DENVER – The University of Denver hockey team gets set to play its first home games of the 2023-24 season this weekend, as the No. 2-ranked Pioneers host Augustana University on Friday and the Air Force Academy on Saturday at Magness Arena.
 
Friday's game begins at 7 p.m. MT, and Saturday's start time is at 6 p.m. MT. Both games will be broadcasted on NCHC.tv and Saturday's in-state matchup with the AFA Falcons will also be televised regionally on Altitude Sports. Limited tickets are available for both games.
 
Denver is also hosting homecoming this weekend as the program after opening the season with four consecutive road games. Friday's game marks the latest first home opener that the DU program has played since the 1995-96 campaign since it hosted Clarkson University on the same date, Oct 27, 1995, at the old DU Arena. Denver is 52-18-4 all-time in home openers and are 18-5-1 in such games at Magness Arena.
 
The Pioneers are 3-1-0 on the season after splitting their games last weekend in New England at then-No. 10 Providence and No. 3 Boston College. DU's rally fell one goal short as it lost 4-3 at Providence last Friday, but the squad responded with a 4-3 victory at BC. The victory over the Eagles marked the Pioneers' first win in a top-three regular season matchup on the road since then-No. 3 DU beat then-No. 1 BC 4-2 in Chestnut Hill on Oct. 14, 2011.
 
Friday's matchup with Augustana (South Dakota) will be the first between the programs, as the Vikings are in their first season at the NCAA Division-I level. The last school that the Pioneers played for the first time was last year when they swept a weekend set against Lindenwood University (Missouri) on Dec. 16-17, 2022.
 
Denver's series with Air Force goes back to 1972, with the Pioneers owning a 40-4-1 all-time record in the matchups. DU has won the last six games, including sweeping a home-and-home set two years ago on Oct. 15-16, 2021, winning 4-1 at the Academy before goaltender Matt Davis earned his first career shutout in an 8-0 victory at Magness Arena.
 
The Pioneers have a 25-2-0 all-time record at home versus the Falcons. Denver has never lost to Air Force at Magness Arena (13-0-0) and has won 18 straight home games dating back to Feb. 12, 1980.
 
DU is halfway through a section of its schedule where it is playing six games against six different opponents, which stretches from Oct. 8 at Alaska Fairbanks to Nov. 3 against Colorado College. The last time the Pioneers played six different teams in as many games during the regular season was Dec. 20, 2003-Jan. 9, 2004 when they faced Minnesota State, Niagara, Omaha, St. Lawrence, Wayne State and Minnesota Duluth.
 
LAST TIME OUT: The Pioneers split their weekend series in New England, playing two one-goal contests against Hockey East opponents. No. 2 DU lost 4-3 at the No. 10 Providence Friars on Friday night before rallying in the third period to down the No. 3 Boston College Eagles 4-3.
 
Jack Devine had two points with a goal and an assist on Friday and Massimo Rizzo and Shai Buium also scored as Denver nearly erased a two-goal deficit in the closing minutes. DU completed the comeback on Saturday by tallying twice on the power play in a three-goal third period. Rizzo notched a marker in the second period before Connor Caponi, Tristan Broz and Carter King found the back of the net in the final frame. King recorded the game-winner with 2:02 left in regulation during a scramble in front of the net.
 
NOTABLES

• Denver improved 4-1-0 in the last five games against Boston College and improved to 20-16-0 overall and 6-5-0 on the road in the all-time series. DU picked up its first win in Chestnut Hill since winning 6-1 on Oct. 28, 2017.
• DU dropped to 9-11-3 all-time against Providence College and 3-6-1 in true road games at the home of the Friars.
• Shai Buium scored his first goal of the season on Friday at Providence.
• Cale Ashcroft picked up his first career point with an assist on Massimo Rizzo's goal on Saturday.
• The Pioneers won 38 faceoffs on Saturday at BC. Massimo Rizzo led Denver by tying a career high with 14 wins at the dot (Oct. 22, 2022 vs. Providence) while Aidan Thompson won 12 draws—the second-straight game he reached double-digits.
• Denver has scored at least one power-play goal in all four games this season and has tallied multiple times with the man advantage in three contests.
• The Pioneers were held scoreless in the first period on Saturday, marking the first frame it hadn't tallied in this season and ending a run of nine straight stanzas.
• DU had killed off nine consecutive penalty kills stretching three games from Oct. 7-20 before Hudson Malinoski scored late in the first period for Providence on Friday.
• Denver's six penalty minutes and BC's 12 penalty minutes were the fewest by DU and its opponent in a game this season.
• The Pioneers have posted comebacks in all three wins this season (all were one-goal deficits).

 
TOP-RANKED MEETING: The No. 2 Pioneers game at No. 3 Boston College marked their first top-three matchup since facing both No. 2 Michigan and No. 1 Minnesota State in the 2022 Frozen Four in Boston. Denver's last regular season games that featured such a matchup was Feb. 23-24, 2018 when No. 3 DU played at No. 1 St. Cloud State (DU went 0-1-1).
 
DU picked up its first win in the regular season in a game between top-three programs since Nov. 18, 2017 when the squad was ranked No. 1 in the country and beat No. 3 North Dakota at home. That ended a stretch of consecutive top-three contests as the Pioneers (then ranked No. 3) swept a home series vs. No. 1 St. Cloud State the week before on Nov. 10-11, 2017. This was DU's first regular season win in a top-three matchup on the road since beating then-No. 1 Boston College 4-2 on Oct. 14, 2011 when the team was ranked No. 3 in the country.
 
BUCKBERGER EARNS WEEKLY HONORS: Freshman Boston Buckberger earned his first career weekly award from the NCHC on Monday as he was named the conference's Defenseman of the Week. He totaled two assists, two shots, one block and a plus-1 rating in the Pioneers' two games over the weekend in New England.
 
The Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, native is the first Denver freshmen to be recognized as the NCHC Defenseman of the Week since Sean Behrens did it three times in 2021-22.
 
DEVINE PERFORMANCES: Junior Jack Devine has recorded multiple points in all four games to begin the 2023-24 campaign—the longest point streak of his career. Devine opened the season on a personal-best three-game goal streak from Oct. 7-20 and combined for six points in the first two games of the year at Alaska Fairbanks, earning NCHC Forward of the Week honors on Oct. 9. Scoring the game-winning goal each night, Devine tied a career high with four points (2g/2a) on Oct. 7 before adding two more tallies on Oct. 8.
 
The Glencoe, Illinois, native had four points with one goal and three assists last weekend in New England. His four-game multi-point streak is the longest since linemate Massimo Rizzo had a five-game stretch from Oct. 21-Nov. 4, 2018 (4g/9a).
 
STREAKING: In addition to Devine's four game run, several other Pioneers are on streaks:

• Massimo Rizzo is also on a season-opening four-game point streak (2g/8a) and has scored in each of the last two games. He had a three-game assist streak from Oct. 7-20.
• Sean Behrens is on a three-game assist/point streak (0g/5a).
• Zeev Buium is on the first three-game assist/point streak of his career (1g/3a)

 
PIONEERS IN THE POLLS: Denver stayed at No. 2 in the country in both the USCHO.com and USA Hockey/The Rink Live national polls after the latest rankings were released every Monday.
 
The Pioneers led five NCHC-ranked teams in the polls, tied with Hockey East for the second-most behind the Big Ten (six). The league is also tied with the Big Ten and Hockey East for the most squads in the top 10 with three, as North Dakota moved up to No. 4/4 and Western Michigan is at No. 10/10. Minnesota Duluth is just outside the top-half of the polls at No. 11/12 while Omaha is ranked at No. 20 in the USCHO.com poll (received votes in the other ranking). St. Cloud State and Colorado College also received votes in each ranking.

NON-CONFERENCE MATCHUPS: DU will play 12 non-conference games against eight different opponents this season, with six of the matchups coming on the road (The Pioneers only played two road non-league games in 2022-23). After opening the season at Alaska Fairbanks on Oct. 7-8, Denver made a trip to New England for single-game outings at Providence and Boston College on Oct. 20-21. DU's last road non-NCHC outings are Nov. 10-11 when it travels to the desert to face Arizona State. NCAA newcomer Augustana (Oct. 27) and in-state foe Air Force (Oct. 28) visit Magness Arena for Homecoming Weekend, and the Pioneers will also host two-game sets vs. Yale (Nov. 24-25) and Niagara (Jan. 5-6) during the holidays.
 
HISTORY VS. AUGUSTANA: This will be the first-ever meeting between Denver and Augustana, which is in its first season of NCAA hockey. The program is a limited member of the CCHA for the first two years before playing a full schedule in the conference in 2025-26. The Vikings will open their brand-new Midco Arena in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on Jan. 26-27, 2024 vs. Ferris State. The last time that DU played a college hockey squad for the first time was Lindenwood University last season, with the Pioneers winning 5-0 and 5-4, respectively, on Dec. 16-17, 2022.
 
SCOUTING THE VIKINGS: Augustana is 2-2-0 on the season and is coming off a bye weekend following its first wins of the season. The Vikings won their first-ever game by defeating Bowling Green 3-2 in their home opener on Oct. 14, with Hunter Bischoff tallying the first AU goal in program history at 14:52 of the first period. Augustana earned the weekend sweep the next night with a 4-1 win vs. BGSU. The program made its NCAA debut on Oct. 7 with a 4-0 loss at Wisconsin. Augustana is set to begin a seven-game road trip as it won't play again at the Danny Sanford Premier Center until the back half of a home-and-home set with Omaha on Nov. 25. The Vikings have six players with two points this season, with Bischoff leading the team in goals with two. Goaltender Zach Rose has started three of the four games this year and has a 2-1-0 record, 2.33 goals-against average and .940 save percentage.
 
CONNECTIONS WITH AUGUSTANA: Augustana head coach Garrett Raboin is set to be an assistant coach on DU head coach' David Carle's USA coaching staff at the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship in Sweden … Freshman Sam Harris played the previous two years in in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, with the USHL Sioux Falls Stampede … Denver's Freddie Halyk and Augustana's Callus Gau played for the AJHL's Camrose Kodiaks last season … Kayden Hargraves is from Cheyenne, Wyoming … Denver's Garrett Brown (San Jose) and Augustana's Owen Bohn (Morgan Hill) are both from the Silicon Valley area in Northern California … AU's Jeff Hutchinson is from St. Louis, Missouri, the same hometown as DU's McKade Webster and Jack Caruso … DU's Miko Matikka (Helsinki) and Uula Ruikka (Oulu) are both from Finland, and Denver's Lucas Olvestad (Stockholm) and Simon Falk (Vasteras) are from Sweden … Chase Brand (St. Cloud State), Brady Ziemar (St. Cloud State) and Brian Silver (Miami) used to play for NCHC programs
 
HISTORY VS. AIR FORCE: Denver has a 40-4-1 all-time record against Air Force and has won six straight games dating back to Oct. 10, 2015.  DU is 8-1-1 in the last 10 matchups and 13-1-1 in the past 15 meetings. Denver has a 25-2-0 record on home ice and is 14-2-1 on the road in the series. The Pioneers have never lost to the Falcons at Magness Arena (13-0-0) and have won 18 straight home games dating back to Feb. 12, 1980. DU's last home loss was Jan. 15, 1980 at the old DU Arena. DU and AFA last played in a home-and-home set on Oct. 15-16, 2021, which saw the Pios win 4-1 at the Academy before earning an 8-0 home victory. Denver and Air Force served as the first-ever co-hosts of the Ice Breaker Tournament last October, which saw the Pioneers win the season-opening tournament after victories against Notre Dame and Maine. The Falcons' last win came in overtime (5-4) on Oct. 9, 2015 at Cadet Ice Arena.
 
SCOUTING THE FALCONS: Air Force is 3-3-0 on the season, going 2-2 at home and 1-1 on the road.  The Falcons have split all three of their series vs. Lindenwood, Michigan State and at Alaska Anchorage. The Cadets fell 3-1 in Anchorage last Friday before winning 4-3 in overtime on Saturday against the Seawolves, with Aust Schwartz tallying the game-winner shorthanded in extra time. Air Force hosts Colorado Springs-rival Colorado College on Friday in the programs' only meeting of the season and with the Pikes Peak Trophy up for grabs. Schwartz leads the Falcons with four goals this year, while Chris Hedden and Luke Rowe are tied for first on the squad in assists (six) and points (seven). Goaltender Guy Blessing has played every minute this season for AFA, owning a 3.54 goals-against average and .883 save percentage.
 
CONNECTIONS WITH AFA: Air Force head coach Frank Serratore served in the same role at Denver as he was the Pioneers' sixth-ever coach from 1990-1994 … Air Force has 10 players from Colorado on its roster in Lucas Coon (Steamboat Springs), Austin Schwartz (Parker), Jacob Marti (Highlands Ranch), Jasper Lester (Colorado Springs), Dominik Wasik (Superior) and Maiszon Balboa (Colorado Springs), while DU has three in Kieran Cebrian (Denver), Peter LaJoy (Evergreen) and Aidan Thompson (Fort Collins) … Jack Caruso was a teammate of Jesper Lester and Parker Brown with the NAHL Fairbanks Ice Dogs in 2019-20 … Will Staring played with DU's Kent Anderson with the USHL Green Bay Gamblers in 2021-22 … Chris Hedden and Denver's Jared Wright were teammates with the Omaha Lancers in 2021-22.
 
PREVIOUS MEETING VS. AIR FORCE (Oct. 16, 2021): The No. 11 Denver Pioneers hockey team swept its second consecutive weekend series with an 8-0 win over the Air Force Falcons at Magness Arena. Sophomore Carter Savoie recorded a career-high six points (three goals, three assists), including his first hat trick at DU, and freshman goaltender Matt Davis made all 25 saves for the shutout in his first collegiate start. Senior captain Cole Guttman also recorded a new personal best with four points (one goal, three assists) in the outing.
 
HOME-ICE ADVANTAGE: The Pios are 43-7-1 in their last 51 contests at Magness Arena and sport a 51-11-2 record on the DU hilltop since the start of the 2019-20 campaign.  DU hasn't lost consecutive home games since March 31-Feb. 1, 2020 vs. Minnesota Duluth.
 
Denver finished the 2022-23 season with a 20-4-0 record at home, winning 10 of its last 11 games and going 15-2-0 in its final 17 contests in the friendly confines.
 
IN HOME OPENERS: The Pioneers are 52-18-4 all-time in home openers, and they are 8-1-1 in the last 10 and 14-1-1 in the past 16 first contests at Magness Arena. Denver has a 18-5-1 overall record in home openers at Magness Arena since the building first opened in 1999-00, including wins in each of the past five. The Pioneers won 5-2 against Notre Dame in last year's home opener, which also served as the first game of the Ice Breaker Tournament.
 
Denver's 2023-24 home opener on Oct. 27 is the latest the team has played on its own ice since the 1995-96 campaign, when the program hosted Clarkson at the old DU Arena on the same dates, Oct. 27-28, 1995—the team opened the campaign the previous weekend at then-WCHA foe Wisconsin.  The Pioneers began the season with a four straight road games, their longest such away swing since 2019-20 when they started the year with series at Alaska Fairbanks and Lake Superior State.
 
DIFFERENT DAY, DIFFERENT OPPONENT: The Pioneers get set to play their second consecutive weekend where they'll play two different opponents on back-to-back days. DU played at Providence and Boston College on Oct. 20-21 and hosts Augustana and Air Force on Oct. 26-27.
 
Denver is also halfway through a segment in its schedule where it is playing six games against six different opponents, with this stretch beginning on Oct. 8 at Alaska Fairbanks and concluding on Nov. 3 vs. Colorado College. DU last played six different opponents in as many games during the 2018-19 NCHC and NCAA Tournaments, but the last time the Pioneers played six in six during the regular season was Dec. 20, 2003-Jan. 9, 2004 when they faced Minnesota State, Niagara, Omaha, St. Lawrence, Wayne State and Minnesota Duluth.
 
FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH: Denver is welcoming 10 freshmen to its roster this season, one of the largest incoming classes in recent years.  The last time DU had 10 freshmen on its roster was in 2018-19, one season after having 11 freshmen in 2017-18.  The Pioneers' 10 freshmen are tied for the seventh-most in the NCAA this season.
 
Denver's average age at the start of the season is 20.9 years-old, tied with Harvard for the second-youngest in the country behind Boston College (20.6).  Freshman defenseman Zeev Buium is the second-youngest player in the country, as he won't turn 18 years old until Dec. 7.  Boston University's Macklin Celebrini is the youngest, turning 18 next summer on June 13, 2024.
 

TICKETS: Single-game tickets, as well as 5-Game Packs and full and half-season ticket plans are all available to purchase here.