DENVER – The No. 6 University of Denver hockey team faces the No. 15 Omaha Mavericks on Saturday and Sunday at Magness Arena. Both games begin at 6 p.m. MT.
 
Denver (12-5-1, 5-3-0 NCHC) was slated to face No. 5 St. Cloud State this weekend, but that series was rescheduled for Feb. 4-5 due to COVID-19 issues within the Huskies program. Tickets that were issued for Saturday's SCSU game are now good for the Omaha contest on the same night. Tickets for Friday night versus St. Cloud now work for Sunday's game against UNO.
 
Fans unable to attend on Sunday should contact the Denver Ticket Office at 303-871-4625 to discuss their options with a ticket representative.
 
The Pioneers last played over New Year's Weekend, as they defeated Alaska Fairbanks 7-2 on Dec. 31 before tying the Nanooks 4-4 on Jan. 1. Junior Bobby Brink led Denver with a career-high four-point game on the first night (goal and three assists), while senior Cameron Wright recorded his first DU hat trick with a trio of goals. Senior Brett Stapley joined Brink with a four-point performance the following day (one goal, three assists) and freshman Jack Devine set a new career best with three points (goal, two assists) in the tie—DU's first since Dec. 19, 2020 versus Western Michigan in the NCHC Pod in Omaha (3-3).
 
Devine was named the NCHC Rookie of the Week for his performance, while Stapley earned NCHC Forward of the Week, NCHC Player of the Month and the National Player of the Month honors for his recent play.
 
Omaha (14-6-0, 4-4-0 NCHC) last skated over New Year's as well, as it lost 3-2 on Dec. 31 and won 5-0 on Jan. 1 at St. Lawrence. The Mavericks are led in goal by Isaiah Saville, who has 10 wins, a 2.04 goals-against average and .919 save percentage—all marks in the top five in the conference.  Taylor Ward is UNO's leading scorer with 13 goals and 23 points on the year, while Brandon Scanlin is the top assist-getter with 15 helpers.
 
This weekend marks the first meeting between the teams since DU eliminated Omaha with a 5-4 victory in the NCHC Frozen Faceoff Quarterfinals on March 13. Mike Benning tallied back-to-back markers for Denver in that contest to turn a 3-2 deficit into a 4-3 lead. The Pioneers went 3-2-0 against the Mavericks last season and own a 33-11-5 all-time record in the series.

 
CONNECTIONS: Denver Volunteer Assistant Coach Ryan Massa graduated from Nebraska Omaha and spent four years as a goaltender for the Mavericks (2011-2015), helping the program to its first Frozen Four in 2015 … Head Athletic Trainer Aaron Leu earned his bachelor's degree in Exercise Science from Creighton University in Omaha in 1995 and picked up his master's degree from the University of Nebraska at Kearney in 1996 … Forward Carter Mazur (Tri-City Storm) and Justin Lee (Lincoln Stars) played junior hockey in the state of Nebraska … Lane Krenzen's brother, Nolan, plays for Omaha … Ty Mueller played two seasons with the AJHL's Sherwood Park Crusaders with Carter Savoie and Mike Benning (2018-2020) … Justin Lee played with Kaden Bohlsen briefly with the Fargo Force in 2018-19 and was teammates with Brock Bremer in Lincoln during the same USHL season … Victor Mancini played on Green Bay with Matt Davis last season … Cole Guttman and Chayse Primeau were teammates on Dubuque (USHL) in 2017-18 … Omaha's Jonny Tychonick and DU's Carter King and Matt Davis are all from Calgary, Alberta … Mavs grad student Brannon McManus (Newport Beach) and the Pios' Cole Guttman (Los Angeles) and Kyle Mayhew (Anaheim Hills) are from Southern California … Omaha senior Tyler Weiss is a draft pick of the Colorado Avalanche.
 
SCOUTING THE MAVERICKS: After falling in overtime in the season opener to Lake Superior State, Omaha won seven straight games to get inside the top 10.  The Mavs began the year with a 10-game homestand (8-2-0).  In conference play, Omaha has a 4-4-0 record.  The team most recently played over New Year's weekend at St. Lawrence, losing 3-2 on Dec. 31 before winning 5-0 on Jan. 1.  The Mavericks are led in goal by Isaiah Saville, who has 10 wins, a 2.04 goals-against average and .919 save percentage—all marks in the top five in the conference.  Taylor Ward is UNO's leading scorer with 13 goals and 23 points on the year, while Brandon Scanlin is the top assist-getter with 15 helpers.
 
PIONEERS IN THE POLLS: Denver ranks No. 6 in both the DCU/USCHO.com coaches' poll and in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine media poll.  The Pioneers moved up one spot in the USCHO.com ranking after previously being at No. 7 last week.  In the Pairwise rankings, DU has been in the top 10 for much of the past two months, being as high as No. 2 on Jan. 3.  The Pioneers entered the week at No. 5 in the Pairwise.
 
STAPLE OF DECEMBER – NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE MONTH: Senior Brett Stapley was named the National Player of the Month for December by the Hockey Commissioners Association after recording nine points (5g/4a) in five games.  The Campbell River, British Columbia, native was also named the NCHC Player of the Month for December and the NCHC Forward of the Week for Dec. 27-Jan. 2.  Stapley set new career highs with three goals and four points on Dec. 3 at Arizona State and later tied his personal best with four points (1g/3a) on Jan. 1 vs. Alaska Fairbanks (the three assists tied a career high). 
 
He is the first Denver player to earn a national monthly award since Carter Savoie was named the HCA Rookie of the Month for December 2020, and he is the first Pioneer to earn Player of the Month honors since Troy Terry for March/April 2018.
 
A DECEMBER TO REMEMBER FOR OTHERS: Junior forward Bobby Brink tied Brett Stapley in scoring last month as he had two goals and seven assists in five games.  Three freshmen also had good showings in December, with Carter Mazur leading the group with points in all five games to total two goals and six assists.  Jack Devine had a goal and five assists in five outings last month while fellow newcomer Massimo Rizzo registered five points (2g/3a) in four games played.
 
A-MAZUR-ING ROOKIE: Freshman Carter Mazur picked up his second consecutive NCHC Rookie of the Month award after picking up the honor in December.
 
Mazur led all NCHC rookies with eight points (2g/6a), recording one in each of the five contests to stretch his career-long point streak to nine games (has since ended). He was the runner-up for the National Rookie of the Month Award from the Hockey Commissioners Association.  The Jackson, Mich., native had seven points in six games (5g/2a) in the month of November.
 
DU has now had a player named Rookie of the Month in each of the first three months of the season, after Massimo Rizzo earned the honor in October.  The last time DU won three rookie of the month awards in a season was in 2018-19 (Emilio Pettersen, October; Tyler Ward, January; Filip Larsson, March/April) and the last NCHC school to pick up three top rookie honors in consecutive months was Minnesota Duluth from January to March/April 2017 (Hunter Miska twice, Joey Anderson).
 
When it comes to any NCHC monthly honor, North Dakota did it twice last season. The Fighting Hawks won all four Player of the Month Awards in 2020-21 and Adam Scheel earned Goaltender of the Month accolades from January-March/April.
 
HOME SWEET HOME: While their home winning streak ended with a 4-4 tie on Jan. 1 vs. UAF, the Pioneers' unbeaten streak at Magness Arena has been stretched to nine games (8-0-1).  The current streak is tied for the seventh longest to start a season in program history (1958-59, 8-0-1).  The 1995-96 squad (9-0-1) was the last team to go unbeaten in 10 straight at home (1962-63 also went 9-0-1).
 
Denver began the year on an eight-game winning streak, which was longest in the modern era and tied for the third-longest to start a campaign in the team annals (also 1958-59).  The stretch was also longest ever at Magness Arena, which first opened for the 1999-00 season.
 
The Pios are 15-2-1 in their last 18 games in their friendly confines and own a 25-6-2 record at Magness since the start of the 2019-20 campaign. DU has scored four or more goals in all nine home games this year, averaging 5.78 tallies.
 
 
TICKETS: Single-game tickets for the 2021-22 campaign are available 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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