DENVER – The No. 9 University of Denver hockey team returns to the Mile High City to host the St. Cloud State Huskies in a two-game NCHC series and the start of a four-game homestand.
 
Friday's game is scheduled for 7 p.m. MT and Saturday's puck drop is set for 6 p.m. MT at Magness Arena. Each contest will be broadcast on NCHC.tv.
 
Denver (13-10-2, 9-5-0 NCHC) has 27 points in conference play this season and is in second place in the NCHC standings, five points behind first-place North Dakota (32). St. Cloud State (12-12-0, 5-9-0 NCHC) is tied for fifth place with Arizona State with 17 points apiece.
 
The Pioneers are looking to carry on their success from the backend of the weekend, winning 3-2 at then-No. 5 North Dakota last Saturday after losing 5-0 in the opener on Friday in Grand Forks.
 
Denver earned redemption on Saturday after being shutout for just the second time this season. Kristian Epperson opened the scoring for the Pios and later added an assist on James Reeder's game-winner for a two-point game. Eric Pohlkamp landed six shots and tallied in the second period to tie the game. Halfway through the third, Reeder scored off a rebound for a power-play goal to help the Pios win and end a six-game streak without a victory.
 
St. Cloud is coming off a split with No. 6 Minnesota Duluth. On Friday, Huskies goaltender Yan Shostak was perfect in net as he blanked UMD in a 6-0 win, despite the Bulldogs outshooting SCSU 42-26. The following evening, the Huskies fell 5-3 after being outshot 29-23.
 
This weekend will be the 124th and 125th all-time meetings between Denver and St. Cloud. The Pioneers hold the edge in the all-time series at 62-54-7, including a mark of 35-26-3 in Denver. The Pios won the first games of the series from 1988-1989 and are 6-2-1 in the past nine matchups since 2023-24.
 
Denver and St. Cloud split a two-game set in Minnesota earlier this season on Dec. 12-13. The Pioneers won 5-1 in the first game, with Quentin Miller making 37 saves in the victory. The next night, the Huskies edged the Pios 4-3 in a comeback victory after benefiting from seven straight minutes of power-play time in the third. Eight different Pioneers hit the back of the net in the series, with Rieger Lorenz finishing the weekend with three points on a goal and two assists.
 
The Pios are beginning a six-game stint in Colorado, as they face Minnesota Duluth next weekend to wrap up the four-game homestay, tied for their longest stretch of the season from earlier this month (Jan. 2-10). The following weekend, the Pioneers take on Colorado College in a home-and-home series wrap up the season series and determine who takes the annual Gold Pan trophy.
 

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LAST TIME OUT: The No. 9 Pioneers split their series at then-No. 5 North Dakota last weekend in the long-time rivals' only two games of the regular season.  DU couldn't capitalize on early power-play opportunities on Friday and UND quickly took advantage of Denver mistakes in the offensive zone to down the Pios by a 5-0 score on Friday.
 
Sophomore forward James Reeder tallied the eventual game-winner on the power play on Saturday with 8:41 remaining in the third period, and DU received goals from Kristian Epperson to open the scoring late in the first period and from Eric Pohlkamp to tie the contest at 2-2 midway through the second frame.  After making 16 stops on Friday, goaltender Quentin Miller made 33-of-35 saves on Saturday, including 11 in the first period, 14 in the second and all eight in the third.
 
NOTABLES

• Denver is now 4-2-0 in its last six games against UND and 9-5-0 in the past 14 contests. The Pioneers are 5-3-0 in their past eight games in Grand Forks.
• North Dakota was the third NCHC squad that Denver concluded its season series with (Western Michigan, four games; Miami, two games).
• Kristian Epperson recorded his second multi-point game of the season on Saturday (Nov. 1 vs. Alaska Anchorage).
• Goaltender Johnny Hicks played on Friday, marking the second time this season that he's played in back-to-back contests (also Dec. 6-12, 2026).
• Hicks made a career-best 15 saves after coming in relief in the third period on Friday.  He had his career-long shutout streak end at 50:20 that dated back to Dec. 6 (four games).
• Senior forward Rieger Lorenz played in his 150th career game on Friday, while junior defenseman Eric Pohlkamp played in his 100th career NCAA contest the same night.
• Denver was shutout on Friday for just the second time this season (1-0 loss on Oct. 25 at Northeastern).
• DU went 4-for-4 on the penalty kill on Friday and 3-for-3 on Saturday and has now gone perfect in man-disadvantage situations in 15 contests this season.
• The Pioneers earned their fourth comeback win of the season on Saturday.
• DU ended a six-game winless streak, the program's longest since Dec. 4, 2015-Jan. 2, 2016 (0-4-2)—the Pioneers went on to reach the NCAA Frozen Four that season.
• Denver improved to 10-2-0 when scoring first, 4-5-1 when tied after the first period and 2-2-1 when tied at the end of two periods this season.

BIG BLOCKS: Denver recorded season highs in blocked shots in both games last weekend at North Dakota.  After blocking 18 shots on Friday, the Pioneers got in front of 19 on Saturday—the program's most in a regular-season contest since blocking 20 vs. NoDak on Jan. 17, 2021.
 
The previous team high for blocks this season was 16, which DU accomplished on both Dec. 6 vs. Miami and Dec. 13 at St. Cloud State.
 
Eric Pohlkamp blocked four shots on Friday night, while Reid Varkonyi (3) and Clarke Caswell recorded career highs in the game.  On Saturday, Eric Jamieson (4), Boston Buckberger (3-tied) and Jake Fisher (2-tied) each set or matched personal bests in blocks.
 
OFFENSIVE DEFENDERS: Denver has received 33.7 percent of its goals this season from defensemen (29-of-86), including 27 combined from three Pioneers in Eric Pohlkamp (14), Boston Buckberger (7) and Eric Jamieson (6).
 
The Pioneers are the only program in the country with three rear guards with six or more goals, and only three other programs have multiple D-men with five or more tallies: Air Force (3), Minnesota Duluth (2), St. Thomas (2).
 
Denver defensemen scored 40 goals last season, with Zeev Buium (13) and Pohlkamp (11) leading the position group in double-digit tallies.  The Pios had 22.9 percent of their markers in 2024-25 come from blueliners (40-of-174).
 
Pohlkamp leads all NCAA defenders with 14 goals and 25 points this season, while Buckberger is fifth at his position in tallies and tied for sixth with 21 points.  Jamieson is tied for first among rookie blueliners in goals with Penn State's Jackson Smith.
 
NATIONAL LEADERBOARD

• Eric Pohlkamp leads all NCAA D-men and ranks tied for eighth overall among all skaters in goals (14).  His 25 points are first among defensemen in the nation, while his 115 shots lead all NCAA players.
• Quentin Miller is tied for first in shutouts (3) and tied for 11th in wins (12).
• Boston Buckberger is fifth in goals (7), tied for sixth in points (21) and tied for 11th in assists (14) among defensemen.
• Eric Jamieson is tied for 10th among all college D-men in goals (6).

HOBEY NOMINEES: The Pioneers have two players nominated for this year's Hobey Baker Award as junior defensemen Boston Buckberger and Eric Pohlkamp are both up for the honor as the top player in college hockey this season.
 
Overall, the DU trio are among 87 total nominees in college hockey and 18 from the NCHC.
 
The Pioneers have had two previous winners of the Hobey Baker Award, with both being defenders in Matt Carle (2006) and Will Butcher (2017).  Current NHLers' Zeev Buium (2025) and Boby Brink (2022) were Hobey Hat Trick Finalists from Denver over the past five years.
 
MILLER NAMED TO RICHTER WATCH LIST: Freshman Quentin Miller was named last week to the watch list for the Mike Richter Award, given at the end of the year to the top goaltender in college hockey.
 
Miller was one of six NCHC goalies and 29 nationally to be named to the watch list by the Hockey Commissioners Association.  To qualify for the Watch List, a goaltender must have compiled a 2.40 goals-against average or lower, or a .917 save percentage or higher, while playing at least 33 percent of their team's minutes in net.
 
Denver has had one previous recipient of the Mike Richter Award, with Tanner Jaillet picking up the honor in 2017.
 
POWERING UP THE PP: Denver has scored a power-play goal in six of the past seven games, including in five straight outings from Dec. 13-Jan. 10 for the team's longest streak of the season and its longest since also scoring with the man advantage in five consecutive contests from Jan. 3-24, 2025.
 
The Pioneers have gone 7-for-28 on the power play in its last seven outings, scoring at a 25-percent clip. DU also has 10 power-play goals in the 11 contests going back to Nov. 29 vs. Minnesota, posting a 24.4-percent success rate (10-for-41).
 
IN POHL POSITION: Junior Eric Pohlkamp leads all NCAA defensemen and ranks tied for eighth among all skaters in the country with 14 goals this season.  He is also first among players at his position in total scoring with 25 points.
 
Pohlkamp took sole possession of ninth place in program history for goals by a D-man in a single season after tallying on Saturday at North Dakota.  Mike Benning was the last Pioneer defender to tally more than 14 goals in a season when he netted 15 in 2021-22 and is currently next on the list for Pohlkamp to chase in eighth place.
 
The Baxter, Minn., native leads the Pioneers in both goals, points and shots (115), ranks second in power-play goals (3-tied), power-play points (3g/4a-tied), game-winning goals (2-tied) and plus/minus rating (+12-tied) and is tied for third in assists (11).
 
His previous career high for goals was 11, which he accomplished each the past two seasons as a sophomore at Denver in 2023-24 and as a freshman at Bemidji State in 2022-23.
 
BUCK GOES WILD: Defenseman Boston Buckberger has registered 10 points in the past 11 contests (4g/6a) and recorded points in 13 of the last 18 games dating back to Nov. 1 (7g/11a).
 
Buckberger recorded five goals in a five-game stretch from Nov. 14-29, which included a career-long, three-game streak from Nov. 14-21.  It was the second time this season that a Denver 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. He recorded his first career multi-goal game on Nov. 29 against Minnesota in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game at Ball Arena, including the tying marker in the final 23 seconds to force overtime.
 
The Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, native netted the game-winning marker in both games against Colorado College on Nov. 14-15, including scoring his first overtime-winner in the series opener.  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.
 
TIME FOR HOME COOKING: The 2026 half of Denver's 2025-26 season features plenty of home games at Magness Arena, as the Pioneers will play 11 of its final 16 games in their friendly confines.  DU will play eight-of-10 outings in January on home ice, with a pair of season-long, four-game homestands on Jan. 2-10 and Jan. 23-31.
 
The Pioneers played 12 of its first 19 contests of the season on the road, including 10-of-14 to start the campaign.  Their only away contests in 2026 are flights to North Dakota on Jan. 16-17 and Omaha on Feb. 13-14 and a bus trip to Colorado College on Feb. 6.
 
HISTORY VS. ST. CLOUD: Denver and St. Cloud State are concluding their four-game season series after the teams faced off on Dec. 12-13 in Minnesota.  The teams split that set on the Olympic-size ice, with the Pioneers winning 5-1 in the series opener before the Huskies took a 4-3 comeback win in the teams' last game before the Holiday Break.  Denver is 6-2-1 in the last nine meetings of the series, including going unbeaten in a six-game stretch from Jan. 12, 2024-Feb. 28, 2025 (5-0-1) and winning four in a row from March 1, 2024-Feb. 28, 2025.  DU went 3-1-0 last year vs. SCSU, winning 3-1 on Feb. 28, 2025 and losing 2-1 on March 1, 2025 at Magness Arena.  In the last 15 meetings, Denver has a 9-5-1 mark, which includes a 5-4 overtime victory in the 2024 NCHC Frozen Faceoff Semifinals at Xcel Energy Center.  The Pioneers own a 62-54-7 all-time record over the Huskies and sport a 35-26-3 record on home ice; DU is 25-25-4 in St. Cloud.
 
PREVIOUS MEETING (DEC. 13, 2025): The No. 6 Denver Pioneers fell 4-3 to the St. Cloud State Huskies on Saturday night in the series finale at Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud.  SCSU used nearly seven continuous minutes of power-play time in the third period to build momentum and rally for the victory.  Denver dropped its first game in regulation since Oct. 25 at Northeastern, ending a run of 12 straight outings with either a win or an overtime loss (9-3-0).  The Pioneers received goals from freshmen Kyle Chyzowski and Reid Varkonyi and senior captain Kent Anderson while senior Rieger Lorenz recorded a multi-point evening with two assists.  Goaltender Quentin Miller made 28 saves.  Denver led 3-2 entering the third period, but back-to-back penalties gave St. Cloud State an additional boost on the ice.  Among those infractions were two by separate Denver players at 9:37 of the frame that handed the Huskies a five-minute major power play that began with two minutes of a 5-on-3 advantage.  DU killed off the initial two minutes down by two men, but Tyson Gross scored the tying goal 11 seconds after the first foul expired.  That was the only marker during the major penalty, but the Huskies struck again nine seconds after all of the Pioneers were released from the penalty box, with Barrett Hall netting the eventual game-winer with 5:14 remaining in regulation.
 
CONNECTIONS: St. Cloud State head coach Brett Larson was an assistant coach on DU 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), 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 … St. Cloud State's Ocean Wallace is from Boulder, Colo., and played at Shattuck-St. Mary's at the same time as Sam Harris (2018-21) … DU's Kent Anderson, Eric Jamieson 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 … Reid Varkonyi played with Joe Belisle, Noah Urness and Aiden Welche with the USHL Sioux Falls Stampede last season in 2024-25 … Jack Reimann was teammates with DU's Sam Harris with the USHL Sioux Falls Stampede in 2021-22 and with Payton Nelson with the Des Moines Buccaneers at the end of 2022-23 … Garrett Brown briefly played with Gavyn Thoreson with the USHL Waterloo Black Hawks at the end of the 2022-23 season … Kristian Epperson and Brendan McMorrow were at the U.S. National Team Development Program at the same time as Austin Burnevik in 2022-23 … Nolan Roed was picked by the Colorado Avalanche in the seventh round (219th overall) in the 2025 NHL Draft … Sam Harris (San Diego) and Tanner Henricks (Mission Viejo) are both from Southern California … Samu Salminen (Helsinki) and Verner Miettinen (Espoo) are both from Finland.
 
SCOUTING THE HUSKIES: St. Cloud State has a 12-12-0 record and is tied for fifth in the NCHC standings with 17 points and a 5-9-0 conference mark.  The Huskies, who have received votes in both polls for most of the season, have split their last four weekend games, including last week against No. 6 Minnesota Duluth.  SCSU won 6-0 in the opener on Friday before falling 5-3 on Saturday after UMD rallied at the Brooks Center.  St. Cloud owns the sixth-best power play in the NCAA at 27.8 percent.  Tyson Gross leads the Huskies with 31 points and also ranks first with 18 assists while being second in goals (13).  Austin Burnevik paces the group with 14 goals and is second in scoring with 27 points (14g/13a).  Barrett Hall is third on the squad with 23 points (10g/13a).  D-man Max Smolinksi is fourth on the Huskies in scoring with 15 points (4g/11a) and is the reigning NCHC Defenseman of the Week after totaling three points (1g/2a) on three shots in the series vs. UMD.  SCSU has mostly split its goalies this year, with Yan Shostak starting 13 outings and registering a 5-8-0 record, 2.93 goals-against average, .897 save percentage and two shutout; he was named the NCHC Goaltender of the Week on Monday.  Patriks Berzins has a 7-4-0 record, 2.60 goals-against average and .915 save percentage in 11 starts.
 
MILESTONE MEN: Senior forward Rieger Lorenz leads all active NCAA players in games played and suited up in his 150th career contest last Friday, Jan. 16 at North Dakota.
 
Junior defenseman Eric Pohlkamp became the fifth Pioneer to play in his 100th career NCAA game, as he reached the century mark the same night as Lorenz's milestone game. Pohlkamp played his first 33 career outings with Bemidji State as a freshman in 2023-24.
 
The other four players that has also reached 100 career games played this season are Kieran Cebrian being the last to hit the milestone on (Jan. 2 vs. Maine), Cale Ashcroft (Dec. 13 at St. Cloud State) and Boston Buckberger and Sam Harris, who each appeared in their 100th career games on Nov. 29 vs. Minnesota in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game at Ball Arena.
 
Senior captain Kent Anderson skated in his 125th career game on Dec. 12 at St. Cloud State, while alternate captain Samu Salminen did the same on Dec. 13 vs. the Huskies.
 
IT'S MILLER TIME: Goaltender Quentin Miller has started 22 straight games, the most by a DU keeper since Matt Davis played the final 26 to close out the 2023-24 campaign.  Miller didn't lose in regulation in a 12-game stretch from Oct. 31-Dec. 12 (9-3-0), which included allowing one goal or fewer in six outings and a pair of shutouts.  He went on a personal-best, six-game winning streak from Nov. 1-21 and registered 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.
 
PIONEERS IN THE POLLS: Denver ranks No. 9 in both the latest USCHO.com and USA Hockey polls that were released on Monday.  The Pioneers began the year at No. 4 in each preseason media poll and are presently No. 10 in the NPI rankings that will determine this year's NCAA Tournament field.
 
The NCHC has four teams ranked with all four in the top 10, joining the Big Ten as the only conferences to have it.  Overall, the league ranks tied with the Big Ten and CCHA for the second-most ranked squads behind Hockey East (five). Joining DU in the polls from the conference are Western Michigan (3/3), North Dakota (4/4) and Minnesota Duluth (7/6).  Arizona State, Colorado College, Miami and St. Cloud State all received votes in the USCHO.com ranking, while ASU, Miami and St. Cloud also earned nods in the USA Hockey poll.
 

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