DENVER – The 2022-23 edition of the Battle for the Gold Pan gets underway on Friday as the No. 5 Denver Pioneers hockey team takes on in-state rival Colorado College at Ball Arena in downtown Denver.
 
This will mark DU's first-ever regular-season game at the home of the NHL Colorado Avalanche and the 14th different venue that the Pioneers and Tigers have played one another in their storied history. Friday's contest is the first of four in the season series and the 333rd all-time matchup—the second-most in college hockey behind only Michigan and Michigan State (335 games).
 
A limited amount of tickets are still available. The game begins at 7 p.m. MT and will be broadcasted regionally on Altitude Sports and will also be available on NCHC.tv.
 
Denver (19-7-0, 10-4-0 NCHC) dropped both of its games last weekend at St. Cloud State in a top-five matchup. Despite leading 2-1 in the second period, the now-No. 1 Huskies scored three unanswered goals and went on to win 7-3 on Friday. The then-No. 3 Pioneers fell 2-0 in Saturday's contest as goalie Jaxon Castor stopped all 19 shots in the shutout.
 
Colorado College is 10-13-1 (6-7-1 NCHC) on the season and has dropped its last three games after defeating then-No. 3 St. Cloud State 4-2 on the road on Jan. 13.  CC lost both home games last weekend against No. 10 Western Michigan, falling by 4-1 scores on both Friday and Saturday at Ed Robson Arena.
 
The Pioneers won all four matchups last season against the Tigers, including posting shutouts in each of the first three contests. Denver outscored Colorado College 19-2 in 2021-22 and has won the last seven meetings
 
DU has claimed the Gold Pan each of the last three years and will need just a split in the four-game series to retain the trophy for a 17th time. CC will need to win the regular-season series outright to bring the Gold Pan back to Colorado Springs.
 
The teams will meet at Ed Robson Arena on Saturday, Feb. 4 before wrapping up the regular season against one another in a home-and-home set at DU and CC on March 3-4.
 
SCOUTING THE TIGERS: The Tigers are 3-7-1 away from Ed Robson Arena this season and are fifth in the NCHC standings with 20 points and a 6-7-1 conference record.  Hunter McKown is CC's leading scorer with 19 points on 14 goals and five assists and the only one with double-digit tallies.  Bryan Yoon is the team's top-scoring defenseman with 14 points (1g/13a) and leads the Tigers with 13 helpers on the year.  Goaltender Kaiden Mbereko has played most of the games in net for CC, making 17 starts and posting a 6-9-1 record, 2.44 goals-against average, .920 save percentage and three shutouts.
 
HISTORY VS. CC: Denver and Colorado College have played the second-most games in college hockey (332) games, with only Michigan and Michigan State having faced each other more (335).  DU owns a 190-121-21 mark in the all-time series and is riding a seven-game winning streak.  Denver is 11-1-1 in the last 13 matchups and has only officially lost five games against its in-state rival since the start of the 2014-15 campaign.  The Pioneers posted shutouts in the first three of the four matchups last season and outscored the Tigers 19-2 in those four contests.  DU has won each of the last six meetings played in Denver.  The Pios last played the Tigers in a "neutral" venue on March 23, 2019 at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, in the third-place game of the NCHC Frozen Faceoff (DU won 6-1).  Denver has a home record of 108-54-11 and a 159-96-21 mark in conference play against Colorado College.
 
CONNECTIONS: Denver Director of Hockey Operations Travis Culhane spent two seasons in the same role for Colorado College (2019-2021) ... Tigers assistant coach Peter Mannino is a former DU goaltender that won the 2005 National Championship and took home the MVP award at that year's Frozen Four ... Kyle Mayhew (Anaheim Hills) and Chad Sasaki (Cypress) are both from Orange County, California … Casey Dornbach and Brett Chorske are each from Edina, Minnesota … Noah Prokop and McKade Webster were teammates with the USHL Green Bay Gamblers in 2017-18 … Ethan Straky skated with Kent Anderson in Green Bay in 2021-22 and was teammates for two seasons at the U.S. National Team Development Program with Sean Behrens and Jack Devine from 2019-2021 … Behrens and Devine were also at the U.S. NTDP in 2019-20 with Hunter McKown and played with goalie Kaiden Mbereko at the program from 2019-2021 … Mbereko and Stanley Cooley were teammates of Aidan Thompson with the USHL Lincoln Stars last season, while Thompson skated two seasons at Lincoln with CC's Noah Laba and Gleb Veremyev from 2020-2022 … Cooley played with Mike Benning on the AJHL's Spruce Grove Saints from 2018-2020 … Ray Christy and Shai Buium played a few games together for the Sioux City Musketeers in the 2019-20 USHL season … Tyler Haskins skated with Nate Schweitzer with the USHL Sioux Falls Stampede in 2020-21 … Jared Wright and Cade Ahrenholz were teammates last season with the USHL Omaha Lancers … Ryan Beck skated with Tristan Lemyre and Lucas Olvestad in 2021-22 with the Dubuque Fighting Saints … CC has four players from Colorado on its roster—Kaiden Mbereko (Aspen), Jack Millar (Westminster), Noah Prokop (Highlands Ranch) and Brian Yoon (Parker)—while Aidan Thompson is Denver's lone representative from the state (Fort Collins).
 
IN THE POLLS: Denver ranks No. 5 in the USCHO.com poll and stayed at No. 3 in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll after the latest national rankings were released on Monday.  DU has been inside the top five all season in each weekly table.  In the Pairwise Ranking that determines the field for the national tournament, Denver is No. 5 behind Minnesota, St. Cloud State, Penn State and Quinnipiac.

AT BALL ARENA: The Pioneers are set to play their first-ever regular season game at Ball Arena, home of the 2022 Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche.  This contest was originally scheduled for Magness Arena on the DU campus before being moved, with an announcement taking place on Nov. 22.  Denver did play an exhibition contest at the downtown arena on Oct. 6, 2012 vs. the University of British Columbia in order to accommodate a U.S. Presidential Debate that occurred the same week at Magness Arena.
 
The then-No. 8 Pioneers staked to a 2-2 tie with UBC in the game, as David Makowski and Garrett Allen tallied to give DU a two-goal lead before UBC came back to force overtime.  Pioneer netminders Sam Brittain (14 saves) and Adam Murray (13 saves) both saw action in the contest.
 
DOESN'T MATTER THE VENUE: Ball Arena will mark the 14th different venue that the Pioneers and Tigers have played each other in.  The teams have played in five different rinks in the Denver area, including Coors Field in 2016 for the Battle on Blake and at McNichols Arena, the former home of the Avalanche (also at Magness Arena, DU Arena, Denver Coliseum).  DU and CC have squared off against one another in four arenas out of state, with three in Minnesota (Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul Civic Center and Target Center) and the other in Columbus, Ohio, at Nationwide Arena in April 2005 in the Frozen Four national semifinals—the Pioneers won en route to their second consecutive national title.  The teams have also faced each other at the Air Force Academy's Cadet Ice Arena, Broadmoor Ice Palace, World Arena and Ed Robson Arena in the Colorado Springs area.

REWIND: BATTLE ON BLAKE: DU and CC faced off at Coors Field on Feb. 20, 2016 in what was the first outdoor hockey game in the state.  Played on the diamond of the MLB's Colorado Rockies and in conjunction with the NHL Stadium Series between the Avalanche and Detroit Red Wings held a week later, the Pioneers earned a 4-1 victory in front of a crowd of 35,144—a record for any DU athletic event.  Jarid Lukosevicius and Colin Staub both scored early in the first period and Danton Heinen and Dylan Gambrell netted markers early in the third to lead the Pioneers to the 4-1 victory.  Cole McCaskill scored the lone goal for the Tigers with 4:57 remaining in the second period.  Will Butcher added two assists for DU, which received 19 saves from Tanner Jaillet and five from Evan Cowley late in the third period.  Denver went on to reach the Frozen Four in Tampa that season (the same site as this year's final four) and won the championship the next year in 2017.
 
CHRONA CAGING THE TIGERS: Goaltender Magnus Chrona guarded the pipes in each of the first three meetings last year against Colorado College, posting shutouts in each contest—Matt Davis played the series finale.  Dating back to 2020-21, Chrona has shutout the Tigers in four consecutive games and presently owns a 246:07 shutout streak that dates back to Feb. 25, 2021.
 
The Denver netminder owns two active shutout streaks of at least 100 minutes against single opponents, as he also hasn't allowed a goal in 151:15 against Miami University dating back to Oct. 29 of this season.
 
UP FOR THE HOBEY: Three Denver players are nominees for the 2023 Hobey Baker Award, given to college hockey's top player.  Junior defenseman Mike Benning and sophomore forwards Carter Mazur and Massimo Rizzo are three of over 80 players nationally that are up for the award.
 
Fan voting is live and runs through March 5 before 10 finalists will be announced on March 15.  The three Hobey Hat Trick finalists will be released on March 30 and the award will be given out on April 7 during the Frozen Four in Tampa.
 
Two DU players have earned the accolade previously: Matt Carle in 2006 and Will Butcher in 2017.  Last season, Bobby Brink was one of the three Hobey Hat Trick finalists.
 
CHRONA ON RICHTER WATCH LIST: Magnus Chrona was named to the Mike Richter Award Watch List on Jan. 12, as he was one of seven NCHC goaltenders and among 41 keepers nationally to be up for the honor.  College hockey's goaltender of the year award will be narrowed down to approximately 15 players in the coming weeks, and the winner will be chosen on Friday, April 7 during Frozen Four festivities in Tampa, Florida.
 
NATIONAL LEADERBOARD

• Carter Mazur is tied for second in goals (17).
• Massimo Rizzo is tied for fourth in assists (22) & is tied for seventh for points (32).
• Casey Dornbach is tied for 15th in points (26).
• Mike Benning is tied for fifth among defensemen in the country in points (22) and is eighth in goals (7) by a blueliner.
• Magnus Chrona is tied for fourth in wins (15).

 
MONTH-BY-MONTH: Denver is 3-3-0 in the month of January and has posted at least a .500 record in 13 straight months dating back to January 2021. DU has been greater-than .500 in 10 straight months and can make it 11 in a row with a win on Friday.
 
IN THE CHRONA ZONE: Goaltender Magnus Chrona posted consecutive shutouts for the second time in his career on Jan. 13-14 against Miami.  All three of his shutouts this season have come against the RedHawks, with him also posting a clean sheet on Oct. 28 in Oxford, Ohio.
 
The Swede had his season-long 132:36 shutout streak come to end on Friday against St. Cloud State, finishing as the 12th-longest shutout streak in program history.  Chrona joined Wade Dubielewicz (3) and  Peter Mannino (2) as the only goalies in school history to go on a perfect run of at least 120 minutes.  Chrona owns the program's third-longest shutout streak (198:10) after not allowing a goal across parts of five games from Jan. 15-28, 2022.
 
Chrona now has 12 career shutouts, sharing third place in school history with Adam Berkhoel (2000-2004) and is tied for the second-most in NCHC history.  Last season, he recorded six shutouts, tied for third-most in a campaign in the school annals and one behind the record of seven accomplished by both Adam Berkhoel (2003-04) and Gerry Powers (1967-68). 
 
MAGNUS IN THE RECORD BOOKS: Magnus Chrona made his 100th career start in net on Jan. 20 vs. Miami after playing in his 100th career game on Jan. 7 vs. Alaska.  The only game of Chrona's career that he did not start and entered in relief was on Feb. 28, 2020 at St. Cloud State.  He is the eighth Pioneer netminder to reach the century mark in games played and ranks sixth in school history with 104 games played—Scott Robinson (1978-1982) is next on the list in fifth place with 107 games.  Chrona's 66 career wins are the fourth-most in the DU annals.
 
MASS-IVE STREAK: Sophomore forward Massimo Rizzo had his career-long point streak end at 11 games on Friday at St. Cloud State. It was the second-longest point streak in the NCAA this season, as only Austen Swankler of Bowling Green has a longer one with a current 18-game run.  Despite the overall personal-best stretch coming to an end, Rizzo still has a nine-game home point streak still active (5g/7a).
 
Rizzo recorded six goals and eight assists during his 11-game run that started on Nov. 26 vs. Omaha and was tied for the fourth-longest at DU since the 2005-06 season.  Only Danton Heinen (18 games), Bobby Brink (14 games) and Dylan Gambrell (13 games) have had better runs in that time.  Rizzo has recorded at least a point in 21-of-26 contests this season.
 
BROZ BREAKING OUT: Sophomore Tristan Broz has points in 11 of his last 13 games, which included a career-long, four-game point streak from Dec. 9-17 (3g/5a) and personal-best four-goal game on Jan. 14 vs. Miami—the first four-goal by a DU player since Kevin Doell on Feb. 21, 2003 vs. Michigan Tech.  Broz, who transferred from the University of Minnesota in the offseason, has registered 18 (8g/10) of his 20 points on the season in the 13 games since Nov. 26 against Omaha.
 
IN THE NCHC: DU is second in the NCHC standings with 29 points and a 10-4-0 record, as St. Cloud State owns the tiebreaker for first place with head-to-head wins (1-3-0 vs. SCSU).  The Pioneers will play league opponents in each of their final eight weeks of the regular season.
 
HOME SWEET HOME: Denver is 13-3-0 at home this season, winning each of its last three contests.  The Pios wrapped up a season-long six-game homestand from Dec. 16-Jan. 14 with a 5-1-0 mark and had 10 contests at Magness Arena in a 12-game stretch from Nov. 25-Jan. 14 (8-2-0).  Denver will play eight of its final 10 remaining outings in Colorado, as the only time the squad will be out of state is at Western Michigan on Feb. 24-25.
 
HOME-ICE ADVANTAGE: The Pios are 37-6-1 in their last 44 contests in their own rink and sport a 45-10-2 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, Colorado.
 
SEASON BENCHMARKS: The Pioneers owned a 16-4-0 record and an .800 winning percentage at the 20-game mark this season (games through Dec. 17), the program's best marks since also starting the season 16-4-0 (.800) in 2007-08.  Denver sported a 14-4-0 record and .777 winning percentage at the halfway mark of its season prior to its games vs. Lindenwood on Dec. 16-17, which was also its best since 2007-08 (14-4-0, .777). 
 
The Pioneers were 9-3-0 (.750) at their one-third mark this season, the team's most wins since 2012-13 (9-3-0) and its best winning percentage since 2019-20 (8-2-2, .750).  Denver is playing 36 games this season instead of the usual 34 due to the exemption given to teams that participate in the Ice Breaker Tournament.
 
BEHRENS AT THE WORLD JUNIORS: Sophomore defenseman Sean Behrens won a bronze medal with the United States at the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Moncton, New Brunswick, from Dec. 26-Jan. 5.  After falling to eventual gold-medal winner Canada in the semifinals, the Americans pulled off an 8-7 win in overtime last Thursday against Sweden to earn a medal at its 14th under-20 tournament.  Behrens finished with three points (1g/2a) in seven games and was named the U.S.'s player of the game in the opener on Dec. 26 vs. Latvia after producing a goal and an assist in the victory.
 
BENNING'S DECEMBER TO REMEMBER: Mike Benning was named the NCHC Player of the Month for December after he led all conference skaters with 10 points (3g/7a) in six games during the month.  DU teammate Tristan Broz (3g/6a) and Western Michigan forward Ryan McAllister (3g/6a) ranked second in the conference with nine points each. St. Cloud State's Dylan Anhorn and Jack Peart were the next top-scoring NCHC defensemen with six points apiece.
 
Benning had four multi-point efforts in December, and his 10 points were the most he ever produced in a month, surpassing his previous high of seven that he accomplished three times previously: December 2020 (1g/6a), February 2022 (4g/3) and March 2022 (1g/6a). 
 
 
TICKETS: Single-game tickets are on sale now. Click here for more.

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