DENVER – The No. 4 Denver Pioneers hockey team will be facing the Minnesota Golden Gophers for the first time in 12 years on Saturday as the squads face off in the 2025 U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game at Ball Arena in downtown Denver.
 
The game begins at 7 p.m. MT and be broadcast regionally on Altitude 2 and in Minnesota on Fox 9+. It will also be available online on NCHC.tv, and the radio broadcast can be heard on Denver Sports 104.3 The Fan HD3. Tickets are still available.
 
Denver is hosting the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game for the third time in its history, and this will be the fourth time the Pioneers will participate in the contest. Denver is 2-1-0 all-time record in the outing. The last time DU hosted, the game took place in Magness Arena on Dec. 29, 2012 against Boston University, with the Pios shutting out the Terriers 6-0.  The Pioneers also hosted on Oct. 11, 2008 against Notre Dame and took a 5-2 victory.
 
DU and Minnesota have faced off in the USHHOF Game once previously on Oct. 9, 2004. That contest took place in St. Paul at Xcel Energy Center, with the Gophers winning 5-2. That was Denver's first time being selected to participate in the event.
 
The Pioneers stand with a 9-4-1 overall record and 5-1-0 in conference play after splitting their two-game NCHC series last weekend at Arizona State. The Pios dominated in Friday's play and defeated ASU 7-1. Eric Pohlkamp opened the scoring early in the first period with his first of two goals on the evening. With 10 seconds left in the period, Samu Salminen also added to DU's goal tally, and Boston Buckberger did the same just 26 seconds into the middle stanza.
 
Less than three minutes later, Pohlkamp hit the back of the net on with a power-play goal for his second of the night. The Sun Devils capitalized on their own man advantage to earn its lone goal of the game in the second period before three different Pios scored in the third frame. Salminen finished the night with four points on his goal and three assists, and Pohlkamp also contributed a helper. Nine different Pios earned 12 assists, and six different players scored. Goaltender Quentin Miller made 31 saves in the victory.
 
Denver was handed a 3-2 overtime loss the following day after rallying from a two-goal deficit. Arizona State struck twice in the first period, but Sam Harris tallied twice to tie the game as the lone scorer for the Pios. With just over five minutes remaining in the second, he put Denver on the scoreboard after being fed the puck by Salminen and Garrett Brown. In the third, Harris picked up the puck in the offensive zone on a turnover, and while his initial shot was stopped, he put away his own rebound to tie the contest. The Sun Devils scored the game-winner with 22 seconds left in OT and roughly 20 seconds after Pohlkamp hit the post with a shot on the other side of the ice. Denver outshot ASU 44-27 in the series finale.
 
Minnesota enters the weekend with a 6-9-1 overall mark and is 3-3-0 in Big Ten Conference play. The Gophers split with then-No. 5 Penn State last weekend in two one-goal games. UM defeated the Nittany Lions 3-2 on Friday before coming up short on Saturday, falling 2-1.
 
The Pioneers and Gophers were conference rivals for 62 years in a series that dates back to Jan. 1, 1951 before Minnesota left for the Big Ten hockey conference and Denver joined the NCHC in 2013.
 
Saturday will be the 180th all-time meeting between the Pioneers and the Gophers, and the most recent two-game series took place in March 2013 in Minneapolis when DU ad UM split the weekend. Minnesota holds the all-time series with a mark of 94-73-12, while Denver has a 41-39-5 record at home and have won each of the past five outing on home ice dating back to Nov. 22, 2008. 
 
Minnesota will be making its first trip back to the Mile High City since Feb. 10-11, 2012, when Denver swept that series on campus with scores of 5-3 and 4-3
 
BATTLE AT BALL ARENA: The Pioneers get set to play their second regular-season game at Ball Arena since the building opened in 1999.  DU defeated in-state rival Colorado College 2-0 in its first regular-season game at the arena on Jan. 27, 2023 in front of a crowd of 17,952—the highest attended indoor hockey game in the state of Colorado in DU history.
 
Denver did play one game at the home of the NHL's Colorado Avalanche (then known as Pepsi Center) prior to the CC matchup, as the squad faced the University of British Columbia in an exhibition on Oct. 6, 2012 (2-2 tie).  That game was moved from the DU campus to accommodate a U.S. Presidential Debate that occurred the same week at Magness Arena.
 
The U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game was initially awarded to DU and an announcement was held at Ball Arena on April 15, 2024, just days after the hockey program claimed its NCAA-record 10th national title. The exact date of the contest was finalized on July 16, 2025 following the release of this year's NHL schedule.
 
Saturday features a double-header of hockey at Ball Arena, as the Avalanche hosts the Montreal Canadiens earlier that day at 1 p.m. MT.
 
IN THE HALL OF FAME GAME: University of Denver hockey is serving as the host of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game for the third time in its history and will be playing in the contest for the fourth time.  DU is 2-1-0 all-time in the USHHOF Game and previously hosted event at Magness Arena on Oct. 11, 2008 against Notre Dame (5-2 win) and Dec. 29, 2012 versus Boston University (6-0 win).
 
DU and UM have played against one another in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game once before, as the Pioneers traveled to St. Paul to face the Golden Gophers at Xcel Energy Center in their inaugural participation of the event on Oct. 9, 2004; Minnesota won 5-2.
 
BATTLE OF THE BLUE BLOODS: Denver and Minnesota are two of the most successful hockey programs of all time, as the squads have combined for 15 national championships, 43 Frozen Four appearances and are two of just six squads to win more than 1,600 games in their history.
 
Denver (five) and Minnesota (two) are two of just five programs to win multiple national championships since the turn of the century (since 2000), with DU making the eight trips to the Frozen Four in that time and Minnesota reaching the national semifinals seven times.  DU holds the NCAA record with 10 national titles—including three in the last nine years (2017, 2022, 2024)
 
The former league members of the old Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) have a combined 27 NHL Draft picks on the team's rosters this year, with the Pioneers having 14 picks and the Gophers rostering 13 such players.
 
HISTORY VS. MINNESOTA: Denver and Minnesota get set to play for the first time since March 1-2, 2013 when the squads were members of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.  The teams split that series in Minneapolis, with DU winning the opener with a 2-0 shutout before UM won the last matchup by a 5-1 score.  The Gophers are making their first trip to the Mile High City since Feb. 10-11, 2012 when the Pioneers won 5-3 and 4-3 in overtime.  Denver has a 41-39-5 all-time record at home against Minnesota and have won five in a row on home ice dating back to Nov. 22, 2008.  The Pioneers and Gophers were conference moves for more than 62 years in a series that dates back to Jan. 1, 1951 before Minnesota left for the Big Ten hockey conference and Denver joined the NCHC in 2013. DU is 73-94-12 all-time against UM while the Gophers led the conference series as well with a 61-86-10 mark.  Denver and Minnesota will be playing in its first "neutral" site venue since March 22, 2008 when the Pios beat the Gophers 2-1 to win the WCHA Final Five Championship at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota.  The Pioneers are 4-2-1 all-time against Minnesota at neutral-site rinks.
 
PREVIOUS MEETING (MARCH 2, 2013): The No. 10/11-ranked Denver hockey team got a goal from sophomore Scott Mayfield just 3:34 into the contest, but it wasn't enough as Minnesota erupted for three goals over a less than four-minute span to salvage the last game of the weekend series by a 5-1 margin on Saturday night before a crowd of 10,124 at Mariucci Arena in Minneapolis. The Pioneers won 2-0 in the series opener the previous day.  DU capitalized on its first power-play opportunity of the evening just 3:34 into the contest as Mayfield notched his third tally of the season with a nifty deke move that allowed him to beat Gophers' goalie Adam Wilcox high on his stick side and give the Pioneers a 1-0 advantage.  Minnesota made the score 1-1 at the 9:03 mark of the second period when Zach Budish poked the puck in the net following a scrum just outside the crease for his 11th of the season.  The Gophers took their first lead of the night and the series with 10:08 remaining in the third period when they posted their first power-play goal after coming away empty in their previous three chances. Nick Bjugstad buried a one-timer following a feed from teammate Erik Haula.
 
CONNECTIONS: Alec Whipple's brother, John, plays for the Gophers … Minnesota head coach Bob Motzko (1993-94) and associate head coach Steve Miller (1994-2014) previously served as assistant coaches at Denver … The Pioneers have five players from Minnesota on their roster: Hagen Burrows (Orono), Jake Fisher (Woodbury), Brendan McMorrow (Lakeville), Eric Pohlkamp (Baxter), and Alec Whipple (Excelsior) … Burrows (Minnetonka HS) was named the 2024 Mr. Hockey in the state while Fisher (Cretin-Derham Hall HS) was a finalist for the award in 2023 … Kristian Epperson (2020-22) and Sam Harris (2018-21) played prep school hockey at Shattuck-St. Mary's in Faribault, Minn. … Rieger Lorenz (No. 56 overall) is a 2022 NHL Draft pick of the Minnesota Wild … McMorrow and Tanner Ludtke are both from Lakeville … Kristian Epperson and McMorrow played on the U.S. National Team Development Program for two seasons from 2022-2024 with John Whipple and Brodie Ziemer and were at the NTDP at the same time as Beckett Hendrickson (2022-23) and LJ Mooney (2023-24) … John Whipple and Ziemer were also at Shattuck-St. Mary's at the same time as Epperson (2020-22) and Harris (2020-21) … Fisher won the USHL Clark Cup Championship with Leo Gruba and Finn McLaughlin in 2023-24 … Kent Anderson was teammates with Minnesota's John Mittelstadt and Brody Lamb with the USHL Green Bay Gamblers in 2021-22 … Harris played with Max Rud (2021-23) and Cal Thomas (2021-22) on the USHL Sioux Falls Stampede, while Ried Varkonyi was a teammate of Javon Moore with Sioux Falls last season … Moore skated at Minnetonka High School at the same time as Denver's Burrows (2021-2024) and Alec Whipple (2021-22) … Brown played on the USHL Sioux City Musketeers with Tate Pritchard in 2023-24, while Garrett Brown and Jimmy Clark were briefly teammates on Sioux City to start the 2021-22 season … August Falloon was a teammate of both Kieran Cebrian (2021-2023) and Cale Ashcroft (2022-23) with the USHL Tri-City Storm … James Reeder played with Eric Pahlsson and Beckett Hendrickson on the USHL Dubuque Fighting Saints in 2023-24 … McMorrow and Teddy Townsend were teammates on the USHL Waterloo Black Hawks last season.
 
SCOUTING THE GOPHERS: Minnesota is coming off a weekend split at home against then-No. 4 Penn State, as the Gophers rallied from a two-goal deficit in the first period last Friday to win 3-2.  On Saturday, it was the Nittany Lions that posted the comeback and won 2-1 at 3M Arena. The Gophers have a 6-9-1 overall record this season and are 3-3-0 so far in Big Ten Conference play.  UM won 5-1 at then-No. 8 North Dakota in the series finale on Oct. 18 but lost its next four by being swept on home ice by then-No. 18 Minnesota Duluth on Oct. 24-25 and on the road at then-No. 14 Wisconsin.  UM is 4-2-0 in its last six contests, which also included a 6-2 loss at home to Long Island on Nov. 14.  Brody Lamb leads the team with 13 points and is tied for first with seven goals with Brodie Ziemer.  Luke Mittelstadt paces UM in assists with nine on the year.  Minnesota had split its goaltenders for most of the season, but Nathan Airey has made the last three starts in net.   In nine games this year, Airey owns a 3-5-1 record, 2.78 goals-against average and .903 save percentage.  Luca Di Pasquo has started the other seven games in the crease for the Gophers and sports a 3-4-0 record, 2.74 goals-against average, .904 save percentage and one shutout.
 
BIG VS. THE BIG TEN: Denver 18-2-4 all-time against Big Ten Conference squads since the league began play in men's hockey in 2013-14, including winning each of the last seven matchups dating back to the 2018-19 season.
 
In those seven games, the Pioneers earned series sweeps against Wisconsin on the road (Jan. 4-5, 2019) and at home (Oct. 25-26, 2024), defeated Notre Dame in the Ice Breaker Tournament (Oct. 7, 2022), beat Ohio State in the first round of the 2019 NCAA Tournament (March 29, 2019) and topped Michigan in overtime in the 2022 Frozen Four Semifinals (April 7, 2022).
 
Denver last played Penn State on March 24, 2018 in the NCAA Regional Semifinals in Allentown, Pa. (won 5-1) and Michigan State on the road on Oct. 21-22, 2016 (2-1 and 3-1 wins), while Minnesota has never played DU since joining the Big Ten—last matchup was on March 2, 2013 when the two programs were members of the WCHA (5-1 DU loss).
 
Ohio State is the only Big Ten program to defeat Denver since the conference began, winning 3-2 at Magness Arena on Oct. 7, 2017 and 5-1 in the 2018 NCAA Regional Final in Allentown.
 
NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS: The Pioneers are 30-6-2 overall against non-conference opponents since the start of 2023-24 and were unbeaten in 14 straight home games (13-0-1) against non-NCHC squads from Jan. 7, 2023-Oct. 11, 2025) before falling 4-3 in overtime to Alaska Anchorage on Oct. 31, 2025.
 
DU went 13-1-0 versus non-NCHC opponents during the 2024-25 season and 5-1-0 against teams from the Hockey East Association.  Denver defeated Providence and Boston College in the 2025 NCAA Tournament owns a 10-3-0 record in their contests vs. Hockey East since 2023-24.
 
The Pioneers will play 11 total non-conference games this season, with the team making trips to Boston, St. Louis and down to the Colorado Springs area.  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.
 
Denver began 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 was on the road for back-to-back weekends, facing Lindenwood on Oct. 17-18 before playing Boston College and Northeastern on Oct. 24-25 in its final non-league road games of the year.
 
After visiting Alaska Anchorage and Maine last season, Denver welcomes both the Seawolves and Black Bears to Colorado in 2025-26.  DU hosted UAA for Homecoming Weekend on Oct. 31-Nov. 1 and will take on Maine after the New Year on Jan. 2-3.
 
PIOS ON A ROLL: Denver had its season-long six-game winning streak end with an overtime loss on Saturday at Arizona State, but the Pioneers have still not lost in regulation in each of its last eight games dating back to Oct. 31 against Alaska Anchorage (6-2-0).
 
DU's six-game win streak was its longest since winning 12 contests in a row to begin last season in 2024-25.  This year's streak included a road sweep at Lawson Arena against the defending national champion and then-No. 4 Western Michigan on Nov. 7-8 and two victories in a home-and-home series with then-No. 17 Colorado College on Nov. 14-15.
 
POHLKAMP STAYS HOT: Defenseman Eric Pohlkamp scored six goals in a six-game stretch from Nov. 1-21 and has recorded nine points (6g/3a) in the seven games of November.  He recorded his sixth three-point game of his career and second of the season last Friday (three goals on Oct. 11 vs. Bentley) after registering two goals and one assist in the victory at ASU.  He was named NCHC Defenseman of the Week for the second-straight week and for the third time overall this season on Tuesday.
 
His two-goal performance marked his fourth multi-goal game of his career while his three points were his sixth such outing during his time in the NCAA.
 
The Baxter, Minnesota, native went on a career-long, four-game goal streak from Nov. 1-14 (4g/2a), which was the longest by a DU defenseman since at least the start of the 2002-03 season and the longest by a blueliner in the history of the NCHC.  The goal streak was the longest by a defenseman in the NCAA this year and the longest since Cole Hutson also went on a four-game run for Boston University from Feb. 22-March 8, 2025 (4g/4a).
 
Pohlkamp, who had two previous three-game goal streaks as a freshman in 2023-24 with Bemidji State, leads the Pioneers in scoring with 16 points and also paces the program in overall goals (10), game-winning goals (2-tied) and shots (66) while ranking second in plus/minus rating (+13-tied).  His 10 goals lead all NCAA defensemen and are tied for eighth overall, and his 16 points rank third for blueliners in the country.
 
IT'S MILLER TIME: Freshman goaltender Quentin Miller is among the nation's goaltending leaders as he ranks in the top six with eight wins (T-5th), a 1.64 goals-against average (6th), .941 save percentage (4th) and two shutouts (T-4th).
 
He stopped 55-of-59 shots last weekend against ASU and earned consecutive NCHC weekly honors the previous two weeks.  He made 67-of-70 saves on Nov. 14-15 vs. Colorado College, including facing and saving his first career penalty shot by Tomas Mrsic in the first period in Friday game to help him earn the Goaltender of the Week award.  Miller was recognized as the conference's Rookie of the Week on Nov. 11 after posting career highs in both games at Western Michigan, stopping 35-of-36 shots on Nov. 7 and 41-of-44 pucks his way on Nov. 8.
 
The Montreal, Quebec, native has made 11 consecutive starts and hasn't lost in regulation in the past eight games (6-2-0).  He began his collegiate career on a three-game unbeaten streak (2-0-1) and recorded a 117:17 shutout streak by tying Air Force in the season opener on Oct. 10 (1-1) before posting wins at Lindenwood on Oct. 18 (4-0) and Boston College on Oct. 24 (7-3).  Magnus Chrona was the last DU netminder to go unbeaten in his first three career starts, as he won his first seven outings to begin the 2019-20 campaign.
 
BUCKY GOES BACK-TO-BACK-TO-BACK: Defenseman Boston Buckberger scored in three consecutive games from Nov. 14-21, setting a new career-long goal streak.  It was the second time this season that D-man had tallied in three straight games, as Buckberger joined defensive partner Eric Pohlkamp who did it in four straight from Nov. 1-14.
 
The Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, native netted the game-winning goal in both games against Colorado College on Nov. 14-15, including scoring his first overtime-winner in the series opener, to help him earn his first NCHC Defenseman of the Week ward of the season (third of his career).  Teammate and fellow rear guard Cale Ashcroft was the last Pioneer to score the game-winning marker in back-to-back regular season contests, as he did it on Dec. 14, 2024 vs. Colorado College and Jan. 3, 2025 at Maine.
 
DOMINANT DEFENSE: The Pioneers rank third in the nation and lead the NCHC by allowing 1.7 goals against per game, and they have held opponents to one goal or fewer in eight of the 14 contests this year.  Only two Ivy League squads in Dartmouth (1.2) and Cornell (1.4) have a better mark than DU this this year.
 
Denver ranks third in the country in scoring margin at 2.1, as the team's 3.8 goals for per game are tied for the seventh-best in the NCAA.
 
SAM IS STREAKING: Junior Sam Harris scored twice on Saturday in DU's comeback bid to force overtime at Arizona State for his seventh career multi-goal game and first of the season.  He also fired a career-high eight shots on goal on Saturday, tying a team season-high for the campaign.
 
Harris lit the lamp plenty against the NCAA squad that is closest to his home town of San Diego, California, as he now owns 11 points on nine goals and two assists in nine all-time games against the Sun Devils.  He scored his first career hat trick on Feb. 8, 2025 at ASU.
 
The forward is also on a season-long five-game point streak (3g/3a) dating back to Nov. 8 at Western Michigan, tying the longest of the year for a Pioneer—freshman Clarke Caswell began the campaign with a five-game run as well from Oct. 10-24 (2g/4a).  It is Harris' longest point streak since going on an eight-game stretch from Jan. 11-Feb. 14, 2025 (7g/4a).
 
SALMINEN SCORING: Senior forward Samu Salminen tied career highs with four points (1g/3a) and three assists last Friday at Arizona State.  It was his 13th multi-point game of his career and second of the season after he had two assists on Nov. 8 at Western Michigan.
 
The Helsinki, Finland, native's first career four-point contest was Feb. 1, 2025 vs. Omaha when he also had a goal and three assists in an 11-2 victory by the Pioneers.  His four points on Friday at ASU were the most in a game this season by a Denver player while his three assists tied a team season best (Boston Buckberger, Nov. 1 vs. UAA).  Overall, it was the first four-point game by a Pioneer since Eric Pohlkamp had a goal and three assists on March 7, 2025 vs. Colorado College.
 
PENALTY SHOTS GALORE: The Pioneers have scored two goals via penalty shot this season, including freshman Kyle Chyzowski netting his first career goal via the shootout breakaway in the third period last Friday at ASU.  Given the rarity of penalty shots in Denver history, Chyzowski is likely the first DU player to tally his first career goal on a penalty shot.
 
Forward Rieger Lorenz tallied DU's first penalty shot goal of the season on Oct. 31 against Alaska Anchorage, which also marked the first such marker by a Pioneers player in nearly 23 years.  Prior to Lorenz, Jon Foster was the last DU skater to tally on a penalty shot on Nov. 30, 2002 versus Air Force.
 
Before Lorenz, Carter Mazur had DU's previous penalty-shot attempt on Feb. 12, 2022 against Minnesota Duluth (no goal).
 
Additionally, freshman goaltender Quentin Miller faced and saved his first NCAA career penalty shot on by Colorado College's Tomas Mrsic on Nov. 14 at Magness Arena.  It was the first time an opponent had a penalty shot since Omaha's Zach Urdahl on Jan 19, 2024 (goal), and it was the first save by a DU netminder on an attempt since Magnus Chrona denied Cornell's Nick DeSantis on March 23, 2023 in the NCAA Northeast Regional Semifinals in Manchester, N.H.
 
MORE NOTABLES

• Denver is now 12-6-1 all-time against Arizona State.  The Pioneers and Sun Devils have played four overtime games at Mullett Arena in six all-time matchups in the rink (3-3-0), with ASU owning a 1-3-0 mark in those extra-time contests.
• Each of the Pios' four losses this season have come by one goal.
• Boston Buckberger tied a career high with six shots on Saturday in Tempe (Oct. 10, 2025 at Air Force).
• Denver had a season-high amount of blocked shots for the second straight game on Saturday (14 after having 13 on Friday).
• Kyle Chyzowski scored his first career goal on a penalty shot on Friday and also added an assist in the contest for his first career multi-point outing.
• James Reeder had his first career two-assist game and his third multi-point contest of the season on Friday.
• Rieger Lorenz's career-long, four-game point streak (tied) came to an end.  He had two goals and three assists from Nov. 8-21.
• DU tied a season high for goals in a game on Friday with seven (7-3 win at Boson College on Oct. 23, 2025) and tied its largest margin of victory this season (also Oct. 11 vs. Bentley, 6-0; and Nov. 1 vs. UAA, 6-0).
• Denver scored its fastest six goals of the season last Friday (37:48), one minute faster than what they did on Oct. 24 at Boston College (38:48)
• Boston Buckberger's goal at 0:26 of the second period last Friday was the quickest to begin a period this season for DU.

PIONEERS IN THE POLLS: Denver dropped one spot to No. 4 in this week's USCHO.com and USA Hockey rankings after being No. 3 on Nov. 17.  The Pioneers began the year at No. 4 on each preseason list and are presently No. 5 in the NPI rankings that will determine this year's NCAA Tournament field.
 
The NCHC's four ranked teams are tied for second-most in each poll and joins the Big Ten with each of their four squads in the top 10.  Hockey East has seven ranked squads while the ECAC also has four featured in the polls.
 
Denver leads all league teams with its No. 4 ranking and is joined on the lists by Minnesota Duluth at No. 5/5, North Dakota at No. 6/6 and Western Michigan at No. 7/7.  The other five league members—Arizona State, Colorado College, Miami, Omaha and St. Cloud State—also received votes in at least one of the polls.
 
ROAD WARRIORS: Denver played 10 of its first 14 games on the road, going 6-3-1 away from home in the season-opening stretch.  The Pioneers played a season-long, four-game road swing from Oct. 17-26 at Lindenwood, Boston College and Northeastern and had five of its first six outings away from Magness Arena.  Overall, Denver will play 12 of its first 19 contests away from home before going into the Holiday Break in December.
 
The Pioneers open 2026 with two, season-long, four-game homestands in the month of January and will host at Magness for nine-of-12 contests from Jan. 2-Feb. 7.
 
PENALTY KILL DELIVERING: Denver presently ranks 13th in the NCAA on the penalty kill, nullifying 83.8 percent of opponent power-play opportunities.  DU has killed off 13 straight penalties twice this season, accomplishing the feat from Oct. 10-25 and Oct. 31-Nov. 8.
 
The team finished with an 81.7-percent success rate on the kill last season and killed off 17 straight penalties across five games from Oct. 5-25, 2024.
 
SO FAR, SO GOOD IN NOVEMBER: Denver is 6-1-0 in the month of November and has guaranteed its 31st consecutive full month with at least a .500 record or better dating back to January 2021.
 
SENIOR CLASS SUCCESS: Denver's 2026 seniors won their 100th career game on Friday, Nov. 14 vs. Colorado College to become the 17th class in program history to win at least 100 career games.  Their 102 victories are currently tied for the eighth-most by a graduating class and is one win shy of tying the 1961, 1974 and 2024 classes for fifth place.
 
So far, the 2026 seniors' accolade list includes three, 30-win seasons, three Gold Pans, the 2022-23 NCHC Penrose Cup, 2024 NCHC Frozen Faceoff title, back-to-back trips to the NCAA Frozen Four in 2024 and 2025 and the 2024 national championship.
 
SHOTS ON SHOTS ON SHOTS: The Pioneers presently rank tied for third in the country averaging 38.3 shots per game and have fired 40 or more shots in six contests so far this season.
 
Denver fired 49 shots on goal in each game of the series against Alaska Anchorage on Oct. 31-Nov. 1 and finished with a combined total of 98-37.  It was the most shots by DU in a two-game series since outshooting Arizona State 99-40 on Dec. 2-3, 2022.
 
DU had a 35-14 edge in shots on goal at Northeastern on Oct. 25 and only allowed two shots on goal in the first period, the fewest in a stanza since also allowing just two shots on goal in the second on Oct. 5, 2024 at Alaska Anchorage.  On Oct. 18, Denver outshot Lindenwood 49-19, which included by a 19-4 margin in the second period and the plus-15 shot differential was the highest for a single stanza this season. 
 
The Pioneers began the season on Oct. 10 by outshooting the Air Force Falcons 59-24, the team's most shots on goal since firing 66 against Lake Superior State on Oct. 20, 2017.  Denver's plus-35 shot differential was its highest since having a plus-36 differential on Dec. 2, 2022 vs. ASU (56-20), and the 22 shots on goal in the third were its most in a single frame since having 23 in the second period on Nov 3, 2023 vs. Colorado College.
 
Denver's season high for shots on goal last season were 46 on Nov. 8, 2024 vs. Lindenwood, and the previous time the Pios had 50 or more shots on net was when they had 56 on Dec. 2, 2022 vs. Arizona State.

 
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