ST. CLOUD, Minn. – The No. 5 University of Denver hockey team heads out for its final road weekend of the regular season as the Pioneers travel to play the No. 15 St. Cloud State Huskies at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center.
 
Friday's game begins at 6:30 p.m. MT, and Saturday's outing starts at 5 p.m. MT. Both contests will also be broadcast on NCHC.tv.
 
The Pioneers earned five of a possible six conference points last week against the Miami RedHawks. The teams tied 3-3 on Friday night at Magness Arena, but DU won the tiebreaking shootout for the extra point in the NCHC standings. Denver scored six unanswered goals on Saturday, and goaltender Matt Davis made all 27 saves in an 8-1 victory.
 
The win marked the fourth time this season that the Pios have tallied at least eight goals in a game, the most occurrences in a single campaign since they had six in 1989-90.  It was the sixth time that they have scored more than six times in a contest.
 
St. Cloud State is 4-4-2 in its last 10 contests and split last weekend's series against then-No. 13 Western Michigan. The Huskies lost 4-3 on Friday and won 3-0 on Saturday.
 
SCSU is second in the NCHC standings with two weeks remaining in the regular season with 40 points and an 11-5-4 conference record. Denver is third in the standings with 36 points and a 12-6-2 mark in league play. North Dakota leads with 43 points.
 
This weekend marks the final two games of the regular season between Denver and St. Cloud State, after the teams split their series earlier in the year on Jan. 12-13 at Magness Arena.  DU picked up four of a possible six NCHC points that weekend, winning 5-1 in the opener before SCSU won an NCHC shootout in the series finale after the teams tied 4-4 in overtime.
 
The Pioneers are 4-3-1 in the last eight matchups with the Huskies. DU has a 57-52-7 all-time record against the SCSU and is 22-24-4 on the road in the series.
 
Denver will be heading out for a three-game road swing, as the Pios will travel down Interstate-25 the following weekend on March 8 for a matchup with Colorado College. DU and CC conclude the regular season against one another the next night, March 9, in Denver.
 
LAST TIME OUT: Denver earned five of a possible six conference points in its home series vs. the Miami RedHawks.  The teams tied 3-3 on Friday but the Pioneers won the tiebreaking shootout 1-0 to earn the extra NCHC point in the standings.  Denver scored six unanswered goals on Saturday in an 8-1 victory.
 
Jared Wright finished the weekend with three goals, including scoring twice on Friday. Sam Harris also tallied in both contests.  The Pios were led on Saturday by a four-point effort (1g/3a) from Tristan Broz and three assists from freshman defenseman Boston Buckberger, while Jack Devine (1g/1a), Sean Behrens (0g/2a) and Kieran Cebrian (0g/2a) also had multi-point efforts.  Goaltender Matt Davis stopped 50-of-53 shots against on the weekend, including all 27 on Saturday and an additional three in Friday's shootout.
 
EIGHT AND MORE: Denver recorded its fourth game of the regular season on Saturday vs. Miami where it has scored at least eight goals.  It is the most eight-plus goal games in a season by the Pioneers since 1989-90 when the team had six such contests.  DU has 10 games this season where it has scored six or more goals.
 
The Pioneers recorded consecutive 8-4 wins on Nov. 11 at Arizona State and Nov. 17 vs. Omaha, which was the first time they tallied eight goals in back-to-back games since in 1989-90 when they did it three contests in a row (12-5 and 8-1 wins on Nov. 3-4, 1989 at Alaska Fairbanks; 8-6 win on Nov. 10, 1989 at Michigan Tech).
 
Denver scored a season-high nine goals in its shutout victory on Nov. 25 vs. Yale.  It was the program's most goals scored in a game since winning 10-2 in a WCHA regular-season outing against Minnesota State on Oct. 22, 2011, and the 9-0 win was the school's largest margin of victory since defeating Air Force 11-1 on Dec. 27, 1995.
 
STAYING DISCIPLINED: Denver has taken three of fewer penalties in five of the past eight games dating back to Jan. 26 at North Dakota, including taking two or fewer infractions in three contests. The Pioneers are killing 71.4 percent of opponent power plays in the past six outings (10-for-14).
 
DU has taken six of fewer penalty minutes in 13 contests this season, including a season-low one minor penalty on Feb. 2 vs. Western Michigan.
 
DAVIS CLEAN SHEET: Goaltender Matt Davis started and stopped all 27 shots he faced last Saturday in the Pioneers 8-1 win.  The only goal the team allowed came on a deflection during a delayed Miami penalty that went the length of the ice and into DU's open net while Davis was pulled for an extra attacker.  It was the most saves that Davis has made in his career while allowing no goals against.
 
UPDATE: The NCAA further looked into the rules of Section 6, Article 3 of its hockey Statisticians Manual, and after initially awarding an individual shutout to Davis, the NCAA overturned the shutout following further interpretation of the language.  The goal against was given to the team instead and didn't count toward Davis, who still finished the game with a 0.00 GAA and 1.000 save percentage.
 
NOTABLES

 
STREAKING

 
TRULY DEVINE: Junior Jack Devine is on a career-long five-game assist streak dating back to Feb. 3 vs. Western Michigan. The five consecutive games also matches his personal-long point streak as he also had a five-game run to start the season from Oct. 7-27 (6g/7a).
 
Devine is tied for fourth in the nation with 22 goals and ranks tied for fifth in overall scoring with 47 points.  He has seven multi-goal games this year and has picked up multiple points in 15 outings this year.
 
The Denver forward was the first player in the country to reach the 20-goal threshold on Jan. 19 at Omaha.  He accomplished the feat in just 23 games to become the quickest Pioneer in recent history to hit the mark.
 
SOMETHING ABOUT MIAMI: Junior Tristan Broz recorded four points on Saturday vs. Miami for his second four-point game of the season and fourth of his career.  Broz had a career-high four goals last season on Jan. 13, 2023 vs. the RedHawks, and he has now recorded 13 points on six goals and seven assists in eight all-time games against Miami. His three assists on Saturday matched a personal high (Dec. 17, 2022 vs. Lindenwood).
 
The Bloomington, Minnesota, native has set career highs this season with 12 goals and 29 points in 32 games.  His previous four-point game this season came on Jan. 6 vs. Niagara (2g/2a).
 
DOMINANT AT THE DOT: Denver has won 60 percent of its faceoffs over the last four games (153-for-255) after going 82-for-140 (58.6%) in the two contests last week vs. Miami.  Sophomore Aidan Thompson went 19-for-25 on faceoffs on Friday night, setting a new career high for draws in a single game.  It was the most faceoff victories in a contest by a Pioneer since Cole Guttman won 19 draws vs. UMass Lowell on March 24, 2022 in the NCAA West Regional Semifinal.
 
The Pioneers went 71-of-115 on faceoffs (.617) over the two games at Minnesota Duluth on Feb. 16-17, including going 40-for-58 at the circle on Feb. 17 for a season-best 69-percent faceoff-winning percentage.  It was the team's highest mark in a single contest in the last three seasons (since 2021-22).
 
HISTORY VS. ST. CLOUD: Denver and St. Cloud State met earlier this season on Jan. 12-13 at Magness Arena where the Pioneers took four of six points (1-0-1).  DU won 5-1 in the opener before the teams tied 3-3 in the finale; SCSU won the tiebreaking shootout 2-1 for the extra conference point.  The Pioneers own a 57-52-7 all-time record over the Huskies and have a 34-25-6 mark in conference play in the series.  Denver is 22-24-4 in St. Cloud and will be making its first trip to the city since Jan. 20-21, 2023 when it lost 7-3 and 2-0.  The Pios' last win at St. Cloud State was a 5-2 victory on Feb. 29, 2020, as last year marked their first trip back since the COVID-19 Pandemic.  Denver is 4-3-1 in the last eight meetings dating back to Feb. 4, 2022.
 
SCOUTING THE HUSKIES: St. Cloud State is 15-10-5 overall this season and is second in the NCHC standings with 40 points and a 11-5-4 mark.  The Huskies trail leader North Dakota by three points (43) and are four points ahead of third-place Denver (36).  SCSU is the defending NCHC Tournament champions and is 4-4-2 in its last 10 contests.  The Huskies split their home series last week vs. No. 13 Western Michigan, losing 4-3 on Friday before winning 3-0 on Saturday.  Kyler Kupka (13g/14a) and Dylan Anhorn (6g/21a) are tied for the team lead in scoring with 27 points.  Kupka ranks second in goals, while Anhorn paces the team in assists.  Veeti Miettinen is first with 14 goals and is third with 26 points.  Goaltender Dominic Base has started 23 games and owns a 12-9-2 record, 2.62 goals-against average, .901 save percentage and three shutouts.
 
CONNECTIONS: St. Cloud State head coach Brett Larson served as an assistant coach under DU head coach David Carle with Team USA and helped the squad win gold at the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship in Sweden … Tristan Broz (Bloomington) and Jared Wright (Burnsville) are both from Minnesota … Shai Buium (2017-21), Zeev Buium (2019-21), Sam Harris (2018-21), Peter LaJoy (2016-20) and McKade Webster (2015-17) played prep school hockey at Shattuck St. Mary's in Faribault, Minn. …  Rieger Lorenz was selected in the second round at No. 56 overall by the Minnesota Wild in the 2022 NHL Draft … DU's Kent Anderson, Matt Davis, Carter King and Lorenz and SCSU's Dylan Anhorn, Ethan Aucoin and Tyson Gross are all from Calgary, Alberta … Mason Reiners was a teammate of DU's Connor Caponi (2019-20) with the Waterloo Black Hawks … Broz played with Jack Peart with the USHL Fargo Force in 2020-21 … Freddie Halyk played with Ethan Aucoin with the AJHL Lloydminster Bobcats in 2021-22 … Dominic Basse played two seasons at Colorado College (2020-22).
 
PREVIOUS MEETING (JAN. 13, 2024): Then-No. 6 Denver scored three power-play goals in a 4-4 tie against the No. 14 St. Cloud State Huskies at Magness Arena.  SCSU earned the extra point in the conference standings by winning the shootout 2-1, but the contest officially goes down as a tie.  Despite the result, the Pioneers still extended their season-long unbeaten streak to five games (4-0-1).  Freshman Miko Matikka scored and added an assist for Denver, which also got markers from junior Jack Devine, sophomore Aidan Thompson and junior Carter King. Brothers Shai Buium and Zeev Buium each contributed two assists apiece. Junior goaltender Matt Davis made 30-of-34 saves through overtime, including stopping 18 shots in the third period.  The Huskies scored on both of their shootout opportunities to earn the extra point and keep hold of the top spot in the NCHC standings. DU went 1-for-3 in the tiebreaker, with Tristan Broz scoring in Round 1.
 
ON THE ROAD: The Pioneers are wrapping up the regular season by playing nine of their final 14 games of the regular season away from Magness Arena, with the team traveling to Omaha, North Dakota, Minnesota Duluth, St. Cloud State and Colorado College in the final weeks of the campaign.
 
Denver owns a 10-5-0 record on the road this season, which included weekend sweeps at Minnesota Duluth on Feb. 16-17, Omaha on Jan. 19-20 and at Alaska Fairbanks to begin the campaign on Oct. 7-8.  DU's road sweep at UNO was its first against an NCHC opponent since Feb. 24-25 at Western Michigan when it secured its second consecutive Penrose Cup as conference regular-season champions.
 
PIONEERS IN THE POLLS: Denver ranks No. 5 this week in the USCHO.com national poll and is No. 4 in the USA Hockey/The Rink Live rankings.  The Pioneers, who were previously No. 3 in both polls, are also presently No. 6 in the Pairwise Rankings, which determines the NCAA Tournament field.
 
The NCHC's six ranked teams are tied for the most among all conferences with Hockey East, and the league has five programs in the top 15 in the Pairwise.  The other conference squads in the polls are North Dakota at No. 3/3, Colorado College at No. 11/14, Western Michigan at No. 12/11, St. Cloud State at No. 15/13 and Omaha at No. 18/18.
 
SCHOLAR ATHLETES: Denver had 15 returning players named to the 2023-24 NCHC Academic All-Conference Team and has eight Pioneers recognized as Distinguished Scholar Athletes.  DU's Kent Anderson, Tristan Broz, Shai Buium, Connor Caponi, Jack Caruso, Matt Davis, Jack Devine, Carter King, Tristan Lemyre, Rieger Lorenz, Lucas Olvestad, Massimo Rizzo, Aidan Thompson, McKade Webster and Jared Wright are members of the All-Academic Team.
 
Anderson, Davis, Devine, King, Lorenz, Olvestad, Thompson and Wright were recognized as NCHC Distinguished Scholar-Athletes.  The NCHC will add freshman and first-year transfers to its lists this summer after the academic year is completed
 
To be eligible for the NCHC Academic All-Conference Team, a student-athlete must have compiled a 3.0 cumulative grade-point average or better while also having completed one full academic year at his institution.  Distinguished Scholar-Athletes have a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or better.
 
MILESTONE MEN: Junior Sean Behrens became the eighth Pioneer this season to play in his 100th career game after reaching the milestone last Saturday vs. Miami, joining Connor Caponi (Oct. 7 at Alaska Fairbanks), McKade Webster (Nov. 10 at Arizona State), Carter King (Jan. 13 vs. St. Cloud State), Massimo Rizzo (Jan. 19 at Omaha) and Shai Buium (Jan. 20 at Omaha), Tristan Broz (Jan. 26 at North Dakota) and Jack Devine (Jan. 27 at North Dakota). 
 
Caponi skated in his 125th career outing on Jan. 27 at North Dakota, and Webster is three games away from hitting the 125-game threshold.
 
TENZER STREAK EXTENDED: The victory on Feb. 17 at Minnesota Duluth was Denver's 20th of the season, stretching the program's "Tenzer" Streak of earning 20 or more wins to 22 consecutive full seasons dating back to 2001-02, the longest active streak in the country.  The Pioneers were the ninth squad in the country and the second in the NCHC to reach the 20-win mark.
 
The "Tenzer" Streak is named after former DU Director of Hockey Operations David Tenzer, who spent 16 seasons with the program from 2001-02 (the start of the streak) until retiring in 2017.  The program only played 24 total contests in the COVID-shortened 2020-21 campaign.
 
PIONEERING OFFENSE: Denver leads the country in offense, averaging 4.9 goals per game.  Boston College is second at 4.4 goals per contest.  The Pioneers are third in the NCAA in scoring margin, winning by 1.78 goals per game; Boston College is first at 2.23 goals and Quinnipiac is second at 2.22 goals.
 
DU also leads the nation in shooting percentage at 14.9%, with Boston College being the next closet team at 13.6%.  On special teams, the Pios are tied with the 10th-best power play at 25% and are tied with the fourth-most man-advantage goals in the NCAA with Arizona State (35), with only Long Island (44), Michigan (42) and Boston College (37) having more.
 

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