nine birthdays in February and eight birthdays in nine days from Feb. 15 - Feb. 23
-Kohen Olischefski (Feb. 1), Ryan Barrow (Feb. 15), Jay Feiwell & Tyson McLellan (Feb. 17), Liam Finlay & Griffin Mendel (Feb. 18), Hank Crone (Feb. 19), Lane Krenzen (Feb. 21) and Brett Stapley (Feb. 23)
 
TV Time
-The Pioneers are on national television (CBS Sports Network) thrice in the final four weekends of the regular season: Feb. 14 at North Dakota, Feb. 28 at St. Cloud State and March 7 vs. Colorado College
 
NCAA Regional 2020 & 2021
-The Pioneers are set to host the 2020 & 2021 NCAA West Regional at the Budweiser Events Center in Loveland, Colo. The 2020 regional is set for March 27-28.: Apply for Media Credentials – Loveland Regional
-2020 will mark the first year in which an NCAA hockey tournament game has been held in Colorado since the 2008 Men's Frozen Four at the Pepsi Center in Denver
 
Alumni Watch
-Alumni Jason Zucker (Pittsburgh Penguins), Trevor Moore (Los Angeles Kings) and Danton Heinen (Anaheim Ducks) were recently traded ahead of the NHL trade deadline on Feb. 24, 2020
-The Pioneers have had 13 active NHL alumni and 13 active AHL alumni this season. Denver has had 78 NHL alumni in program history
 
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
-In 2008, Gwozdecky honored head coach David Carle's scholarship to DU when Carle was deemed unable to play for medical reasons. Carle joined the Pioneers staff as a student assistant coach before graduating in 2012 and returning to Denver as a full-time assistant under Jim Montgomery in 2014
 
70^th 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 closes its regular season with a home-and-home series against Colorado College on March 6-7
 
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.

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