DENVER – One of Matt Davis' first tasks as a now alum of the Denver Pioneers hockey program was to stop shots from a member of the Triple Gold Club and Hockey Hall of Fame.
 
Midway through the first period of Sunday's Avalanche Alumni versus Pioneers Alumni game at Magness Arena, Davis faced his first point-blank shot from Peter Forsberg. It was denied by a kick save by the 2024 NCAA Frozen Four Outstanding Player.
 
"It was surreal. You don't get to see a guy like that too often," Davis said of stopping pucks from the two-time Stanley Cup champion and winner of gold medals at the Olympics and IIHF World Championship. "What he has done in his career, it's absolutely incredible. It was so cool to be out there with him."
 
It was one of four saves Davis made on Forsberg in one-on-one situations in the charity event, including at the start of the shootout to close out the night.
 
The final score itself in the contest was irrelevant—though DU won 8-7 in the shootout—as it was a showcase of the hockey talent that has played in the city of Denver while supporting youth hockey in the state.
 
"It was a lot of fun," Davis said. "It was an honor and pleasure to be out there with all of those guys. Super fortunate to be a part of it."
 
The Pioneers alums led 2-1 after the first period and had a 6-3 advantage just 19 seconds into the third period on a shot by NHLer Scott Mayfield of the New York Islanders that went high, near-side while skating down the right wing.
 
The Avalanche alums rallied with four of the next five goals, including three times in the first four minutes of the final stanza, to tie the game and force the skill competition as the tiebreaker.
 
"No one is here to watch the goalies," quipped Davis on the high-scoring affair.
 
But in the shootout, Davis and his counterpart Max Lacroix—the current Boston University netminder and grandson of former Avalanche general manager Pierre Lacroix—shined in their respective creases.
 
After a blazing regulation with three, 20-minute periods featuring a running clock, the best-of-three shootout needed a seventh round before the back of the net was found. Forsberg, Troy Terry, Milan Hejduk, Rhett Rakhshani, Tyson Barrie, Tyler Bozak and Jack Devine were some of the names that weren't able to get the vulcanized piece of rubber past Davis or Lacroix before 2017 national champion Dylan Gambrell ended the night in favor of the Pioneers with a wrister that hit twine.
 
A portion of each ticket sold on Sunday went to support local youth hockey associations, and 5,058 fans of the Avalanche and Pioneers packed Magness to watch some of the greatest players that have ever donned the burgundy and blue and crimson and gold put on a show.
 
Among the other household names suiting up for the Avalanche were Barrie, Hejduk, John-Michael Liles, John Mitchell, Andrew Cogliano, Dan Hinote and Darren Helm, while the Pioneers had Mayfield and Troy Terry of the Anaheim Ducks, along with Gambrell, Bozak, Rakhshani, Jack Devine and Aidan Thompson. Additionally, DU alums Mark Rycroft and Aaron MacKenzie suited up for the Avalanche side, as they played for both squads during their careers.
 
On the bench was more hockey royalty with George Gwozdecky, Ron Grahame, Joe Colborne and the Avalanche's Logan O'Connor leading the Pios, while Joe Sakic, Adam Foote, Pierre Turgeon, Eric Lacroix and Michel Goulet guided the Avs.
 
For both sides, the weekend was a chance to rekindle old relationships and catch up on the good times while being with their fellow alums to support a good cause. The festivities continued on Monday with the Pioneers' annual Alumni and Friends Golf Tournament after the Avalanche held their own such event on Friday.
 
"It has been great being in the locker room with these guys," Davis said. "Just hanging out, seeing everyone, meeting everyone, it's been really special."
 
Being an alum of the University of Denver hasn't fully set in for Davis. He has spent this summer training at DU after earning his undergraduate diploma in June, and he heads out to his first professional training camp in San Jose in a few weeks.
 
Hanging around his fellow Pioneer alums—both young and old—over the past few days gives him immense pride of DU, and he is now looking forward to cheering on the next set of Denver players in the years to come.

"I'm leaving in a couple of weeks here, so I guess it is going to start and feel real then," Davis said. "I'm just super fortunate to be a part of this group. It's weird to be an alumni, but I can't wait to watch the guys succeed and win another Natty in the future."
 
 
ALUMNI GAME SCORING SUMMARY
1st Period
10:22 PIOS (1-0) – Gabe Levin (Tyler Bozak, Skinner)
11:49 AVS (1-1) – Andrew Cogliano (Tyson Barrie, Darren Helm)
12:07 PIOS (2-1) – Drew Shore (Dylan Gambrell, Rhett Rakhshani)
 
2nd Period
2:35 PIOS (3-1) – Kelly Hollingshead (Aidan Thompson, Jack Devine)
8:08 PIOS (4-1) – Jack Devine (Aidan Thompson)
9:26 AVS (4-2) – John-Michael Liles (Yan Stastny, John Mitchell)
10:06 PIOS (4-2) – Penalty shot by DU Gabe Levin, save by Avs Max Lacroix
13:14 AVS (4-3) – Darren Helm (John-Michael Liles)
16:17 AVS (4-3) – Penalty shot by Avs Milan Hejduk, save by DU Matt Davis
18:22 PIOS (5-3) – Troy Terry (Blake Hilman)
 
3rd Period
0:19 PIOS (6-3) – Scott Mayfield (Tyler Bozak, Brett Skinner)
1:25 AVS (6-4) – Peter Mueller (Kyle Quincey)
1:45 AVS (6-5) – Dan Hinote (Yan Stastny)
2:48 PIOS (7-5) – Kyle Ostrow (unassisted)
3:50 AVS (7-6) – Milan Hejduk (Peter Forsberg, Kyle Quincey)
9:04 AVS (7-7) – John Michael-Liles (unassisted)
 
Shootout
AVS – Forsberg, save
PIOS – Terry, save
AVS – Hejduk, save
PIOS – Rhett Rakhshani, save
AVS – John Mitchell, save
PIOS – Aidan Thompson, save
AVS – Tyson Barrie, save
PIOS – Tyler Bozak, save
AVS – Peter Mueller, save
PIOS – Jack Devine, save
AVS – Yan Stastny, save
PIOS – Gabe Levin, save
AVS – Steven Reinprecht, save
PIOS – Dylan Gambrell, score
 

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