DENVER – The No. 1-ranked University of Denver hockey team used a three-goal second period to defeat the Lindenwood Lions 4-1 on Friday night at Magness Arena to begin its 75th Anniversary Weekend.
 
Donning their throwback third jerseys for the first time this season, the Pioneers improved to 9-0-0 on the campaign to tie the program's longest win streak to begin a season. DU also won its first nine contests to start the 2001-02 campaign.
 
Denver concludes its final home non-conference series on Saturday against Lindenwood (2-6-1). The Pioneers will also honor approximately 150 former players during the first intermission as part of the hockey team's 75th Anniversary festivities. Game time is at 7 p.m. MT, and it will be broadcast on NCHC.tv.
 
Sophomore defenseman Eric Pohlkamp led DU with a career-high three assists and fellow classmate Sam Harris scored his seventh goal of the season, tying teammate Carter King for the NCAA lead.
 
Junior Jared Wright opened the scoring for DU at 5:36 of the second period, while freshman James Reeder and junior Rieger Lorenz both tallied on the power play. DU finished 2-for-4 on the man advantage, marking the team's fourth multi power-play goal game of the year. The Pioneers have scored while a man-up in now six consecutive contests.
 
Senior goaltender Matt Davis made 23-of-24 saves and didn't allow a goal for seven consecutive periods before the Lions found the back of the net early in the third. Davis went on a career-long 154:45 shutout streak that began in the first period on Oct. 26 against Wisconsin, marking the eighth-longest run by a DU netminder and his third such stretch of at least 120 minutes in his career.
 
The teams played to a 0-0 tie in the first stanza before Wright began the Pios' three-goal run in a matter of 6:40, with Harris and Reeder also scoring. Pohlkamp had helpers on each marker for the most points in a period this season.
 
Tyler Loughman tallied the lone goal for the Lions at 2:26 of the final frame before Lorenz's power-play marker at 11:53 to finish the scoring.
 
The Pioneers fired a season-best 46 shots on goal. LU keeper Owen Bartoszkiewicz made 42 saves.
 
UP NEXT: The Pioneers face the Lions again on Saturday in their final home non-conference game before beginning NCHC play next weekend at No. 10 North Dakota.
 
 
POSTGAME NOTES

• DU improved to 3-0-0 all-time against Lindenwood, as the teams were meeting in their second-ever series and first since the middle of the 2022-23 season.
• Denver had its second 40-plus shot game of the year, as it fired 45 pucks on Oct. 18 vs. Northeastern.
• Sam Harris scored his seventh goal of the season and has points in each of the last six games he played, a career long. Harris played in his 50th career game.
• Carter King and Aidan Thompson each had an assist to stretch their season-opening point streaks to nine games, the longest since Jarid Lukosevicius also had a nine-game run to begin the 2018-19 campaign.
• Jack Devine had his eight-game point streak come to an end.
• Eric Pohlkamp (eight games and James Reeder (five games) also stretched their career-best point streaks.
• Pohlkamp has now registered three points in two of the last three games. His previous career high in assists was two that he accomplished on March 8, 2024 against Ferris State while playing for Bemidji State.
• Matt Davis' previous career-long shutout streaks were 127:19 over one season (March 9-16, 2024) and 136:52 across multiple seasons (April 11-Oct. 4, 2024). 

 
GOAL SUMMARY
1st Period
No Scoring
 
2nd Period
5:36 DU (1-0) – Eric Pohlkamp's shot went off the end wall and landed near the right post where Jared Wright knocked the puck into the cage.
8:09 DU (2-0) – Eric Pohlkamp led a breakout from the Denver zone and Sam Harris went far-side with a wrist shot at the right circle.
12:16 DU (3-0) – PPG, James Reeder redirected the puck between the pads of the LU goalie off a feed from Eric Pohlkamp.
 
3rd Period
2:26 LU (3-1) – Tyler Loughman was stationed in front of the crease and knocked in Brody Mortensen's centering pass from the corner.
11:53 DU (4-1) – PPG, Rieger Lorenz tapped the puck into an open cage off passes from Carter King and Aidan Thompson while in the low slot.
 
 
QUOTABLES
Richard and Kitzia Goodman Hockey Head Coach David Carle
On the game: "They play hard and a lot of respect for them. I think Billy is doing a really good job. They made us uncomfortable at times tonight. I thought for us, we fed their transition game a little bit too much. Their program is really coming along in a positive way and we've seen the improvement … They get into you, they are not scared of anything. They came in here to try and win a hockey game, I thought they made us uncomfortable and life hard on us."
 
On special teams in the game: "It was a big factor. We went 2-for-2 in the (penalty) kill, one abbreviated. Each power-play unit gets a goal, both net-front type of stuff. Not your real pretty goals but that's how a lot of them end up in the back of the net. King slings out one of them kind of to the back of the net for Lorenz to put it in, and obviously Eric's flanks it down and find Jay Reeder's stick, so some good things. You want to be good on the inside of a power play because they will not always be the pretty passing plays. You need to score in different ways and for us to do that, we generate a lot of shots in the power play as well. It was a good night for the power play."

Bouncing back after a flat first period: "I think we all felt like we could have played a little bit faster. We got to move our mouths, our feet, our sticks faster. A lot of times if you're talking, your brain is working a bit quicker, and I think that was one of the big messages and just trying to play a bit more direct on their net. I actually did love how we started the second period. We obviously had a really good six-seven-minute stretch there. The first goal comes from Pohlkamp just throwing it toward the net. We're able to spring a 2-on-1 and Sammy Harris finishes. Then thanks to our power play, we make the lead 3-0."
 
Sophomore Defenseman Eric Polhkamp
Difference between the first and second period: "We learned a lot from the night, and we got to bring it Saturday. The first period was tough. It was really slow, and their D would pinch our forwards, and we really didn't know what to do. So, we made some adjustments and the second and third periods were a lot better for us."
 
On the power play and James Reader goal: "It was a little slow at the beginning of the year. I mean, guys were in, guys were out. So we've kind of settled down here a little bit and built a little team chemistry. Me and Reader work on that play all the time in practice. It was nice."  
 
On his three-assist game: "I keep saying, everyone likes these three-assist games but it's what you do when you play with good players. I just give them the puck, and they do their job. So yes, it's nice to get those three but again I just got to do my job. Give them the puck, and they make the plays."
 
Sophomore Forward Sam Harris:
On Goal: "It felt good, especially after last weekend and going through a little bit with my body. Being able to get back on the ice and put that one away felt good."
 
On strategy for tomorrow: "Playing hard and sticking true to our process. Making sure we are putting the puck in more than they are."
 
On what the team can improve on: "Neutral zone, we had a couple soft plays and myself included. We are going to fix it for tomorrow, and it's going to be a better game."
 

TICKETS: Limited amount of tickets for Denver hockey's 75th anniversary in 2024-25 are available. Click here to purchase and for more information.