DENVER – The reigning national champion University of Denver hockey program announced its 2023-24 team awards on Wednesday night at its 67th annual awards banquet. Junior goaltender
Matt Davis highlighted the awards ceremony as the recipient of the Bill Masterton MVP award while junior
Massimo Rizzo repeated with the Dallas Gaume Offensive Player Award and
Jared Wright won his second consecutive Dr. Ken Bredesen Most Sportsmanlike Player accolade.
The full list of DU hockey's 2023-24 award winners:
Davis guarded the pipes in each of the final 26 games, going 20-4-2 after the holiday break and finishing the year on a career-long nine game winning streak—the longest stretch by a DU goaltender since
Magnus Chrona also won nine contests in a row in 2021-22. This year's Bill Masterton MVP allowed just three goals against in four NCAA Tournament games, finishing the national tournament with a 0.63 goals-against average and .978 save percentage en route to winning his second title. The Calgary, Alberta, native stopped a career-high 46 shots in the double-overtime win against Massachusetts in the regional semifinals on March 29 and posted a 35-save shutout on April 13 in the championship game against Boston College—just the eighth NCAA goalie and third Pioneer to post a clean sheet in the final. Davis finished the season by starting in all 31 games played and registering a 23-5-3 overall record and three shutouts.
Rizzo picked up his second straight Dallas Gaume Offensive Player Award after being among the nation's leaders in scoring for much of the season. He finished his junior campaign with 44 points on 10 goals and 34 assists while also producing a plus-24 rating in 30 games. He missed 14 games with a lower-body injury before returning to the lineup in the NCAA Frozen Four. The Burnaby, British Columbia, native began the campaign with an eight-point streak, the longest season-opening point streak since 2018, and he was the only collegiate player on Canada's roster for the Spengler Cup in Switzerland over the holidays. The two-time national champion signed with the Philadelphia Flyers after the season and concluded his three-year career at DU tied for 44th in program history with 126 career points (39g/87a). His 1.178 points-per-game average in 107 total games is the most among Denver's 100-point getters in the modern era (since 1990) and tied for 35th all-time among club members.
Behrens is this year's recipient of the Keith Magnuson Best Defensive Player Award as he recorded career highs in 2023-24 with four goals and 27 assists for 31 points and appeared in all 44 games. The NCHC Defensive Defenseman of the Year led all DU skaters with 70 blocked shots—the most by a Pioneer since Will Butcher (82) and Adam Plant (80) in 2016-17—finished second on the squad with 53 penalty minutes and ended with a plus-24 rating. The Barrington, Illinois, native won his second national championship with Denver in 2024 and finished his college career with 81 points (10g/71a) in 112 games after signing an entry-level contract with the NHL Colorado Avalanche after the season.
Buium ranked fifth among all freshmen in the country in scoring and paced all NCAA defensemen after producing 50 points in 42 contests. This year's Barry Sharp Freshman of the Year Award winner led all DU blueliners with 11 goals while his 39 assists paced the team as well. Overall, Buium's 50 points ranked second on the team and were the 10th most by a Denver freshmen in school history and the most by a rookie since 1983-84. The native of San Diego, California, is just the third freshman D-man to produce a 50-point campaign for the program while his 39 assists are the most ever by a rookie rear guard in school history.
Webster was named the honoree of the Dr. Ralph Verploeg Most Inspirational Player Award after leading as the program's 94th captain in the 2023-24 campaign. The St. Louis, Missouri, native posted career highs while suiting up in 43-of-44 games during his senior season. He more than doubled his previous scoring totals this past year as he recorded 14 goals, 18 assists and 32 points and added a plus-31 rating and 54 penalty minutes. He was named the NCHC Frozen Faceoff Most Outstanding Player after scoring twice in the championship game and totaled four goals in four games in the conference tournament. He finished his collegiate career with 134 games played and two national championships.
Lorenz more than tripled his point total from his rookie campaign (2g/7a) as he recorded 30 points (16g/14a) while playing in all 44 games, earning the Murray Armstrong Most Improved Player Award. He ranked tied for third on the Pioneers with 16 goals and tied for first on the squad with five short-handed points (2g/3a). The Calgary, Alberta, native scored and added an assist in the national championship game for his sixth multi-point outing of the season and was selected to the NCAA Frozen Four All-Tournament Team.
Wright repeated as the winner of the Dr. Ken Bredesen Most Sportsmanlike Player Award after recording career highs as a sophomore with 15 goals, 10 assists and 25 points. He had among the fewest penalty minutes on the team with just eight in 44 games and tied for first with five game-winning goals. The Burnsville, Minnesota, native tallied the game-winner in the 2024 NCAA Championship Game in his home state and was later named to the Frozen Four All-Tournament Team.
Anderson received the Dr. Art Mason Top Scholar-Athlete Award, given to the player that excels on the ice and in the classroom with a high grade-point average. A two-time NCHC Academic All-Conference Team and NCHC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete member, Anderson was also recognized with the NCAA Elite 90 award as the finance major had the highest grade-point average among all players at the 2024 Frozen Four (3.975). On the ice, the Calgary, Alberta, native played in 41-of-44 games and recorded career bests with three goals, five assists, eight points and 12 penalty minutes.
LaJoy picked up the Bob Martin Community Service Award as the freshman is one of the hockey team's representative for the school's Student-Athlete Advisory Council and helped with campus engagement. The Evergreen, Colorado, native has also assisted with youth hockey and skating clinics in the Denver metro area.
Grahame received the Daniel Ritchie Spirit Award, which honors an alumnus or friend of Denver hockey who embodies DU Chancellor Daniel Ritchie's spirit of giving back to the school – not only financially, but with time and effort. Grahame was a longtime administrator at the University of Denver, guarded the net as a goaltender on the team for four season from 1969-1973 and later served as an assistant coach for eight years from 1982-1990. He finished his time as a DU administrator by serving as the Director of Athletics from 2017-2019.
