DENVER – While many college hockey programs have six or more weeks to prepare for the start of the regular season, the Denver Pioneers are among the few teams in the country that are limited in their practice time ahead of the campaign.
 
Since the University of Denver is on the quarter system and didn't begin classes until Sept. 11, the Pioneers weren't allowed to hold formal on-ice sessions with coaches before the start of the academic period due to NCAA regulations and the sport being classified as a winter activity. That leaves DU just three weeks of training camp prior to game week and a trip to Alaska Fairbanks for outings against the Nanooks on Oct. 7-8.
 
Overall, Denver will hold approximately 16 practices with coaches before the start the season up north, and the limited amount isn't necessarily a bad thing. There won't be any time to waste in the leadup to the campaign for the Pios, with every on-ice session being of the upmost importance and vital in the squad's preparation.
 
"Just the intensity, starting right away, pushing each other," said junior forward Massimo Rizzo, who is in his third camp with the Pioneers. "We want to make practices harder than games. It starts in practice, pushing each other hard."
 
DU is bringing in one of its largest incoming freshmen classes in recent years, as 10 newcomers are joining the Pioneers this year. The age and experience among the group has a wide ranges from 17-year-old Zeev Buium to 21-year-old Peter LaJoy.
 
There are 16 returning players from a year ago and 10 from the 2022 national championship team, including Rizzo, who led DU and the entire NCHC in scoring a year ago.
 
Many of the freshmen will be inserted into key roles in the lineup in the early season, and Rizzo noted it's up to him and the other veterans of the team to help get the rookies assimilated with the college game as quickly as possible.
 
"Being a leader, showing the younger guys and the guys that just got here what it takes," Rizzo said. "Starting those habits early is key."
 
The two regular season games up in Alaska will take part in the opening week of the season, something Denver doesn't often take part in. The Pioneers usually host an exhibition contest that week and haven't played regular-season outings on opening weekend since last visiting Fairbanks to begin 2019-20.
 
DU will get a bye the following week before traveling to New England for matchups against likely-ranked opponents in Providence and Boston College on Oct. 20-21.
 
The early-season schedule is something the team is looking forward to, but the chemistry and systems the Pioneers will run in those outings are built during the grind of training camp. After being off from formal practices and only having captains' skates for five months, the players are eager to put in the work.
 
"It's exciting," Rizzo said. "It's a long summer, for sure, so it's nice to get out there and battle with the guys again."
 

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