---

 
ROLL PIOS: Denver is 10-0-1 in its last 11 games since Jan. 24 vs. St. Cloud State and its current unbeaten streak is the team's longest since beginning the 2024-25 campaign with wins in each of its first 12 contests (Oct. 5-Nov. 16, 2024).
 
The Pioneers have also won seven straight games and eight in a row on home ice, both their longest such stretches of the campaign. Denver's current eight-game home win streak is its longest since the team also won eight in a row at Magness Arena from Oct. 8-Dec. 31, 2021.
 
Earlier this season, the Pioneers went 12 straight games without losing in regulation from Oct. 31-Dec. 12, going 9-3-0 in that stretch that included sweeps at defending national champion Western Michigan (Nov. 7-8), against rival Colorado College (Nov. 14-15) and at home versus Miami (Dec. 5-6).
 
HERE'S JOHNNY!: Freshman Johnny Hicks is unbeaten in his first 11 career decisions at 10-0-1, and he has started each of the last 10 games since Quentin Miller suffered a lower-body injury on Jan. 24 vs. St. Cloud State.  Hicks' 11-game unbeaten streak to begin his collegiate career is believed to be the longest such stretch by a DU goaltender since at least the start of the 2002-03 season (online databases presently don't go back any further).
 
He stopped 34-of-35 total shots in the quarterfinal series against Miami last week, including posting his second career individual shutout in Game 1 with 23 saves.  Hicks went on a career-long 117:36 shutout streak across three games from Feb. 28 until early in the first period on Saturday in what was longest perfect stretch of the season by a Pioneer keeper, besting the previous high of Quentin Miller from Oct. 10-24 by 19 seconds (117:17).
 
Hicks earned his first NCHC Goaltender of the Week award and his second weekly honor of the season on Feb. 17 after stopping 57-of-60 shots in the series at Omaha, including a career-high 31 saves in the opener.  He was named the conference's Rookie of the Week on Feb. 3 after making 48-of-49 saves in a sweep of Minnesota Duluth, which included making his first career start on Jan. 30.
 
The Kamloops, British Columbia, native owns a 1.04 goals-against average and .960 save percentage in 15 games and 10 starts this season.  He has allowed one goal or fewer in eight of the 11 games during his current unbeaten streak.
 
RIEGER RISING: Forward Rieger Lorenz is on a career-long, nine-game point streak, tying Sam Harris' run from Nov. 8-12 (5g/5a) for the longest of the season by a Denver player. Lorenz has recorded six goals and six assists during this stretch that began on Jan. 31 versus Minnesota Duluth.
 
Lorenz also posted a personal best by scoring in five straight games from Jan. 30-Feb. 14 for the longest goal scoring streak by a DU skater since Miko Matikka netted a marker in six consecutive contests from Nov. 4-24, 2023 (6g/1a).  The Calgary, Alberta, native's previous best goal streak was three in row as a sophomore from Nov. 11-19, 2023 (4g/0a), and the previous long for the season by a Pioneer was defenseman Eric Pohlkamp's four-game run from Nov. 1-14 (4g/2a).
 
Denver's senior alternate captain has suited up in 163 career games, tied for seventh-most in program history with Mike Markovich (1988-1993).  He is one contest away from moving into a tie for fourth on DU's all-time list with Gabe Gauthier (2002-2006), Rod Summers (1986-1990) and Scott Mathias (1985-1989).
 
STREAKING

• Rieger Lorenz is on a career-long nine-game point streak (6g/6a).
• Sam Harris is on a seven-game assist/point streak (3g/7a), with the assist streak being the longest of his career and the longest of the season by a DU player.
• Clarke Caswell is on four-game point streak (1g/3a).

IN POHL POSITION: Junior Eric Pohlkamp leads all NCAA defensemen and ranks tied for 27th among all skaters in the country with 17 goals this season.  He is also first among players at his position in total scoring with 36 points.
 
Pohlkamp took over sole possession of fourth place in Denver history for the most goals by a blueliner in a single season with his most recent tally, and his 17th markers are the most by a DU D-man since Greg Woods tallied 19 times as a freshman in 1975-76.  He is one goal away from moving into a tie with Mike Busniuk (18, 1973-74) for third place.
 
NOTABLES

• Denver improved to 8-0 all-time in Game 2s in the NCHC Quarterfinals when taking a 1-0 lead in a best-of-three series.
• DU is now 7-1-0 all-time against Miami in the conference postseason and has won nine straight contests overall in the series since Feb. 24, 2024.  The Pios are also unbeaten in their last 23 games (22-0-1) against Miami and are 18-0-1 versus MU at home since February 2019.
• Denver posted its seventh shutout of the season on Friday night, tying Union College for the most in the NCAA this season.
• Denver and Miami each took one penalty (2 PIM each) on Friday in Game 1, marking the fewest PIM in a game by the Pioneers, their opponent and combined between the two teams (4 PIM) this season.
• Denver scored two empty-net goals in a game for the first time this year on Friday.
• Sophomore Hagen Burrows scored his first career game-winning goal in Saturday's series-clinching contest, while freshman Clarke Caswell netted his third game-winner of the season on Friday in Game 1.
• Denver's four goals in the second period on Saturday were tied for its most in a period this season, as the team also tallied four times in the third period on both Oct. 11 vs. Bentley and Nov. 29 vs. Minnesota.
• The Pioneers held the RedHawks to just two shots on goal in last Saturday's first period, tied for the fewest by an opponent this season; Northeastern also had two shots in the opening frame on Oct. 25.
• Johnny Hicks' 11 saves on Saturday were the fewest by a winning Denver goalie this season.
• James Reeder recorded his 50th career point with a goal on Saturday.
• Jake Fisher registered his fourth multi-point game of the season and seventh of his career on Saturday, while Kyle Chyzowski picked up multiple points for the fourth time this year in the contest.

AWARD SEASON: Three Pioneers are up for three NCHC end-of-season awards, with Eric Pohlkamp a finalist for both the conference's Player of the Year and Offensive Defenseman of the Year.  Additionally, Kent Anderson is up for the Senior Scholar-Athlete Award and David Carle is a contender for Coach of the Year.
 
Pohlkamp and fellow junior defenseman Boston Buckberger earn All-Conference honors as Pohlkamp was named to the All-NCHC First Team and Buckberger earned third-team accolades. This is Pohlkamp's second time on the NCHC list after being on the third time in 2024-25 and his third overall on a conference squad as he being named All-CCHA as a freshman in 2023-24 at Bemidji State.
 
A third DU blueliner was also honored as freshman Eric Jamieson was named to the NCHC's All-Rookie Team, becoming the first Pioneer defenseman to be named to the squad since Zeev Buium in 2024.
 
Additionally, Buckberger was named to the inaugural NCHC Academic All-Conference Team, a new league honor where the upperclassman player with the highest cumulative grade-point average on each of the nine teams is recognized.
 
HOME COOKING: The Pioneers have won eight straight games on home ice, their longest such stretch of the season and their longest since also winning eight in a row at Magness Arena from Oct. 8-Dec. 31, 2021. The last time DU won nine consecutive home games in a single season was Jan. 6-March 11, 2017.
 
Overall, Denver has played 13 of its 18 games since the New Year in its friendly confines, including 11 of the final 16 contests of the regular season.  The Pios played eight-of-10 outings in January at Magness, with a pair of season-long, four-game homestands on Jan. 2-10 and Jan. 23-31.  Denver also had a stretch of six-straight outings in the state of Colorado from Jan. 23-Feb. 7.
 
The Pioneers had 12 of their first 19 contests of the season on the road, including 10-of-14 to start the campaign.  Their only away contests in the 2026 calendar year have been flights to North Dakota on Jan. 16-17 and Omaha on Feb. 13-14 and a bus trip to Colorado College on Feb. 6.
 
PIONEERS IN THE NCHC FROZEN FACEOFF TOURNAMENT: Denver has reached the semifinals of the NCHC Tournament for the 12th time in program history and is the only program to reach the conference's final four in every held tournament.  The Pioneers sport a 33-11-1 overall record in the Frozen Faceoff, sporting a 23-3 mark in the quarterfinal round, 4-7 in the semifinals and 3-1 in the championship game (also 3-0-1 in third place games, when that was a thing).
 
The last time Denver hosted a conference semifinal matchup on campus was March 7-8, 1986 when it took on Minnesota Duluth in a two-game series at the old DU Arena. The Pioneers won on goal aggregate with an 8-2 victory and 5-5 tie to advance to the title series, where they eventually beat Minnesota 3-0 and 3-2 in another two-game set.
 
The Pios are playing their first single elimination game at DU since the 1970 WCHA Final vs. Wisconsin (3-2 loss) and own a 9-3 all-time record in single-elimination postseason contests on home ice, including a 6-2 mark in the conference tournament (3-1 in NCAA).
 
DU is coming off its eighth two-game series sweep in the quarterfinal round defeating Miami in two games last weekend, marking the third time in the tournament that the program has swept the RedHawks (also 2022 and 2023).  The Pios have also swept Minnesota Duluth twice (2015, 2024), Colorado College (2017), Omaha (2016) and North Dakota (2019), and the squad had won 11 straight quarterfinal games before its loss in Game 1 to Colorado College in 2025. 
 
Denver has won three NCHC Frozen Faceoff titles and has 18 overall conference tournament championships (15 with WCHA).  The Pioneers have played in the NCHC Frozen Faceoff Championship Game in each of the last two seasons, winning in 2024 against Omaha and falling in double-overtime to Western Michigan in 2025.  DU also won the inaugural NCHC tournament in 2014 over Miami at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn., and in 2018 vs. St. Cloud State at the first iteration of the event at the then-Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.
 
FACING WMU IN THE NCHC TOURNAMENT: Denver and Western Michigan are meeting in the Frozen Faceoff Tournament for the second straight year after the teams played a double-overtime thriller in last year's championship game at then-Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, with the Broncos winning 4-3 to take the conference title.
 
Overall, the teams have faced off three times previously in the Frozen Faceoff, with the Pioneers owning a 2-1 record in those matchups.  The squads' first meeting came in the semifinal round of the first NCHC Tournament on March 21, 2014, where Ty Loney tallied the game-winner with 4:53 left in regulation to secure Denver a 4-3 victory and send them to the final.  The Pios went on to win the inaugural tournament and advance to the NCAA Tournament in Jim Montgomery's first year as head coach.
 
The Pioneers also won a Third Place Game at Target Center in Minneapolis by a 3-1 score on March 18, 2017.
 
HISTORY VS. WMU: Denver and Western Michigan split their four-game regular-season series, with both teams winning their two contests on the road.  DU earned a sweep at Lawson Arena in Kalamazoo on Nov. 7-8 with wins of 3-1 and 6-3. The Broncos responded by beating the Pioneers at Magness Arena by scores of 4-1 and 6-2 on Jan. 9-10. DU and WMU will be meeting in the NCHC Frozen Faceoff for the second consecutive season after the Broncos won 3-2 in the conference championship game last year in St. Paul, Minn.  Denver has a 2-1-0 mark vs. Western in the NCHC Playoffs. The Pios own a 12-8-1 record in the past 21 matchups and lead the all-time series at 29-18-2, with the squads first facing off on Nov. 26-27, 1982.  DU has a 14-5-1 overall record against WMU on home ice and is 11-11-0 in Kalamazoo.
 
PREVIOUS MEETING (JAN. 10, 2026): The No. 7 Denver Pioneers hockey team lost 6-2 to the No. 6 Western Michigan Broncos in the series finale on Saturday night at Magness Arena.  DU and WMU finished their regular season series at 2-2-0, with both teams winning each game on the road.  The Pioneers swept the Broncos in Kalamazoo on Nov. 7-8.  Five different Pioneers recorded at least a point in Saturday's contest, with sophomore forward James Reeder picking up a multi-point game with a goal and an assist.  Senior forward Rieger Lorenz was the other DU scorer that added to the scoreboard with a power-play goal in the second period.  Juniors Sam Harris and Eric Pohlkamp and freshman Kristian Epperson registered an assist each in the outing.  Broncos goaltender Hampton Slukynsky stopped 35 shots in the win.  Denver outshot the Western Michigan 37-30 overall, including by a 14-9 margin in the first frame and 15-10 in the final period. Four different Western Michigan skaters had multi-point performances in Owen Michaels (2g/1a), William Whitelaw (2g/1a), Ty Henricks (1g/2a) and Theo Wallberg (0g/2a).  Pioneers freshman netminder Quentin Miller made his 20th straight start and stopped 11 shots in 31:46 of play.  Fellow rookie Johnny Hicks entered in relief in the second period and denied all 13 pucks that were sent his way for the remainder of the game.
 
CONNECTIONS: Equipment Manager Nick Meldrum is from Warren, Mich., graduated from Lake Superior State in Sault Ste. Marie in 2007 and spent two years with the U.S. NTDP when it was in Ann Arbor prior to coming to DU … Kristian Epperson and Brendan McMorrow both played at the U.S. National Team Development Program in Plymouth, Mich., from 2022-2024 … Denver's Kent Anderson, Eric Jamieson and Rieger Lorenz and Western's Sam Huck are all from Calgary, Alberta … Huck previously played with Brendan McMorrow with the USHL Waterloo Black Hawks in 2024-25 and with Rieger Lorenz with the AJHL Okotoks Oilers in 2021-22 … Paxton Geisel began the 2023-24 season with the USHL Muskegon Lumberjacks and was a teammate that year with WMU's Ty Henricks ... Geisel was also teammates on the USHL Dubuque Fighting Saints with Samuel Sjolund in 2021-22 and with Owen Michaels in 2022-23 … James Reeder played with Joona Vaisanen at Dubuque in 2023-24 … Jake Fisher won the USHL Clark Cup championship with Iiro Hakkarainen and Hampton Slukynsky on the Fargo Force in 2023-24 … Eric Jamieson and Tyler MacKenzie were teammates last season with the WHL Everett Silvertips … Garrett Brown played with Zach Bade on the USHL Waterloo Black Hawks at the end of the 2022-23 season … Boston Buckberger was a teammate of Cole Crusberg-Roseen with the USHL Lincoln Stars in 2022-23 … Zach Sharp skated with Sam Harris with the USHL Sioux Falls Stampede to begin 2022-23 before finishing the campaign with Cedar Rapids RoughRiders and was a teammate there with Eric Pohlkamp … Hampton Slukynsky won the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship gold medal on Team USA with David Carle serving as head coach … DU's Samu Salminen (Helsinki) and WMU's Iiro Hakkarainen (Espoo) and Joona Vaisanen (Kirkkonummi) are all from Finland … Sam Harris (San Diego) and Ty Henricks (Mission Viejo) are both from Southern California, while James Reeder (Glenview) and Owen Michaels (Naperville) are from the Chicagoland area … Zaccharya Wisdom played the previous two seasons in Colorado at Colorado College.
 
SCOUTING THE BRONCOS: Western Michigan is the reigning national champions and also won last year's Frozen Faceoff.  The Broncos have a 26-9-1 overall this season and advanced to the semifinals after defeating Colorado College 5-2 on Friday in Game 1 and pulling out a 2-1 OT win on Saturday in Game 2 at Lawson Arena.  WMU went 16-7-1 in NCHC play during the regular season and finished third in the conference standings with 48 points, four fewer than Denver (52).  The Broncos closed the regular season with a 5-1-1 mark in its final seven contests and split on the road at No. 3 North Dakota in the regular-season finale series on Feb. 27-28, losing 5-3 and winning 4-3.  Grant Slukynsky leads WMU in scoring with 40 points (10g/30a) and is also first on the squad with 30 assists. Liam Valente scored the OT-winning goal on Saturday against CC and paces the team with 20 tallies and has also added 15 assists to rank second on the squad with 35 points.  William Whitelaw (19g/15a) is third on the team in scoring with 34 points.  Goaltender Hampton Sluknysky, Grant's brother, has started all 36 games this season for the Broncos in net and has registered a 26-9-1 record, 2.27 goals-against average, .915 save percentage and four shutouts.
 
NATIONAL LEADERBOARD

• Eric Pohlkamp leads all NCAA defensemen in both goals (17) and points (36) while pacing all players in the nation with 160 shots on goal.
• Boston Buckberger is tied for eighth in goals (8) and 12th in points (26) among all defensemen.
• Eric Jamieson is tied for 13th among all college D-men in goals and second among rookie D-men in markers (7).
• Quentin Miller is tied for 12th in shutouts (3).

PIONEERS IN THE POLLS: Denver ranks No. 6 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. 6 in the NPI computer rankings that will determine this year's NCAA Tournament field.
 
The NCHC, Big Ten, CCHA, ECAC and Hockey East all have four teams ranked, and the NCHC and Big Ten both have all four of their squads ranked in the top 10 of the USCHO.com poll.  Joining DU in the rankings from the NCHC are North Dakota (2/2), Western Michigan (4/4), Minnesota Duluth (8/8).  Miami earned votes in the USCHO.com poll.
 
OFFENSIVE DEFENDERS: Denver has received 28.2 percent of its goals this season from D-men (37-of-131), including 32 combined tallies from three Pioneers in Eric Pohlkamp (17), Boston Buckberger (8) and Eric Jamieson (7).
 
DU, Air Force and Clarkson are the only programs in the country with three rear guards with six or more goals and are among six squads in the nation to have multiple blueliners reach that goals threshold (also Colgate, Colorado College, St. Thomas).
 
Pohlkamp's 17 goals and 36 points this season lead all NCAA defenders in each category, while Buckberger is tied for eighth at his position in tallies and tied for 10th in points (26).  Jamieson is tied for second among rookie blueliners in goals (Penn State's Jackson Smith, 11).
 
TRENDS: Denver is…

• 16-1-0 when scoring four or more goals and 21-5-1 when tallying three or more times.
• 20-1-2 when holding opponents to two or fewer goals and is 23-3-3 when the opposition tallies three or less.
• 16-3-0 when scoring first.
• 13-1-0 when leading after the first period and 17-1-0 when leading after the second.
• 9-3-2 when the opponent has more shots on net.

TENZER STREAK EXTENDED: Denver extended its "Tenzer" Streak of winning 20 or more games in a season to 24 consecutive seasons with its win on Feb. 27 vs. Arizona State.  It is the longest active stretch in the country that dates back to 2001-02.
 
The streak 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.
 
NCHC HONOR ROLL: The Pioneers had all 15 of their returning players be named to this year's NCHC Honor Roll.  Players must have compiled a 3.0 cumulative grade-point average while having completed at least one full academic year at their institution to be eligible for the Honor Roll, previously called the Academic All-Conference Team.
 
Kent Anderson, Cale Ashcroft, Garrett Brown, Boston Buckberger, Hagen Burrows, Kieran Cebrian, Jake Fisher, Paxton Geisel, Sam Harris, Rieger Lorenz, Tory Pitner, Eric Pohlkamp, James Reeder, Samu Salminen and Alec Whipple were all named to this year's Honor Roll, with DU's 15 players tied for the second-most among all conference teams.
 
Denver did lead all NCHC squads with 13 players being recognized as NCHC Distinguished Scholar-Athletes for posting a GPA of 3.5 or higher. Anderson, Ashcroft, Buckberger, Burrows, Cebrian, Fisher, Geisel, Harris, Lorenz, Pitner, Pohlkamp, Reeder and Whipple were named Distinguished Scholar-Athletes, with seniors Anderson and Lorenz picking up the accolade all four years of their college careers.
 
Freshmen and first-year players with their squads will be added to both lists over the summer once they complete a full academic year. DU has a 10-member freshman class, and the team combined for a 3.72 GPA during the fall 2025 academic quarter. 

TICKETS: Tickets for DU hockey quarterfinal series are available. Click here for more information.