DENVER – The No. 2 University of Denver hockey team begins the 2023-24 Gold Pan series this weekend with a home-and-home set against in-state rival Colorado College.
 
The Pioneers host the Tigers in the series opener on Friday at 7 p.m. MT at Magness Arena before the series shifts down to Ed Robson Arena in Colorado Springs on Saturday at 6 p.m. MT. Both games will be broadcasted on NCHC.tv, with Friday's contest also airing regionally on Altitude 2 and Saturday's outing available on CW in Colorado.
 
Denver is 4-1-1 through six games this year and is unbeaten in its last three contests (2-0-1). DU went 1-0-1 last weekend, tying Augustana 5-5 before shutting out Air Force 4-0.
 
Colorado College is 5-1-0 on the season and sits just outside both national rankings. Friday marks the Tigers' first road game outside of Colorado Springs, as they've started with three straight weekends at home or the Air Force Academy. CC won its the first five outings of 2023-24 before suffering its first loss last Saturday against Augustana, falling 4-3.
 
This weekend marks the start of conference play for both squad, and it will be the first meeting between the programs since they met last March in the NCHC Frozen Faceoff Semifinals. Colorado College won 1-0 in that outing on March 17 at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, with Hunter McKown scoring the only goal on a power play and goalie Kaiden Mbereko stopping 23 shots in the clean sheet.
 
The Pioneers had won 11 consecutive games against the Tigers prior to that postseason contest, including sweeping the previous two, regular-season series. Denver has claimed the Gold Pan trophy in each of the last four years and only needs a series split in 2023-24 to retain it for another season.
 
DU owns a 194-122-21 all-time record versus CC and is 111-54-11 at home in the series. This weekend marks the 338th and 339th all-time meeting between the programs, the most between two teams all-time in college hockey (Michigan and Michigan State have played 337 times).
 
LAST TIME OUT: Denver went unbeaten (1-0-1) over Homecoming Weekend with a 5-5 tie on Friday against Augustana before defeating in-state foe Air Force 4-0 on Saturday.  DU scored the first three goals on Friday vs. the Augustana before the Vikings rallied and forced overtime with a late goal in the third period. AU won the game-ending shootout, 1-0, but the game officially goes down as a tie per NCAA rules.
 
The Pioneers responded vs. the in-state foe Falcons with a shutout victory, led by 24 saves from freshman goaltender Freddie Halyk and two goals by junior Massimo Rizzo. Carter King (1g/1a) and Boston Buckberger (0g/2a) also had multiple points in DU's victory.
 
HALYK'S MEMORABLE START: Freshman goaltender Freddie Halyk made his first career start on Saturday vs. Air Force and stopped all 24 shots to earn the shutout.  The last DU goalie to post a clean sheet in his first career start was Matt Davis, who also accomplished the feat against the AFA Falcons on Oct. 16, 2021 (25 saves).
 
Halyk, who made his NCAA debut by playing the final 3:29 on Oct. 8 at Alaska Fairbanks, also picked up his first career point in the outing against the Academy by registering a secondary assist on Massimo Rizzo's insurance goal in the third period.
 
PAIR OF PIOS NAMED PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Junior Massimo Rizzo was named the NCHC Forward of the Week on Monday while defenseman Boston Buckberger was selected as the conference's Rookie of the Week.  Rizzo recorded multiple points in both games last week and combined four points (3g/1a), including tallying the game-winner on Saturday. Buckberger totaled three points (1g/2a) and finished with two blocks and a plus-4 rating in two outings.
 
Buckberger picks up his second straight weekly honor after being chosen as Defenseman of the Week on Oct. 23. This is Rizzo's first honor of the season and his third career Forward of the Week accolade, as won the award twice last year.
 
MONTHY HONORS: Defenseman Boston Buckberger was selected as the NCHC Rookie of the Month for October, while forward Massimo Rizzo was named both the NCHC Player of the Month and the National Co-Player of the Month by the Hockey Commissioners Association. Rizzo led the NCHC and tied for third in the country in scoring with 14 points (5g/9a).
 
Rizzo's two honors are the first of his career. He last picked up a NCHC monthly honor as a freshman at the top rookie of October 2021. Mike Benning was the last Pioneer to be awarded NCHC Player of the Month in February 2023, and Benning was also the last DU player to be selected as the National Player of the Month in March/April 2022. Rizzo shared the monthly honor with Michigan's Rutger McGroarty, who had one more point than Rizzo but also played in two more games (8).
 
Buckberger led all NCHC freshmen with seven points (2g/5a) in six games and tied for sixth nationally among all rookies in scoring.  Buckberger is the first DU player to be named Rookie of the Month since Carter Mazur in March/April 2022, and he is the first defenseman in program history to be recognized with the honor.  In NCHC history, he is just the fourth different blueliner and fifth overall to win Rookie of the Month, joining Minnesota Duluth's Scott Perunovich (March/April 2018, November 2017) and North Dakota's Tanner Poolman (March/April 2015) and Paul Ladue (February 2014).
 
DEVINE PERFORMANCES: Junior Jack Devine recorded multiple points in the first five games to begin the 2023-24 campaign—the longest multi-point streak by a Pioneer since linemate Massimo Rizzo had a five-game stretch from Oct. 21-Nov. 4, 2022 (4g/9a).
 
The Glencoe, Illinois, native had a goal and two assists on Friday vs. Augustana for his sixth career contest with three or more points and second of the season (Oct. 7 at Alaska Fairbanks).  He was held off the scoresheet on Saturday against Air Force, ending his career-long point streak at five games (6g/7a).
 
STREAKING:

• Massimo Rizzo is on a season-opening, six-game point streak (5g/9a) and is on a four-game goal streak, matching a career long (Nov. 26-Dec. 9, 2022).
• Sean Behrens is on a five-game assist/point streak (0g/7a), tying his career high in both scoring categories from Oct. 8-22, 2021.
• Freshman Boston Buckberger is on a personal-best, four-game point streak (1g/4a).
• Rieger Lorenz has points in each of the last three contests, tying a career long (Jan. 7-14, 2022).

NO FLY ZONE: Denver won its seventh straight game vs. Air Force with the 4-0 win and improved to 14-1-1 in the last 16 games.  DU leads the all-time series 41-4-1.
 
The Pioneers also shutout the Falcons in their last meeting with an 8-0 win on Oct. 16, 2021 at Magness Arena and owns a 160:01 shutout streak dating back to Oct. 15, 2021 at the Academy.  DU has shutout Air Force in nearly four full games at Magness Arena, as the Pios haven't allowed a goal on their home ice vs. the Falcons in 238:17—Dylan Abood scored the last Air Force goal at DU's home rink at 1:43 of the first period on Oct. 10, 2015.
 
NOTABLES

• Denver faced Augustana for the first time in program history on Friday in its home opener, as the Vikings are in their first season of NCAA Division-I hockey.
• DU is now 52-18-5 all-time in home openers and owns a 18-5-2 mark in the opening game at Magness Arena.
• Denver's tie ended a five-game winning streak in home openers, as its last non-victory in the first home game was a 3-3 tie to Lake Superior State on Oct. 20, 2017.
• The Pioneers' shutout victory was their first of the season; they had five clean sheets last year.
• DU's 4-0 win over Air Force tied the program's largest margin of victory of the season (7-3 win at Alaska Fairbanks on Oct. 7).
• Sean Behrens recorded his 50th career assist on Friday vs. Augustana.
• Freshman defenseman Garrett Brown register his first career point with an assist on Friday.
• Freshman Alex Weiermair made his NCAA debut on Saturday vs. Air Force while sophomore Tristan Lemyre made his season debut on Friday vs. Augustana.
• Freshman Cale Ashcroft scored his first career goal on Saturday.

LOOKING TO KEEP THE GOLD PAN: Denver retained the Gold Pan trophy over Colorado College for the fourth straight season and 17th time overall after sweeping the four-game regular-season series last year (4-0-0).  In circulation since 1993-94, the Gold Pan is given to the team that wins the season series between the in-state rivals.  Since the Pioneers hold the trophy, they only need a series split in 2023-24 to retain it while the Tigers have to win the four-game series outright.
 
HISTORY VS. CC: Denver and Colorado College are set to play in the 338th and 339th all-time meeting, the most between two teams all-time in college hockey (Michigan and Michigan State have played 337 times).  DU has a 194-122-21 all-time record against CC and won 11 consecutive games from Jan. 2, 2021 to March 4, 2023 before the Tigers won the last matchup.  The teams played in four different venues last season, Ball Arena and Magness Arena in Denver, Ed Robson Arena in Colorado Springs and Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn.; the teams have faced off in 14 different venues in the series that began on Jan. 6, 1950. Colorado College picked up its first win in the last meeting versus Denver with a 1-0 victory in the NCHC Frozen Faceoff Semifinals on March 17, 2023; the first-ever meeting between the teams in the NCHC semifinals. DU is 15-2-1 in the past 18 matchups, which includes earning six shutouts in that time, and has only officially lost six games (non-shootout losses) against its in-state rival since the start of the 2014-15 campaign.  The Pioneers are 111-54-11 at home vs. the Tigers and own a 76-64-10 record on the road, including going 4-0-0 at CC's new home, Ed Robson Arena (opened in 2021-22). DU goaltender alum Magnus Chrona (2019-2023) had a shutout streak of 350:11 against Colorado College that stretched seven games and included five full shutouts over the course of three seasons from Feb. 25, 2021 to Feb. 4, 2023.
 
SCOUTING THE TIGERS: Colorado College is 5-1-0 on the season, with the Tigers winning the first five games before losing 4-3 against Augustana last Saturday. CC, which began the year with five consecutive home outings, before defeating Air Force 6-2 at the Academy last Friday. CC is playing its first eight games and 12 of the first 14 outings in the state of Colorado. The Tigers' first road outing is next weekend, Nov. 10-11 in Oxford, Ohio, against Miami. The Tigers are outscoring opponents 4.8-2.5 this year and outshooting them 31.3-26.7. Gleb Veremyev leads Colorado College with six points (3g/3a), while eight players on the team have five points on the year. Evan Werner (3g/2a) and Zaccharya Wisdom (3g/2a) are tied with Veremyev for the team lead in goals with three. Goaltender Kaiden Mbereko has started all six games for the Tigers and owns a 5-1-0 record, 2.52 goals-against average and .906 save percentage.
 
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 ... Garrett Brown and Antonio Fernandez are both from San Jose, Calif. … Ethan Straky played with Kent Anderson at the USHL Green Bay Gamblers 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 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 Matt Davis on the AJHL's Spruce Grove Saints from 2018-2020 … DU's Kieran Cebrian (2020-23) and Cale Ashcroft (2022-23) were teammates with Drew Montgomery with the USHL Tri-City Storm (2020-23) … Tristan Lemyre (2020-22) and Lucas Olvestad (2021-22) were teammates with the Dubuque Fighting Saints with Ryan Beck (2021-22), Max Burkholder (2020-22) and Riley Stuart (2020-22) … Jared Wright played with Evan Werner with the USHL Omaha Lancers in 2021-22 … Ray Christy and Shai Buium played a few games together for the Sioux City Musketeers in the 2019-20 USHL season … CC has two players from Colorado on its roster in Kaiden Mbereko (Aspen) and Jack Millar (Westminster), while DU has three in Kieran Cebrian (Denver), Peter LaJoy (Evergreen) and Aidan Thompson (Fort Collins).
 
PREVIOUS MEETING VS. COLORADO COLLEGE (MARCH. 17, 2023): The Denver Pioneers hockey team lost 1-0 to the Colorado College Tigers in the semifinals of the NCHC Frozen Faceoff at Xcel Energy Center.  Hunter McKown scored the afternoon's lone goal for the Tigers on a power play with 6:38 remaining in the second period. Nicklas Andrews and Noah Laba had assists on the tally.  CC finished 1-for-4 on the power play while Denver went 0-for-4 with the man advantage.  Goaltender Magnus Chrona started for DU and stopped 20-of-21 shots, while the Tigers' Kaidan Mbereko of Aspen made 23 saves in the shutout, ending DU's 11-game winning streak over its in-state rival that dated back to Jan. 2, 2021.
 
DU VS. CC, WE'VE BEEN EVERYWHERE: Denver and Colorado College have faced off in 14 different venues in their history, with DU owning a winning record in 11 of them. The latest rink the teams placed in came last season on Jan. 27, 2022 when the Pioneers won 2-0 at Ball Arena, which also marked the program's first-ever regular-season contest at the home of the NHL Colorado Avalanche.
 
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.
 
DIFFERENT DAY, DIFFERENT OPPONENT: The Pioneers' Friday matchup with the CC Tigers wraps up a section of their schedule of playing six games against six different opponent. This stretch started on Oct. 8 at Alaska Fairbanks and included road games at Providence and Boston College on Oct. 20-21 and home outings vs. Augustana and Air Force on Oct. 26-27.
 
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.
 
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 this week.  The Pioneers led four NCHC-ranked teams in the polls, with North Dakota at No. 3/4, Western Michigan at No. 11/11 and Minnesota Duluth coming in at No. 14/14. The conference's other four teams received votes in at least one of the polls. Overall, the NCHC's four ranked squads were the third-most among all conferences.
 
HOME-ICE ADVANTAGE: The Pios are 44-7-2 in their last 53 contests at Magness Arena and sport a 52-11-3 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 OPENERS: Denver improved its all-time record in season openers to 43-25-7 with its victory on Oct. 7 at Alaska Fairbanks—the team's first season opener on the road since its previous visit to Fairbanks in 2019 (not including the COVID-shortened campaign of 2020-21).  The Pioneers tied Augustana on Oct. 27 to end a five-game winning streak in home openers. DU now has a 52-18-5 all-time mark in home openers and are 14-1-2 in the last 17 opening nights at Magness Arena. This season marked DU's latest home opener since hosting Clarkson on Oct. 27, 1995.
 
CAPTAINING THE SHIP: Senior forward McKade Webster was named the 94th captain in program history on Oct. 2 after serving as an alternate during the 2022-23 campaign.  Webster, who previously served as a team captain with the USHL's Green Bay Gamblers in 2019-20, is joined on DU's leadership group by three alternates in senior Connor Caponi and juniors Carter King and Massimo Rizzo.
 
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.