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LAST TIME OUT: Defenseman Boston Buckberger scored a 6-on-4 goal late in the third period to tie the game, and senior Samu Salminen tallied the game-winner off a redirection at 5:48 of overtime to send No. 2-seed Denver to a 2-1 win over No. 3-seed Western Michigan.
 
The Broncos outshot the Pioneers 39-32 overall and Garrett Szydlowski netted the game-opening marker on a tip-in with 6:41 left in the third period.  DU evened the score less than three minutes later as Buckberger scored with a slap shot from the high slot during a power play and while goalie Johnny Hicks was on the bench for an extra attacker.
 
Hicks made a career-high 38 saves while WMU's Hampton Slukynsky finished with 30 saves. Sophomore forward James Reeder earned assists on both of Denver's goals.
 
ROLL PIOS: Denver is unbeaten in its last 12 games with an 11-0-1 record since Jan. 24 vs. St. Cloud State.  The Pios' current run is tied for the eighth-longest unbeaten streak in program history and the longest since DU won each of its first 12 games to start the 2024-25 campaign.
 
This is also the second time this season that Denver has gone 12 straight contests without losing in regulation as it also did it 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).
 
The Pioneers eight-game overall win streak and nine straight on home ice are both their longest stretches of the campaign. Denver's current nine-game home win streak is its longest since the team also won nine in a row at Magness Arena from Jan. 6-March 11, 2017.
 
NOTABLES

• Denver improved to 5-7 all-time in the NCHC semifinals and advanced to the league championship game for the third straight season.
• DU recorded its ninth comeback victory of the season and scored with the goaltender pulled for the fifth time this season.  Boston Buckberger netted his third extra-attacker goal of the season and second vs. WMU (Nov. 29 vs. Minnesota, Jan. 9 vs. Western Michigan).
• The Pioneers and WMU Broncos were meeting in the NCHC Tournament for the fourth time in their history, with the Pios now owning a 3-1 mark in those contests.
• Junior forward Sam Harris had his career-high seven-game assist streak come to an end (3g/7a).
• The Pioneers have killed off 12 consecutive penalties dating back to Feb. 14 at Omaha (six games), which is one shy of matching their career long.
• Eric Pohlkamp blocked five shots (tied for the second most in a game in his career) and Boston Buckberger matched a career best with five blocks.
• Samu Salminen (10) and Boston Buckberger (9) both tied their single-season career highs in goals, while Rieger Lorenz recorded his 31st point of the campaign, a personal high.
• David Carle's 38 career wins in March are his most in a single month while his .711 winning percentage is his second-best mark behind only October (.779).
• DU was hosting a conference semifinal on campus for the first time since a two-game goal aggregate series against Minnesota Duluth on March 7-8, 1986 in the WCHA playoffs.
• The Pios were playing their first single-elimination playoff game at Magness Arena, as the last time the Denver hosted such a game on campus was the 1970 WCHA Final vs. Wisconsin at the old DU Arena. 
• Denver improved now 10-3 all-time in single-elimination postseason games on home ice and owns a 7-2 mark in the conference tournament. 

HERE'S JOHNNY!: Freshman Johnny Hicks is unbeaten in his first 12 career decisions at 11-0-1, and he has started each of the last 11 games since Quentin Miller suffered a lower-body injury on Jan. 24 vs. St. Cloud State.  Hicks' 12-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 posted career highs in the conference semifinal last Saturday against Western Michigan by making 38 saves on 39 shots faced. During the quarterfinal round, he recorded his second career individual shutout in Game 1 vs. Miami with 23 saves on March 6 and posted a career-best 117:36 shutout streak across three games from Feb. 28 to March 7.
 
Hicks earned two NCHC weekly honors this season, which included his first Goaltender of the Week award on Feb. 17 after stopping 57-of-60 shots in the series at Omaha.  He was selected as Rookie of the Week on Feb. 3 after making 48-of-49 saves in a sweep of Minnesota Duluth and making his first career start on Jan. 30.
 
The Kamloops, British Columbia, native owns a 1.03 goals-against average and .961 save percentage in 16 games and 11 starts this season.  He has allowed one goal or fewer in nine of the 12 games during his current unbeaten streak.
 
RIEGER RISING: Forward Rieger Lorenz is on a career-long, 10-game point streak, surpassing Sam Harris' nine-game run from Nov. 8-12 (5g/5a) for the longest of the season by a Denver player.  Lorenz has recorded six goals and seven 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 164 career games and is one game away from breaking a four-way tie and taking sole possession of fourth place on the program's all-time list.
 
AWARD SEASON: Denver had a player named NCHC Offensive Defenseman of the Year for the fourth straight season as Eric Pohlkamp picked up the 2026 honor after Zeev Buium was awarded the accolade in both 2024 and 2025 and Mike Benning in 2023.  Captain Kent Anderson was also recognized as the Senior Scholar-Athlete Award winner, the third time the Pios have earned the honor and the second in as many years after Matt Davis earned it in 2024 (also Gabe Levin, 2016).
 
Pohlkamp and fellow junior defenseman Boston Buckberger earned All-Conference accolades as Pohlkamp was named to the All-NCHC First Team and Buckberger was selected to the third team. This is Pohlkamp's second time on the NCHC list after being on the third team in 2024-25 and his third overall on a conference squad as he was named to the CCHA All-Rookie Team as a freshman in 2023-24 at Bemidji State.
 
A third DU blueliner was also honored by the league as freshman Eric Jamieson was chosen to the NCHC All-Rookie Team.
 
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.
 
The Pioneers were finalists for two other league honors as Pohlkamp was up for NCHC Player of the Year and Head Coach David Carle for Coach of the Year.
 
HOME COOKING: The Pioneers have won nine straight games on home ice, their longest such stretch of the season and their longest since also winning nine in a row at Magness Arena from Jan. 6-March 11, 2017.  The last time Denver won 10 games in a row in a single season was in 1967-68 when it won 19 straight from Dec. 8, 1967-March 9, 1968
 
Overall, Denver has played 14 of its 19 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 is in the NCHC Frozen Faceoff Championship Game for the third straight season and the fifth time overall.  The Pios own a 3-1 overall record in the title contest, with their lone loss coming last year in double-overtime to Western Michigan.  DU and Minnesota Duluth are tied for most Frozen Faceoff championships with three each
 
The Pioneers sport a 34-11-1 overall record in the NCHC Tournament, which includes a 23-3 mark in the quarterfinal round, 5-7 in the semifinals and 3-0-1 in third place games (when that was a thing).  Denver is the only program to reach the conference's final four in all 12-held tournament. 
 
Denver is set to host a conference championship matchup on campus for the first time since March 14-15, 1986 when it took on Minnesota in a two-game series at the old DU Arena. The Pioneers won on goal aggregate with 3-0 and 3-2 victories. 
 
The semifinal matchup vs. Western Michigan last Saturday marked the first time a conference semifinal was held at Magness Arena and the first time on campus since another two-game, goal-aggregate series vs. Minnesota Duluth on March 7-8, 1986 (8-2 win, 5-5 tie).  Last week's game vs. WMU also marked the Pios' first single-elimination game at DU since the 1970 WCHA Final vs. Wisconsin (3-2 loss); their last single-elimination win in a championship game came the previous year in 1969 when it beat Colorado College 3-1 in the WCHA tourney and went on to win that year's national title.
 
Denver owns a 10-3 all-time record in single-elimination postseason contests on home ice, including a 7-2 mark in the conference tournament (3-1 in NCAA).
 
Overall, the Pioneers have won 18 conference tournament championships: 15 in the WCHA and three in the NCHC.  Denver's last win came in 2024 against Omaha in St. Paul, Minn., at the then-Xcel Energy center.  DU also won the inaugural NCHC tournament in 2014 over Miami at Target Center in Minneapolis and in 2018 vs. St. Cloud State at the first iteration of the event in St. Paul.
 
FACING UMD IN THE NCHC TOURNAMENT: Denver is meeting Minnesota Duluth for the first time in the NCHC Frozen Faceoff Championship Game and for the fourth time in a semifinal/final matchup.  Denver is 5-2 all-time against UMD in the NCHC playoffs and is 1-2 in a semifinal/final game vs. the Bulldogs. 
 
The teams last met in the 2024 quarterfinals, with DU winning 4-0 and 5-2 to sweep the best-of-three series.  The Bulldogs won 2-0 in the 2022 semifinals in St. Paul, but the Pioneers got revenge a week later in the NCAA Regional Final en route to a national championship.  UMD also won the 2019 semifinal a year after DU won 3-1 in the 2018 NCHC final four.  The squads' first matchup in the NCHC Tournament was in 2015 when Denver swept a quarterfinal series with 4-3 and 4-0 wins.
 
DU and Duluth have played in one conference championship game in their history, with the Bulldogs winning 4-0 in the 2009 WCHA Final Five in St. Paul, Minnesota.
 
HISTORY VS. UMD: Denver leads the all-time series over Minnesota Duluth at 139-90-13 and has an 83-40-5 mark on home ice. The teams met in just one series this past year at DU, with the Pios holding off a Bulldog comeback to win 4-3 on Jan. 30 before winning their first-ever 1-0 overtime game on Jan. 31. Denver is 11-2-0 in the last 13 meetings against Duluth dating back to its 2-1 win in the 2022 NCAA West Regional Final in Loveland, Colorado. The Pioneers are 7-1-0 in the last eight matchups, which includes a two-game sweep in the 2024 NCHC Quarterfinals at Magness Arena. Denver is 5-2 all-time in the NCHC Frozen Faceoff against UMD. The Bulldogs beat DU in the league semifinals en route to the 2019 national championships, after the Pioneers conquered the Bulldogs two years prior in the 2017 National Championship Game in Chicago. Denver also defeated Minnesota Duluth in the National Tournament in its 2004 (Semifinals) title runs.
 
PREVIOUS MEETING (JAN. 31, 2026): Forward Rieger Lorenz scored 2:17 into overtime to lead the No. 11 Denver Pioneers hockey team to a 1-0 victory against the No. 7 Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs on Saturday night at Magness Arena.  Neither the Pioneers nor Bulldogs could get their first 49 shots into the back of the net before Lorenz's tap-in tally during 3-on-3 play.  Denver won 4-3 on Friday to earn its first weekend sweep of 2026 and fourth overall this season.  Freshman goaltender Johnny Hicks started his second game for the Pioneers and earned his first career shutout, denying all 19 shots that Duluth shot his way.  Hicks made 29 saves on Friday night before leaving in the third period with a lower-body injury.  Lorenz registered his first goal in overtime and his third game-winner of his career.  Junior defenseman Eric Pohlkamp stood at the faceoff dot and sent a tape-to-tape pass to the far-side of the crease for the senior alternate captain.  Junior forward Kieran Cebrian also had an assist on the goal and was strong in the circle by winning 60 percent of his faceoffs (12-of-20).  DU outshot UMD 31-19, including by a 14-4 margin in third period and overtime.  Bulldogs netminder Adam Gajan finished by stopping 30 shots.
 
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 has a 23-13-1 overall record this season and is 6-2-1 in its last nine games after dropping four in a row on Jan. 23-24 vs. Western Michigan and Jan. 30-31 at Denver.  The Bulldogs finished fourth in the conference standings during the regular season with 36 points and an 11-12-1 mark in league play. UMD blitzed No. 1-seed North Dakota early in the first period last Saturday and won 5-1 to advance to its first NCHC Championship game since 2022.  The Bulldogs swept in-state rival and No. 5-seed St. Cloud State in the quarterfinals with a pair of one-goal victories at 4-3 and 2-1.  UMD has one of the best special-team units in the NCAA as the program ranks second in the country in both power play (29.3%) and penalty kill (89.4).  Sophomore forward Max Plante paces UMD and is fifth in the nation in both goals (23-tied) and points (48).  He is a finalist for the both the NCHC Player and Forward of the Year awards.  Max's brother, Zam Plante, is second on the squad with 20 goals and 25 assists for 45 points.  Jayson Shaugabay leads Duluth with 31 assists and is third in scoring with 42 points (11g/31a). Ty Hanson (8g/25a) is also tied with the Plante brothers for the second most assists with 25.  Goaltender Adam Gajan made 33-of-34 saves in the victory at NoDak to improve to 18-11-1 this season with a 2.20 goals-against average and .909 save percentage.
 
PIONEERS IN THE POLLS: Denver moved up two spots and ranks No. 4 in both the latest USCHO.com and USA Hockey polls that were released on Monday.  The Pioneers began the year also at No. 4 in each preseason media poll and are presently No. 5 in the NPI computer rankings that will determine this year's NCAA Tournament field.
 
The NCHC has the second-most teams ranked (tied) among all conferences with four but is the only league with each of its squad in the top 10. In fact, each of the four teams are in the top six with North Dakota at No. 2, Western Michigan at No. 5 and Minnesota Duluth at No. 6 joining Denver in each poll. Additionally, Miami and St. Cloud State earned votes for the USCHO.com list.
 
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 37 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.
 
The Baxter, Minn., native is looking to become the first NCAA defenseman to score 20 goals in a season since 2002-03 when Colorado College's Tom Preissing tallied 23.  Pohlkamp leads the Pioneers in goals, points, power-play goals (5), game-winning goals (3-tied) and shots (160) and ranks second in both power-play points (8-tied) and plus/minus rating (+24).
 
OFFENSIVE DEFENDERS: Denver has received 28.6 percent of its goals this season from D-men (38-of-133), including 33 combined tallies from three Pioneers in Eric Pohlkamp (17), Boston Buckberger (9) 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).
 
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's 17 goals and 37 points this season lead all NCAA defenders in each category, while Buckberger is tied for seventh at his position in tallies and tied for 10th in points (27).  Jamieson is tied for second among rookie blueliners in goals (Penn State's Jackson Smith, 11).
 
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.