GRAND FORKS, N.D. – The No. 1 University of Denver hockey team opens conference play this weekend as the Pioneers travel to Ralph Engelstad Arena to face the No. 9 North Dakota Fighting Hawks.
 
Friday's game begins and 6 p.m. MT and Saturday's start time is at 5 p.m. MT, with both outings being broadcast on NCHC.tv. Friday's game will also be televised in Canada on TSN 3, while Saturday's contest will be televised in the Rocky Mountain region on Altitude.
 
Denver improved to 10-0-0 on the 2024-25 campaign after winning both games against Lindenwood University by 4-1 scores on Friday and Saturday. Defenseman Eric Pohlkamp had three assists on Friday to begin DU's 75th Anniversary Weekend, while Sam Harris scored the game-winning goal each night and tallied twice in the third period on Saturday to break a 1-1 tie.
 
Rieger Lorenz also scored in both contests while Carter King and Aidan Thompson extended season-opening point streaks, which are now at 10 games.  Goaltender Matt Davis stopped 23 shots on Friday and made 18 saves on Saturday.
 
Harris now leads the NCAA with nine goals in nine games played this year and was named the NCHC Forward of the Week for his performance against the LU Lions. Davis picked up his first Goaltender of the Week accolade of the season and is among the nation's leaders in each goaltending statistical category.
 
The Pioneers' 10-straight victories to open the year is a school record, surpassing the previous mark of nine straight to start the 2001-02 campaign. Overall, DU has won 19 consecutive games dating back to last season on March 9 against Colorado College, tying the longest win streak across multiple seasons in program history.
 
North Dakota began conference play last weekend at Minnesota Duluth and swept the two-game series with scores of 7-3 and 4-1 to improve to 5-4-0 on the campaign. The Fighting Hawks have spent the majority of the year on the road as they have only played three games in Grand Forks, going 2-1-0 in those contests.
 
UND won the four-game season series a year ago, as DU went 1-3-0 against its long-time rival in 2023-24. The Pioneers have won five of the last eight games of the series, which has been played 310 times dating back to Feb. 1, 1950 and every season since 1951-52.
 
Denver and North Dakota been among the top teams in the NCHC in recent years, as one of the squads have won the Penrose Cup as conference regular-season champions in each of the last five seasons. UND won in 2023-24 while DU took it in 2022-23 before the programs shared the title in 2021-22.
 
 
RECORD START: DU has won its first 10 games of a season for the first time in school history, surpassing the previous record of victories in its first nine contests that was set by the 2001-02 squad. (counting exhibition outings, DU actually won 11 consecutive games that year).
 
Carter King and Aidan Thompson are both on season-opening 10-game point streaks, the longest continuous stretches a Pioneer player since the start of 2015-16.  Henrik Borgstrom had points in each of the first 11 games he played in 2017-18, registering 13 goals and nine assists from Oct. 13-Nov. 18, 2017, but he did not play in the second game of the year on Oct. 14, 2017 at Notre Dame.
 
HISTORIC WIN STREAK: The Pioneers have won 19 consecutive games dating back to last season on March 9 against Colorado College.  It is tied for the longest win streak across multiple seasons in program history, as DU also won 19 straight games from Feb. 13-Dec. 13, 1960 and Jan. 13-Dec. 2, 1961
 
Overall, DU's current 19-game streak is the longest since winning 22 contests in a row from Jan. 5-March 16, 1968 en route to a championship.
 
Denver went 9-1-0 in its last 10 games of 2023-24 and is 25-2-1 in the 28 contests since the start of February 2024. 
 
DAVIS SHUTTING THE DOOR, EARNS GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK: Goaltender Matt Davis earned his third career NCHC Goaltender of the Week award after saving 41-of-43 shots faced in the two wins against Lindenwood.  His nine victories lead all NCAA goalies while he ranks fourth in the nation with a 1.34 goals-against average and his .942 save percentage is 10th-best in the country.
 
Davis is currently riding a personal 18-game winning streak dating back to March 9 of last season vs. Colorado College.  He has posted several long shutouts streaks during that time, including recently setting a new career best of 154:45 that began in the first period on Oct. 26 against Wisconsin and went until the third period on Saturday vs. Lindenwood.  It was his third career shutout streak of at least 120 minutes, going his other two previous personal bests of 136:53 from April 11-Oct. 4, 2024 and March 9-16, 2024.
 
Davis went on a run of starting 33 consecutive games from Jan. 5 vs. Niagara to Nov. 1 at Yale before he was finally given the night off.  He posted a 27-4-2 record, 2.02 goals-against average, .927 save percentage and three shutouts during the streak that stretched across two seasons.
 
SAMMY SCORING GOALS & FORWARD OF THE WEEK: Sophomore Sam Harris earned his first career NCHC Forward of the Week award after totaling three goals overall and the game-winner in both matchups vs. the LU Lions last weekend.
 
Harris now has nine goals on the year to take over the NCAA lead, a title that was held previously by teammate Carter King (7).  The San Diego, California, native notched is second multi-goal performance of the year (Oct. 5 at Alaska Anchorage) and the fifth of his career on Saturday.  Both tallies came in the third period to break a 1-1, marking the first multi-goal period and fastest two goals (5:49) by a single Pioneer player this season.
 
The San Diego, California, native is on a career-long point streak with as he has reached the scoresheet in each of the last seven games he's played (7g/4a).
 
THOMPSON TALLIES: Junior forward Aidan Thompson stretched his career-long point streak to 10 games with a goal and assist in the series vs. Lindenwood and tied linemate Jack Devine for the overall NCAA lead in scoring with 17 points.  His seven goals and 10 assists both rank tied for third in the nation
 
Thompson has points in each of the first 10 games of the season for the longest such stretch of his career and recorded a personal-best seven-game assist streak from Oct. 18-Nov. 8.
 
The Fort Collins, Colorado, native set a career high for assists/points in a game on Oct. 19 vs. Northeastern with four helpers. It was the second four-assist game of the year by a Pioneer as Devine also accomplished the feat in the season opener on Oct. 5 at Alaska Anchorage.
 
DIVINE DEVINE: Senior Jack Devine is tied for the nation's lead in scoring with linemate Aidan Thompson with 17 points and ranks first among all players with 16 assists.  He recorded assists in each of each of the first eight contests of the season (1g/15a) for the longest assist and point streak of his career.
 
The Glencoe, Illinois, native has registered multiple points in five games, including in four consecutive outings from Oct. 19-26.  Devine opened the season with a personal-best four assists on Oct. 5 at Alaska Anchorage (all on the power play) and recorded three points (1g/2a) on Oct. 26 against Wisconsin.
 
He was named both the NCHC and National Player of the Month for October after leading all players with 14 points (1g/3a) in six games. It was his first career monthly honors.
 
POHLKAMP SHOWING OFF SHOT: Sophomore Eric Pohlkamp leads all DU defensemen with four goals and 39 shots, with the latter ranking second overall on the team behind forward Aidan Thompson.  The Baxter, Minnesota, native leads all blueliners in the country in scoring with 13 points and ranks second at his position in both goals (tied) and shots.
 
Pohlkamp is on a career-long nine-game point streak (4g/9a) and has assist in each of the last five contests, a personal best as well.  He recorded a career-high three assists on Friday vs. Lindenwood, his third three-point game of his career and his second in a three-game span after totaling two goals and an assist on Nov. 1 at Yale—his first multi-point game as a Pioneer.
 
CELEBRATING 75 YEARS OF THE PIONEERS: Denver is commemorating 75 years of Pioneer hockey throughout 2024-25 to recognize its diamond jubilee as a program.  DU hosted its 75th Anniversary reunion last weekend, Nov. 8-9, when Lindenwood visited Magness Arena.  Among the activities were pre and post-game receptions for alums, alumni games and family skates and an on-ice recognition of the former players in attendance during Saturday's first intermission, with each of the team's NCAA-record 10 championship trophies being presented as well.
 
The 2024-25 season is actually the 76th in DU hockey history, but the team's 75th anniversary of its first game is in December.  The Pioneers' first ever contests were at home on Dec. 19-20, 1949 against Saskatchewan, with the squad losing 17-0 and 9-1 in the series.  Denver's first win was Jan. 27, 1950 at Wyoming, and the program's first home victory came against that same Wyoming squad on Feb. 18, 1950 (10-6) at the old DU Arena.
 
NATIONAL LEADERBOARD

 
PLAYING AHEAD: The Pioneers have had the lead or have been tied for nearly the entire season, as they've only trailed for 18:04 of game time this season.  DU didn't trail for the first 244:12 of the season (4+ games).
 
Overall, Denver has not trailed in 581:56 of the 600 minutes of game play this season, leading for 419:26 and has been tied for 162:30.
 
PIONEERS IN THE POLLS: Denver has held the No. 1 position in both the USCHO.com and USA Hockey/The Rink Live nationals polls in each of the seven polls this season and has been in the spot in eight straight dating back to the final list of last season
 
The NCHC's five ranked schools are tied for the most in the USCHO.com poll and tied for second in the USA Hockey rankings.  All of five teams are in the top 15, as Colorado College at No. 8/8 and North Dakota at No. 9/10 join DU in the top 10.  St. Cloud State comes in at No. 12/T-11 and Western Michigan is at No. 13/T-11.  Omaha and Arizona State received votes in the USCHO.com poll.
 
STREAKING

 
NOTABLES

 
HISTORY VS. NORTH DAKOTA: Denver went 1-3-0 in the four-game series last season against North Dakota, with its victory coming in overtime on Dec. 2 at Magness Arena.  UND won both games in Grand Forks to close the series on Jan. 26-27, as DU fell 5-2 and 4-2.  The Pioneers are 5-3 in the last eight games against the Fighting Hawks, which includes winning all four games against their rival in 2022-23 for its first sweep since 2009-10.  North Dakota is Denver's second-most common opponent behind Colorado College (341 games) as DU owns a 135-159-16 record in an all-time series that's been played 310 times.  Denver owns a 118-134-14 record in conference play vs. North Dakota and is 46-95-10 all-time in the series on the road.  DU defeated UND to win three of its 10 national championships: 1958 in Minneapolis, Minn., 1968 in Duluth, Minn., and 2005 in Columbus, Ohio.
 
PREVIOUS MEETING (JAN. 27, 2022): The No. 4 University of Denver hockey team lost 4-2 to the No. 5 North Dakota Fighting Hawks in the series finale on at Ralph Engelstad Arena.  UND scored three power-play goals in the game, including tallying twice on the same man advantage during a major penalty in the third period that broke up a 2-2 tie.  Sophomore Jared Wright and freshman Sam Harris tallied for Denver.  Sophomore Rieger Lorenz and juniors Shai Buium and Jack Devine each recorded an assist, and goaltender Matt Davis made 29 saves on 34 shots in the loss.  Owen McLaughlin and Riese Gaber both notched markers in a matter of 45 seconds during the extended power play to give UND its first lead of the night.  NoDak was given the five-minute power play as DU's Sean Behrens was assessed a major penalty and game misconduct for direct contact to the head with 11:25 left in the third period.  The Pioneers killed off the first 3:25 of the infraction, but they ended up getting caught on a long shift and McLaughlin's outside shot got through traffic and into the back of the net for the game-winner.  DU and UND traded goals through the first two periods, as the outing was tied at 1-1 after the first frame and 2-2 at the end of the second stanza.
 
CONNECTIONS: Jake Fisher played junior hockey in North Dakota with the USHL Fargo Force last season in 2023-24 and won a Clark Cup championship on the team with UND's Mac Swanson …. Peter LaJoy skated in four games with the NAHL Bismarck Bobcats in 2020-21 ... Denver's Kent Anderson, Matt Davis, Carter King and Rieger Lorenz and NoDak's Dylan James, Louis Jamernik V and Carter Wilkie are from the same hometown (Calgary, Alberta) … Lorenz played with James on the AJHL's Okotoks Oilers in 2020-21 … Davis was teammates with Fighting Hawks' Jake Schmaltz and Jackson Kunz in 2020-21 with the Green Bay Gamblers … Tory Pitner and Andrew Strathmann skated two seasons together with the USHL Youngstown Phantoms (2022-2024) and won the Clark Cup together in 2023 … Connor Caponi played with UND's Dane Montgomery at the USHL Waterloo Black Hawks in 2019-20 … Paxton Geisel played with Jayden Jubenvill with the USHL Dubuque Fighting Saints in 2022-23 and was a teammate of UND's Sacha Boisvert to start the 2023-24 campaign on the USHL Muskegon Lumberjacks … Owen McLaughlin briefly played with Jack Devine at the U.S. National Team Development Program in 2020-21 … DU's Alex Weiermair (Los Angeles), Zeev Buium (San Diego) and Sam Harris (San Diego) and UND's EJ Emery (Compton) are all from Southern California … Weiermair and Buium were at the US NTDP at the same time as Emery in 2022-23.
 
SCOUTING THE HAWKS: North Dakota got back over .500 on the season at 5-4-0 after a series sweep of Minnesota Duluth to begin conference play last weekend, winning 7-3 and 4-1 on Friday and Saturday.  UND has had a tough schedule to begin the campaign as it played ranked opponents in each of its first seven games, including splitting a home series against No. 3 Boston University on Oct. 24-26 and dropping both contests at No. 9 Cornell on Nov. 1-2.  The Fighting Hawks are 2-1-0 at home this season, which began with a 3-2 win vs. No. 13 Providence on Oct. 12 in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game.   Louis Jamernik V (4g/5a) leads the team in scoring with nine points and is tied for first with four goals along with Cameron Berg (4g/4a), Dylan James (4g/0a) and Jackson Kunz (4g/0a).  Defenseman Jake Livanavage (1g/7a) and forward Owen McLaughlin (0g/7a) pace the squad in assists with seven each.   Former ASU goalie T.J. Semptimphelter has started seven games in net and has a 5-2-0 record, 2.75 goals-against average and .901 save percentage this season.
 
ROAD TRIPPIN': Denver is set to travel approximately 10,349 miles this season for road games (one way), which includes a trip to Anchorage and the two to the northeast to Yale and Maine.  Denver traveled 8,605 miles for road contest during the regular season in 2023-24, which included a trip to Fairbanks and cross country to New England to start the campaign.
 
Counting postseason play at neutral sites from last season, DU owns a 14-1-0 record in its last 15 games away from Magness Arena since Feb. 16, 2024.
 
MILESTONE MEN: Graduate student Connor Caponi and senior Jack Devine each played in a milestone game on Nov. 1 at Yale, as Caponi became the 70th player in program history to play 150 contests while Devine skated in his 125th career outing that night as well.  Senior Carter King skated in his 125th game on Nov. 9 against Lindenwood.
 
Caponi was the first player to reach the 150-game mark since Kyle Mayhew on March 10, 2023 vs. Miami, and he is 17 contests from tying former teammate Ryan Barrow's school record of 168 games played (2017-2022). Barrow reached the milestone in the 2022 NCAA National Championship Game where he scored the game-tying goal that sparked DU to a 5-1 victory against Minnesota State.
 
SENIOR CLASS SUCCESS: The Pioneers' 2025 senior class is on pace to be the winningest group in school history and became the 16th class to win at least 100 games on Nov. 1 at Yale.  The seniors' current 103 total victories are in a four-way tie for the fourth-most in program history, which includes last year's senior class.  The current seniors are two wins away from tying for the second-most.  Among the 2025 grads' accomplishments have been three Gold Pan trophies, two Penrose Cups, an NCHC Frozen Faceoff title and two national championships.
 
The 2024 senior class finished tied for fourth all-time with 103 victories and registered a .708 winning percentage (103-41-5), with only the classes of 2005 (112 wins), 2019 (105) and 2018 (105) posting more victories in their time at DU.
 
DEVINE CLIMBING THE LEADERBOARD: Senior forward Jack Devine moved into the top 50 among scorers all-time in DU history with 123 points (45g/78a), tied with Tyler Ruegsegger (2006-10) and Jim Smith (1982-86)   .  He is one point from tying Perry Schnarr for 49th and two away from sharing 48th place with Bill Staub.  Former teammate Massimo Rizzo (2021-2024) is in a four-way tie for 44th with 126 career points.
 
Devine became the 103rd Pioneer to reach 100 career points after scoring in his 109th contest on March 8, 2024 at Colorado College.  The Glencoe, Illinois, native led the team and ranked fourth in the nation with 27 goals in 2023-24.  It was the most tallies by a Pioneer since Ryan Dingle also had 27 in 2005-06.
 
The forward is five goals away from being the 61st player in school history to score 50 career goals and the first since Cole Guttman on Feb. 11, 2022 against Minnesota Duluth.
 
PIONEERING OFFENSE: Denver led the country in scoring a season ago (4.59 goals/game) and ranks first in the NCAA in the category after 10 games in 2024-25, averaging 4.9 goals per game on 49 total tallies.  DU has scored at least four goals in each contest this year.
 
The Pioneers, who recorded 202 total goals last season, have had 13 different players score and 18 of the 22 skaters have registered at least one point.
 
KILLER PENALTY KILL: Denver has killed off 93.1 percent of its penalties this season (26/28), including all four man-disadvantage opportunities last weekend against Lindenwood.
 
The Pioneers had a stretch of 17 straight kills that began in the season opener on Oct. 5 at Alaska Anchorage (four games) and ended with Wisconsin tallying on its first power-play chance on Oct. 25—the longest such streak since they were successful on 19 consecutive man disadvantages during the 2022 postseason, from March 11 through April 7, 2022.
 
Denver killed off 89.7 percent of its penalties over the final 13 games in 2023-24, going 26-for-28 in a stretch that began on Feb. 24.  DU was perfect in nine of those games, including going 4-for-4 on the PK on three occasions and seven straight in the final five outings of the season en route to the 2024 championship.
 
PIOS POWER UP: Denver is converting on 34.8 percent of its power plays, which includes man-advantage goals in each of the last seven games and in nine of the 10 outings this year.  DU has converted multiple times while man-up in four contests this season, including going 4-for-9 in the season opener on Oct. 5 at Alaska Anchorage—the most scored in a game by the squad since Dec. 4, 2021 at Arizona State (4-of-6).
 
Jack Devine is first on the team with 11 power-play points (0g/11a), while Sam Harris and Aidan Thompson leads the squad with five man-advantage goals.  Five of Devine's six assists in Alaska on Oct. 5-6 came while DU was a man-up on the ice, while all four of Zeev Buium's assists in that series came on power-play goals.
 
DOMINANT AT THE DOT: The Pioneers rank third in the nation by winning 57.0 percent of their faceoffs this season, including posting season-high winning percentages of .640 and .643, respectively, on Nov. 1-2 at Yale.

Carter King leads Denver in faceoff wins (133) and percentage (.619), while Kieran Cebrian is second with 99 draw victories and a 59.3-percent success rate.  King set a personal best by winning 20-of-34 faceoffs on Oct. 19 against Northeastern for the most wins by a Pioneer since Tyson McLellan went 23-for-35 on Jan. 4, 2020 against Massachusetts.