DENVER – The No. 6 Denver Pioneers hockey team resumes the regular season this weekend at Magness Arena against the Niagara University Purple Eagles.
 
DU begins its final non-conference series of the season on Friday at 7 p.m. MT and wraps up the set on Saturday at 6 p.m. MT. Both games will be broadcasted regionally on Altitude 2 and on NCHC.tv. Tickets are available at DenverPioneers.com.
 
The Pioneers returned from the holiday break last Saturday as they played Minot State at home in an exhibition and won 9-3. Shai Buium led Denver with four points (1g/3a) and four different players had multi-goal outings.
 
DU's last regular-season contests were Dec. 8-9 when it split its series at then-No. 13 Western Michigan, falling 7-3 and earning a 6-5 overtime victory. The Pioneers own a 12-5-1 overall record this season and are presently fourth in the NCHC standings with 13 points and a 5-3-0 mark.
 
Niagara will be playing an NCHC foe for the second-straight week after splitting its series against the Miami RedHawks at home last weekend. NU won 4-1 on Friday before losing 3-0 on Saturday.
 
The Purple Eagles will be facing the Pioneers for the first time since Nov. 1-2, 2019 in Denver, as DU won both of those contests while celebrating its 70th-Year Anniversary the same weekend. The Pioneers are 6-0-0 all-time against Niagara, with each of the previous outings having been played at Magness Arena.
 
Denver will be without head coach David Carle and defenseman Zeev Buium this weekend, as both Pioneers are in the same roles with Team USA at the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship in Gothenburg, Sweden. The United States defeated Finland 3-2 in the semifinals on Thursday and has advanced to the Gold Medal Game on Friday against host Sweden.
 
This weekend marks the start of a four-game homestand for Denver, as the Pios will return to NCHC play the next week against conference-leading St. Cloud State.
 
EXHIBITION RECAP: Defenseman Shai Buium led Denver with four points and four different Pioneers scored multiple goals in 9-3 win against Minot State in a mid-season exhibition on Saturday night at Magness Arena.  Sophomores Jared Wright and Aidan Thompson and freshmen Sam Harris and Miko Matikka each tallied twice, while Buium had one goal and three assists.  DU led 2-1 after the first period and pushed its lead to 6-2 after the middle frame.  The Pioneers used three different goalies in the contest, as Matt Davis started while Freddie Halyk played the second and Paxton Geisel guarded the pipes in the third.
 
LAST TIME OUT (FOR REAL): The Pioneers split their weekend series at then-No. 13 Western Michigan on Dec. 8-9, falling 7-3 on Friday before earning a 6-5 overtime victory on Saturday. Miko Matikka scored twice in both games while fellow freshman Zeev Buium combined for four assists to push his point streak to 12 straight outings.
 
Western Michigan went 3-for-3 on the power play and added two empty-net goals to pull away for the victory on Friday. DU tied the contest at 3-3 early in the third period, and it was a one-goal game up until four minutes remaining in regulation.
 
The teams played a back-and-forth affair on Saturday, with WMU rallying to tie the outing at 4-4 early in the third period and then at 5-5 with 14 seconds left in regulation.  Massimo Rizzo scored the game-winner for Denver at 1:02 of OT, and goaltender Paxton Geisel earned the victory in his NCAA debut.
 
NOTABLES

• The next win will be the 700th overall for Denver Athletics at Magness Arena between hockey, gymnastics and men's and women's basketball. Denver hockey is expected to play its 500th game at Magness Arena on Feb. 2 against Western Michigan.
• The Pioneers are at the halfway point of their season with a 12-5-1 overall record.  DU's 12 victories are tied for the second-most at the halfway point of a 36-game regular-season campaign in the last 10 years.
• DU is now 2-1-1 in overtime games this year, with it earning extra-time wins in two of the last three contests.  Massimo Rizzo scored his first career overtime goal in the victory on Dec. 9.
• The Pioneers' games at Western Michigan marked their only two road games in a 12-game stretch from Nov. 17 to Jan. 13.
• Miko Matikka has recorded consecutive multi-goal games and owns three such performances this year.  His goal at 0:43 of the second period on Dec. 9 marked the fastest to begin a period this season.
• Goaltender Paxton Geisel stopped 31 shots while making his NCAA debut and first career start on Dec. 9. The 31 saves were the most in a game by a DU goalie this season.
• Goaltender Freddie Halyk started 12 consecutive games from Oct. 28-Dec. 8 (8-4-0) and posted career highs with 30 saves and 35 shots faced on Dec. 8.
• Defenseman Sean Behrens blocked four shots in each game at Western Michigan, tying a career best for the most in a single contest (six times)
• Jack Devine tied a team-season high with six shots on Dec. 9.
• McKade Webster scored his seventh goal of the season on Dec. 3 and has now set career highs this season in goals (7), assists (10) and points (17).
• Aidan Thompson appeared in his 50th career game on Dec. 9.

CARLE AMONG DENVER'S BEST AFTER 200 GAMES: Head coach David Carle guided the Pioneers' bench for the 200th game on Dec. 9 at Western Michigan to become the fifth DU coach to reach the milestone, joining Murray Armstrong, Ralph Backstrom, George Gwozdecky and Jim Montgomery.  Carle's .675 winning percentage is the second-best among that group through 200 games, with only Armstrong having a better mark at .735—he won three national championships in his first six-plus years at the helm of the program.
 
BUIUM NAMED TOP ROOKIE OF DECEMBER: Freshman defenseman Zeev Buium was recognized on Wednesday as the NCHC Rookie of the Month for December.  It marked the second straight month that Buium was honored by the league as he was the Player of the Month for November and went on to also be selected as the National Co-Player of the Month in college hockey.
 
Buium led all freshmen and defensemen with seven points (1g/6a) in December and registered at least a point in all four games, pushing his career-best point streak to 12 games. He also tied for first overall in the NCHC in the month with a 1.75 points-per-game average.
 
PIONEERS AT THE WORLD JUNIORS: There are plenty of Pioneer connections on Team USA at the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championships, which is currently underway in Gothenburg, Sweden, and runs until this Friday Jan. 5, 2024.  Among the 25 players on the roster is DU freshman defenseman Zeev Buium, who is one of 11 players with a 2005 birthday and the youngest of the entire group.
 
Denver head coach David Carle is serving in the same role for Team USA at the under-20 tournament after being named to the position on April 4.  This is Carle's first time coaching Team USA at any level, and he will be the first Denver coach to guide the U.S. World Junior squad since Marshall Johnston at the 1977 tournament. 
 
Denver Director of Hockey Operations Travis Culhane is also on Carle's staff as the video coach and Equipment Manager Nick Meldrum is serving in the same role at his second World Juniors.  Former DU assistants Steve Miller (University of Minnesota) and David Lassonde (USA Hockey) and St. Cloud State head coach Brett Larson and Augustana head coach Garrett Raboin are also USA coaches.
 
The United States finished first in Group B in the preliminary round and has advanced to the Gold Medal Game on Friday against host Sweden. The Americans erased a two-goal deficit on Thursday to defeat Finland 3-2 in the semifinals.
 
BUIUM ON HISTORIC POINT STREAK: Denver rookie Zeev Buium has points in each of his last 12 games, surpassing Boston University's Lane Hutson's 11-game run from last season for the longest point streak by a freshman defenseman in the NCAA in more than 21 years, courtesy of College Hockey News (online databases presently do not go back further than 2002).
 
Buium has four goals and 17 assists in the dozen games dating back to Nov. 3 vs. Colorado College.  Hutson posted similar numbers with three goals and 16 assists during his 11-game stretch from Dec. 11, 2022-Feb. 6, 2023.  Both players are on Team USA for the 2024 World Juniors.
 
The run by Buium is the longest by a Denver player since Bobby Brink had a 14-game point streak from Dec. 31, 2021-Feb. 19, 2022 (7g/21a).  Buium is also on a personal-best five-game assist streak, with him totaling 10 helpers in that timeframe since Nov. 25.
 
STREAKING: In addition to Zeev Buium's 12-game point streak, the following Pioneers are also on runs:

• Miko Matikka has points in each of his last 11 games he's played (11g/4a).
• Massimo Rizzo is on a six-game assist/point streak (2g/9a), tying a career-long stretch for helpers.  He has recorded a point in all but two games this season.
• Carter King is on a five-game point streak (3g/2a) and has points in 14 of the last 15 games (10g/11a) since Oct. 21.
• Sean Behrens is on a three-game point streak (1g/2a) and has seven points in the last eight games (2g/5a). 

RIZZO ON TEAM CANADA AT SPENGLER CUP: Forward Massimo Rizzo represented Canada at the 2023 Spengler Cup, which ran Dec. 26-31 in Davos, Switzerland.  Rizzo recorded two assists in four games at the annual invitational tournament that primarily features professional hockey teams in Europe. Canada, which has sent a squad nearly year since 1984 (except COVID Pandemic years), lost in the semifinals in HC Dynamo Pardubice.
 
Rizzo was the first NCAA player to suit up for Canada at the event since DU's own Ian Mitchell also did so in 2019.  Denver alum Joey LaLeggia was also on Canada's roster at the 2023 tournament.
 
NON-CONFERENCE PLAY: DU will play 12 non-conference games against eight different opponents this season, with six of the matchups coming on the road.  Denver is 7-2-1 in non-NCHC games this season.
 
After opening the season at Alaska Fairbanks on Oct. 7-8, Denver made a trip to New England for single-game outings at Providence and Boston College on Oct. 20-21.  DU's last road non-NCHC outings were Nov. 10-11 when it traveled to the desert to face Arizona State.  NCAA-newcomer Augustana (Oct. 27) and in-state foe Air Force (Oct. 28) visited Magness Arena for Homecoming Weekend and the Pios hosted Yale after in a set after Thanksgiving on Nov. 24-25.   The Pioneers wrap up their non-conference slate on Jan. 5-6 vs. Niagara.
 
HISTORY VS. NIAGARA: Denver has won all six matchups against Niagara, which have all come at home at Magness Arena.  The teams last met on Nov. 1-2, 2019 as part of DU's 70th Anniversary Weekend celebration.  The Pioneers won 6-2 the first night before posting a 4-0 shutout in the series finale.  The programs first faced off against one another on Dec. 27, 2003 as part of the Denver Cup, with the Pioneers earning a 3-2 win. They also played a single-game matchup on Oct. 24, 2013 (W 5-1) and faced off in a series on Jan. 12-13, 2007 with DU ranked No. 7 and NU ranked No. 17 at the time.  The Pioneers haven't allowed more than two goals against in any of the five meetings and have outscored the Purple Eagles by a 20-7 margin in the all-time series.
 
SCOUTING THE EAGLES: Niagara has a 7-11-1 overall record this season and is eighth with a 5-7-1 mark in the Atlantic Hockey Association, the same conference as Air Force.  NU is 1-4-0 in its last five games, with the squad ending a three-game losing streak last Friday against NCHC foe Miami.  The Purple Eagles split the weekend set with the RedHawks, as Lars Rodne scored twice and Olivier Gauthier had two assists in a 4-1 win on Friday.  Niagara was shutout 3-0 on Saturday.  Jay Ahearn leads the team in scoring with six goals and 14 points, while Carter Randkley is second with 12 points (5g/7a).  Alex Murray is first on the Eagles with 10 assists and ranks third with 11 points.  Niagara has split its goalies fairly evenly this season, though Jarrett Fiske started both games last weekend vs. Miami.  Fiske has a 6-5-0 record, 2.36 goals-against average and .916 save percentage in 11 starts.  Ryan Ouellette has been between the pipes in eight contests and owns a 1-6-1 mark, 2.75 goals-against average and .904 save percentage.
 
CONNECTIONS: Niagara has three players from Colorado in Cole Mickel (Broomfield), Shane Ott (Centennial) and Ryan Ouellette (Colorado Springs) … Cale Ashcroft and Jaedon Leslie are both from St. Albert, Alberta … NU's Tyler Wallace and Ethan Lund and DU's Kent Anderson, Matt Davis, Carter King and Rieger Lorenz are all from Calgary, Alberta … Denver's McKade Webster and Jack Caruso and Niagara's Mitchell Day are all from St. Louis, Missouri … Oliver Gauthier (Ferme-Neuve) and Tristan Lemyre (Mirabel) are both from Quebec, Canada … Boston Buckberger played with Noah Hackett and Ethan Lund with the AJHL Brooks Bandits in 2021-22 … Jack Caruso was a teammate of Christian Gorscak with the NAHL Johnstown Tomahawks in 2019-20 … Peter LaJoy played parts of two seasons with Drew Vieten with the NAHL Wichita Falls from 2020-2022 … LaJoy briefly skated with Jonathan Ziski and Lars Rodney with the NAHL Bismarck Bobcats in 2020-21 … Ziski and Carter Randklev were teammates with Tristan Broz in 2019-20 with the USHL Fargo Force … Alex Murray (Miami) and Luke Mylymok (Minnesota Duluth) both used to play in the NCHC.
 
PREVIOUS MEETING (Nov. 2, 2019): The No. 1 Denver Pioneers honored more than 170 alumni in attendance for 70th Anniversary Weekend with a 4-0 win against the Niagara Purple Eagles to complete the sweep and remain unbeaten in Magness Arena.  Jake Durlflinger's second-period goal stood as the game-winner as Michael Corson made 16 saves for a shutout in his first career start.  Brett Stapley's short-handed insurance goal at 10:40 of the third sealed the victory as the Pioneers dominated for the second straight night, outshooting the Purple Eagles 47-16.  DU debuted its 70th Anniversary jerseys and honored more than 170 alumni in attendance for 70th Anniversary Weekend with an on-ice ceremony at the first intermission.
 
PIONEERS IN THE POLLS: Denver ranks No. 6 in the country in the latest USCHO.com poll and is No. 5 in the latest USA Hockey/The Rink Live national ranking. 
 
The NCHC has five teams ranked, with North Dakota at No. 4, Western Michigan at No. 12, St. Cloud State at No. 14 and Colorado College entering the polls for the first time in more than 10 years at No. 20. Omaha also received votes in the polls.
 
FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH: With the addition of goaltender Paxton Geisel on Nov. 24, Denver's 27-man roster features 11 freshmen to form one of the largest incoming classes in recent years.  The last time DU had 11 freshmen on its roster was 2017-18 (DU had 10 freshmen in 2018-19).  The Pioneers' 11 freshmen tie the program with five other schools for the second-most in the NCAA this season, with only Robert Morris having more (16).
 
Denver's average age at the start of the season is 20.9 years-old, tied with Harvard for the second-youngest in the country behind Boston College (20.6).  Freshman defenseman Zeev Buium is the second-youngest player in the country, as he turned 18 years old on Dec. 7.  Boston University's Macklin Celebrini is the youngest, turning 18 next summer on June 13, 2024.
 

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