DENVER – The No. 3 University of Denver hockey team wraps up its four-game homestand this weekend as the Pioneers host the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs on Friday and Saturday night at Magness Arena.
 
Friday's game begins at 7 p.m. MT and will be televised regionally on Altitude, while Saturday's start time is 6 p.m. MT and will be broadcasted on Altitude 2. Both games are also available on NCHC.tv.
 
Denver (23-7-0, 14-4-0 NCHC) is on a four-game winning streak and is 7-3-0 in its last 10 games after a sweep of rival North Dakota last weekend. The Pioneers won 5-3 on Friday and 5-2 on Saturday to complete the regular-season sweep of NoDak—the first time they have accomplished the feat since 2009-10.
 
DU's Massimo Rizzo recorded four points in the two games versus UND (2g/2a) and was recognized as the NCHC Forward of the Week on Monday. Sean Behrens totaled four points as well (1g/3a) and added six blocked shots to earn the conference's Defenseman of the Week award.
 
After winning three games in a row, including sweeping then-No. 1 St. Cloud State at home on Jan. 27-27, Minnesota Duluth dropped both games last weekend against Western Michigan to wrap up a four-game homestand. The Bulldogs fell 3-2 on Friday and 4-1 on Saturday. UMD has a 12-15-1 overall record this season and ranks tied for fifth in the NCHC with 23 points and a 7-11-0 record.
 
The Pioneers won the previous two matchups against the Bulldogs on Dec. 9-10 in overtime, earning 3-2 and 4-3 victories after Tristan Broz and Aidan Thompson scored in the extra frame. That weekend marked the first time that DU won consecutive overtime games since doing so in three-straight contests from March 11-17, 2012.
 
Denver is first in the NCHC standings with a 14-4-0 record and 41 points, eight points ahead of Western Michigan, St. Cloud State and Omaha, who are all tied for second place (33), and 18 points up on Minnesota Duluth in fifth.  The Pioneers just need one point this weekend to secure home-ice advantage for the best-of-three NCHC Quarterfinals on March 10-12.
 
The Pios will be going for their first four-game winning streak over the Bulldogs since a seven-game run from April 8, 2017-Nov. 16, 2018. 

 
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS: Ben Steeves leads the team with 17 goals and 22 points (17g/5a), while Quinn Olson ranks tied for second in scoring (4g/14a) and leads the squad with 14 assists.  Dominic James joins Olson with 18 points as well (8g/10a).  UMD has split its two netminders fairly evenly this season, as Matthew Thiessen has played 16 games (13 starts) and owns a 6-8-0 record, 2.38 goals-against average, .910 save percentage and one shutout.  Zach Stejskal has started 15 contests and has a 6-7-1 mark, 3.06 goals-against average and an .897 save percentage.
 
HISTORY VS. MINNESOTA DULUTH: Denver owns a 131-88-31 all-time record against Duluth and has won the last three games in the season series, dating back to its win over the Bulldogs in the NCAA West Regional Final in Loveland, Colo., on March 26, 2022.  DU won both games earlier this season in Minnesota in overtime, with it picking up 3-2 and 4-3 victories at Amsoil Arena.  Minnesota Duluth will be making its first visit to the Mile High City since Feb. 11-12, 2022 when it split the weekend set, as DU won 5-3 in the series opener before falling 3-2 the next night.  Denver last won the season series vs. Duluth in 2017-18 (5-0-0).  The Pioneers are 78-39-5 all-time against the UMD Bulldogs and own a 107-76-11 mark in conference play.  Denver and Minnesota Duluth are the only two NCHC squads to win multiple championships, with both teams claiming the trophy twice in the last six years.
 
CONNECTIONS: Denver Athletic Director Josh Berlo served nine seasons in the same role with Minnesota Duluth (2013-2022) … Lane Krenzen grew up near Duluth in Twig, Minn. … Denver has five Minnesota natives on its roster as Tristan Broz (Bloomington), Casey Dornbach (Edina), Tyler Haskins (Rochester) and Jared Wright (Burnsville) are also from the state … Shai Buium (2017-21) and McKade Webster (2015-17) played prep school hockey at Shattuck St. Mary's in Faribault, Minn. … Krenzen played on the NAHL's Austin Bruins with the Bulldogs' Ben Almquist in 2018-19 … UMD's Quinn Olson and DU's Matt Davis, Carter King and Rieger Lorenz are all from Calgary, Alberta … Lorenz is a second-round NHL Draft pick of the Minnesota Wild (2022) ... Sean Behrens and Carter Mazur were on USA's 2022 World Junior Championship team with UMD's Dominic James and Wyatt Kaiser … Behrens and Jack Devine were at U.S. National Team Development Program with Connor Kelley and Own Gallatin during the 2019-20 campaign and was at the NTDP the same time as Cole Spicer and Isaac Howard in 2020-21 … Broz played with Gallatin with the USHL Fargo Force in 2020-21 … Massimo Rizzo played with UMD's Luke Loheit with the BCHL's Penticton Vees in 2018-19 … Buium played on the USHL's Sioux City Musketeers with Minnesota Duluth's Carter Loney and Ben Steeves in 2020-21 … Aidan Thompson played on the USHL Lincoln Stars with Dominic James (2020-21), Luke Johnson (2021-22) and Joey Pierce (2021-22) … Webster played with Jesse Jacques with the USHL Green Bay Gamblers in 2017-18 … DU's Owen Ozar and UMD's Kyler Kleven were teammates at the Waterloo Black Hawks in 2020-21.
 
BACK-TO-BACK OT WINS IN DULUTH: Denver earned consecutive overtime wins against Minnesota Duluth on Dec. 9-10 with 3-2 and 4-3 victories.  It was the first time that DU played back-to-back overtime games since Jan. 17-18, 2019 when it tied Omaha both nights (1-1, 2-2).  The Pioneers last won consecutive overtime contests on March 11-17, 2012 when they did it three times in a row, defeating Wisconsin (3-2), Michigan Tech (3-2) and Minnesota Duluth (4-3 2OT) in the WCHA Playoffs.
 
The last time the Pioneers won back-to-back contests in OT during the regular season was Dec. 27-28, 1996 vs. Maine (4-3) and Yale (3-2) in the Denver Cup.  Jan. 16-22, 1993 at Minnesota Duluth (2-1) and Wisconsin (5-4) marked the last time that DU posted back-to-back OT wins on the road, and the only other time in program history that Denver won twice in OT against the same opponent in a weekend series was Nov. 25-26, 1977 at Minnesota Duluth, winning 4-3 on the first night and 5-4 in the finale.
 
The Pioneers improved to 2-1-0 in overtime conference games this season and 3-1-0 in overall in extra time, their most OT wins in a campaign since 2018-19 (4-2-5 in OT).
 
LAST TIME OUT: The Pioneers extended their winning streak to four games with a weekend sweep of the North Dakota Fighting Hawks last weekend.  Denver won 5-3 on Friday before earning a 5-2 victory on Saturday.
 
Forward Carter Mazur scored twice on Friday—including with 2:12 remaining in the first period to give DU a 2-1 lead and an advantage it didn't relinquish—while defenseman Sean Behrens (1g/1a) and Mike Benning (0g/2a) also had multi-point outings.  On Saturday, Massimo Rizzo totaled three points (1g/2a) and Behrens had a pair of assists as Denver jumped out to a 3-0 lead on a trio of power-play markers.
 
SEASON SWEEP OF NORTH DAKOTA: Denver won all four games in the regular season against North Dakota—the first time it had accomplished the feat since 2009-10, which also marked its last four-game winning streak against the team from Grand Forks.
 
The Pioneers ended a six-game losing stretch to UND earlier this season on Nov. 11-12, winning both games in a weekend set in North Dakota for the first time in the NCHC era and the first since Jan. 29-30, 2010 when both squads played in the old WCHA.  DU won two NCHC overtime games in Grand Forks on Jan. 26-27, 2018, but both of those officially went down as ties as they came in the second OT, earning the extra point for the purposes of the NCHC standings only. 
 
Before this season, Denver's last two-game sweep of North Dakota was March 15-16, 2019 during the NCHC Quarterfinals at Magness Arena, and the team's last wins during the regular season where it earned all six conference points was Feb. 12-13, 2016 in Denver.
 
LAST WEEKEND NOTABLES

• Denver now has eight weekend series sweeps this season against single opponents, including five versus NCHC foes.
• DU has killed off 10 straight penalties and had six kills in both games over the weekend.  The six penalty kills were the most in a game this season for the Pioneers (Previous: 5; Oct. 22 vs. Providence, 5/7; Jan. 7 vs. Alaska, 5/5)
• Denver's 32 penalty minutes were a season high (previous: 23, Feb. 4 at Colorado College), while the 80 combined penalty minutes were also the most in a game this year for the team (previous: 47, Dec. 3 vs. Arizona State).
• The Pioneers' three power-play goals in the contest matched a season high (two times previously).
• Denver won a season-best 64.6 percent of its faceoffs, and its 42 faceoffs wins were tied for the most in a game this season (third time).  DU also won 42 faceoffs on Friday vs. North Dakota and Nov. 5 vs. St. Cloud State.
• Aidan Thompson won 10-of-11 faceoffs, while Carter King led the Pios with 14 draw wins.
• Connor Caponi won a career-high 15 faceoffs last Friday, the most in a game this season by a Pioneer (Previous: 14, 3x).  He was one of three DU players with 10 or more faceoff wins.
• Magnus Chrona's 34 saves on Friday were the second-most in a game this season (37, Nov. 25 vs. Omaha).

CHRONA NAMED RICHTER SEMIFINALIST: Senior Magnus Chrona was named one of nine semifinalists and the only representative from the NCHC on Wednesday for the Mike Richter Award, given to the college hockey's goaltender of the year.
 
Chrona is one of five seniors up for the accolade and looks to join Tanner Jaillet (2017) as the only Denver netminders to win the award, which has been given out annually since 2014.
 
Three finalists for the Richter Award will be released in early March, and the winner of this year's Mike Richter Award announced on Friday, April 7 during Frozen Four festivities in Tampa, Florida.
 
NCHC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Two Pioneers were recognized on Monday with NCHC weekly honors as Massimo Rizzo was named Forward of the Week and Sean Behrens was chosen as Defenseman of the Week.  Rizzo totaled four points (2g/2a) in the two games vs. UND, while Behrens also had four points (1g/3a) and added six blocked shots in the weekend sweep of the Fighting Hawks.
 
This is Rizzo's second Forward of the Week honor of the season and third of his career, while Behrens as now been named the top D-man of the week five times in his career and twice this year.
 
TIM TAYLOR WATCH LIST: Freshman Aidan Thompson was named to the watch list on Feb. 9 for this year's Tim Taylor Award, given annually to college hockey's rookie of the year.  The forward from Fort Collins, Colorado, is one of six NCHC freshmen and 27 in the nation to be named to the initial list.
 
NATIONAL LEADERBOARD

• Carter Mazur is tied for third in goals (19).
• Massimo Rizzo is tied for sixth in assists (25) and 10th for points (35).
• Mike Benning is tied for 10th among defensemen in the country in points (24) and is tied for seventh in goals (8) by a blueliner.
• Magnus Chrona is tied for fourth in wins (19) and tied for fifth in shutouts (4).

TRENDS: Denver is…

• 22-2-0 when scoring three or more goals and 16-0-0 when tallying at least four times.
• 18-1-0 when holding an opponent to two goals or fewer.
• 19-0-0 when scoring first.
• 13-0-0 when leading after the first period and 19-1-0 when leading after the second.
• 19-3-0 when outshooting the opposition.
• 13-2-0 on Saturdays (10-5-0 on Friday).

STREAKING:

• Aidan Thompson is on a four-game point streak (2g/2a), matching a season/career long (Dec. 10-Jan. 6).
• Shai Buium is on a three-game point streak (1g/2a) and has points in seven of his last nine games (1g/7a).
• Sean Behrens is on a three-game assist/point streak (1g/3a).
• Tristan Broz is on a three-game point streak (1g/2a).
• Massimo Rizzo is on a three-game point streak (2g/3a).

HOME SWEET HOME: Denver is 16-3-0 at home this season, and the team is on a season-long six game winning streak and is 11-1-0 in its last 12 games on home ice.
 
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).  DU 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.  The Pioneers are in the midst of a stretch where they're playing five-of-six and six-of-nine at home.
 
HOME-ICE ADVANTAGE: The Pios are 39-6-1 in their last 46 contests at Magness Arena and sport a 47-10-2 record on the DU hilltop 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.
 
PIONEERS IN THE POLLS: Denver moved up a spot in both national polls on Monday and now ranks No. 3 in the country in both the USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls. DU has been inside the top five all season in each weekly poll. 
 
In the Pairwise Ranking that determines the field for the national tournament, Denver is presently fourth behind Minnesota, Quinnipiac and Michigan.
 
Overall, the NCHC has four teams in the two national polls with St. Cloud State (6/6), Western Michigan (8/8) and Omaha (15/15) joining DU in both rankings.  North Dakota also received votes in each poll.
 
IN THE NCHC: DU is first in the NCHC standings with 41 points and a 14-4-0 conference record and can secure home-ice advantage for the NCHC Quarterfinals on March 10-12 with just a point this weekend vs. Minnesota Duluth.  The Pioneers are eight points ahead of Western Michigan, St. Cloud State and Omaha, who are in a three-way tie for second played with 33 points.  Denver is playing league opponents in each of their final eight weeks of the regular season.
 
IN THE CHRONA ZONE: Magnus Chrona has posted four shutouts this season, including consecutive clean sheets for the second in his career on Jan. 13-14 against Miami. 
 
Chrona earned his fourth shutout of the season and 13th of his career on Jan. 27 vs. Colorado College and moved into a tie with Gerry Powers (1966-1969) for second place in school history.  He is two shy of matching the program record of 15 held by Peter Mannino (2005-2008).
 
Last season, Chrona 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).
 
UP FOR THE HOBEY: Three Denver players are nominees for this year's Hobey Baker Award, given to college hockey's top player.  Junior defenseman Mike Benning and sophomore forwards Carter Mazur and Massimo Rizzo are among 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.
 
TENZER STREAK LIVES: The Pioneers were the first team in the country to reach the 20-win mark with their victory over the CC Tigers on Jan. 27, doing so in 27 games.  Denver has now won at least 20 games in each of the last 21 full seasons, dating back to 2001-02.  The Pios only played 24 total contests in the COVID-shortened 2020-21 campaign.
 
The "Tenzer" Streak is named after former DU Director of Hockey Operations David Tenzer, who spent 16 seasons with the program from 2001-02 (the start of the streak) until retiring in 2017.
 
MONTH-BY-MONTH: Denver finished the month of January with a 4-3-0 record and has posted at least a .500 record in 14 straight months dating back to January 2021.  DU has been greater-than .500 in 11 straight months.
 
 
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