DENVER – The No. 1 Denver Pioneers hockey team resumes non-conference play as it takes on the Arizona State Sun Devils on Friday and Saturday at Magness Arena in the final contests of a four-game homestand.
Friday's game begins at 7 p.m. MT and will be broadcasted regionally on Altitude 2. Saturday's series finale is at 6 p.m. MT and will feature Denver hockey's annual Teddy Bear Toss as part of the CBS 4 Together 4 Colorado Toy Drive. Both games will also be broadcasted on NCHC.tv.
The Pioneers are coming off a weekend split against the Omaha Mavericks, winning 6-3 on Saturday after dropping the series opener by a 3-0 score. Goaltender
Magnus Chrona made a season-high 37 saves on Friday before stopping 23 shots in Saturday's victory. Chrona's 37 stops were the second-most of his career and two shy of his personal record of 39 that he set on Jan 4, 2020 versus Massachusetts.
Denver had five different scorers and 11 players earn at least a point in Saturday's victory. Defenseman
Mike Benning scored twice, while
Tristan Broz,
Casey Dornbach and
Aidan Thompson also had multi-point outings with a goal and an assist each.
The Sun Devils are 8-7-0 overall and own a 1-5-0 record on the road this season. They are coming off a weekend split at home against then-No.2 Minnesota, falling 3-2 on Friday before winning 6-5 in overtime on Saturday, with Robert Mastrosimone tallying the game-winner in extra time. Prior to Saturday's win, ASU had lost three a row, which came after a five-game winning streak.
DU and ASU met four times last season, with the Pioneers winning both matchups in Colorado and Arizona. It was the most contests that Denver played against a non-conference opponent since also facing U.S. International University four times in 1983-84.
This weekend marks the ninth and 10th all-time matchups between Denver and Arizona State, with the Pios owning a 4-0-1 mark in the last five meetings and a 4-0-0 record at home. Overall, the Pioneers are 6-1-1 all-time against the Sun Devils. The two-game set also marks the third time in the last four seasons that DU and ASU will face each other in a series.
DU will be playing its first non-conference outings since sweeping No. 11 Providence on Oct. 21-22 at Magness Arena and is opening a stretch where it will play non-NCHC opponents in six of the next eight games (all at home). The Pios are 4-2-0 in non-conference games this season.
SCOUTING THE SUN DEVILS: ASU is in their first season in its brand new rink, Mullett Arena, where it is 6-2-0 on the year. Arizona State is 2-3-0 against ranked teams this year, which includes rallying to defeat then-No. 9 North Dakota 3-2 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Oct. 29 in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game. Arizona State is led offensively by Mastrosimone, who is first on the squad in goals (six), assists (10-tied) and points (16). Josh Doan is tied for first on the squad with 10 assists as well and ranks second with four goals (tied) and 14 points. Goaltender TJ Semptimphelter has played all 15 games this year and owns a 2.59 goals-against average, .918 save percentage and three shutouts.
CONNECTIONS: DU Head Athletic Trainer Aaron Leu worked at the Sports Medicine Institute Physical Therapy Clinic and Arizona Boys Ranch in Phoenix, Arizona, from 1996-1999 …
Sean Behrens has family in Arizona … ASU forward Matthew Kopperud was born and grew up in Denver; he appeared eight games with Denver East High School in 2016-17 but played the majority of that season in Junior-A in Canada … Matthew's father, John Kopperud, led Denver East to the Tier-II High School National Championship in 2022 … ASU's Blake Dangos and DU's
McKade Webster and
Jack Caruso are all from St. Louis, Missouri … Jackson Niedermayer (Newport Beach), Ty Murchison (Corona) and DU's
Kyle Mayhew (Anaheim Hills) are all from Southern California …
Sean Behrens and
Jack Devine were teammates with the Sun Devils' Ty Murchison for two seasons at the U.S. National Team Development Program from 2019-2021 …
Matt Davis and Tanner Hickey played together on the AJHL's Spruce Grove Saints in 2018-19 …
Connor Caponi and Ethan Szmagaj were teammates on the USHL's Waterloo Black Hawks from 2018-2020 … Teddy Lagerback played with
Owen Ozar with Waterloo in 2020-21 …
McKade Webster and Ryan O'Reilly played together on the USHL's Green Bay Gamblers from 2019-2020, and
Justin Lee and O'Reilly were teammates briefly with the Fargo Force in 2018-19 …
Carter Mazur and Benji Eckerle played together with the Tri-City Storm of the USHL in 2019-20 …
Massimo Rizzo was on the BCHL's Penticton Vees with Jackson Niedermayer in 2018 and skated two seasons with Lukas Sillinger in Penticton from 2017-2019 …
Tyler Haskins played with Blake Dangos on the USHL Madison Capitols last season.
NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS: The Pioneers return to non-conference play and will look to build on their past success in its own building. Denver has won 15 consecutive home non-conference matchups since Oct. 18, 2019 and is 19-0-2 in the last 21 non-NCHC games at Magness Arena dating back to Dec. 30, 2017.
Overall, Denver will play 12 non-conference games against seven different opponents this season. The Pioneers hosted then-No 11 Notre Dame and Maine on Oct. 7-8 and then-No. 11 Providence Oct. 21-22 and will face Arizona State (Dec. 2-3), Lindenwood (Dec. 16-17) and Alaska Fairbanks (Jan. 6-7) at Magness Arena later this year. DU's only two road non-conference contests took place with a series at then-No. 13 Massachusetts on Oct. 14-15. The season-opening games against Notre Dame and Maine marked the only time before the postseason that Denver will play two different opponents on back-to-back days.
HOME-ICE ADVANTAGE: The Pios are 30-5-1 in their last 36 contests in their own rink and sport a 38-9-2 record at Magness Arena since the start of the 2019-20 campaign. Denver went 17-1-1 during the 2021-22 season in its own barn and had a 22-1-1 mark in games in the state of Colorado, including winning both matchups at the Denver-hosted NCAA West Regional in Loveland, Colo.
MAGIC MIKE (BENNING): Defenseman
Mike Benning scored twice on Saturday vs. Omaha for his first multi-goal game of the season and the fifth of his career. It was his first multi-goal performance since Feb. 26, 2022 at Omaha.
Benning, who had three multi-goal outings last year, now has four goals on the season and leads all team defensemen in tallies (4) and points (9). He ranks first among DU rear guards with three multi-point contests in 2022-23 and has the fourth-most overall on the squad behind
Casey Dornbach,
Carter Mazur and
Massimo Rizzo (all with five).
BATTLE AT BALL ARENA: The Pioneers' game on Friday, Jan. 27 against rival Colorado College has been moved from DU's Magness Arena to downtown Denver's Ball Arena, home of the 2022 Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche.
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On the heels of Denver earning the moniker of being "Hockey Capital USA" with national championships at the NHL, college, high school and pee-wee level, the game vs. CC will mark DU's first regular-season contest at the NHL arena. The Pioneers did play an exhibition outing at the then-called Pepsi Center on Oct. 6, 2012 vs. the University of British Columbia to accommodate a U.S. Presidential Debate that occurred the same week at Magness Arena.
The Pioneers and CC Tigers have met 332 times previously in their history, presently the second-most played rivalry in college hockey behind only Michigan and Michigan State (333 games). Fans who previously had tickets for the Jan. 27 game at Magness Arena will be reseated in a comparable location at Ball Arena.
RECENT STRETCHES:
NATIONAL LEADERBOARD
- Massimo Rizzo is tied for third in the nation in assists (14) and tied for eighth in points (18).
- Carter Mazur is tied for third in the country in goals (12) and tied for 25th in points (16).
- Casey Dornbach is tied for 13th in the NCAA in assists (11) and tied for 16th in points (17).
PETER MCNAB HONORED: The Pioneers honored former forward Peter McNab in a pregame ceremony on Saturday. In addition to a tribute video and moment of silence, Peter's brother, David, dropped the puck in a ceremonial faceoff while being joined on the ice by two of Peter's DU teammates, Eddie Hayes and Ron Grahame. Denver also honored McNab by wearing "PM 15" decals on the players' helmets in the contest.
McNab played at DU for three seasons from 1970-1973, helping the team to at least the national semifinals each year. He ranks 10th all-time in program history with 170 career points and is tied for sixth in goals with 78 with Dallas Gaume, reaching those marks in only 105 NCAA games played. In 1972-73, McNab led the Pios with 72 points and was named to the All-WCHA First Team and the NCAA All-Tournament Team.
Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, but grew up in San Diego, California, McNab went on to play 14 seasons in the NHL with the Buffalo Sabres, Boston Bruins, Vancouver Canucks and New Jersey Devils before spending 35 years as an NHL broadcaster, including the past 27 as a TV analyst with the Colorado Avalanche. Inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame last December, he still ranks 21st among Americans in NHL scoring with 813 points (363 goals, 450 assists).
QUICK STRIKES: DU scored twice in a matter of 19 seconds in the second period on Saturday vs. Omaha, with
Mike Benning tallying at 3:49 and
Massimo Rizzo netting another at 4:08. It was the fastest two goals of the season by the Pioneers, surpassing the previous mark of 45 seconds from
McKade Webster and
Casey Dornbach at the end of the third period in the season opener on Oct. 7 vs. Notre Dame.
The quick strikes came two games after Denver scored five goals in a matter of 30:23 from midway in the second period to the end of the third period on Nov. 12 at North Dakota. That stretch marked the fastest five, four (19:40) and three goals (7:51) scored by the Pioneers this season, as
McKade Webster (7:40, 2nd),
Aidan Thompson (18:23, 2nd, PP),
Jared Wright (10:13, 3rd; 18:03 3rd, EN) and
Carter Mazur (12:23, 3rd) all found twine in that time.
DU's previous fastest three goals scored was 12:32 on Oct. 8 vs. Maine, while's its previous fastest four markers were in 24:06 on Oct. 7 vs. Notre Dame. That season-opening outing against the Fighting Irish also marked the fastest five markers, with the Pios accomplishing that feat in 43:57.
IN THE POLLS: Denver ranks No. 1 in the nation in the DCU/USCHO.com poll while dropping down to No. 2 in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll after the latest rankings were released on Monday. The Pioneers have been in the top four all season and have been No. 1 in six weekly rankings.
The Pioneers received 17 first-place votes in the DCU/USCHO.com poll and 10 top votes in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll. DU has a 13-point edge over second-place Quinnipiac (915-902) in the DCU/USCHO.com ranking and is just one point behind first-place Minnesota (635-634) in the other poll. The Gophers earned 11 first-place tallies in take the No. 1 spot in that ranking.
Overall, the NCHC has three teams in the polls with St. Cloud State (3/3) and Western Michigan (14/14) in both rankings. North Dakota received votes in each poll.
MONTH-BY-MONTH: DU finished the month of November with a 4-2-0 record and has posted a .500 mark or better in 12 straight months dating back to January 2021. The Pioneers posted an
above .500 record in all seven months last season.
GOOD TO BE HOME: The Pioneers are set to wrap up a four-game homestand and are in the midst of a stretch where they'll play 10 of the next 12 contests at Magness Arena. Minus the two bus trips down to Colorado College for games on Feb. 4 and March 4, the Pioneers only have three more road trips out of the state during the regular season.
TICKETS: Single-game tickets and five-game packs are on sale now.
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