DENVER – Four different Pioneers recorded three or more points and goaltender Freddie Halyk registered his second consecutive shutout as the No. 4 University of Denver hockey team won 9-0 on Saturday night at Magness Arena.
 
Denver's nine goals are its most in a game since winning 10-2 at home versus Minnesota State on Oct. 22, 2011, and it marks the squad's first back-to-back shutout of a squad since posting identical 7-0 scores last season on Jan. 13-14, 2023 against Miami. DU won 5-0 in Friday's series opener.
 
"I think it was a good weekend from everyone throughout the whole lineup," said junior forward Massimo Rizzo. "Good for a lot of guys to get on the scoresheet and build confidence and do the right things heading into next weekend."
 
The Pioneers return to NCHC play next week as they host No. 1 North Dakota at Magness Arena in a top-five showdown on Friday and Saturday. Limited tickets are available.
 
Freshman defenseman Zeev Buium led Denver with four assists, and Rizzo matched a career best with four points on a goal and three helpers. Senior captain McKade Webster recorded his first career multi-goal performance and added an assist to finish with a six-point weekend (three goals, three assists), while Jack Devine contributed one marker and two helpers.
 
Junior Tristan Broz and sophomore Aidan Thompson both had a goal and an assist and sophomore defenseman Lucas Olvestad also had a multi-point performance with two helpers to set a personal best. DU junior Carter King, sophomore Rieger Lorenz and freshman Sam Harris also found the back of the net in the outing.
 
Halyk made all 28 saves in his ninth consecutive start, one night after only needing to make 18 stops for the shutout. The freshman earned his third clean sheet of the season and has a 140:02 shutout streak dating back to last Sunday against Omaha—the 10th longest by a Pioneer netminder in school history.
 
Denver led 2-0 after the first period, a frame that saw the Pios hold a slight 5-4 lead in shots on goal. They opened the floodgates offensively with markers from Devine and King in a matter of 55 second early in the middle stanza and Rizzo and Harris also added tallies before the second intermission.
 
Webster recorded his second goal on the night in the third frame while Thompson and Lorenz also found the back of the net before the end of regulation.
 
The Pioneers finished with a 35-28 edge in shots on goal. Nathan Reid started in net and made 21-of-30 saves before Jack Stark played the final 10:36 and stopped all five shots he faced.
 
Buium's four assists tied Denver's season high as Rizzo also had four helpers on Oct. 8 at Alaska Fairbanks. The freshman's performance was tied for the third-most assists by a defenseman in school history (12th time) and the first since Kyle Mayhew did it last season on March 11, 2023 against Miami in the NCHC Quarterfinals.
 
The 17-year-old also stretched his point streak to eight games (three goals, 11 assists), and the San Diego, California, native ranks tied for second among all blueliners in the nation and first among rookie D-men in scoring with 18 points (four goals, 14 assists).
 
Buium is joined on the national leaderboard by Massimo Rizzo and Jack Devine. Rizzo ranks first overall in points (25) and assists (19), while Devine is first in goals (13) and second in points (24).
 
UP NEXT: Denver concludes its season-long six-game homestand next weekend as it hosts rival North Dakota. Friday's game with the No. 1 Fighting Hawks begins at 7 p.m. MT while the series finale on Saturday is set for 6 p.m. MT.
 
 
POSTGAME NOTES

• Denver improved to 8-1-0 all-time vs. Yale and 6-1-0 at home in the series. The teams were facing each other this weekend for the first time in nearly 11 years, as they last played on Nov. 23, 2012 in Denver.
• DU is now 3-1-0 on its season-long, six-game homestand.
• The Pioneers improved their non-conference record to 7-2-1. DU's final non-NCHC games are Jan. 5-6, 2024 against Niagara.
• Denver head coach David Carle won his 126th career game, surpassing his predecessor, Jim Montgomery, for sole possession of fourth place on the program's all-time wins list.
• Miko Matikka had his six-game goal streak end, which was the longest by a Pioneer since Dylan Gambrell went on a seven-game run from Feb. 13-March 5, 2016 (8g/14a). He still added an assist to stretch his point streak to eight games (7g/3a).
• Tristan Broz is on a four-game assist streak, the longest of his career.
• Freddie Halyk posted back-to-back shutouts for the first time in his career. Magnus Chrona on Jan. 13-14, 2023 against Miami was the last goaltender to post consecutive clean sheets.

 
 
GOAL SUMMARY
1st Period
8:01 DU (1-0) – A forecheck by Massimo Rizzo forced the puck loose to McKade Webster, who toe-dragged around a Yale player before firing the puck into the far side of the net.
18:21 DU (2-0) – Tristan Broz skated down the left wing side and scored from below the goal line as his shot went off the Yale netminder and into the net.
 
2nd Period
4:59 DU (3-0) – Jack Devine knocked in the puck into an open net after a cross-feed from Zeev Buium during a 4-on-4.
5:54 DU (4-0) – PPG, Carter King chipped in the puck at the crease after Jack Devine found him alone with the puck during a 4-on-3.
10:53 (5-0) – Zeev Buium skated around the zone before finding Massimo Rizzo at the top of the crease for a tap-in score.
16:41 (6-0) – Connor Caponi sent a leading pass to Sam Harris, who scored on a breakaway with a backhand shot.
 
3rd Period
6:40 DU (7-0) – Miko Matikka fed the puck in front to Aidan Thompson, who buried a backhander while alone in the low slot
8:33 DU (8-0) – McKade Webster was alone in front of the net and tucked the puck past the right pad of the Yale goalie while falling to the ice after receiving a pass from Jack Devine.
9:24 DU (9-0) – Rieger Lorenz redirected Kent Anderson's shot from the point over the Yale goalie and into the net.
 
 
QUOTABLES
Junior Forward Massimo Rizzo
On the different styles of games they faced from Yale over the weekend: "I think you got to see what they give you. They played hard. I think we responded really well. We played well throughout the whole 60 (minutes), so that was big for our team."
 
On goaltender Freddie Halyk: "It's great. He battles hard in practice, so it's nice to see him get rewarded on the weekend. He's playing well, he's confident, he's big, so he's keeping us in it."
 

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