LOVELAND, Colo. – The University of Denver hockey team looks to secure a berth into the 2022 NCAA Frozen Four on Saturday afternoon as they face the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs in the NCAA West Regional Final at the Budweiser Events Center. Game time is at 2 p.m. MT, and it will be televised nationally on ESPNU.
 
DU and UMD will be playing for the sixth time this season and will face off in their second matchup in the last eight days. The Pioneers are 2-3-0 on the year versus the Bulldogs, which won the last meeting by a 2-0 score on March 18 in the NCHC Frozen Faceoff Semifinals in St. Paul, Minnesota.
 
The Pioneers are the No. 1 seed in the Loveland region and won 3-2 against No. 4-seed UMass Lowell on Thursday. Denver received third-period goals from Carter Savoie and Cameron Wright, with the latter ending up as the game-winner with 2:57 remaining. Savoie had given DU a 2-1 lead midway through the final frame, but UML tied the contest at 14:21. 
 
Brett Stapley also scored and three Denver defensemen had assists (Mike Benning, Kyle Mayhew and Justin Lee). Goaltender Magnus Chrona made 16 saves as the Pioneers outshot the River Hawks 28-18 in the game and improved to 9-2 all-time in national tournament games in the state of Colorado.
 
Minnesota Duluth is the No. 2 seed in the West after winning the NCHC Tournament last weekend and picked up a 3-0 victory vs. No. 3 Michigan Tech in the regional semifinals on Thursday. Goaltender Ryan Fanti posted 28 saves for his third consecutive shutout, and Kobe Roth tallied twice as the Bulldogs improved to 5-0 in this year's postseason.
 
Duluth won the previous matchup with Denver behind a 30-save effort from Fanti. Blake Biondi scored what ended up as the game-winner in the first period and Roth added an empty-net marker in the closing seconds. Pioneers goaltender Magnus Chrona made 29-of-30 saves in the outing to give DU a chance, but the squad wasn't able to solve Fanti.
 
Denver is looking to make the Frozen Four for the fourth time in the last five tries in the national tournament dating back to 2016. The Bulldogs have made four-straight Frozen Fours, including winning the national championship in both 2018 and 2019.
 
DU is 2-0 all-time versus UMD in national tournament games, with wins in the 2004 Frozen Four in Boston and the 2017 NCAA Championship Game in Chicago.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 on 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 … Carter Mazur was on USA's 2022 World Junior Championship team with UMD's Dominic James and Wyatt Kaiser.
 
HISTORY: The Pioneers are 2-3-0 vs. the Bulldogs this season, with the teams meeting last Friday in the NCHC Frozen Faceoff Semifinals in St. Paul.  UMD won that contest 2-0 to start Fanti's shutout streak.  Both teams have scored 14 goals against one another this year.  DU is 128-87-13 all time vs. UMD and own a 105-76-11 mark in conference play.  Denver went 2-2-0 against Minnesota Duluth during the regular season, splitting each series in Duluth and at Magness Arena.  The Pioneers defeated then-No. 6 UMD on Feb. 11 before falling 3-2 the following night in what was its first only home loss of the season.  DU posted a 5-0 shutout of UMD in Duluth on Dec. 10.  Denver is 4-5-0 all-time vs. UMD at neutral sites, which includes a 2-0 mark in the national Tournament—Denver won 5-3 in the 2004 Frozen Four and 3-2 in the 2017 NCAA Championship Game in Chicago.
 
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS: Minnesota Duluth defeated Michigan Tech 3-0 on Thursday in the first regional semifinal matchup in Loveland. Kobe Roth scored twice and Ryan Fanti stopped 28 shots for his third consecutive shutout.  Fanti, the NCHC Goaltender of the Year, sports a 20-11-4 record, 1.82 goals-against average, .928 save percentage and now seven shutouts.  UMD has won each of its five postseason games, which includes winning the NCHC Tournament last weekend.  Duluth went 19-15-4 during the regular season and sported a 10-10-4 mark in conference play.  Blake Biondi (17g/11a) is Duluth's leading goal scorer with 17 and is tied with Kobe Roth (16g/12) in points with 28. Quinn Olson is first on the club with 19 assists. 
 
SNAP SHOTS

• The Pioneers are looking to make the Frozen Four for the 17th time and second time in as many tries in the national tournament.
• Denver and Minnesota Duluth are playing a six-game season series against one another for the first time since 2014-15 (DU went 4-2-0).
• The Pios are 2-3-0 this season vs. UMD, with the teams even at 14 total goals apiece in the previous five games.

 
LAST GAME NOTABLES

• The Pioneers were playing their first national tournament game in Colorado in 18 years and improved to 9-2 all-time in such games in their home state.
• Denver has now won each of its last six regional semifinal games.
• DU entered the NCAA postseason with the fourth-best record since the holiday break among national tournament squads, going 16-4-1 (.786).
• Denver is now 22-1-0 this season when allowing two goals or less
• DU improved to 7-3-0 on the season when tied after the first period and 4-1-0 when tied after the second.
• DU has killed off 16 consecutive penalties dating back to Game 1 of the NCHC Quarterfinals vs. Miami on March 11.  The team's season-long streak is 19 straight from Jan. 15-28.  The Pios are 16-for-17 on the penalty kill during the playoffs.
• The Pios only allowed three shots on goal in the second period, tied for the second-fewest in a period this season (multiple times).  DU is outshooting opponents by a 485-321 margin in the middle frame and is outscoring foes 68-21.
• Denver blocked 16 shots, one shy of its season high of 17 set on Dec. 4 at Arizona State.
• Cameron Wright scored his 21st goal of the season to set a new career high for a single campaign, surpassing the 20 he had as a junior in 2019-20 with Bowling Green.
• Cole Guttman won 19 faceoffs and has now won 14 or more draws in 22 games this year.  He has finished 50 percent or better at the dot in 35-of-38 contests.
• Mike Benning recorded his 20th assist of the season.

 
NCAA REGIONALS IN COLORADO: DU is hosting the NCAA West Regionals at the Budweiser Events Center in Loveland—home of the American Hockey League's Colorado Eagles—for the second straight year after also doing so in 2021.  Denver was also selected to host the 2026 NCAA West Regionals, which will also be held in Loveland. Last year marked the first time that NCAA hockey tournament games were played in Colorado since 2008 when the Frozen Four was held at the then-called Pepsi Center in downtown Denver.
 
NATIONAL TOURNAMENT HISTORY: Denver is in the NCAA Tournament for the 31st time in program history and has reached the Big Dance in each of its last 13 full seasons dating back to 2008.
 
The Pioneers last made the national tournament in 2019 when it played in the Frozen Four in Buffalo, N.Y., and fell 4-3 in double-overtime to UMass in the national semifinals.  DU has reached the Frozen Four in three of its last four tries, including winning the championship in 2017.
 
Denver is…

• 37-24 all-time in the NCAA Tournament
• 8-2 in their last 10 national tournament games dating back to 2017
• 11-4 in their last 15 national tournament games dating back to 2015

 
EXPERIENCE WITH THE NATTYS: Only five players on Denver's roster had experience in the national tournament prior to Thursday's game. DU had 15 players make its NCAA Championship debut in the contest with the River Hawks
 
Players With Previous National Tournament Experience
5 – Ryan Barrow
3 – Cole Guttman
3 – Kyle Mayhew
3 – Brett Stapley
1 – Cameron Wright
 
NCAA TOURNAMENT MISCELLANEOUS

• DU's eight championships are tied for the second-most in NCAA history, with only Michigan having one more (9).
• The Pioneers went 7-6-0 against other NCAA Tournament teams during the 2021-22 season, with them all of them being NCHC conference opponents.
• DU had the fourth-best record since the holiday break among squads entering the tournament, going 16-4-1 (.786).
• Cameron Wright has the most career goals (71) and power-play goals (29) and second-most points (131) by active players in this year's tournament. His 181 career games are third-most in the category with only North Dakota's Connor Ford (184) and St. Cloud State's Seamus Donohue (182) having more.
• The Pios lead all tournament teams with eight, 10+ goal scorers and four, 40+ point players. They also have the only two, 20-goal scorers in the country in Carter Savoie and Cameron Wright.
• DU has the most freshmen (9-tied) and fewest seniors (5-tied) among tournament squads. The team has the top-scoring freshman class among the 16 teams (133 points)
• David Carle is making his third appearance in the national tournament as a head coach.
• Bobby Brink and Cole Guttman are tied for the highest scoring pair of teammates at the tournament (98 points, with Minnesota State's Nathan Smith and Julian Naprvnik).
• Brink, Guttman and Carter Savoie (140 points) are the highest-scoring trio in the tournament.

 
TWENTY SOMETHINGS: Sophomore Carter Savoie and fifth-year senior Cameron Wright lead the team with 21 goals each this season, the most by a Pioneer since Henrik Borgstrom had 23 and Jarid Lukosevicius had 21 in the 2017-18 season.  Denver was the first team in the nation to have two, 20-goal scorers, with Savoie and Wright presently ranking tied for fifth in the nation in markers.
 
Michigan became the second school with two players with 20 goals after Matty Beniers and Brendan Brisson both hit the mark in the Wolverines' first-round win over AIC on Friday.
 
BARROW APPROACHING GAMES PLAYED RECORD: Fifth-year senior Ryan Barrow appeared in his 165th career game on Thursday vs. UMass Lowell, taking sole possession of second-place all-time in program history.  He was previously tied with Gabe Gauthier (2002-06), Rod Summers (1986-90) and Scott Mathias (1985-89). Barrow is now two games away from tying Ed Cristofoli's school record of 167 games that he set from 1985-1989.
 
WRIGHT UP THE CHARTS: Senior Cameron Wright appeared in his 175th career NCAA game on Feb. 25 at Omaha, becoming just the 27th player in D-I college hockey history to reach that many games played.  Earning an extra year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Wright was the seventh NCAA player this season to achieve the feat. He presently ranks tied for fourth all-time in games played with 182.
 
AWARD WINNERS: The Pioneers won four individual awards at the NCHC Awards Celebration in St. Paul on March 17, highlighted by Bobby Brink being named both the conference's Player and Forward of the Year.
 
Brink is the fourth Denver player to earn NCHC Player of the Year honors, as Henrik Borgstrom last won the award in 2018.  Will Butcher also earned the honor in 2017 as well as Joey LaLeggia in 2015.
 
Borgstrom was also named Forward of the Year in 2018, while Danton Heinen took the accolade in 2016 and Trevor Moore in 2015.
 
Carter Mazur became the third Pioneer to be named the NCHC Rookie of the Year, as Borgstrom picked up the award in 2017 and Danton Heinen in 2015.
 
Goaltender Magnus Chrona was named the winner of the Three Stars Award, the first DU player to pick up the honor. The award is calculated based on how many times the player was recognized in the end-of-game three stars ceremony in conference games.
 
TICKETS: NCAA Regional tickets are available for the Loveland Regional by clicking here.

DONATE: Fans interested in making a donation to the Pioneers Athletic Fund can do so by clicking here. Your gift will transform the lives of our student-athletes by giving them the first-class resources needed to excel in the classroom and beyond. Thank you for Building Pioneers for Life!
 
Visit DenverPioneers.com for complete coverage of all 18 of DU's NCAA Division I sports
Like Denver Pioneers and Denver Hockey on Facebook
Follow @DU_Pioneers and @DU_Hockey on Twitter
Follow @DenverPioneers and @DU_Hockey on Instagram