DENVER – The No. 3 University of Denver hockey team begins the postseason this weekend as the Pioneers host the Miami RedHawks in a best-of-three series for the NCHC Quarterfinals at Magness Arena.
Friday's game begins at 7 p.m. MT and Saturday's Game 2 is set for 6 p.m. MT. If necessary, Game 3 is Sunday at 6 p.m. MT. All the contests will be broadcasted on NCHC.tv.
DU is the No. 1 seed for the NCHC Tournament after winning its second consecutive Penrose Cup as conference regular-season champions. Denver finished the main campaign with a 28-8-0 overall record and a 19-5-0 mark in NCHC play. Miami is the eighth seed for the conference tournament with an 8-22-4 overall record and a 3-13-3 record in the NCHC.
The winner of the series advances to the NCHC Frozen Faceoff on March 17-18 at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, for the conference's semifinal and championship games.
Denver is coming off a weekend sweep of Colorado College in the regular-season finale, winning 2-1 at Magness Arena last Friday and 4-2 in Colorado Springs on Saturday. The Pioneers won their fourth-straight Gold Pan trophy and have won each of the last 11 meetings against their in-state rival.
Miami lost both games last week to Western Michigan, falling 5-0 on Friday and 5-4 in overtime on Saturday. Those results came after the RedHawks defeated Minnesota Duluth 4-1 on the road on Feb. 25—the team's only victory since the New Year. The Red Hawks are 1-11-3 since the start of 2023, but the team has played in four overtime contests (0-2-2).
Denver has won the last 10 games against Miami, the longest winning streak in the all-time series. The Pioneers have posted three shutouts this season against the RedHawks and recorded a pair of 7-0 victories in the =teams' last series on Jan. 13-14.
The Pios have swept four-game season series each of the last two years and defeated Miami 2-0 in last season's NCHC Quarterfinals. Overall, DU owns a 30-13-3 all-time record against MU and is 15-5-3 at home in the series.
Senior defenseman
Kyle Mayhew is expected to play in his 150th career game on Friday night, becoming the 69th player in program history to reach the milestone. Junior rear guard
Mike Benning is two games away from 100 in his career and could reach the mark on Saturday.
SCOUTING THE REDHAWKS: Matthew Barbolini leads the team in all three scoring categories with 10 goals, 13 assists and 23 points. Goaltender Ludvig Persson's stat line includes an 8-17-4 record, 3.46 goals-against average, .897 save percentage and two shutouts.
CONNECTIONS: Casey Dornbach's father, Greg, played college hockey at Miami from 1985-1987 …
Sean Behrens and
Jack Devine were teammates with Red Savage at the U.S. National Team Development Program from 2019-21 … Behrens was a teammate with Savage for USA at the 2023 World Junior Championships ...
Connor Caponi spent two years as a teammate with Joe Cassetti with the Waterloo Black Hawks from 2018-20 … John Waldron was teammates with DU's
Caponi (2019-20) and
Owen Ozar (2020-21) with Waterloo … Zane Demsey, Michael Feenstra, Axel Kumlin and William Hallen played on USHL Dubuque with Denver's
Tristan Lemyre and
Lucas Olvestad last season …
Justin Lee was teammates for half a season with Matthew Barbolini with the Lincoln Stars in 2018-19 …
Carter Mazur played on the Tri-City Storm with Nick Donato from 2019-2021 …
McKade Webster played with Dylan Moulton on the Green Bay Gamblers in 2019-20 …
Kyle Mayhew (Anaheim Hills) and
PJ Fletcher (Dana Point) are both from Southern California …
Magnus Chrona and
Lucas Olvestad and Miami's Axel Kumlin are from Stockholm, Sweden, while MU goalie Ludvig Persson (Hindas), forward William Hallen (Gothenberg) and Hampus Rydqvist (Gothenberg) are also from the country … Miami's Thomas Daskas played college hockey in Colorado in 2020-21 with the Air Force Academy.
IN THE NCHC TOURNAMENT: The Pioneers are 22-8-1 all-time in the previous nine NCHC Tournaments and aims for its third conference title victory in program history. DU won the inaugural tournament in 2014 and also won in 2018. DU is the only NCHC team to make it to the Frozen Faceoff final four in each of the eight-held tournaments. Denver is 15-2 all-time in quarterfinal contests, sweeping five series in two games.
LAST TIME OUT: Denver won both games against in-state rival Colorado College to wrap up the regular season, defeating the Tigers 2-1 on Friday at Magness Arena before earning a 4-2 victory on Saturday in Colorado Springs.
Mike Benning and
Justin Lee scored in a matter of 1:50 midway through the second period on Friday to break a 0-0 tie, and DU rallied on Saturday after trailing by 1-0 and 2-1 scores.
Tristan Lemyre and
Aidan Thompson both tallied in just a 52 second span midway through the third period to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 lead.
LAST WEEKEND NOTABLES
- The Pioneers swept the regular-season series against the CC Tigers for the second straight year.
- DU finished the year with four-game sweeps of Miami, North Dakota and Colorado College.
- The last time that Denver had four-game season series sweeps of Colorado College (5 games) and North Dakota was in 1960-61.
- The Pios finished with a 10-4-0 record on the road, winning each of its last four contests away from Denver. DU did not lose a road game on NHL-size ice.
- Casey Dornbach recorded his 120th career point on Saturday.
- Seven players played all 36 regular-season games: Mike Benning, Tristan Broz, Casey Dornbach, Justin Lee, Kyle Mayhew, Carter Mazur and Massimo Rizzo.
- Tyler Haskins played his 11th game of the season and first since Jan. 13 versus Miami.
- Tristan Lemyre now has points in back-to-back games for the first time in his career.
- Denver has scored a power-play goal in seven consecutive games.
STREAKING: Sophomore
Carter Mazur is on a season-long eight-game point streak to eight games (5g/7a), one shy of matching his career long of nine set from Nov. 12-Dec. 31, 2021 (7g/8a). The forward has five goals and seven assists on his current run that began on Feb. 10 vs. North Dakota
GOALIE OF THE WEEK: Sophomore
Matt Davis earned his first career weekly honor from the NCHC on Monday as he was named Goaltender of the Week. He started both outings against Colorado College, making 21 saves on Friday and 25 saves on Saturday in DU's weekend sweep. Overall, Davis posted a 1.50 goals-against average and .939 save percentage.
AND THE AWARD GOES TO…: The Pioneers are finalists for eight end-of-season awards from the NCHC, which will be announced at the awards banquet on Thursday, March 16 prior to the Frozen Faceoff in St. Paul, Minnesota.
ALL-NCHC TEAM: Denver had five players named to All-NCHC Teams, with three earning first-team honors: forward
Massimo Rizzo, defenseman
Mike Benning and goaltender
Magnus Chrona. Forward
Carter Mazur was chosen to the conference's second-team and defenseman
Sean Behrens was named an honorable mention.
The Pioneers had the most players honored on All-NCHC teams, with St. Cloud State having second-most with four skaters picking up accolades.
MAGNESS MADNESS: The Pioneers are averaging 5,842 fans at Magness Arena this season (21 games), the second-highest attendance for the team since the building first opened prior to the 1999-2000 season. Only the 2006-07 season has seen larger crowds on the hilltop since the turn of the century, as the Pios averaged 6,022 over the course of 24 games that season.
Overall, 122,677 peopled have watched the Pioneers at Magness Arena in 2022-23, the fourth-highest attended season in the rink's history—DU only needs a combined attendance of 6,206 this weekend to take over the second spot. If the 17,952 that witnessed Denver defeat Colorado College at Ball Arena on Jan. 27 is included (counted as a DU home game), then 140,629 people have watched Pioneer home games this year—presently the second-most and just 3,904 away from overtaking 2006-07's total of 144,533.
PENROSE CUP CHAMPIONS: Denver secured its second consecutive Penrose Cup as NCHC regular-season champions with the sweep of Western Michigan on Feb. 24-25. It marked the third time that DU won the trophy, having also done so in 2016-17 and 2021-22 en route to national championships in those seasons.
Overall, this year marked DU's 15th regular-season title as the school won 12 as a member of the old WCHA. The last time Denver earned consecutive regular-season championships was 1971-72 and 1972-73 in the WCAHA. The Pioneers entered the season as favorites to win the Penrose Cup in the conference's annual preseason poll.
The Penrose Cup was the third of five possible trophies that DU can win, as the team has already earned the Ice Breaker Tournament championship and Gold Pan vs. Colorado College.
BURYING IT LIKE BENNING: Junior
Mike Benning ranks eighth all-time in school history for career goals with 31 this season. He is one goal away from tying for fifth place in the school annals with Jim Smith (1982-86), Jim Leavins (1981-83) and Marty Howe (1959-61).
The St. Albert, Alberta, native recorded a career-high four points on Feb. 24 at Western Michigan with two goals and two assists. It was the fifth time this season that a Denver player has recorded four points in a game and the first time by a defenseman. The last Pioneer defender to record four points in a game was
Ian Mitchell on Jan. 19, 2019 vs. Omaha (1g/3a).
Overall, that game was Benning's seventh multi-goal game of his career and third of the season (Nov. 26 vs. Omaha, Dec. 17 vs. Lindenwood). He leads all Denver rear guards in goals (13), assists (20) and points (33) and ranks tied for second on the squad with 10 multi-point games this season (
Massimo Rizzo, 12;
Carter Mazur, 10). Among all blueliners in the country, Benning is tied for first in goals (13) and is third in points (33).
Benning recorded a career-long, nine-game point streak (5g/10a) from Nov. 26 to Jan. 7, which was the longest by a team defenseman since 2005.
BENNING NCHC PLAYER OF THE MONTH: Defenseman
Mike Benning is the league's Player of the Month for February after leading all blueliners in the conference with nine points (5g/4a) in seven games. His five goals were tied for first among NCAA defenders and were tied for second-most among all NCHC skaters in the month.
It was Benning's third time earning the honor in his career, as he also picked up the award earlier this season in December 2022 and March/April 2022. The Pioneers have picked up three such accolades this season, as Mazur was recognized as Player of the Month for October.
NATIONAL LEADERBOARD
- Carter Mazur is tied for third in goals (22) and second in game-winning goals (6).
- Massimo Rizzo is sixth for points (46) and tied for eighth in assists (29).
- Mike Benning is tied for first in goals (12) and is third in points (33) by a defenseman.
- Magnus Chrona is tied for third in wins (22) and tied for eighth in shutouts (4).
REMEMBERING GERRY POWERS: Former goaltender
Gerry Powers passed away on Feb. 18 two days shy of his 77th birthday following a 12-year battle with cancer.
Powers guarded the pipes at Denver for three seasons from 1966-1969, leading the team to national championships in 1968 and 1969. A member of the NCAA All-Tournament both seasons, he was named finals MVP in 1968. The Edmonton, Alberta, native still ranks three all-time in program history in wins (76), tied for second in shutouts (13) and 11th in games played (96).
MONTH-BY-MONTH: Denver finished February with a 6-1-0 record, the 15th-straight month that the team has posted at least a .500 record dating back to January 2021. The Pios have also now recorded a
greater-than .500 mark in 12 straight months since October 2021.
PIONEERS IN THE POLLS: Denver remaining at No. 3 in in the country in both the USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine rankings. 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 also at No. 3 behind Minnesota and Quinnipiac.
Overall, the NCHC has four teams in the two national polls with Western Michigan (7/8), St. Cloud State (8/7) and Omaha (17/18) joining DU in both rankings. North Dakota also received votes in both polls.
SCHOLAR ATHLETES: Denver had 16 players named to the NCHC 2022-23 Academic All-Conference Team, the league announced on Wednesday:
Mike Benning, Shai Buium, Connor Caponi, Jack Caruso, Magnus Chrona, Matt Davis, Jack Devine, Brett Edwards, Carter King, Lane Krenzen, Justin Lee, Kyle Mayhew, Carter Mazur, Owen Ozar, Massimo Rizzo and
McKade Webster. To be eligible for the NCHC Academic All-Conference Team, a student-athlete must have compiled a 3.0 cumulative grade-point average or better, while having completed at least one full academic year at his current institution.
In addition
, Chrona, Davis, Devine, King, Krenzen and
Mayhew earned NCHC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete honors for each having a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or better.
Freshmen and transfers will be added to the Academic All-Conference Team over the summer after completing the 2022-23 academic year.
GOLD PAN SECURED: Denver captured the Gold Pan trophy on Feb. 4 at Colorado College with a 4-1 victory, marking the fourth-straight season and 17th time overall where the school has won the hardware. In circulation since 1993-94, the Gold Pan is given to the team that wins the season series between the in-state rivals. Since they previously held the trophy, the Pioneers only needed a series split to retain it while the Tigers had to win the four-game series outright.
IN THE CHRONA ZONE: Senior
Magnus Chrona was one of nine semifinalists and the only NCHC representative for the Mike Richter Award, given annually to college hockey's to goaltender. The senior presently ranks third for third in the nation with 22 wins and is tied for eighth with four shutouts, which included consecutive clean sheets for the second time 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).
MAGNUS IN THE RECORD BOOKS: Netminder
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 fourth (tied) in school history with 112 games played. Chrona's 73 career wins are the fourth-most in the DU annals (Gerry Powers is third with 76 victories).
MASS-IVE MARKERS: Sophomore forward
Massimo Rizzo leads the Pioneers in scoring with 46 points (17g/29a), which includes a team-high 12 multi-point games. He has recorded at least a point in 29-of-36 contests this season.
Rizzo recorded a career-long, 11-game point streak from Nov. 26-Jan. 14 (6g/8a), the fourth-longest by a DU player since the 2005-06 season. Only Danton Heinen (18 games),
Bobby Brink (14 games) and Dylan Gambrell (13 games) had better runs at Denver in that time. The stretch is tied for the third-longest point streak in the NCAA this season and also included a nine-game home point streak (Nov. 26-Jan. 14, 5g/7a).
KING HIM: Sophomore
Carter King has already posted career highs this season in goals (11) and points (20) and leads the team in faceoff winning percentage at .525. The Calgary, Alberta, native has won at least 10 faceoffs in 16 contests this year, including posting a career-high 14 draw wins on Nov. 25 vs. Omaha, Jan. 27 vs. Colorado College and Feb. 11 vs. North Dakota.
King recorded his first career hat trick on Jan. 13 against Miami, with his three goals tying a career high for points in a game (three assists on Nov. 20, 2021 vs. Miami). It was his second consecutive multi-point performance, as he had two points (1g/1a) on Jan. 7 vs. Alaska Fairbanks.
HOME SWEET HOME: Denver is 18-4-0 at home this season, and the team has won eight of its last nine games and is 13-2-0 in its last 15 games on home ice. Denver hasn't lost consecutive home games since March 31-Feb. 1, 2020 vs. Minnesota Duluth.
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 played eight of its final 10 outings in Colorado, as the only time the squad was out of state in that period was at Western Michigan on Feb. 24-25.
HOME-ICE ADVANTAGE: The Pios are 41-7-1 in their last 49 contests at Magness Arena and sport a 49-11-2 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.
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