DENVER – The No. 3-ranked University of Denver hockey team opens the postseason this weekend as the Pioneers host the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs in the NCHC Quarterfinals at Magness Arena.
 
The best-of-three series to begin the conference tournament gets underway on Friday at 7 p.m. MT. Game 2 is Saturday at 6 p.m. MT while Sunday's Game 3 will take place at 6 p.m. MT, if necessary. All three contests will be broadcast on NCHC.tv. Tickets are available at DenverPioneers.com.
 
Denver (24-9-3 overall) is the No. 2 seed in the NCHC Tournament after wrapping up the regular season with 45 points and a 15-7-2 record in conference play. Minnesota Duluth (12-18-5) finished seventh in the conference standings with 28 points and an 8-14-2 mark in league games.
 
DU split it final regular-season series last weekend, falling 4-3 at Colorado College on Friday and winning 4-3 on Saturday against the Tigers on home ice.  The Pioneers had a five-game unbeaten streak (4-0-1) end with Friday's loss, but they are still 7-2-1 in their last 10 contests since the start of February.
 
Minnesota Duluth is coming off a pair of victories after it swept its home series against St. Cloud State, winning 6-5 on Friday and 4-2 on Saturday to end an eight-game winless streak (0-7-1). 
 
UMD was the only NCHC squad that didn't play at Magness Arena during the regular season, as the Bulldogs will be making their first visit to Denver since Feb. 17-18, 2023. Each team won a game in that last matchup in the Mile High City, with DU taking a 5-4 overtime win in the opener before the Duluth earned a 5-2 victory the next night.
 
The Pioneers are 24-9-1 all-time in the NCHC Tournament and are the only NCHC team to make it to the Frozen Faceoff's final four in each of the nine-held tournaments, winning in 2014 and 2018.  Denver is 17-2 all-time in quarterfinal contests, sweeping six of the series in two games.
 
DU has won nine consecutive quarterfinal games, including earning two-game sweeps of Miami in 2023 and 2022 and North Dakota in 2019.
 
LAST TIME OUT: Denver split its final series of the regular season against in-state rival Colorado College, losing 4-3 on Friday in Colorado Springs before winning 4-2 on Saturday at Magness Arena.  The Pioneers scored two third-period goals on Friday to cut the deficit to one, but they weren't able to find the equalizer.
 
Sam Harris tallied twice on Saturday and Rieger Lorenz and Jared Wright both had a goal and assist, with Wright recording the game-winner midway through the third period.  Lorenz, Jack Devine and Tristan Broz scored on Friday.
 
NOTABLES

DU VS. UMD IN THE NCHC TOURNAMENT: Denver and Minnesota Duluth have played five previous times in the NCHC Tournament, dating back to a first-round matchup in 2015.  The Pioneers are 3-2 against the Bulldogs in the NCHC Tournament, with UMD winning each of the past two meetings in the 2018 and 2022 Frozen Faceoff Semifinals.  The Bulldogs won 2-0 in the semifinals matchup in 2022 before the Pioneers got revenge eight days later in the NCAA Regional Final.  Denver and Duluth have met once before in the quarterfinal round, with the Pios sweeping the series in two games in 2015 on home ice.  All-time, Denver owns a 19-10-2 all-time record against Minnesota Duluth in conference tournament games, with the Pioneers sporting a 16-8-2 mark in the WCHA Playoffs from 1968-2012.
 
PIONEERS ON THE ALL-NCHC TEAM: Five Denver players were recognized with All-Conference honors, as forward Jack Devine and defenseman Zeev Buium were named to the First Team, forward Massimo Rizzo and Shai Buium were selected to the Second Team and defenseman Sean Behrens was chosen as an Honorable Mention.  This is the second time that Rizzo and Behrens have been recognized on the All-NCHC Team, while the rest of the Pioneers are first-time recipients.
 
DU's two first-team members tied Colorado College for the most and its five total honorees were the second most among all schools. The Pioneers' four first and second-team players were the most in the NCHC.
 
NO-BRAINER ALL-ROOKIE TEAM: Freshmen Zeev Buium and Miko Matikka were named the only unanimous selections to the NCHC All-Rookie Team by earning 15 first-team votes each.  The Pioneers were the only program with multiple players on the freshmen squad.  Buium is among the freshmen leaders in scoring and led all NCHC defensemen and is second overall with 31 points in 24 conference games.  Matikka's 11 goals in NCHC games were the tied for the most while his 20 points in 23 outings were first among first-year forwards.
 
PIONEERS IN THE POLLS: Denver moved up to No. 3 in both nationals polls after the latest USCHO.com and USA Hockey/The Rink Live rankings were released on Monday.  DU, which was previously No. 4, is at its highest ranking since also being at No. 3 in each poll on Nov. 27.  The Pioneers are No. 4 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 its five schools in the top 15 lead all leagues.  The other conference squads in the polls are North Dakota at No. 4/4, Colorado College at No. 10/10, Omaha at No. 12/13, Western Michigan at No. 14/13 and St. Cloud State at No. 18/18.
 
MAGNESS MADNESS: Denver had a sold-out crowd of 7,033 for its regular-season finale against Colorado College on March 9 for the highest-attended hockey game at Magness Arena in program history.  DU had set its last high mark for attendance in its previous game against CC on Nov. 3 at Magness with a crowd of 7,021.
 
The Pioneers are on pace to set an attendance record this season with an average 6,174 fans at Magness Arena in the 18 home games this year.  DU's average attendance was 5,788 at Magness Arena in 2022-23 (23 games), the second-highest for the team since the building first opened for the 1999-2000 season.  Only 2006-07 saw larger crowds on the hilltop since the turn of the century, as the Pios averaged 6,022 over the course of 24 games that season.

EVERY NIGHT: Seven Denver players skated in all 36 games during the regular season: senior forward Connor Caponi, junior defenseman Sean Behrens, junior forward Jack Devine, sophomore forwards Rieger Lorenz, Aidan Thompson and Jared Wright, and freshman defenseman Boston Buckberger.
 
WELCOME TO THE CENTURY CLUB: Junior Jack Devine became the 103rd Pioneer to reach 100 career points by scoring just 16 seconds into the March 8 game at Colorado College (109 games).  He is the second Denver player to reach the century mark, joining junior Massimo Rizzo who did it on Nov. 11 at Arizona State.  The forwards are two of just eight players to reach 100 career points in the last 10 years, and Rizzo was the first DU player to reach the milestone since Cole Guttman on Jan. 22, 2022 vs. Colorado College.
 
Rizzo recorded 100 points in just 87 games, the second-quickest Pioneer in the last decade.  Only Dylan Gambrell made the century club sooner, doing so in his 86th contest in 2018.  Rizzo's 1.20 points-per-game average is the most among DU 100-point getters in the modern era (since 1990) and tied for 31st all-time among club members.
 
DEVINE GOALS: Junior Jack Devine recorded his eighth multi-goal game of the season on March 2 in Denver's 7-2 win at St. Cloud State in what was also his 17th multi-point outing of 2023-24.  He now has 25 goals this season, the most by a Denver skater since Ryan Dingle had 27 tallies in 2005-06.
 
The Glencoe, Illinois, native 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.
 
MILESTONE MEN: Senior McKade Webster played in his 125th career game on Friday, March 8, against Colorado College, becoming the second Pioneer this season to reach the milestone as Connor Caponi also hit the mark on Jan. 27 at North Dakota.
 
Overall, Denver had eight players appear in their 100th career contest this season, as Caponi (Oct. 7 at Alaska Fairbanks), Webster (Nov. 10 at Arizona State), Carter King (Jan. 13 vs. St. Cloud State), Massimo Rizzo (Jan. 19 at Omaha), Shai Buium (Jan. 20 at Omaha), Tristan Broz (Jan. 26 at North Dakota), Jack Devine (Jan. 27 at North Dakota) and Sean Behrens (Feb. 24 vs. Miami) have all reached the century mark.
 
NATIONAL LEADERBOARD

PIONEERING OFFENSE: Denver leads the country in offense, averaging 4.89 goals per game.  Boston College is second at 4.38 goals per contest.  The Pioneers are third in the NCAA in scoring margin, winning by 1.83 goals per game; Quinnipiac is first at 2.26 goals and Boston College is second at 2.18 goals.
 
The Pios have tallied six or more goals in 12 games this season, their most in a single campaign since also have 12 such contests in 1987-88.  The last time DU had 13 games with six or more markers was in 1984-85.
 
DU also leads the nation in shooting percentage at 15.2%, with Boston College being the next closet team at 13.8%.  On special teams, the Pios have the 12th-best power play at 24.0% and have the sixth-most man-advantage goals in the NCAA (36).
 
HISTORY VS. UMD DULUTH: Denver owns a 134-89-31 all-time record against Minnesota Duluth and had won four games in a row before UMD won the last meeting.  The teams only played one series last year, with DU winning 5-4 in overtime and 5-2 on Feb. 16-17 at Amsoil Arena in Duluth.  UMD is making its first trip to Denver since Feb. 17-18, 2023, when the Pioneers won 6-2 and lost 65-4.  DU is 6-1-0 in the last seven games against UMD dating back to its win in the 2022 NCAA Regional Final in Loveland, Colorado.  The Pioneers have a 110-77-11 mark in conference regular-season games.  Denver and Minnesota Duluth are the only two NCHC squads to win multiple championships, with both teams claiming the trophy twice.  DU defeated UMD to win the 2017 championship.
 
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS: Minnesota Duluth finished the regular season with a 12-18-5 record and seventh in the NCHC standings with 28 points and an 8-14-2 mark.  The Bulldogs swept their home series against St. Cloud State last week, winning 6-5 on Friday and 4-2 on Saturday.  That ended an eight-game winless streak (0-7-1).  Ben Steeves is second in the conference behind DU's Jack Devine with 24 goals and also leads UMD in scoring with 34 points.  No other players on the squad have reached double-digit goals, as Luke Loheit is second with nine tallies.  Owen Gallatin is second on the team in scoring with 28 points and first in assists with 21.  Goaltender Zach Stejskal has started 20 games and owns an 8-9-3 record, 3.00 goals-against average, .898 save percentage and one shutout.  Matthew Thiessen has guarded the pipes in 16 games and sports a 3-9-2 record, 3.13 goals-against average and .906 save percentage.
 
CONNECTIONS: Denver Athletic Director Josh Berlo served nine seasons in the same role with Minnesota Duluth (2013-2022) … Denver has two Minnesota natives on its roster in Tristan Broz (Bloomington) and Jared Wright (Burnsville) … 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, Minnesota … Rieger Lorenz was drafted No. 56 overall in the second round of the 2022 NHL Draft by the Minnesota Wild … Webster played with Jesse Jacques with the USHL Green Bay Gamblers in 2017-18 … UMD's Quinn Olson and DU's Kent Anderson, Matt Davis, Carter King and Rieger Lorenz are all from Calgary, Alberta … Lorenz played with Riley Bodnarchuk with the AJHL Okotoks Oilers in 2021-22 … Sean Behrens was on USA's 2022 World Junior Championship team with UMD's Dominic James … Behrens and Jack Devine were at U.S. National Team Development Program with Owen Gallatin during the 2019-20 campaign and was at the NTDP the same time as Cole Spicer in 2020-21 … Broz played with Gallatin with the USHL Fargo Force in 2020-21 … Massimo Rizzo played with UMD's Luke Loheit with the BCHL's Penticton Vees in 2018-19 … Shai Buium played on the USHL's Sioux City Musketeers with Minnesota Duluth's Carter Loney and Ben Steeves in 2020-21, and Garrett Brown played with Steeves at Sioux City in 2021-22 … Connor Caponi skated with Luke Bast with the USHL Waterloo Black Hawks in 2019-20, and DU's Brown and Miko Matikka played alongside Aaron Pionk in Waterloo to conclude the 2022-23 campaign … Aidan Thompson was a teammate on the USHL Lincoln Stars with Dominic James (2020-21), Luke Johnson (2021-22) and Joey Pierce (2021-22) … Kieran Cebrian and Aidan Dubinsky played together with the USHL Tri-City Storm in 2021-22 … Sam Harris was a teammate of Jack Smith with the USHL Sioux Falls Stampede in 2021-22.
 
PREVIOUS MEETING (FEB. 17, 2024): No. 5 Denver scored three times in the first seven minutes and defeated the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs 5-2 to sweep the weekend series at Amsoil Arena.  Freshman Sam Harris tallied twice and classmate Zeev Buium contributed a goal and an assist to help the Pioneers pick up five of a possible six conference points on the trip to the shores of Lake Superior. DU won 5-4 in overtime on Friday night at UMD.  The victory was Denver's 20th of the season, stretching its "Tenzer Streak" of earning 20 or more wins in 22 consecutive full seasons dating back to 2001-02.  Buium found the back of the net with his eighth marker of the season 31 seconds into the contest, and senior Connor Caponi and sophomore Jared Wright buried their own scores in a 1:14 span to give the Pios a 3-0 advantage on just five shots in the opening 6:39 of the game.  Denver netminder Matt Davis finished with 32 saves.
 
HOME ICE ADVANTAGE:  The Pios are 55-10-4 in their last 69 contests at Magness Arena and sport a 63-14-5 record on the DU hilltop since the start of the 2019-20 campaign.  DU hasn't lost consecutive home games since March 31-Feb. 1, 2020 vs. Minnesota Duluth. Denver went unbeaten in its first four home games this year (3-0-1) and is 12-3-3 in its friendly confines in 2023-24. 
 
TRENDS: Denver is...

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.


TICKETS: Tickets for the NCHC Quarterfinals are available. Click here to learn more.
 

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