DENVER – The No. 6 Denver Pioneers hockey team opens a three-game homestand this weekend at Magness Arena as they host the St. Cloud State Huskies in a two-game set.
The only meeting of the season between DU and SCSU begins on Friday at 7 p.m. MT and the series concludes on Saturday at 6 p.m. MT. Limited tickets are available
Both games will be broadcast on NCHC.tv, and voice of the Pioneers Jay Stickney will have the radio call each night on Denver Sports 104.3 The Fan HD3 and will broadcast his 1,000th DU hockey game on Friday.
The Pioneers are coming off a weekend sweep at Miami and are 6-2-1 in their last nine games and are 10-4-1 in the past 15 games dating back to Dec. 14. DU had five different scorers each game and won 5-1 on Friday and 5-2 on Saturday. Both goaltenders Matt Davis and Freddie Halyk started a contest against the RedHawks, with Davis making 18 saves in the opener and Halyk stopping 21 shots in the finale.
St. Cloud State is the only NCHC opponent that Denver hasn't played this season and the matchup comes in the penultimate weekend of the regular season.
DU went 4-0-1 against SCSU in 2023-24, which included earning its first weekend sweep in St. Cloud since 2007 with 6-2 and 7-2 wins on March 1-2. The teams last met on March 22 in the 2024 NCHC Frozen Faceoff Semifinals, as the Pioneers erased four one-goal deficits before winning by a 5-4 score in overtime after then-freshman defenseman Zeev Buium tallied in extra time; DU went on to win the conference tournament title the next night against Omaha.
St. Cloud State is in eighth place in the NCHC standings with 18 points and a 5-14-1 conference record. The Huskies, who are 12-17-1 overall this year, ended an 11-game winless drought (0-10-1) last Saturday by defeating Colorado College 4-2. They split the home series with CC after losing 4-3 on Friday.
Denver is battling for home-ice advantage for the upcoming NCHC Quarterfinals, as the Pioneers are presently in fifth place with 36 points and a 12-7-1 mark in league play. DU is four points up on sixth-place Colorado College (32) and only trails fourth-place North Dakota by one point (37) and third-place Omaha by two points (38).
The Pioneers' three-game homestand is their longest since a four-game homestay from Oct. 18-26 against Northeastern and Wisconsin. DU's final regular-season series begins at home against Colorado College for senior night on March 7, and the team concludes the main campaign on March 8 in Colorado Springs versus the Tigers.
LAST TIME OUT: Denver swept the regular-season series against Miami by winning 5-1 on Friday and 5-2 on Saturday in Oxford, Ohio. The Pioneers had five different scorers find the back of the net each night, with freshman Jake Fisher and senior Carter King tallying in each game.
Sophomore defenseman Garrett Brown scored his first career goal on Friday, while Jack Devine and Aidan Thompson both totaled four points over the weekend with a goal and three assists each. Boston Buckberger (0g/2a) and Brown (1g/1a) recorded points each game, and fellow defenseman Zeev Buium had two points (1g/1a) on Saturday and the eventual game-winner in the second period.
The Pioneers used both goaltenders over the weekend, with senior Matt Davis starting on Friday and making 18-of-19 saves and Freddie Halyk stopping 21 shots on Saturday.
MILESTONES IN MIAMI: DU's top line trio of seniors Jack Devine and Carter King and junior Aidan Thompson each recorded major milestones last weekend at Miami. Thompson became the 104th player in program history to record 100 career points in the second period, while King also joined the century club early in the third and 7:43 of game time after his teammate hit the mark. The Denver duo were the first to reach 100 career points since Devine on March 8, 2024 at Colorado College.
Devine became the 22nd player to reach 150 career points on Saturday, as he reached the milestone in his 150th career game at Denver and with an assist on Zeev Buium's goal with 1:27 remaining in the second period. He is the first Pioneers player to hit the 150-threshold since Rhett Rakhshani in 2010.
DEVINE CLIMBING DU'S SCORING LISTS: Senior forward Jack Devine owns 151 points (53 goals, 98 assists) in 150 career games and is tied with Rhett Rakhshani (2006-2010) and Bill Abbott (1951-55) for 18th place on the school's all-time scoring list. He is three points from tying Jason Elders (1991-95) for 17th place and four points from a tie for 16th with Gabe Gauthier (2002-06)—the highest scoring Pioneer player since 1999.
He ranks second among active NCAA players in scoring, with only Arizona State graduate student Lukas Sillinger having more with 157 points.
The Glencoe, Illinois, native is two assists away from 100 in his career where he'll be the 12th player in DU history to reach the century mark in helpers. If Devine reaches 50 goals, 100 assists and 150 points in his career, he will become just the 10th player in Denver's 50-100-150 club and the first since Dave Shields from 1986-1990.
Devine scored his 50th career goal on Feb. 1 against Omaha, the 61st player in school history to reach the half-century mark in tallies. Devine's former teammate Cole Guttman was the last Pioneer to tally 50 career goals on Feb. 11, 2022 vs. Minnesota Duluth.
BUCKING THE TREND – NCHC D-MAN OF THE WEEK: Defenseman Boston Buckberger was named the NCHC Defenseman of the Week on Monday after totaling two assists, five blocked shots and a +4 plus/minus rating in the weekend series at Miami. He had a helper in each game against the RedHawks and tied a career high with three blocked shots on Friday.
Buckberger became the third different Denver rear guard to earn Defenseman of the Week honors this season (3x, Zeev Buium; 2x, Eric Pohlkamp) and picks up his second career top defender honor from the conference. He was previously named D-man of the Week on Oct. 23, 2023 and was named Rookie of the Week on Oct. 30, 2023 during his freshman campaign.
The Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, native has recorded nine points in the last eight games (3g/9a), and his six goals this season have already surpassed his total as a rookie from a year ago (five). He produced three points (1g/2a) on Feb. 14 vs. North Dakota to his career high in scoring from Feb. 24, 2024 vs. Miami (0g/3a).
NOTABLES
- The Pioneers have now won each of their last nine games in Oxford and improved to 14-5-0 all-time at Miami.
- DU has won five straight games against MU and is unbeaten in the last 18 meetings (17-0-1) of the series.
- The Pioneers were making their first trip to Oxford since Oct. 28-29, 2022, as each of the previous eight games against the RedHawks came in Denver.
- In addition to scoring his first goal on Friday, Garrett Brown recorded points in back-to-back games for the second time this season and fourth time in his career.
- Jake Fisher scored and recorded points in consecutive contests for the first time in his career.
- Jared Wright had an assist on Saturday for his 50th career point.
- Freshman James Reeder scored his second game-winning goal of the season.
- Denver had just one power play during Saturday's game, the fourth time this season it has been held to a single man advantage.
- The Pioneers blocked 17 shots on Saturday, the second-most in a game this season (18, Nov. 16 at North Dakota).
- Goaltender Matt Davis won his 55th career game on Friday to tie Adam Berkhoel (2000-04) for 10th place on the program's all-time wins list.
- Zeev Buium missed his first DU game not due to the World Junior Championship on Friday while serving a one-game NCHC suspension.
STREAKING
SCHOLAR ATHLETES: The NCHC announced last Thursday that 15 returning Denver players have been named to the 2024-25 NCHC Academic All-Conference Team and 13 Pioneers were recognized as Distinguished Scholar-Athletes. DU's Kent Anderson, Cale Ashcroft, Garrett Brown, Boston Buckberger, Connor Caponi, Kieran Cebrian, Matt Davis, Jack Devine, Paxton Geisel, Freddie Halyk, Sam Harris, Carter King, Rieger Lorenz, Aidan Thompson and Jared Wright are members of the league's All-Academic Team.
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.
Anderson, Ashcroft, Buckberger, Caponi, Cebrian, Davis, Devine, Halyk, Harris, King, Lorenz, Thompson and Wright were recognized as NCHC Distinguished Scholar-Athletes. Distinguished Scholar-Athletes have a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or better.
Seniors Devine and Davis have been named to the Academic All-Conference Team and Distinguished Scholar-Athlete in each of their last four seasons at DU. Senior King, who joined Denver midseason during the COVID-shortened 2020-21 campaign, and graduate student Caponi have been named to the Academic All-Conference Team five times at DU, with King also earning distinguished honors each year.
The NCHC will add freshmen and first-year transfers to its lists this summer after the academic year is completed.
PIONEERS IN THE POLLS: Denver ranks No. 6 nationally in both the USCHO.com and USA Hockey/The Rink Live polls that were both released on Monday. DU is presently No. 9 in the Pairwise computer rankings.
The NCHC has the second-most teams ranked in the USCHO.com poll with five and has four teams in the USA Hockey/The Rink Live list. Joining DU is Western Michigan at No. 4/4, Arizona State at No. 12/13, North Dakota at No. 18/18 and Colorado College at No. 20/RV. Omaha also received votes in each poll.
HISTORY VS. ST. CLOUD: Denver and St. Cloud State are meeting for the first time since the Pioneers beat the Huskies to end their season in overtime in the 2024 NCHC Frozen Faceoff Semifinals at Xcel Energy Center. DU went 4-0-1 against SCSU in 2023-24, including winning by scores of 6-2 and 7-2 on March 1-2, 2024 on the road for its first road sweep in St. Cloud since Dec. 7-8, 2007. The Pioneers own a 60-52-7 all-time record over the Huskies and sport a 34-25-3 mark at home in the all-time series that dates back to 1988. The teams last met at Magness Arena on Nov. 12-13, 2023, with DU winning 5-1 in the opener before a 4-4 tie in the finale (SCSU won the shootout for the extra conference point). The Pioneers are 7-3-1 in the last 11 meetings against the Huskies.
PREVIOUS MEETING (MARCH 22, 2024): The No. 3 nationally-ranked University of Denver hockey team rallied from four one-goal deficits and advanced to the NCHC Frozen Faceoff Championship Game with a 5-4 overtime victory against the No. 17-ranked St. Cloud State Huskies on Friday night in the conference semifinals at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn. Freshman defenseman Zeev Buium recorded his first career two-goal contest and tallied his first game-winner 6:21 into the extra frame to lift the No. 2-seed Pioneers past the No. 3-seed Huskies. He also added an assist for his fifth three-point outing of the season. Miko Matikka joined his fellow rookie with two markers, while defenseman Shai Buium and forward Aidan Thompson each registered two assists. Senior captain McKade Webster scored as well. Goaltender Matt Davis finished with 21 saves and was perfect in the third period and through overtime, stopping all five pucks that came his way in that time. The Pioneers outshot the Huskies 41-25 in the contest and by a 25-11 margin in the final two-plus periods.
CONNECTIONS: St. Cloud State head coach Brett Larson was an assistant coach on head coach David Carle's Team USA staff that won gold at both the 2024 and 2025 World Junior Championship … The Pioneers have five players from Minnesota on their roster: Hagen Burrows (Orono), Jake Fisher (Woodbury), Eric Pohlkamp (Baxter), Alec Whipple (Excelsior) and Jared Wright (Burnsville) … 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 … Zeev Buium (2019-21), Sam Harris (2018-21) and Peter LaJoy (2016-20) played prep school hockey at Shattuck St. Mary's in Faribault, Minn. … Buium (No. 12 overall, 2024) and Rieger Lorenz (No. 56 overall, 2022) are both NHL Draft picks of the Minnesota Wild … Buium was a teammate of St. Cloud's Austin Burnevik and Colin Ralph on USA's gold medal-winning team at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship … St. Cloud State's Ocean Wallace is from Boulder, Colo., and played at Shattuck-St. Mary's at the same time as Harris (2018-21) LaJoy (2018-20) and Buium (2019-21) … DU's Kent Anderson, Matt Davis, Carter King and Lorenz and SCSU's Ethan Aucoin and Tyson Gross are all from Calgary, Alberta … Eric Pohlkamp played one season each with Grant Ahcan (2021-22) and Tyson Gross (2022-23) with the USHL Cedar Rapids RoughRiders … Mason Reiners was a teammate of DU's Connor Caponi (2019-20) with the USHL Waterloo Black Hawks … Freddie Halyk played with Ethan Aucoin with the AJHL Lloydminster Bobcats in 2021-22 … Samu Salminen (Helsinki) and Verner Miettinen (Espoo) are both from Finland.
SCOUTING THE HUSKIES: St. Cloud State has a 12-17-1 overall record this season and ranks eighth in the NCHC standings with 18 points and a 5-4-1 mark in conference play. The Huskies split their home series last weekend at home against Colorado College, losing 4-3 on Friday before winning 4-2 on Saturday. That victory ended a four-game losing streak by St. Cloud and an 11-game winless drought (0-10-1) dating back to its first game after the New Year on Jan. 10. Austin Burnevik leads SCSU with 13 goals and 25 points and ranks tied for third with 12 assists. Barrett Hall (7g/14a) is first in assists with 14 and is tied for second in scoring with 21 points with Tyson Gross (8g/13a). Goaltender Isak Posch returned to the Huskies net on Feb. 8 at Western Michigan after missing the previous two months with an injury; he has allowed 11 goals against in his three games back. For the season, Posch has a 10-6-0 record, 2.10 goals-against average, .928 save percentage and two shutouts in 16 starts.
PIONEERING OFFENSE: Denver is tied for the NCAA lead in scoring with Minnesota at 4.0 goals per game and its 129 total goals scored rank second behind the 135 of Minnesota, which has played two more games than DU. The Pios led the NCAA last season with 202 total goals and a 4.59 average.
DU scored at least four goals in each of the first 11 contests and has 20 such games overall this season. The Pioneers have had 16 different players score this year and 20 of the 22 skaters have registered at least one point. Denver also already has 13 skaters that have reached double-digits in points.
PLAYING AHEAD: The Pioneers have had the lead or have been tied for most of the season, as they've not trailed in 83.7% of game play this season (1618:22/1932:54)—leading for 46.3% (895:24) or being tied for 37.4% (703:25) of the time.
DU has only been down on the scoreboard in 16.3% of game play this season (314:32) and didn't trail for the first 244:12 of the season (4+ games).
PIOS POWER UP: Denver ranks second in the nation on the power play with a 31.5-percent success rate and has tallied on the power play in 22-of-32 games this year. The team scored at least one power-play goal during an 11-game stretch from Oct. 19-Nov. 23—the team's longest run in the last decade (since 2015-16). The Pioneers have recorded multiple man-advantage goals in nine outings this year, including last Friday at Miami (2/3).
Jack Devine is first on the team with 22 power-play points (3g/19a), while Sam Harris leads the squad and is tied for first in the country with nine man-advantage goals.
The Pios opened the season by going 4-for-9 on the PP on opening night at Alaska Anchorage on Oct. 5—the most power-play goals scored in a game by the squad since Dec. 4, 2021 at Arizona State (4-of-6). Five of Devine's six assists in Alaska on Oct. 5-6 came while DU was a man-up on the ice, while all four of Zeev Buium's assists in that series came on power-play goals.
DOMINANT AT THE DOT: The Pioneers rank second in the nation by winning 55.4 percent of their faceoffs this season. They posted a season-high winning percentage of .656 on Jan. 10 against Miami (42/64).
Carter King leads Denver in faceoff wins (393) while Samu Salminen paces the Pios with a .592 winning percentage (244/412); King is second in percentage (.567). Kieran Cebrian ranks second on the squad in draw victories (278/504) and third in percentage (.552). King set a personal best by winning 20-of-34 faceoffs on Oct. 19 against Northeastern for the most wins by a Pioneer since Tyson McLellan went 23-for-35 on Jan. 4, 2020 against Massachusetts.
SENIOR CLASS SETS WINS RECORD: The Pioneers' 2025 senior class is the winningest group in program history after picking up its 113th career victory on Feb. 7 at Arizona State, surpassing the 2005 seniors' previous record of 112 wins. This year's seniors became the 16th class to win at least 100 games when it accomplished that feat on Nov. 1 at Yale.
Among the 2025 seniors' accomplishments have been three Gold Pan trophies over rival Colorado College, two Penrose Cups as conference regular-season champions, an NCHC Frozen Faceoff title and two national championships.
Last year's seniors (2024) are tied for fifth all-time with 103 victories and registered a .708 winning percentage (103-41-5).
"TENZER" STREAK EXTENDED: Denver won its 20th game of the season on Feb. 7 at Arizona State, extending its "Tenzer" Streak of winning 20 or more games to 23 consecutive full seasons dating back to 2001-02.
The longest active streak in the country, the stretch 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.
MAGNESS MADNESS: Denver has sold out each of its 15 home games season, averaging 6,618 fans. The Pioneers set attendance records on Oct. 18-19 during homecoming weekend against Northeastern, including a new single-game high with a crowd 7,051 on Saturday for its banner-raising ceremony and series finale. Overall, 13,888 people watched the series sweep of NU—the most for a two-game weekend in school history and breaking the previous mark by more than 1,200 fans. Denver had a sold-out crowd of 6,455 in attendance for its exhibition vs. UNLV on Dec. 28.
In 2023-24, DU set a home attendance record by averaging 6,130 fans at Magness Arena across 20 games, besting their previous high mark of 6,022 over the course of 24 contests in 2006-07. Denver had a sold-out crowd of 7,033 for its regular-season finale against Colorado College on March 9, which at the time was 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.
CELEBRATING 75 YEARS OF THE PIONEERS: Denver is commemorating 75 years of Pioneer hockey throughout 2024-25 to recognize its diamond jubilee as a program. DU hosted its 75th Anniversary reunion on Nov. 8-9 when Lindenwood visited Magness Arena. Among the activities were pre and post-game receptions for alums, alumni games and family skates and an on-ice recognition of approximately 150 former players in attendance during Saturday's first intermission, with each of the team's NCAA-record 10 championship trophies being presented as well.
The 2024-25 season is actually the 76th in DU hockey history, but the team's 75th anniversary of its first game was in December. The Pioneers' first-ever contests were at home on Dec. 19-20, 1949 against Saskatchewan, with the squad losing 17-0 and 9-1 in the series. Denver's first win was Jan. 27, 1950 at Wyoming (8-7), and the program's first home victory came against that same Wyoming squad on Feb. 18, 1950 (10-6) at the old DU Arena.
TICKETS: Limited tickets for Denver hockey's 75th anniversary in 2024-25 are still available. Click here to purchase and for more information.
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