DULUTH, Minn. – The No. 11 University of Denver hockey team returns to conference play this weekend as the Pioneers head to the shores of Lake Superior for a two-game set at the No. 5 Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs. The teams will face off at 6 p.m. MT on both Friday and Saturday night at Amsoil Arena.
 
Each games will be streamed live on NCHC.tv, while Saturday's contest will be televised locally in Colorado on KWGN Channel 2.
 
The Pioneers (10-4-0, 4-2-0 NCHC) are on a season-high, six-game winning streak, their longest such stretch since also going on a six-game run from Dec. 13, 2019-Jan. 11, 2020. DU ended a four-game road losing streak last weekend at Arizona State, beating the Sun Devils 6-2 and 7-1, respectively, to sweep the season series (4-0-0).
 
Goaltender Magnus Chrona made season-high saves on both nights—31 on Friday and 34 on Saturday—and has allowed two or fewer goals in each of the past five games. DU went 60 percent on the power play on the weekend (6-for-10) and scored a season-high, four man-advantage tallies on Saturday.
 
These are the final contests of Denver's four-game road swing—tied for its longest of the season—and the last outings before the team's holiday break. After this weekend, the team's next game won't be until New Year's Eve when it opens a series at home against the Alaska Fairbanks Nanooks.
 
The Bulldogs (10-5-1, 3-2-1 NCHC) dropped both of their outings last week at Northern Michigan while ranked No. 1 in the country. UMD fell 5-4 on Friday and 5-2 on Saturday, but the team is far better at home and owns a 6-1-1 mark on friendly ice this season.
 
The Pioneers and Bulldogs only met twice last season, with both occurrences coming in the NCHC Pod in Omaha, Nebraska. Minnesota Duluth won both outings, picking up a 2-1 victory on Dec. 2, 2020 and a 4-1 victory on Dec. 12, 2020. Denver is playing its first games in Duluth since Nov. 8-9, 2019 and is looking to end a five-game losing streak to the Bulldogs, its longest in the all-time series. DU's last victory came in a shootout on Nov. 8, 2019 in Duluth (technically goes down as a tie), and its last regulation win was Feb. 16, 2019 on the road, a 1-0 victory.
 
Overall, Denver is 126-85-13 in the all-time series versus UMD. Friday's game marks the 225th all-time meeting between the programs.
 
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS: UMD is 3-2-1 in NCHC play this season, sitting fifth place in the conference, and owns a 6-1-1 record this year on home ice. Noah Cates leads the Bulldogs' offense with 13 points (5g/8a) this season, while Blake Biondi is the top goal scorer with seven tallies on the year. Goaltender Ryan Fanti has guarded the pipes in 13-of-16 contests, but he didn't play in either outing last weekend. He has a 9-2-1 record, 1.25 goals-against average, .946 save percentage and four shutouts this season.
 
CONNECTIONS: Bobby Brink (Minnetonka) and Lane Krenzen (Twig) are both from Minnesota, with Brink also being from the same hometown as UMD's Luke Loheit … Massimo Rizzo played with Loheit with the BCHL's Penticton Vees in 2018-19 … Shai Buium and McKade Webster both attended high school at Shattuck-St. Mary's in Faribault … Buium played with the USHL's Sioux City Musketeers with Minnesota Duluth's Carter Loney in 2020-21 … UMD's Quinn Olson and DU's Matt Davis and Carter King are all from Calgary, Alberta … Olson was teammates with Jack Works on the AJHL's Okotoks Oilers in 2018-19 … Krenzen played on the NAHL's Austin Bruins with the Bulldogs' Ben Almquist in 2018-19 … Freshmen Sean Behrens and Jack Devine were at U.S. National Team Development Program with Connor Kelley during the 2019-20 campaign … Behrens and Carter Mazur are attending USA Hockey's national junior team training camp next week alongside UMD's Dominic James, Wyatt Kaiser and Connor Kelley.
 
SHOTS FIRED: Denver leads the nation in shots per game at 37.6. Western Michigan is the next closest conference foe to the Pioneers at 32.7 shots per contest, tied for eighth in the country. DU has recorded 40 or more shots in seven games this year, including in each of the first five outings.
 
LIMITING CHANCES: The Pioneers have held opponents to 30 or fewer shots in 11 games this season, averaging 25.4 shots against per outing—tied for 10th best in the NCAA. DU is outshooting opposing squads by a 37.6 to 25.4 margin. Denver and Quinnipiac (3rd in shots for, 1st in shots against) are the only two teams in the county to rank in the both the top 10 in shots for and shots against per game.
 
OFFENSIVE OUTPUT: The Pios have the highest-scoring offense in the country, averaging 4.71 goals per game. DU began the season with goals in each of their first 12 periods and have scored last least four times in 11-of-14 games and in all 10 wins. There have been 15 different Pioneers that have scored a goal this year, while nine have recorded double-digit points.
 
WEEKLY TRIFECTA: Denver won a trio of NCHC Player of the Week Awards on Monday, as senior Brett Stapley (4g/2a) was named Forward of the Week, junior Magnus Chrona (65-of-68 saves) was named Goaltender of the Week and freshman Jack Devine (1g/3a) was named Rookie of the Week. This was the second time this season that an NCHC team earned three of the four weekly conference awards, with Western Michigan also doing it for the week of Nov. 15-21.
 
SEVENTH HEAVEN: The Pioneers' 7-1 victory on Saturday at ASU was their fourth win of the season where they have scored seven or more goals in a contest. The last time Denver had four games with seven or more goals was in 2002-03 when the program did it five times:

• 10/25/2002 vs. Alabama Huntsville – W 7-2
• 10/26/2002 vs. Alabama Huntsville – W 7-0
• 11/30/2002 vs. Air Force – W 7-0
• 2/1/2003 vs. Wisconsin – W 7-1
• 2/21/2003 vs. Michigan Tech – W 7-2

SCORING SAVOIE: Carter Savoie has already set a new career high with a team-leading 22 points this season, while also leading the Pioneers with 12 goals—one shy of his personal best. He tallied 13 goals and 20 points in 24 games during his freshman season in 2020-21. After 14 games this year, he ranks:

• Tied for 2nd in the NCHC and tied for 8th in the NCAA in points.
• Tied for 3rd in the NCHC and tied for 4th in the NCAA in goals.
• 1st in both goals and points among players with 14 or fewer games played.
• 2nd in the NCHC and 4th in the NCAA in points per game (1.57).
• 2nd in both the NCHC and NCAA in goals per game (0.86).

FRESH FACES, GREAT PLACES: Massimo Rizzo leads all freshmen in the country with nine goals and 20 points (9g/11a) this season, while teammate Carter Mazur is second among first-year players with eight goals scored. Mazur is tied for fifth in the NCAA with 14 points (8g/6a). Denver is the only team with three freshmen in the top 10 in scoring, with defenseman Sean Behrens ranking ninth (13 points).
 
STREAKING: Carter Mazur (6g/5a), Massimo Rizzo (4g/7a) and Carter Savoie (6g/4a) are all on career-long, six-game point streaks, while Bobby Brink (3g/8a) and Cole Guttman (1g/5a) have matched their NCAA personal bests with six-game point streaks as well. The six-game streaks are the longest of the season for the Pioneers. Brink has also recorded multiple points in each of the past three contests, a career long, and is on a six-game assist streak, which is the longest the year by DU. Defenseman Mike Benning is on a career-high, five-game assist/point streak (1g/7a).  Goaltender Magnus Chrona has won six straight games, one shy of matching his career long of seven that he set to begin his college career from Oct. 5-Nov. 1, 2019.
 
IMPROVED PK: The Pioneers have killed a season-best 14 straight penalties after going a perfect 7-for-7 with the man disadvantage versus the Sun Devils. DU has finished 100 percent on the PK in four games this season, including in each of the last three. The Pios have gone 26-for-31 on the penalty kill (83.9%) in the past nine games (since Oct. 23 at Boston College). Opponents scored 10 power-play goals in the first five contests of the year (14/24, 58.3%).
 
WEEKEND STAPLE(Y): Senior Brett Stapley led DU in the desert with four goals and two assists in two games. On Friday, he recorded a career-high four points (3g/1a), which included his first NCAA hat trick.  He contributed two more points on Saturday, tallying his sixth goal of the season while also adding an assist. Stapley's hat trick was the second of the season for DU (Carter Savoie, Oct. 16 vs. Air Force), and he registered three of his four points on Friday in the third period, tied for the most in a stanza this year by a Pioneer (Savoie, Oct. 16 vs. Air Force; Cole Guttman, Oct. 8 vs. Arizona State).
 
LAST GAME NOTABLES

• DU picked up its first road sweep since Jan. 24-25, 2020 at Miami (W 3-2, W 5-2).
• Denver scored a season-best, four power-play goals, including three in the third period, which was also a season high for a single frame.
• The Pioneers' now have the second-best power play in the country at 30.6%.  Only St. Cloud State (32.9%) has a better man-advantage unit.
• Massimo Rizzo scored two power-play goals, the second time this season that a Pio has tallied twice in a game during a man advantage (Carter Savoie, Oct. 16 vs. Air Force)
• Goalie Magnus Chrona made a season-high 34 saves, including stopping all 16 shots in the second period—the most he's faced in a stanza this year.
• Sean Behrens (16:07) and Massimo Rizzo (16:25) each scored on the power play in a matter of 18 seconds in the third period, tied for fastest two goals scored by the Pioneers this season and tied for the 12th fastest in the last 20 years for the school. Carter Mazur (18:34) and Brett Stapley (18:52) also tallied in a matter of 18 seconds on Oct. 8 vs. Arizona State.
• The Pioneers blocked 17 shots, a new season best.

TWO PIOS HEADING TO TEAM USA'S WORLD JUNIORS CAMP: Freshmen Sean Behrens and Carter Mazur have been named to USA Hockey's preliminary roster for the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship from Dec. 26, 2021-Jan. 5, 2022 in Edmonton and Red Deer, Alberta.  Behrens and Mazur will head to USA Hockey's training camp on Dec. 13 following the Pioneers' series this weekend at Minnesota Duluth and will be two of 31 players competing for 25 spots on the U.S. roster.  The Americans are the defending champions after defeating Canada in last year's title game.  Junior Bobby Brink played for Team USA at the last two Under-20 tournaments.
 
McNAB INDUCTION INTO U.S. HOCKEY HALL OF FAME: Former Denver Pioneers forward Peter McNab will be inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2021 on Thursday night during the ceremony at the Denver Marriott Tech Center in Colorado. McNab played three seasons for DU from 1970-1973, averaging 1.61 points per game and helped the squad to three top-four NCAA finishes.  His 170 career points (78g/92a) rank 10th-best in school history.
 
McNab went onto to play parts of 14 seasons in the NHL with the Buffalo Sabres, Boston Bruins, Vancouver Canucks and New Jersey Devils, and ranks 19th among Americans in NHL history with 813 points (363g/450a) in 995 career regular-season games.  He has served as the television analyst for the Colorado Avalanche since the team moved to Denver in 1995.
 
Former NHL player/executive Paul Holmgren and journalist Stan Fischler joined McNab as part of the Class of 2021, while members of the 2020 Class were also inducted that evening after COVID-19 postponed their ceremony last year.
 
TICKETS: Single-game tickets for the 2021-22 campaign are on sale now and can be purchased here.
 
CORONAVIRUS UPDATES: Masks are required at all indoor athletic events. For the latest University of Denver updates on the coronavirus, click here.

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