LOVELAND, Colo. – The University of Denver hockey team faces a familiar foe in the Cornell Big Red in West Regional Semifinals on Friday afternoon at Blue Arena to begin the 2026 NCAA Tournament in its home state.
 
Game time is at 4 p.m. MT, and it will be broadcast on ESPN+ with John Buccigross and Colby Cohen on the call. The radio broadcast can be heard on Denver Sports 104.3 The Fan HD3.
 
Denver is the host institution for the regional in Loveland for the first time since 2022 when it defeated UMass Lowell and Minnesota Duluth on its way to its then-ninth national championship. The Pioneers aim to write a similar script this time as they host an eastern squad in the opening round while having a conference opponent playing in the other semifinal at the home of the American Hockey League's Colorado Eagles.
 
DU and Cornell are meeting in the national tournament for the third time in the last four years after the teams squared off in back-to-back northeast regionals in New England. The Big Red beat the Pios 2-0 in 2023 Regional Semifinals in Manchester, New Hampshire, but Denver won 2-1 the following year in the Regional Final in Springfield, Massachusetts, en route to its most recent national title victory.
 
The squads have faced off six total times in the national tournament, with those games split at 3-3. DU and CU also faced off in the 1969 national championship game in Colorado Springs where the Pioneers were victorious in a 4-3 affair.
 
Overall, Denver owns an 8-6 all-time record versus Cornell, with the teams having played just six total times since their meeting in the 1986 NCAA Quarterfinals at DU. The Pioneers swept a home regular-season series in 2013 while the teams split in Ithaca, New York, in 2014.
 
DU (25-11-3, 17-6-1 NCHC) earned the automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament from the NCHC after winning the Frozen Faceoff Championship last Saturday on home ice. Denver captured its league-record fourth tournament title with a 4-3 victory in double-overtime to cap off the first year that the NCHC Frozen Faceoff was held entirely at campus sites. It was also the Pioneers' 19th overall conference tournament championship (15 in WCHA) and second in three years after they also won in 2024.
 
The Pioneers are unbeaten in their last 13 games (12-0-1), the program's longest stretch since their 2017 championship squad also went on such a run. DU has also won nine straight and finished with 10 consecutive wins on home ice.
 
Cornell's last game was Friday in the ECAC Tournament Semifinals where it lost 3-2 to Princeton in Lake Placid, New York. The Big Red (22-10-1, 15-6-1 ECAC) are 5-3-0 in their last eight contests, which includes a victory against then-No. 5 Quinnipiac on Feb. 20.
 
Denver is the No. 2 seed in the West Regional after finishing No. 5 in the NPI rankings, and Cornell is the third seed and was 12th in the final NPI. NCHC-foe Western Michigan is the top-seed in Loveland and hosts No. 4-seed and CCHA champion Minnesota State in the first semifinal on Friday at 12:30 p.m. MT. DU beat WMU 2-1 in overtime in the NCHC Semifinals at Magness Arena less than two weeks ago on March 14.
 
The Pioneers are in the national tournament for the 17th consecutive full season and aim to reach the Frozen Four for a third consecutive campaign and fourth time in five years. DU has made the NCAA national semifinals in six of the last nine held tournaments.
 
LAST TIME OUT: Freshman Kristian Epperson scored the game-winner 1:54 into the second-overtime to lift the No. 4-ranked Pioneers to a 4-3 victory against No. 6 Minnesota Duluth on Magness Arena home ice in the NCHC Frozen Faceoff Championship.
 
Forwards Rieger Lorenz and Clarke Caswell both contributed a goal and an assist, defenseman Garrett Brown had his first career two-assist contest and fellow blueliner Boston Buckberger also tallied.  Brown had missed the previous four games with an upper-body injury while Epperson had been out for the last three contests with an illness before netting his first career OT goal.
 
Freshman goaltender Johnny Hicks made a career-high 41 saves and held off the Bulldogs' comeback attempt. DU led 3-0 midway through the first period but UMD chipped away at the deficit and used two power-play goals in the second frame to knot the contest.
 
ROLL PIOS: Denver is unbeaten in its last 13 games with an 12-0-1 record since Jan. 24 vs. St. Cloud State.  The Pios' current run is tied for the fifth-longest in a single season in program history and the longest since 2016-17 when they had 13 wins in a row from Jan. 21-March 11, 2017.  That year's national championship-winning squad also went on a 15-game unbeaten run earlier in the campaign from Oct. 14-Dec. 9, 2016 (12-0-3).
 
This is also the second time this season that Denver has gone at least 12 contests without losing in regulation, as the team went 9-3-0 from Oct. 31-Dec. 12 in a 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' current nine-game overall win streak is their longest of the campaign and longest since going 12-0-0 to start 2024-25.  DU finished by matching a season best by going unbeaten in its last four road contests (3-0-1) and by winning its last 10 home games—the longest home-winning stretch in a single season since posting 19 straight victories from Dec. 8, 1967-March 9, 1968.
 
DU HOSTING REGIONALS IN LOVELAND: Denver is the host institution this week for the 2026 NCAA West Regionals in Loveland at Blue Arena, home of the American Hockey League's Colorado Eagles. The Eagles are the primary minor-league affiliate of the NHL Colorado Avalanche.
 
DU has served as regional hosts in Loveland twice before in 2021 and 2022.  The Pioneers defeated UMass Lowell and Minnesota Duluth in 2022 in Northern Colorado on the way to winning their nine national championship.  Denver will also host regionals in Loveland in 2027 before hosting the NCAA Frozen Four in 2028 at United Center in Chicago, Illinois.
 
TAKE ME HOME, COLORADO: DU is 10-2 all-time in national tournament games in the state of Colorado, posting a 4-0 mark in Colorado Springs, 4-2 in Denver and 2-0 in Loveland.
 
Prior to its 2022 games at Blue Arena, DU hadn't played an NCAA Tournament contest in the state of Colorado since 2004. That squad defeated Miami 3-2 and North Dakota 1-0 on March 26-27 in the West Regionals in Colorado Springs to advance to its first Frozen Four since 1986 and ultimately win its sixth national title two weeks later in Boston.
 
The Pioneers won the 1961 national title over St. Lawrence on home ice at DU Arena, and they also hosted the 1965 national semifinals and final and 1986 quarterfinals vs. Cornell at their old barn.  Denver won the 1969 championship over Cornell at the Broadmoor Ice Palace in Colorado Springs.
 
DU IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT: Denver is in the national tournament for the 35th time in program history and has reached the Big Dance in now 17 consecutive full seasons since 2008. The Pioneers have made it to the NCAA Frozen Four in three of the past four seasons and six times in the last nine held tournaments (2016, 2017, 2019, 2022, 2024, 2025).  DU's 10 overall national titles are the most in college hockey, with the program also owning the most since the turn of the century: 2004, 2005, 2017, 2022 and 2024.
 
Denver has a 46-26 all-time record in the NCAA Tournament and is 12-3 in its last 15 games and a 17-4 mark dating back to 2017. Since 2015, the Pioneers are 20-6 in their 26 tournament contests.  DU owns a 23-12 all-time mark in opening-round games after it defeating Providence in the Northeast Regional Semifinals last year in Manchester, New Hampshire.
 
NCAA TOURNAMENT EXPERIENCE: Senior forward Rieger Lorenz is tied for first among all players in the 2026 men ice hockey championships with most tournament games played with eight.  Minnesota State's Tristan Lemyre also has eight games, as Lemyre was on DU's 2024 national championship squad and also won a 2025 national title as a member of Western Michigan. Lemyre scored a key goal for DU in the 2022 Regional Semifinals vs. UMass in Springfield, Mass..
 
Denver senior Kent Anderson and juniors Kieran Cebrian and Sam Harris are tied for third among active players with seven contests (also Quinnipiac's Victor Czerneckianair). Junior defensemen Cale Ashcroft and Boston Buckberger both have four career NCAA games under their belt while eight Pioneers made their debut in the national tournament last season: Hagen Burrows (3 games), Garrett Brown (3), Jake Fisher (3), Tory Pitner (3), Eric Pohlkamp (3), James Reeder (3), Samu Salminen (3), Alec Whipple (2).
 
MARCH IS WINNING TIME: Head coach David Carle owns a 39-14-5 career record in March, with the 39 victories being his most in a single month.  Additionally, his .716 winning percentage in March is his second-best mark behind only October (.779), where he sports a 32-8-3 all-time record in the opening month of the season.
 
DENVER VS. CORNELL IN THE NATIONAL TOURNAMENT: Denver and Cornell are meeting in the NCAA Tournament for the third time in the past four years after the teams played in Springfield, Massachusetts, in the Regional Final in 2024 and in Manchester, New Hampshire, in the 2023 first round.  The Pioneers won 2-1 in the 2024 matchup en route to their NCAA-record 10th national title while the Big Red took the 2023 contest by a 2-0 score. 
 
Overall, the squads have played six time previous in the NCAA Tournament, with both teams posting 3-3 record.  DU defeated the Cornell 4-3 to win the 1969 national championship in Colorado Springs, as goaltender Gerry Powers outdueled future hall of famer Ken Dryden in a 4-3 victory.  Cornell beat Denver 7-2 in the 1972 national semifinals.  The teams both picked up wins against one another in the two-game quarterfinals in 1986, with the Pioneers advancing to the final four based on goal aggregate (8-7).
 
HISTORY VS. CORNELL: Denver is 8-6-0 all-time against Cornell and is 5-3 in the last eight meetings.  The teams have only played seven times since 1986.  The Pioneers and Big Red are meeting in the NCAA Tournament for the third time in four years and the first time since they faced off in 2024 in the NCAA Northeast Regional Final in Springfield, Mass.  DU won that contest 2-1, earning a bit of revenge after CU beat the Pios 2-0 the previous year in the opening round in Manchester, N.H.  The teams are 2-2 in neutral-site contests, with DU also winning the 1969 national championship in Colorado Springs and CU winning in the 1972 semifinals in Boston.  The teams have played six times previously in the national tournament, with those matchups tied at 3-3.  Denver has 5-1-0 mark in home games vs. Cornell and 1-3-0 in contests in Ithaca.
 
SCOUTING THE BIG RED: Cornell owns a 22-10-1 overall record and ranks No. 9 in the most recent USCHO.com poll and No. 11 in the latest USA Hockey poll that were both released on Monday.  The Big Red finished tied for second in in the ECAC standings with 47 points and with a 15-6-1 conference record in the regular season.  Cornell beat Harvard 2-1 in the best-of-three ECAC Quarterfinals on March 13-15 before falling 3-2 to Princeton in the league semifinals last Friday in Lake Placid, N.Y.  The Big Red are 5-3-0 in its last eight games, which includes a 6-1 win at then-No. 5 Quinnipiac on Feb. 20.  Cornell went 5-3-0 during the season against ranked opponents, which also featured beating then-No. 13 UMass on Nov. 1 (3-1) and then-No. 10 Dartmouth on Jan. 23 (2-1 OT).  CU is the top defensive team in the country, allowing just 1.9 goals against per game while ranking third in the NCAA by allowing just 23.7 shots per contest.  The Big Red also rank third in faceoffs by winning 54.8 percent of its draws.  Cornell is led offensively by Jonathan Castagna, who is first on the squad with 15 goals and 34 points (15g/19a).  Ryan Walsh is second on the team in scoring with 33 points (10g/23a) and leads with 23 assists.  Caton Ryan is third with 30 points (11g/19a).  Alexis Cournoyer has started 27-of-33 games in goal and owns an 18-9-0 record, 1.98 goals-against average, .917 save percentage and one shutout this year.  Remington Keopple has also been solid in net in his six starts (4-1-1, 1.54 GAA, .933 Save%).
 
CONNECTIONS: Cornell's Winter Wallace is from Boulder, Colorado … Denver's Kent Anderson, Eric Jamieson and Rieger Lorenz and Cornell's Luke McCrady and Nicholas Wolfenberg are all from Calgary, Alberta … Brady Milburn played with Parker Murray (2023-24) and Connor Arseneault (2024-25) with the BCHL Chilliwack Chiefs, while Quentin Miller was also a teammate of Arseneault with Chilliwack last season … Donovan Hamilton and DU's Payton Nelson were teammates on the BCHL Salmon Arm Silverbacks last season while Nicholas Wolfenberg and Denver's Reid Varkonyi also played on Salmon Arm together in 2023-24 … Tory Pitner was a teammate with Tyler Catalano and won a USHL Clark Cup Championship together in 2022-23 with the Youngstown Phantoms … Eric Pohlkamp played with Cornell's Jake Kraft and Ryan Walsh with the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders in 2022-23 … Marian Mosko started the 2022-23 campaign as teammates with DU's Boston Buckberger with the USHL Lincoln Stars … Paxton Geisel was on the USHL Muskegon Lumberjacks with Xavier Veilleux in fall 2023 … Quentin Miller and Justin Katz are both from Montreal, while Cornell's Alexis Cournoyer (Trois-Rivieres) and Xavier Veilleux (Ancienne-Lorette) are also from the province of Quebec … DU's Sam Harris (San Diego) and CU's Parker Murray (Manhattan Beach) are both from Southern California.
 
PREVIOUS MEETING (MARCH 30, 2024): The University of Denver hockey team punched its ticket to the 2024 NCAA Frozen Four and the program's fifth trip to the national semifinals in the last eight national tournaments. Two freshmen scored for No. 1-seed Denver on Saturday afternoon in a 2-1 victory against the No. 3-seed Cornell Big Red in the Northeast Regional Final at MassMutual Center in Springfield, Mass. DU, which defeated Massachusetts by the same score in double overtime on Thursday, advanced to its 19th Frozen Four in the program's 75-season history and its seventh trip in the past 20 years. Forward Miko Matikka and Sam Harris scored for DU, which had four freshmen record the team's six points in the game. Fellow rookies Boston Buckberger and Zeev Buium and senior captain McKade Webster and junior Shai Buium all had assists. Goaltender Matt Davis made 24 saves to extend his personal winning streak to seven games. He stopped the final 20 shots of the contest, with his best coming with 10 seconds remaining as he stretched his right pad to deny Ryan Washe during a scramble around the crease. Cornell opened the scoring at 6:44 of the opening period as Nick DeSantis tallied on a loose puck before Matikka evened the game at 1-1 on a wrist shot with 92 seconds left before the first intermission. Denver received another late-period goal in the second frame as Harris redirected Shai Buium's shot through goaltender Ian Shane and the puck slid through the crease and into the goal line. Shane finished with 16 saves as Cornell outshot Denver 25-18.
 
NCAA TOURNAMENT MISC.

• Eric Pohlkamp leads all defensemen and ranks ninth among all players entering the tournament with 96 career points, while Rieger Lorenz is 10th with 92 points.
• Pohlkamp's 39 goals and 13 power-play markers in his career rank first among NCAA participating defensemen.
• Pohlkamp's seven game-winning goals are second among NCAA Tournament defensemen while Cale Ashcroft ranks tied for fourth (4).
• Boston Buckberger's +91 plus/minus rating is the highest among all active players and is one of the highest in NCAA history since the statistic first began being tracked.
• Pohlkamp and Lorenz are tied for third in the NCAA Tournament with a career +59 plus/minus rating. Pohlkamp's +5 rating in tournament games are tied for the second-highest among active players in this year's event.
• Buckberger's 24 career goals are the second-most among all defensemen in the tournament behind Pohlkamp.
• Sam Harris' 50 career goals are the third-most among all tournament players while he ranks third in power-play goals (18-tied) and game-winning goals (11).
• Rieger Lorenz's 165 career games played lead all NCAA players while he also ranks tied for first with the most tournament experience with eight contests.
• Kent Anderson, Kieran Cebrian and Sam Harris are tied for second with seven NCAA Tournament games in their career.
• Anderson's 146 career games entering the tournament are the fifth-most among participating defensemen.
• David Carle's six tournament appearances is the sixth-most among coaches in this year's tournament, while he and Minnesota Duluth's Scott Sandelin (3) are the only bench bosses in this field to win multiple national titles.
• Carle is one of six coaches in this year's national tournament to be coaching at his alma mater.
• The Pioneers have the best record against other NCAA Tournament squads at 8-3-0 (.727) and have the top mark in the past 10 gams at 9-0-1. Their 13-game unbeaten streak and nine-game winning streak are both the longest active streaks in the country.
• DU has the third-fewest seniors in this year's tournament field with three, while its junior class is the tied for the fourth-highest scoring group with Cornell (129 points).
• The Pioneers' 105 points from defensemen are tied with North Dakota for the second-highest behind only Michigan (108).
• Denver's average age of 21.4 at the start of the tournament is tied with Mehigan State for the second-youngest (Michigan 21.1)
• There are five players from the state of Colorado in the tournament, with two on the Pioneers (Kieran Cebrian, Denver; Payton Nelson, Centennial).

HERE'S JOHNNY!: Freshman Johnny Hicks is unbeaten in his first 13 career decisions at 12-0-1, and he has started each of the last 12 games since Quentin Miller suffered a lower-body injury on Jan. 24 vs. St. Cloud State.  Hicks' 12-game unbeaten streak is the longest stretch by a DU goaltender to begin his collegiate career since at least the start of the 2002-03 season (online databases presently don't go back any further).
 
He has recorded career-best performances in back-to-back weekends during the NCHC Tournament.  He made 38 saves on 39 shots faced in an overtime win vs. Western Michigan on March 14 in the conference semifinals before denying 41-of-44 shots in a double-OT win in the championship game vs. Minnesota Duluth on March 21. 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 leads the nation with a 1.14 goals-against average and .958 save percentage in 17 games and 12 starts this season (Min. 33% of minutes played by team).  He has allowed one goal or fewer in nine of the 13 games during his current unbeaten streak.
 
RIEGER RISING: Forward Rieger Lorenz is on a career-long, 11-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 and tied for the sixth-longest by a Pioneer since 2005.  Lorenz has recorded seven goals and eight 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).
 
LORENZ ON THE LIST: Denver senior Rieger Lorenz leads all active NCAA players with 165 career games played, which ranks fourth-most in program history.  The alternate captain is two games shy of tying Ed Cristofoli for third on the overall list and for the most by a four-year Denver player.
 
Connor Caponi set the school record last season and finished his career with 185 games played while Ryan Barrow previously set the mark with 168 contests in the 2022 NCAA National Championship Game, but both Caponi (2020-2025) and Barrow (2017-2022) played five years with the Pioneers by gaining an extra year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
 
PIONEERS WIN THE NCHC FROZEN FACEOFF: Denver beat Minnesota Duluth 4-3 in double overtime in the conference final to win its fourth NCHC Frozen Faceoff Championship, the most by a single program in league history.  Overall, it was the Pioneers' 19th conference tournament title as they won 15 previously as a member of the WCHA.
 
Goaltender Johnny Hicks was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Frozen Faceoff Tournament, joining Tanner Jaillet in 2018 as the only DU goalies to earn the award.  Hicks was also joined on the All-Tournament Team with forward Rieger Lorenz and defensemen Boston Buckberger and Eric Pohlkamp.
 
DU was in the NCHC Final for a third straight season and fifth time overall, and the squad improved to 4-1 in the league's championship game.  The Pioneers own a 35-11-1 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).  DU is the only program to reach the conference's final four in all 12-held tournament. 
 
The Pioneers hosted a conference semifinal and final on campus for the first time since 1986 when they won two, two-game goal-aggregate series. That year, DU advanced past Minnesota Duluth with an 8-2 win and 5-5 tie in the semifinals before beating Minnesota by scores of 3-0 and 3-2.
 
This year's league tournament also parked the first single-elimination game on the DU campus since the 1970 WCHA Final vs. Wisconsin (3-2 loss), and the team picked up its first single-elimination win in a championship game since 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 an 11-3 all-time record in single-elimination postseason contests on home ice, including an 8-2 mark in the conference tournament (3-1 in NCAA).
 
Denver's previous Frozen Faceoff title 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.

HOME COOKING: Denver finished with a 15-6-1 record on home ice and wins in its final 10 contests. It was the longest home winning-streak in a single season by the Pioneers since recording 19 straight victories from Dec. 8, 1967-March 9, 1968.  However, Denver did win 10 straight at Magness Arena across two seasons recently, doing so from Feb. 24-Nov. 16, 2024.
 
Overall, Denver has played 15 of its first 20 games after 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 portion of the regular season were flights to North Dakota on Jan. 16-17 and Omaha on Feb. 13-14 and a bus trip to Colorado College on Feb. 6.
 
MORE NOTABLES FROM LAST WEEK:

• The last time Denver won a conference trophy on home ice was March 5, 2022, when it completed a weekend sweep of Colorado College to earn a share of the NCHC Penrose Cup as regular-season champions. 
• Last Saturday's contest was the latest in the season that DU had hosted a home game since March 22, 1986 when the Pios lost 4-3 to Cornell in the NCAA Quarterfinals. 
• DU and UMD were meeting in the NCHC tournament for the first time since their quarterfinal series in 2024, and they played their first-ever championship game against one another in league history. 
• Denver and Minnesota Duluth were playing in a conference tournament final for just the second time overall, and the Pios earned their first win after UMD won the 2009 WCHA Final Five championship. 
• DU played in its second-straight Frozen Faceoff Championship Game that needed double-overtime after also playing into the second extra-stanza last year vs. Western Michigan.
• The Pios improved to 4-3-3 in OT this season and are unbeaten in their last five games that have gone past regulation (3-0-2).
• Kristian Epperson scored his second career game-winning goal and first overtime-winner.
• Boston Buckberger extended his point streak (2g/1a) to three games.
• Buckberger scored his 10th goal of the season, marking the second straight season that Denver has had multiple defensemen with 10 or more tallies (Eric Pohlkamp, 17).
• Garrett Brown had a career-best two assists and recorded the second multi-point game of his career. He also matched a personal high with five shots on goal (third time).
• Johnny Hicks' 41 saves on 44 shots faced were a career high and each tied for the highest of the season by a DU goalie as Quentin Miller also made 41-of-44 saves on Nov. 8 at Western Michigan.
• Denver won a season-high 56 faceoffs, the most by a team this season in the NCAA and the most since Quinnipiac won 63 on March 17, 2023 vs. Colgate in the ECAC Tournament.  It was the most overall draw wins by the Pioneers since they won 57 on March 12, 2016 in the NCHC Tournament vs. Omaha.
• Samu Salminen led the team with a career-high 20 faceoff victories. It was the most in a game this season by a DU player and the highest amount of victories since Carter King also won 20 on March 22, 2025 vs. Western Michigan in last year's Frozen Faceoff Championship that also needed double-overtime.
• Salminen matched career highs with his 18th assist and 28th point of the season
• Clarke Caswell had his third multi-point game (1g/1a) of the season and first since Nov. 29 vs. Minnesota in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game at Ball Arena.

OFFENSIVE DEFENDERS: Denver has received 28.8 percent of its goals this season from D-men (39-of-137), including 34 combined tallies from three Pioneers in Eric Pohlkamp (17), Boston Buckberger (10) and Eric Jamieson (7).
 
DU is the only programs in the country with three rear guards with seven or more goals and are among four squads in the nation to have multiple blueliners reach that goals threshold (Air force, Clarkson, Colgate.
 
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 sixth at his position in tallies and tied for ninth in points (28).  Jamieson is tied for second among rookie blueliners in goals (Penn State's Jackson Smith, 11).