DENVER – The No. 5 University of Denver hockey team gets set to face two nicknamed Falcons squads this weekend as the Pioneers officially open the 2025-26 campaign.
 
DU begins the new season on Friday night at the U.S. Air Force Academy with a 7 p.m. MT start at Cadet Ice Arena. The Pioneers then host Bentley University in their home opener on Saturday at 7 p.m. MT at Magness Arena, with that game being broadcast exclusively on NCHC.tv. Limited tickets remain for Saturday against Bentley, which is also DU's Military Appreciation Night.
 
There is no stream for Friday's game, but the radio broadcast for both outings this weekend can be heard on 104.3 The Fan HD3.
 
Denver and Air Force square off in an I-25 showdown for the first time since the AFA Falcons visited Magness Arena on Oct. 28, 2023. The Pios last visited the Academy, which is located north of Colorado Springs, on Oct. 14, 2021.
 
DU has won seven straight games in the series with the Falcons and presently owns a 160:01 shutout streak over the Zoomies that dates back to that previous contest at Air Force four years ago.  The Pioneers have a 41-4-1 all-time record versus AFA, with their .902 winning percentage being their third-best against a single opponent in program history (minimum 10 games played).
 
Both the Pioneers and Air Force Falcons began play last weekend with exhibition contests. Denver defeated ACHA UNLV 6-1 at Magness Arena while AFA fell 3-2 in overtime at Omaha.
 
Saturday's contest versus Bentley will mark the first-ever meeting between DU and the Boston area-based squad. Bentley reached the NCAA Tournament last season after winning the Atlantic Hockey America conference championship and was in the same NCAA Northeast Regional with the Pioneers in Manchester, New Hampshire. BU lost to No. 1 overall seed Boston College 3-1 in the regional semifinals before Denver defeated BC two days later to secure its trip to the Frozen Four.
 
The Bentley Falcons also played an exhibition last weekend and earned a win against Canada-based Simon Fraser University.
 
Denver will be starting its season on the road for the third-straight year after beginning in Alaska in both October 2023 and 2024. The Pioneers have won four consecutive season openers and are unbeaten in their first eight home openers (6-0-2).
 
DU is coming off consecutive trips to the NCAA Frozen Four and have reached the final weekend three times in the past four seasons and four in the past six-held tournaments (2019, 2022, 2024, 2025). The Pioneers have also won at least 30 games in each of the past four seasons, extending a program record.
 
EXHIBITION RECAP: Freshman Payton Nelson opened the scoring and junior Sam Harris netted a natural hat trick to lead Denver to a 6-1 victory over UNLV in an exhibition last Saturday night at Magness Arena. Harris tallied each of his goals in the first and second periods, and Cale Ashcroft added multiple markers himself with two power-play tallies in the third period after DU led 5-1 after the opening 40 minutes.
 
While the results didn't officially count, it was Harris' second three-goal game with the Pioneers after he also did on Feb. 8 at Arizona State.  The last DU player to record a natural hat trick (three goals consecutively) was Jack Devine on March 10, 2023 against Miami.
 
All three Denver goaltenders played a period, with freshman Quentin Miller getting the start and making six saves before fellow rookie Johnny Hicks stopped five-of-six shots in the middle stanza. Junior Paxton Geisel stopped all six saves in the final 20 minutes of play.
 
Forwards James Reeder and Reid Varkonyi and defenseman Eric Jamieson all recorded two assists in the game. DU outshot UNLV 37-18 overall.
 
LOOKING BACK AT EXHIBITIONS: With the win over UNLV, the Pioneers improved to 44-25-8 all-time in exhibition games in program history and sports a 36-7-5 mark in season-opening exhibitions.  DU is now unbeaten in its last 10 exhibition contests (9-0-1) dating back to 2014 and is 10-1-2 in the past 13 such outings.
 
Denver played an exhibition against an ACHA team for the fifth consecutive season and faced UNLV for the third time.  The Pios also hosted the Rebels prior to the start of 2022-23 and midway through the 2024-25 campaign.  DU defeated UNLV on 10-0 on Oct. 1, 2022 and tied the Rebels 6-6 on Dec. 28, 2024, with UNLV taking the just-for-fun shootout, 1-0, at the end.  The Pioneers have outscored ACHA teams by a combined 40-11 mark in the five games.  
 
IN OPENERS: Denver has a 44-25-7 all-time record in season openers and will be starting the regular season on the road for the third year in a row after playing in Alaska to start the previous two campaigns.  The last time DU began a campaign on the road in three consecutive seasons was 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20.  The Pioneers have won four straight season openers dating back to 2021-22.
 
DU has a 53-18-5 all-time mark in home openers and has a 19-5-2 record in home-opening contests at Magness Arena.  The Pioneers are unbeaten in their last eight home openers (6-0-2) and are 15-1-2 in the last 18 opening nights at Magness.
 
OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN: Senior Kent Anderson was named the 96th team captain in program history prior to the season on Oct. 3.  This is his first time serving as a team captain; he was an alternate captain with the Drumheller Dragons of the USHL in 2020-21.
 
Senior forwards Rieger Lorenz and Samu Salminen and junior defenseman Boston Buckberger were all chosen as alternate captains.
 
Salminen was captain of Jokerit's U20 squad in 2021-22 after being an alternate the previous year, and he served as captain of Team Finland at the 2022 IIHF U18 World Championship.  Buckberger was previously an alternate in 2022-23 with the Lincoln Stars of the USHL.
 
PRO PIOS ON NHL OPENING NIGHT: Denver had 10 former players make NHL Opening Day rosters for the 2025-26 season, tied for the third-most in the conference and tied for eighth in the entire NCAA. Only North Dakota (13) and St. Cloud State (11) had more players on NHL teams than the Pioneers among NCHC programs.
 
The DU alums that began this year on NHL squads are Bobby Brink (Philadelphia Flyers), Zeev Buium (Minnesota Wild), Devin Cooley (Calgary Flames), Scott Mayfield (New York Islanders), Trevor Moore (Los Angeles Kings), Troy Terry (Anaheim Ducks) and Jason Zucker (Buffalo Sabres).  In addition, Shai Buium of the Detroit Red Wings and Sean Behrens and Logan O'Connor of the Colorado Avalanche started the year on their respective teams' injured reserve/non-roster list.
 
The Pioneers had 11 alums play in an NHL game in 2024-25: Brink (Philadelphia), Zeev Buium (Minnesota), Danton Heinen (Vancouver/Pittsburgh), Mayfield (NY Islanders), Carter Mazur (Detroit), Dakota Mermis (Toronto/Utah), Ian Mitchell (Boston), Moore (Los Angeles), O'Connor (Colorado), Terry (Anaheim) and Zucker (Buffalo).
 
NO FLY ZONE: Denver has won seven games vs. Air Force and owns a 160:01 shutout streak over the Falcons that dates back to Oct. 15, 2021.  DU has shutout AFA in nearly four full games at Magness Arena, as the Pios haven't allowed a goal on their home ice vs. the Falcons in 238:17—Dylan Abood scored the last Air Force goal at DU's home rink at 1:43 of the first period on Oct. 10, 2015.
 
HISTORY VS. AIR FORCE: Denver has a 41-4-1 all-time record against Air Force and has won seven straight games in the series dating back to Oct. 10, 2015.  DU is 9-1-0 in the last 10 matchups and 14-1-1 in the past 16 meetings.  The Pioneers' .902 winning percentage vs. the Falcons is the program's third-best against a single opponent (minimum 10 games).  Denver has a 14-2-1 record on the road at the Academy, winning each of the last three contests; Air Force's last victory was 5-4 in overtime at Cadet Ice Arena on Oct. 9, 2015.  The Pioneers own a 25-2-0 record on home ice and have never lost to the Falcons at Magness Arena (13-0-0), and they have won 18 straight home games dating back to Feb. 12, 1980.  DU's last home loss was Jan. 15, 1980 at the old DU Arena.  The Pios last played at Cadet Ice Arena on Oct. 15, 2021 that began a home-and-home series with their in-state foe.  Denver won that matchup 4-1 before Matt Davis earned the shutout in his first career start the next night in an 8-0 victory at Magness.  Denver and Air Force served as the first-ever co-hosts of the Ice Breaker Tournament in October 2022, which saw the Pioneers win the season-opening tournament after victories against Notre Dame and Maine.
 
SCOUTING THE AFA FALCONS: Air Force went 16-21-3 last season and posted a 11-13-2 mark in the Atlantic Hockey America conference.  The Falcons lost the best-of-three AHA quarterfinals at Sacred Heart in three games after winning 3-2 in double-overtime in Game 2.  They beat Robert Morris 3-2 in another double-OT contest in the AHA first round.  AFA went 0-3-1 against rival Army but beat then-No. 20-ranked Arizona State early in the year by a 4-3 score in OT.  Overall, the Falcons played 12 overtime games last season, going 5-4-3 in outings that needed extra time.  Chris Hedden is the team's top returning point and goal scorer from a year ago, as he was second in both with 26 points and 11 goals.  Carter Clafton has the most experience in goal among the AFA's goaltending union, as he has 11 career games and played in four contests last season (97:03).  The Falcons lost 3-2 in overtime in an exhibition last Friday at Omaha. Hedden and Oliver Genest scored for the Zoomies, while Clafton played the entire contest and made 26 saves.  Air Force hosts Colorado College on Saturday night in the battle for the Pikes Peak Trophy.
 
LAST TIME VS. AFA (Oct. 28, 2023): Junior Massimo Rizzo scored twice and freshman goaltender Freddie Halyk posted a shutout in his first career start as the No. 2-ranked Denver Pioneers hockey team defeated the Air Force Falcons 4-0 at Magness Arena.  Halyk stopped all 24 shots he faced in his first start and second career game; he played at the end of the third period on Oct. 8 at Alaska Fairbanks.  The last DU goalie to register a clean sheet in his first career start was teammate Matt Davis, who did it on Oct. 15, 2021 vs. Air Force.  Defenseman Cale Ashcroft netted his first career goal late in the second period and Carter King tallied into an open net late in the third period after Rizzo registered his second marker of the evening.
 
AIR FORCE CONNECTIONS: Air Force head coach Frank Serratore served in the same role at Denver as he was the Pioneers' sixth-ever coach from 1990-1994 … The Pioneers have three players from Colorado on their roster in Kieran Cebrian (Denver), Peter LaJoy (Evergreen) and Payton Nelson (Centennial) … The Falcons have one Coloradoan on their squad in Dominik Wasik (Superior) … Jake Fisher and AFA's Simon Houge are both from Woodbury, Minnesota … Denver's Brendan McMorrow and Air Force's Aidan Willis are each from Lakeville, Minnesota … Air Force's Will Staring played with Kent Anderson in 2021-22 with the USHL Green Bay Gamblers and with Paxton Geisel at the end of 2022-23 with the USHL Dubuque Fighting Saints … Staring was also at Shattuck-St. Mary's prep school in Minnesota at the same time as Peter LaJoy (2017-2020), Sam Harris (2018-2021) and Kristian Epperson (2020-21) … Payton Nelson played with both Beau Janzig and Ren Morque with the NAHL Minnesota Wilderness to close out the 2023-24 campaign … Nelson was also a teammate with Aidan Willis with the BCHL Salmon Arm Silverbacks last season … Garrett Brown (2022-23) and Hagen Burrows (2023-24) both played with Ren Morque during their time with the USHL Sioux City Musketeers … Alec Whipple was a teammate with Nicholas Remissong in 2022-23 with the BCHL Trail Smoke Eaters.
 
FIRST MEETING WITH BENTLEY: Denver and the Bentley Falcons will be squaring off for the first-time ever, as the Boston area-based squad heads to the Mile High City on Saturday night.  The last time DU played a squad for the first time was on Oct. 27, 2023 when it hosted Augustana in that season's home opener (5-5 tie in OT).
 
The Pioneers have played several other squads for the first time in recent years, with them facing Lindenwood in 2022-23, American International (2018-19, NCAA Tournament), Arizona State in 2016-17 and Canisius in 2013-14.
 
Denver and Bentley both played at the NCAA Northeast Regionals last March in Manchester, N.H., with the Falcons facing No. 1 seed Boston College and lost 3-1 after the Eagles tallied the game-winner with 1:17 remaining in the third period.  DU beat BC two days later to secure a berth to the NCAA Frozen Four.
 
SCOUTING THE BENTLEY FALCONS: Bentley won the Atlantic Hockey America conference last year, sweeping Canisius and Sacred Heart in the best-of-three quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively, before downing host Holy Cross 6-3 in the title game.  The Falcons finished the 2023-24 campaign with a 23-15-4 record and 16-9-1 in conference play.  They were voted fourth in the AHA preseason media poll for this year.  BU is returning 20 players from last year's squad, with Stephen Castagna (5g/20a) being the top returning point-getter (25) and Oskar Bakkevig leading as the top returning goal scorer (10).  The only goaltender on the roster that has experience is Nicholas Bevilacqua, who made 20 saves in a 1-0 overtime loss at Princeton on Jan. 26, 2025.  Bentley is opening the regular season on Friday at Colorado College before traveling up I-25 to face the Pios on Saturday.  The Falcons beat Simon Fraser University (Canada) in an exhibition last Saturday at home.
 
CONNECTIONS WITH BENTLEY: Bentley goaltender Jack Erickson played for the Colorado Grit in the NAHL … Samu Salminen and Jake Black were teammates for two seasons at Connecticut from 2022-2024 … Seth Bernard-Docker played with Sam Harris at USHL Sioux Falls in 2021-22 and Rieger Lorenz with the AJHL's Okotoks Oilers in 2020-21 … Both Bernhard-Docker and Lorenz are alums of Edge School in Calgary … Peter Kramer played with Paxton Geisel with the USHL Dubuque Fighting Saints and Kent Anderson with the Green Bay Gamblers during the 2021-22 USHL season … Denver's Kent Anderson, Eric Jamieson and Rieger Lorenz and Bentley's Kellan Hjartarson are all from Calgary, Alberta … The Pioneers' James Reeder (Glenview) and the Falcons' Jimmy Doyle (Plainfield), Jack Dalton (River Forest) are all from the Chicagoland area … DU's Kyle Chyzowski (Surrey) and BU's Stephen Castagna (North Vancouver), Colton Cameron (Cloverdale), Ryan Upson (West Vancouver) are all from the Vancouver area in southwest British Columbia … Samu Salminen (Helsinki) and Oliver Salo (Kaarina) are both from Finland.
 
NON-CONFERENCE PLAY PREVIEW: The Pioneers will play 11 non-league games this season, with the team making trips to Boston, St. Louis and down to Colorado Springs.  Bentley, Alaska Anchorage and Maine will visit Magness Arena during the year, and DU will host Minnesota in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game at Ball Arena in downtown Denver on Nov. 29.
 
The Pioneers begin the campaign on the road at Air Force on Oct. 10 before hosting Bentley the next night on Oct. 11 in the home opener.  DU then heads out on the road for back-to-back weekends, facing Lindenwood on Oct. 18 before playing Boston College and Northeastern on Oct. 24-25 in its final road non-league games of the year.
 
After visiting Alaska Anchorage and Maine last season, the Denver welcomes both the Seawolves and Black Bears to Colorado in 2025-26.  DU hosts UAA for Homecoming Weekend on Oct. 31-Nov. 1 before taking on Maine after the New Year on Jan. 2-3.
 
The Pioneers went 13-1-0 against non-NCHC opponents during the 2024-25 season and 5-1-0 against teams from Hockey East Association.  Denver defeated Providence and Boston College in the 2025 NCAA Tournament owns a 9-2-0 record in their contests vs. Hockey East over the previous two seasons (2023-2025).
 
Overall, DU owns a 12-0-1 mark at home in non-NCHC contests since Jan. 7, 2023 vs. Alaska Fairbanks.  The Pios are 26-3-1 against non-conference opponents since the start of 2023-24.
 
PIONEERS IN THE POLLS: Dever was voted No. 5 in the country in both the USCHO.com and USA Hockey media polls that were released on Monday.  The Pioneers began the year at No. 4 in each ranking's preseason list.
 
The NCHC is tied with the Big Ten and Hockey Each for the most schools ranked in the top 10, with defending champion Western Michigan leading each poll in first place.  The conference's four total ranked squads are third-most in the nation, with North Dakota at No. 10/11 and Arizona State at No. 15/15 joining the Pioneers and Broncos.  Colorado College, Minnesota Duluth and Omaha all received votes in each poll, while St. Cloud State picked up a vote in the USA Hockey ranking.
 
PRESEASON HONORS: Junior forward Sam Harris and fellow classmate and defenseman Eric Pohlkamp were both selected to the NCHC's 2025-26 Preseason All-Conference Team in a vote by the media.   Denver was the only team to have two players named to the league's six-man squad and marked the fourth straight season where multiple Pioneers garnered preseason accolades from the conference.
 
NCHC PRESEASON POLL: The Pioneers were chosen to finish second in the NCHC regular season in the 2025-26 preseason media poll.  Defending national champion Western Michigan was picked as the favorites.  DU had been voted first in the annual preseason media poll in each of the previous three years.
 
ROSTER BUILDING: Denver returns 16 players from last season and are welcoming 10 newcomers, all of whom are freshmen.  DU is bringing back 8-of-13 forwards, 7-of-8 defensemen and 1-of-3 goaltenders from 2024-25.
 
The Pioneers' 26-member squad features seniors Kent Anderson, Rieger Lorenz and Samu Salminen, and there are eight juniors to round out the upperclassmen. DU has nine players that were part of the 2024 National Championship squad.
 
Seven players from last year's team signed professional contracts after the season, including five with NHL squads.
 
FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH: The Pioneers are the sixth-youngest squad in the NCAA this season with an average age of 21.0 as of Oct. 1.  Denver was the second-youngest squad in each of the previous two years with an average age (20.9 at start of each season).
 
Denver is welcoming 10 freshmen to its squad with Kristian Epperson being the youngest with a birthdate of May 16, 2006.  DU is one of 23 programs in the country with 10 or more freshmen, with its 10 rookies this year tied for the 15th-most.  The Pioneers' three seniors are tied for the eighth-fewest in the country.
 
The Pioneers had 11 freshmen when they won the 2024 national championship and their 2022 championship squad featured nine freshmen.
 
SAMMY SCORES BIG GOALS: Junior forward Sam Harris led the Pioneers with 23 goals last season, tied for ninth overall in the country.  He also finished first with 11 power-play goals and tied for fourth with seven game-winning markers.
 
Three of Harris' game-winners in 2024-25 came in consecutive games: Nov. 8-9 vs. Lindenwood and Nov. 15 at North Dakota—the first time that a Pioneer notched the winning tally in three consecutive outings in the last four years (since 2021-22). 
 
The San Diego native tallied three goals on Feb. 8 at Arizona State for his first career hat trick and the second by a Pioneer this season (Zeev Buium, Nov. 15 at North Dakota).  It was also Harris' first career three-point contest, and his three markers came in a matter of 27:43 for the fastest three goals scored by a Pioneer since Tristan Broz tallied a trio in 6:57 on Jan. 14, 2023 vs. Miami.
 
Denver had three players with 20 or more goals (Aidan Thompson, 21; Carter King, 21) last season—the only program to have that many players and one of two schools with multiple 20-goal scorers (Boston University).  The last time Denver had three skaters score 20 goals in a campaign was 2004-05 when Gabe Gauthier (26), Luke Fulghum (23) and Jonathan Foster (21) all accomplished the feat.
 
POHLKAMP'S POINTS: Defenseman Eric Pohlkamp recorded 22 points (7g/15a) in the last 27 games during the 2024-25 season, and his 35 points ranked second among team defensemen on in scoring behind Zeev Buium (48).
 
Overall, Pohlkamp owns four career three-point games, with three coming last season with the Pioneers.
 
BUCKING THE TREND: Defenseman Boston Buckberger finished last season with 17 points (6g/11a) in his last 17 games and his nine goals and 30 points (9g/21a) overall were both career highs.
 
Buckberger missed the three games of the NCAA Tournament at the end of the year due to an upper-body injury suffered in the NCHC Frozen Faceoff Championship Game on March 22 vs. Western Michigan. The Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, native had played in each of the first 85 games of his career before missing the Regional Semifinals against Providence on March 28 because of the injury.
 
DENVER IN THE DRAFT: Incoming freshmen Kristian Epperson and Brendan McMorrow were both selected by the Los Angeles Kings in the 2025 NHL Draft on June 28.  Epperson was chosen 88th overall in the third round while McMorrow was picked at No. 196 in round 7.
 
This is the 24th straight year that Denver has had a player chosen in the NHL's annual entry selection, and the Pioneers have now had multiple picks in each of the last 10 drafts. It is the second-straight summer that Denver has had two players selected by the same NHL franchise in the draft, as Jake Fisher (No. 121) and Tory Pitner (No. 185) were each picked by the Colorado Avalanche in 2024.
 
Denver's 14 NHL Draft picks on its roster are the third-most in the NCAA behind Boston University (19) and Michigan State (15).
 

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