DENVER – The No. 11 University of Denver hockey team is back in action at Magness Arena this weekend as the Pioneers host the No. 7 Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs in a two-game NCHC showdown.
 
Friday's game is set for 7 p.m. MT and will be televised on Attitude 2. Saturday's play begins at 6 p.m. MT. Both games will also be available on NCHC.tv and Denver Sports 104.3 The Fan HD3. Limited tickets for both nights are still available.
 
Denver (14-11-2, 10-6-0 NCHC) stands with 30 points in the conference standings following last weekend's series against St. Cloud State. The Pios are in second place in the league, eight points behind first-place North Dakota (38) while holding a two-point edge over third-place Western Michigan (28) and are five points up on Duluth (25).
 
UMD is currently ranked ahead of DU at No. 6 in the NPI rankings that determine the NCAA Tournament field. Denver is presently rated at No. 13.
 
The Pioneers are aiming to carry their performance from this past weekend, as they shut out St. Cloud 6-0 on Saturday after falling 4-2 in the series opener.
 
Four different Pios had multi-point games last weekend, with freshman Kristian Epperson earning a goal and a helper in the loss on Friday. On Saturday, Eric Pohlkamp opened the scoring and added a power-play goal in the second period, fellow defenseman Boston Buckberger assisted Pohlkamp's goal and hit the back of the net himself, and sophomore forward James Reeder contributed two helpers in the win. Freshman goaltender Johnny Hicks saw most of the action in net on Saturday night and stopped all 22 shots he faced to earn his first collegiate victory and a shared team shutout after starter Quentin Miller left early in the first period with a lower-body injury.
 
Minnesota Duluth (17-9-0, 8-5-0 NCHC) is coming off a pair of losses at home to Western Michigan. Both games ended with a final score of 4-3, with the Broncos rallying to win last Friday's contest in overtime before holding off the Bulldogs' comeback attempt on Saturday.
 
Last season, the teams faced off in just two games in Duluth on Jan. 24-25, 2025. The two-game series was split, with the Bulldogs taking the series opener, 4-3, before the Pioneers won the following night with a final score of 2-1.
 
Friday night game will be the 241st meeting between DU and UMD. Denver leads the all-time series at 137-90-13, including a mark of 81-40-5 in Denver. The first matchup between the teams dates back to a two-game series on Dec. 28-29, 1961, where Denver swept Minnesota Duluth with wins of 3-1 and 11-2.
 
The Pioneers will be wrapping up a four-game homestand, tied for their longest of the season, and a busy January that featured eight-of-10 contests at Magness Arena. Denver is in a stretch where it is playing six straight outings in the state of the Colorado, as the squad takes on Colorado College in a home-and-home series next weekend on Feb. 6-7.
 
The Pioneers need one point next weekend to claim the Gold Pan in college hockey's most-played rivalry after sweeping CC in the first home-and-home set on Nov. 14-15. Denver took a 2-1 overtime win in the opener on home ice before beating the Tigers 3-2 in their own barn the next night.
 

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LAST TIME OUT: Then-No. 9 Denver split its weekend series against the St. Cloud State on home ice. DU fell 4-2 on Friday as SCSU rallied from two goals down and netted an empty-netter. The Pioneers responded on Saturday with a 6-0 victory, with freshmen goaltenders Quentin Miller (one save) and Johnny Hicks (22 saves) combining for a team shutout.
 
Kristian Epperson had a goal and an assist on Friday and Cale Ashcroft also scored while Miller made 22 stops. Eric Pohlkamp scored twice on Saturday and was joined by teammates Boston Buckberger (1g/1a) and James Reeder (0g/2a) with multi-point nights, as the Pios tallied two goals each period. Hicks earned his first career victory after coming in relief early in the third period due to Miller suffering a lower-body injury.
 
NOTABLES

• Denver finished 2-2-0 this season against St. Cloud State and now owns a 63-55-7 overall record and a 36-27-3 mark on home ice in the all-time series. The Pios are 6-3-1 in the last 10 meetings.
• The Huskies were the fourth team that the Pioneers wrapped up their yearly series with and the second of whom they will have played four times (Western Michigan).  
• DU earned its fifth shutout of the season.
• Denver and St. Cloud combined for just six penalty minutes, the fewest in a game this season for the Pioneers. DU also took just one penalty for the third time this season (Oct. 24 at Boston College, Jan. 2 vs. Maine).
• The Pioneers have killed off 10 straight penalties dating back to last weekend's series at North Dakota.
• DU has scored on the power play in seven of the last nine games, going 8-for-32 with the extra man on the ice.
• Freshman Payton Nelson scored his first career goal on Saturday in his sixth career game.
• In addition to goaltender Johnny Hicks earning his first career win, he also picked up his first point with an assist on Nelson's goal.
• Junior defenseman Cale Ashcroft tallied his first goal of the season and sixth of his career.
• Sophomore defenseman Tory Pitner made his season debut after missing the first 25 games of the campaign with a lower-body injury. He recorded his first point of the season and second of his career with an assist on Cale Ashcroft's goal.
• Kristian Epperson recorded a goal and an assist on Friday for this third career multi-point game and his second in as many contests after also scoring and contributing a helper on Jan. 17 at North Dakota.
• Goaltender Quentin Miller has started 24 consecutive contests.
• Denver was celebrating Hockey Parents Appreciation Weekend during the series versus St. Cloud State and honored the families on the ice during the first intermission on Saturday's game.
• DU ended its season-long home losing (three) and winless streak (five games).

HICKS' CLEAN SHEET WIN: Freshman Johnny Hicks stopped all 22 shots he faced in relief in a 6-0 win on Saturday night versus St. Cloud to earn his first career victory. He played the final 55:11 after starter Quentin Miller left early in the first period with a lower-body injury (one save).
 
While Hicks didn't get the individual shutout, he and Miller did combine for a team shutout. It is the second straight season that a Denver goaltending tandem posted a team clean sheet, as Matt Davis (15 saves) and Freddie Halyk (six saves) stopped every shot they faced against North Dakota on Feb. 14, 2025.
 
Denying every shot to earn your first career victory has been a common occurrence for the Pioneers in the last five seasons, with Miller also accomplishing the feat earlier this year with a 19-save effort in a 4-0 shutout at Lindenwood on Oct. 14.  Davis recorded a clean sheet in his first career start on Oct. 16, 2021 vs. Air Force (25 saves), and Halyk did the same in his first win against Air Force two years later on Oct. 28, 2023 (24 saves).
 
POHLKAMP ETCHES HIS NAME IN NCHC HISTORY: Blueliner Eric Pohlkamp scored twice on Saturday for his third multi-goal game of the season and took the top spot in the NCHC record book for goals by a defenseman. His 16 goals are now the most in a single season in NCHC history, breaking a tie with a pair of other Pioneers that previously held the conference mark as Mike Benning tallied 15 in 2021-22 and Joey LaLeggia did the same in 2014-15. The NCHC began play in 2013-14.
 
Overall, eight Pioneers rank in the top 14 on the NCHC list, which includes Zeev Buium (2024-25) and Benning (2022-23) are tied for fourth in the league annals with 13 goals each with Western Michigan's Ronnie Attard (2021-22) and Miami's Grant Hutton (2017-18). Additionally, LaLeggia is tied for eighth (12, 2013-14) and Pohlkamp (2024-25) and Buium (2023-24) are tied for 10th (11 goals) in the league record book.
 
IN POHL POSITION: Junior Eric Pohlkamp leads all NCAA defensemen and ranks tied for eighth among all skaters in the country with 16 goals this season.  He is also first among players at his position in total scoring with 27 points.
 
Pohlkamp moved from 10th place to a tie for fourth for the most goals by blueliner in a single season in program history last weekend.  It is the most goals by a blueliner since Craig Redmond and Jim Leavins also each tallied 16 times in 1982-83; Ross Woodley scored 16 goals as well in 1971-72.  Mike Busniuk's 18 markers in 1973-74 is currently next on the list for Pohlkamp to chase in third place.
 
The Baxter, Minn., native is looking to become the first defenseman to score 20 goals in a season with 2002-03 when Colorado College's Tom Preissing tallied 23. Pohlkamp leads the Pioneers in goals, points, power-play goals (4-tied), game-winning goals (3) and shots (125), ranks second in power-play points (4g/4a-tied) and game-winning goals (2-tied) and third in plus/minus rating (+12-tied).
 
His previous career high for goals was 11, which he accomplished each of the past two seasons as a sophomore at Denver in 2023-24 and as a freshman at Bemidji State in 2022-23.
 
OFFENSIVE DEFENDERS: Denver defensemen scored four goals in last weekend's series vs. St. Cloud State.  The team has received 35.1 percent of its goals this season from D-men (33-of-95), including 30 combined from three Pioneers in Eric Pohlkamp (16), Boston Buckberger (8) and Eric Jamieson (6).
 
The Pioneers are the only program in the country with three rear guards with six or more goals, and only five other programs have multiple blueliners with five or more tallies: Air Force (3), Clarkson (2), Minnesota Duluth (2), Notre Dame (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 16 goals and 27 points this season, while Buckberger is tied for fourth at his position in both tallies and points (23).  Jamieson is tied for second among rookie blueliners in goals.
 
NATIONAL LEADERBOARD

• Eric Pohlkamp leads all NCAA D-men and ranks tied for eighth overall among all skaters in goals (16).  His 27 points are first among defensemen in the nation, while his 125 shots lead all NCAA players.
• Boston Buckberger is fourth in both goals (8) and points (23-tied) and tied for eighth in assists (15) among defensemen.
• Eric Jamieson is tied for eighth among all college D-men in goals (6).
• Quentin Miller is tied for fourth in shutouts (3).

HISTORY VS. MINNESOTA DULUTH: Denver holds the all-time series lead of 137-90-13 over Minnesota Duluth, including a record of 81-40-5 at home in Denver.  This will be the first and only time this season the teams will meet after also playing just twice last year; the squads have only played one regular-season series each of the past three campaigns.  The teams split their set in Duluth last time on Jan. 24-25, 2025; UMD took the series opener 4-3, and Denver took away the sweep the following day with a 2-1 win. The Pioneers have won nine of the last 11 matchup and have a record of 111-78-11 in conference regular-season games.  Minnesota Duluth is making its first trip to Denver since the NCHC Quarterfinals on March 15-16, 2024, where DU won 4-0 and 5-2 to sweep the best-of-three series. The Pioneers conquered the Bulldogs in the 2017 National Championship Game in Chicago. Denver defeated Minnesota Duluth in the National Tournament in both of its 2004 (Semifinals) and 2022 (Regional Final) title runs.
 
PREVIOUS MEETING (JAN. 25, 2025): The No. 5 Denver Pioneers hockey team held off the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs to win 2-1 at Amsoil Arena in Duluth on Saturday in the final meeting of the regular season between the NCHC foes.  Senior captain Carter King and Samu Salminen scored for the Pioneers, and junior defenseman Eric Pohlkamp recorded two assists for a multi-point night. Forwards Sam Harris and Jack Devine also had a helper apiece.  Denver goaltender Matt Davis stopped 29-of-30 shots faced, as the only puck to get past him was on a deflection by Duluth's Owen Gallatin with traffic in front with 4:27 left in the second period.  The Pioneers led 1-0 after the first period and had a 2-0 lead before UMD got on the scoreboard. Salminen gathered a rebound and tallied on a backhand shot with 44 seconds remaining in the opening frame, and King took passes from Devine and Pohlkamp to score on a breakaway 3:09 into the second stanza.  Minnesota Duluth goaltender Klayton Knapp finished with 28 saves in the loss, one night after he stopped a career-high 42 shots in a 4-3 win over the Pios on Friday. Both teams finished with 30 shots on goal.  Denver held UMD scoreless on three power-play opportunities but couldn't convert on its only chance, which came with 8:30 left in the third period.
 
CONNECTIONS: Denver Athletic Director Josh Berlo served nine seasons in the same role with Minnesota Duluth (2013-2022) … Kyle Chyzowski's father, Barry, played at Minnesota Duluth from 1986-1988 before turning pro … 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. … McMorrow and Ethan Dahlmeir are both from Lakeville, Minn. … Rieger Lorenz (No. 56 overall) is a 2022 NHL Draft pick of the Minnesota Wild … Epperson and McMorrow played two seasons together with Max Plante at the U.S. National Team Development Program from 2022-2024 … McMorrow was teammates with both Max Plante and Adam Kleber on Team USA at the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship …. Both Kleber and Plante won gold medals with the Americans at the 2025 World Juniors that was coached by DU's David Carle … Pohlkamp played on the U.S. Collegiate Selects Team at the Spengler Cup in December 2025 with Zam Plante and Adam Gajan … Fisher skated with Harper Bentz and Zam Plante with the USHL Fargo Force in 2023-24, winning a Clark Cup championship that season … Hunter Anderson was at Shattuck-St. Mary's at the same time as Harris (2020-21) and Epperson (2020-2022), and he also played with Paxton Geisel with the USHL Muskegon Lumberjacks in fall 2023 and with Reid Varkonyi on the USHL Sioux Falls Stampede in fall 2024 … McMorrow and Ryan Zaremba were teammates during the 2024-25 season with the USHL Waterloo Blackhawks … DU's Garrett Brown played alongside Aaron Pionk in Waterloo to conclude the 2022-23 campaign … UMD's Ty Hanson played on the USHL Sioux City Musketeers with Brown in 2022-23 and with Burrows in 2023-24 … Boston Buckberger and Adam Kleber were teammates on the USHL Lincoln Stars in 2022-23 … Lorenz played with Riley Bodnarchuk on the AJHL Okotoks Oilers in 2021-22.
 
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS: Minnesota Duluth (8-5-0 NCHC, 17-9-0 overall) stands in fourth in the NCHC standings with 25 points, three points behind third-place Western Michigan.  The Bulldogs were swept last weekend on home ice against WMU, with both games ending with a final score of 4-3.  Seven different Bulldogs earned two points in the series, and Blake Bechen had four blocked shots on the weekend. Offensively, Western Michigan has the nationally top-ranked power-play percentage (32.6) and the most team power-play goals (30). On the defense side, the Bulldogs' penalty kill (87.1%) is ranked seventh in the NCAA and first in the NCHC. The Bulldogs are ranked No. 7 and 8 in the two national polls but are presently sixth in the NPI rankings. UMD's Max Plante leads the nation with 20 goals (tied) and 40 points, averaging 1.5 points per game.  He also ranks second in game-winning goals (five) and third in power-play goals (eight) in the NCAA.  Sophomore Jayson Shaugabay leads the nation with 26 assists, averaging one per game. Max's older brother, Zam Plante, has been dominating in the faceoff circle is ranked seventh in the nation with 280 draw wins. Zam Plante (11g/24a) is tied with Shaugabay (9g/26a) for second on the team in scoring with 35 points. Goaltender Adam Gajan has started 24-of-26 games in the net for the Bulldogs. The sophomore stands with a goals-against average of 2.27, a save percentage of .905, two shutouts and an overall record of 15-9-0.
 
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 had 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.
 
BUCK GOES WILD: Defenseman Boston Buckberger has registered 12 points in the past 13 contests (5g/7a) and recorded points in 14 of the last 20 games dating back to Nov. 1 (8g/12a).
 
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.
 
POWERING UP THE PP: Denver has scored a power-play goal in seven of the past nine 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 8-for-32 on the power play in its last seven outings, scoring at a 25-percent clip. DU also has 11 power-play goals in the 13 contests going back to Nov. 29 vs. Minnesota, posting a 24.4-percent success rate (11-for-45).
 
PIONEERS IN THE POLLS: Denver ranks No. 11 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. 13 in the NPI rankings that will determine this year's NCAA Tournament field.
 
The NCHC leads all conferences with five teams ranked, while the Big Ten, CCHA and Hockey East all have four teams in the polls.  Joining DU in the rankings from the conference are Western Michigan (3/3), North Dakota (4/4) and Minnesota Duluth (7/8), while St. Cloud State entered the lists for the first time this season (20/19).  Arizona State, Colorado College and Miami all received votes in the USCHO.com ranking, while ASU and Miami also earned nods in the USA Hockey poll.
 
IT'S MILLER TIME: Goaltender Quentin Miller has started 24 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.
 
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 Bobby Brink (2022) were Hobey Hat Trick Finalists from Denver over the past five years.
 
MILLER NAMED TO RICHTER WATCH LIST: Freshman Quentin Miller has been named 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.


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