DENVER – The University of Denver hockey program announced on Wednesday its complete 2023-24 season schedule, featuring a 36-game slate that begins on Oct. 7-8 in the United States' "Last Frontier" at the Alaska Fairbanks Nanooks.
 
The Pioneers take on NCAA Division-I newcomer Augustana in the home opener at Magness Arena on Oct. 27 before hosting in-state foe Air Force the next night on Oct. 28.
 
Denver will play 12 non-conference and 24 National Collegiate Hockey Conference games in 2023-24, the program's 75th season. The schedule matrix features an evenly-split 18 games at Magness Arena and 18 games on the road, with the Pioneers also playing an equal six home and six road contests in non-conference play.
 
DU's trip to Fairbanks will be the program's fifth in its history and first since Oct. 5-6, 2019. The Pios and Nanook have faced off in a two-game series in four of the last five seasons.
 
The journey to Alaska is the start of a season-opening, four-game road swing for Denver—tied for the longest time away from home during the year as the Pioneers will also play back-to-back conference series at Omaha on Jan. 19-20 and North Dakota on Jan. 26-27. The team will have its first of two bye weekends (Oct. 14-15, Feb. 9-10) after returning from Fairbanks before traveling to New England for games at Providence College and Boston College on Oct. 20-21.
 
Denver begins NCHC play on Nov. 3-4 with a home-and-home set and the start of the Gold Pan series against Colorado College. The rivals will wrap up their four-game season series against one another on the final weekend of the campaign, as the Pioneers and Tigers face off at Ed Robson Arena in Colorado Springs on March 8 before meeting at Magness Arena on March 9 for DU's Senior Night.
 
The Pios travel to the Tempe, Arizona, to play the Arizona State Devils for the first time at the new Mullett Arena on Nov. 10-11. The two western programs have squared off 10 times since 2016-17 and every full season since 2019-20, with the exception being the COVID-shortened and NCHC-only campaign of 2020-21.
 
After spending most of the first six weeks on the road, Denver opens a season-long, six-game homestand on Nov. 17-18 against Omaha as part of hockey alumni weekend. The Pioneers then take on the Yale Bulldogs for the first time since 2012 on Nov. 24-25 before facing NCHC-rival North Dakota for hockey parents weekend on Dec. 1-2.
 
The six-game homestay is part of a stretch where DU will play 10-of-12 regular season games on home ice. The team wraps up non-conference play on Jan. 5-6 versus Niagara University and also faces St. Cloud State on Jan. 12-13 to conclude a four-game homestand. The only series that Denver won't play at home in that two-month time is a trip to Kalamazoo to face the Western Michigan Broncos on Dec. 8-9 prior to the two-week Holiday Break.
 
The Pioneers will play an exhibition game after the holidays on Saturday, Dec. 30 against Minot State at Magness Arena.
 
Nine of Denver's final 14 games of the season will be on the road versus NCHC opponents. It addition to the contest at CC on March 8 and the four-game trip at Omaha and North Dakota in late January, the team will also travel to face Minnesota Duluth in the programs' only meeting of the year on Feb. 16-17 and St. Cloud State on March 1-2.
 
DU will host Western Michigan on Feb. 2-3 for the first time at Magness since November 2021 and will also welcome the Miami RedHawks to the Hilltop on Feb. 23-24. The series with MU is the lone matchup of the year between the teams, as Miami is the only NCHC campus that the Pioneers won't visit during the season.
 
The NCHC Frozen Faceoff and the NCAA Frozen Four are both being held next season in St. Paul, Minnesota, at Xcel Energy Center—the home of the NHL Minnesota Wild. The NCHC Tournament semifinals and championship game are Friday and Saturday, March 22-23 and the Frozen Four is slated for April 11-13. The Pioneers are the only NCHC squad to qualify for the Frozen Faceoff in all nine iterations of the tournament.
 
The week prior to the Frozen Faceoff, the NCHC Tournament begins with the best-of-three quarterfinal series at campus sites on March 15-17. NCAA Regionals are scheduled for March 28-31 in Maryland Heights, Missouri; Providence, Rhode Island; Sioux Falls, South Dakota; and Springfield, Massachusetts.
 
Renewals of Denver hockey season tickets are live, and current season-ticket holders can renew now at a low price through June 30 by clicking here or calling 303-871-6887.


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