DENVER – The No. 11 Denver Pioneers hockey team secured a 4-3 win over the No. 7 Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs on Friday night at Magness Arena. 
 
"Proud of the guys," said DU Richard and Kitzia Goodman Hockey Head Coach David Carle. "Obviously, the game was not short on adversity in many different ways. And again, just proud of the guys and how they buckled down, blocking shots, playing the right way, and I thought we got rewarded with the right result tonight."
 
Denver (15-11-2, 11-6-0 NCHC) and UMD (17-10-0, 8-9-0 NCHC) conclude their weekend and season series on Saturday at 6 p.m. MT. The game will be broadcast on NCHC.tv. Limited tickets are still available.  
 
Freshman goaltender Johnny Hicks made his first career start for DU and stopped 29-of-30 shots placed on net. Junior Paxton Geisel stepped in with 9:23 left in the third period and made three saves after Hicks left the contest with a lower-body injury.
 
Sophomore forward Jake Fisher registered two assists for his second multi-point game this season and first since Oct. 11 against Bentley (1g/1a).
 
Bulldogs netminder Adam Gajan stopped 18-of-22 pucks shot his way in the loss.
 
Junior forward Sam Harris began the Pioneers' goal frenzy with 50 seconds left in the first period; rookie forwards Clarke Caswell and Kristian Epperson registered the helpers. 
 
DU scored three goals within a span of 15 minutes in the middle frame. Freshmen forwards Reid Varkonyi and Kyle Chyzowski each tallied, and junior defenseman Cale Ashcroft registered a key marker at 18:52 in what ended up being the game-winner.
 
Minnesota Duluth piled on three goals in the final stanza, including two on the power play from Kyle Gaffney and Daniel Shlaine. Ty Hanson made it a one-score contest with 5:52 left in regulation, but Denver's defense held strong in the final minutes to preserve the win.
 
The Bulldogs outshot the Pioneers 19-4 in the third frame and finished with a 35-22 edge overall in the category.
 
UMD went 2-for-5 on the power play, which included a five-minute major that began at the end of the second period. DU finished 0-for-3 with the man advantage.
 
UP NEXT: The Pioneers wrap up their weekend series against the UMD Bulldogs and four-game homestand on Saturday at 6 p.m. MT in a game that will be broadcast on NCHC.tv. DU wraps up the Gold Pan series against Colorado College next weekend with a home-and-home set on Feb. 6-7, with the Pios hosting the Tigers on the Saturday night at 7 p.m. MT.
 
 
POSTGAME NOTES

• The Pios are 6-1-0 in their last seven games against UMD and 10-2-0 in the past 12 matchups.
• DU improved to 82-40-5 on home ice in the all-time series vs. Duluth.
• Denver and Minnesota Duluth were facing off for the first time with both teams ranked since the then-No.3 ranked Pios beat the No. 6 Bulldogs in the 2022 NCAA West Regional Final in Loveland, Colorado.
• Duluth was visiting Magness Arena for the first time since March 15-16, 2024 in the NCHC Playoffs when Denver swept the best-of-three quarterfinal series. 
• The Pioneers (33) extended their lead over the Bulldogs (25) in the NCHC standings and are now eight points up.
• Freshman goaltender Johnny Hicks made his first career start and recorded a 100:33 shutout streak across three games that began on Nov. 16 at North Dakota.
• Hicks became the third Denver goalie to start a game this season, joining Quentin Miller and Paxton Geisel.
• Geisel played his first game since Oct. 17 at Lindenwood.
• Jake Fisher had his first two-assist game and the fifth multi-point outing of his career.
• Cale Ashcroft (1g/2a) and Kyle Chyzowski (2g/1a) are both on three-game point streaks.
• Kristian Epperson has six points (2g/4a) in his past six games.
• Cale Ashcroft and Reid Varkonyi both scored their second goals of the season, with Ashcroft netting his first game-winning tally of the season and fourth of his career.
• Junior defenseman Garrett Brown returned to the Pios' lineup after missing three contests due to an upper-body injury. 
• Goaltender Quentin Miller missed his first game of the season with a lower-body injury. He is listed as week-to-week and had his streak of making 24 consecutive starts come to an end. It was the longest streak by a DU goalie since Matt Davis started in the final 26 contests during the championship-winning campaign in 2023-24.
• Denver killed off 11 straight penalties across five games dating back to Jan. 16 at North Dakota before UMD scored on the power play early in the third period.

 
GOAL SUMMARY
1st Period
19:10 DU (1-0) – Clarke Caswell took a bouncing puck in the neutral zone and skated down the left side where he found Sam Harris in the slot with a pass, and Harris hit the back of the cage with a wrister.
 
2nd Period
4:16 DU (2-0) – Reid Varkonyi redirected Eric Jamieson's shot from the point while stationed at the top of the crease.
13:04 DU (3-0) – Kyle Chzylowski went far-side with a wrister while all alone in the slot after taking a feed from Samu Salminen.
18:52 DU (4-0) – Cale Ashcroft tallied netted a goal from wrist shot in the slot after taking a feed from Hagen Burrows.
 
3rd Period
4:02 UMD (4-1) – PPG, Kyle Gaffney scored in front off a rebound during a major power play.
11:55 UMD (4-2) – PPG, Daniell Shlaine tallied with a wrister from the right circle.
14:08 UMD (4-3) – Ty Hanson scored from the left point.
 
 
QUOTABLES
Richard and Kitzia Goodman Hockey Head Coach David Carle
On the win: "We got contributions—all four lines scored tonight. Really happy and proud of the work everyone put in this week in practice. It's our first Friday win of the year in 2026 so it feels really good.
 
On the physicality of the game leading to offense: "It took everybody tonight—all of our goaltenders obviously, all seven D [men], and 12 forwards that were dressed. Hopefully a big confidence boost for our guys. It's what it takes this time of year. We've obviously been short-manned here a little bit at times. The guys aren't giving up and not giving up on each other, which is the most important thing."
 
Junior Defenseman Cale Ashcroft
On finding offense in the game: "There's been sometimes when I think we've been a little unlucky at times. You know, can't get down on it, just have to keep sticking with it."
 
On the team battling through injuries: "It's tough when guys are going down, especially big guys like Garrett Brown. So it's good that he's back. He's been good, so it's just sticking together as a team and battling it together."
 
On his goal: "It's exciting. It's nice when you can contribute offensively - especially as a D-man. It ended up being a big goal, especially with the push at the end (by UMD)."
 
On tomorrow's series finale: "We can't take our foot off the pedal at all. They made a good push, so we just have to stick with it at all times like we did. Just keep pushing."
 
Sophomore Forward Jake Fisher
On his two assists in the second period: "It obviously was a big second period for us. I think we really homed in on our details and, you know, stopping and starting. Starting with the D-zone that led to a lot of our O-zone pressure."
 
On battling in the third period with a new goaltender: "I think it's just bench energy. You know, obviously unfortunate that Hicks went down. He was having a great game, but you know, I think we rallied for Paxton [Geisel] and tried to get it done for him."
 
On the series finale on Saturday: "We're feeling great. You know, obviously a Friday win is really big for us. We just [have to] wear them down and get momentum going into Saturday. Obviously, tonight was big for us, but we have to keep it going for tomorrow."


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