DENVER – The No. 7 University of Denver hockey team hosts the Miami RedHawks this weekend in the quarterfinals of the NCHC Frozen Faceoff at Magness Arena to begin the 2026 postseason play.
 
The best-of-three series commences on Friday at 7 p.m. MT, and Saturday's Game 2 is set for 6 p.m. MT. If a third game is necessary, it will also start at 6 p.m. MT. Each contest will be broadcast on NCHC.tv and the radio call is available on Denver Sports 104.3 The Fan HD3. Limited tickets for the games are still available.
 
Denver (21-11-3, 17-6-2 NCHC) clinched the second seed for the conference tournament after finishing the regular season with 52 points in NCHC play. First-place North Dakota finished with three more points (55) than the Pios despite the squads posting the same win-loss record.
 
The Pioneers are coming off a sweep over Arizona State to their regular-season finale last week. Sam Harris netted both the game-equalizing and winning tally to take the series opener 5-2 last Friday. Both Harris and Samu Salminen finished with two goals and a helper apiece. James Reeder also had three points on a goal and two assists, and goaltender Johnny Hicks stopped 23 of the 25 shots on net. Salminen put the final nail in the coffin of the Sun Devils' season on Saturday by netting two more goals. Kyle Chyzowski and Kristian Epperson also hit the back of the net to extend the Pioneers' lead and post a final score of 4-1.
 
Seventh-seed Miami (18-14-2, 9-13-2 NCHC) wrapped up its regular season with a split in Omaha, Nebraska, against the Mavericks. Omaha took the series opener 5-3, and Miami won the second game by a 4-2 score. The RedHawks finished the regular season with 28 points.
 
DU swept MU earlier this year in Denver on Dec. 5-6 in the teams' only meeting of the regular season. Denver shut out Miami in the series opener in a 4-0 victory where freshman goaltender Quentin Miller stopped all 22 shots on net to earn the clean sheet. The following night, Miami battled back and scored twice but ultimately fell as Denver won 5-2. Clarke Caswell, Eric Pohlkamp, Boston Buckberger, Chyzowski and Harris all earned multi-point weekends.
 
Denver holds the all-time record in the series at 39-13-4 and is 25-1-1 in the last 27 matchups against Miami.  The Pios are also 30-3-4 versus the Hawks since Jan. 30, 2016 and own a 22-5-4 record at home in the all-time series that first began on Nov. 14, 1986.
 
The Pioneers and RedHawks will face off in the NCHC Quarterfinals for the third time in the last five seasons, as Denver swept best-of-three series on home ice in both 2022 and 2023. The Pios are 5-1-0 all-time in the conference tournament against MU.
 
DU is aiming to make the NCHC semifinals for the 12th time and is the only team in the league to reach the conference's final four in every held tournament.
 

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ROLL PIOS: DU is on a season-best nine-game unbeaten streak, going 8-0-1 since Jan. 24.  The team's previous longest stretch without a loss this year was a 6-0-0 run from Nov. 1-21, and it is the longest since Denver won each of its first 12 games to start the 2024-25 campaign (Oct. 5-Nov. 16, 2024).
 
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).

PLAYERS OF THE MONTH: The Pioneers had two players earn February honors from the NCHC, as senior Rieger Lorenz was named Forward of the Month on Tuesday while freshman Johnny Hicks was chosen as Goaltender of the Month.  This is the first career monthly award for each player.
 
Lorenz registered points in each of the six games during the month and shared the league lead with four goals and nine points.  Hicks went unbeaten in each of the six starts in February at 5-0-1 and led the league in wins and goals-against average (1.50) and ranked second in save percentage (.944).
 
SAMU SCORING: Forward Samu Salminen scored two goals in both games against Arizona State last weekend and added an assist to earn his first career weekly honor as the NCHC's Forward of the Week. It was the first time this season that a DU player had earned top forward honors.
 
The Helsinki, Finland, native registered his fourth and fifth career multi-goal games in the series vs. the Sun Devils, and his three points on Friday (2g/1a) marked his third of season and fourth of his career.  His previous two-goal contest came on Nov. 29 against Minnesota in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game at Ball Arena, and he had a four-point outing on Nov. 23 at ASU (1g/3a).
 
Salminen finished the four-game season series against Arizona State with 10 points on five goals and five assists.
 
CARLE WINS 200TH: Denver hockey head coach David Carle won his 200th game last Saturday against Arizona State to join Murray Armstrong and George Gwozdecky as DU bench bosses to reach the milestone.  He reached the milestone in 305 games, second-fastest behind Armstrong (293 games).
 
Carle coached in his 300th contest on Nov. 6 at Colorado College, with his 195 wins and a .683 winning percentage through the first 300 games being the second-best among all DU coaches; only Armstrong posted better marks in Pioneer history with 203 victories and a .707 win-percentage.
 
HERE'S JOHNNY!: Freshman Johnny Hicks is unbeaten in his first nine career decisions at 8-0-1, and he has started each of the last eight games after Quentin Miller suffered a lower-body injury on Jan. 24 vs. St. Cloud State. Hicks' eight-game unbeaten streak to begin a collegiate career is believed to be the longest such stretch by a DU goaltender since the 2002-03 season (online databases presently don't go back any further).
 
The Kamloops, British Columbia, native owns a 1.14 goals-against average and .958 save percentage in 13 games and eight starts this season.  He has allowed one goal or fewer in six of the last nine games.
 
Hicks also recorded a 100:33 shutout streak across three games that began on Nov. 16 at North Dakota and included Jan. 24 vs. St. Cloud State and Jan. 30 vs. Duluth before Kyle Gaffney tallied on the power play at 4:02 of the third period.
 
RIEGER RISING: Forward Rieger Lorenz is on a career-long seven-game point streak as he's registered five goals and five assists during this run that began on Jan. 30.
 
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 suited up in his 160th career game last Friday at Arizona State, and his 161 career contests played ties him for 10th-most in program history.
 
STREAKING

• Rieger Lorenz is on a career-long seven-game point streak (5g/5a).
• James Reeder is on a six-game point streak (3g/6a) and his assists in three straight contests ties a personal long.
• Sam Harris is on a five-game point streak (3g/5a), with assists in each game for the longest such stretch of his career and the longest of the season by a DU player.
• Samu Salminen is on a four-game point streak (4g/5a), tying a season best and one shy of his career long.

TENZER STREAK EXTENDED: Denver extended its "Tenzer" Streak of winning 20 or more games in a season to 24 consecutive seasons with its two wins last weekend vs. ASU.  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.
 
SAM SCORES 50: Junior forward Sam Harris scored the quickest two goals by a player in the second period on Friday against Arizona State to 50 tallies in his collegiate career. His goals came in a matter of 2:05 (16:06 and 18:11), besting the previous fastest two scored by a single player this year as Eric Pohlkamp netted a pair of markers in a 2:23 in the home opener on Oct. 11 against Bentley.
 
Harris is the 63rd player in program history to score 50 goals and the first to do so since Carter King did it last season on March 28, 2025 vs. Providence during the NCAA Tournament. Jack Devine also reached the 50-goal threshold during the 2024-25 season.  Harris is the fifth active player in the NCAA to reach the half-century threshold in markers.
 
The San Diego, California, native finished the series against ASU with four points (2g/2a), which included his second career three-point game on Friday (2g/1a). His previous career best was when he tallied three goals at Arizona State on Feb. 8, 2025, and he now owns 15 points (11g/4a) in 11 career contests against the Sun Devils.
 
PIONEERS IN THE NCHC FROZEN FACEOFF TOURNAMENT: Denver has made it to the NCHC Frozen Faceoff Championship Game in each of the last two seasons and is the only squad to reach the conference's semifinals in each of the 11-held tournaments.  The Pioneers sport a 31-11-1 overall record in the NCHC Tournament, going 21-3 in the quarterfinal round, 4-7 in the semifinals and 3-1 in the title contests.
 
DU had won 11 straight quarterfinal games before their loss in Game 1 to Colorado College last year.  The Pioneers own seven two-game series sweeps in the quarterfinals, as they've previously swept Miami twice (2022, 2023), Minnesota Duluth twice (2015, 2024), Colorado College (2017), Omaha (2016) and North Dakota (2019).
 
Denver has won its three NCHC Frozen Faceoff titles and had 18 overall conference tournament championships (15 with WCHA).  The Pios won the inaugural tournament in 2014 over Miami at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn., 2018 vs. St. Cloud State at the first iteration of the event at the then-Xcel Energy Center and beat Omaha in 2024 in St. Paul.
 
FACING MIAMI IN THE NCHC TOURNAMENT: The Pioneers and RedHawks get set to face off for the seventh time in the NCHC Frozen Faceoff and the first since DU swept MU in two games in the 2023 quarterfinal round. The Pios are 5-1-0 all-time in the conference tournament against the RedHawks and have won four straight in the playoff, which included another two-game sweep in 2022.
 
Denver beat Miami 4-3 in the 2014 title game to win the inaugural NCHC Frozen Faceoff at Target Center in Minneapolis before MU got its revenge the next year by beating the DU 6-3 in the 2015 semifinals.
 
NOTABLES

• The Pioneers are 5-2-0 in their last seven games against Arizona State to improve to 14-6-1 in the all-time series, which includes an 8-2-0 mark at home.
• ASU was the first new opponent that Denver faced in its final regular-season series since 2017-18, as the Pioneers had closed their previous seven campaign against Colorado College.
• Head Coach David Carle won both is 200th career game and his 100th in conference play on Saturday night.
• Rieger Lorenz recorded his 50th career assist on Saturday.
• James Reeder recorded his third, three-point contest of his career and second of the season on Friday (Nov. 29 vs. Minnesota).
• Sam Harris scored his second game-winning goal of the season and 11th of his career on Friday.
• Jake Fisher won a career-high 16 faceoffs last Friday vs. ASU, tied for the most in a game this season by a DU player (Samu Salminen, Nov. 29 vs. Minnesota).
• Freshman forward Brendan McMorrow returned to the lineup on Friday after missing 12 games and most of the last two months due to a hand injury that he suffered during the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship while playing for Team USA in early January.
• Junior Garrett Brown missed Saturday's game (upper-body injury), with sophomore Alec Whipple replacing him in the lineup and played his fifth game of the season.

HISTORY VS. MIAMI: Denver and Miami are set to face off in the NCHC Quarterfinals for the third time in the last five seasons, as DU swept the best-of-three series on home ice in both 2022 and 2023.  The teams faced off in just one series during the 2025-26 regular season, with DU winning at home 4-0 and 5-2 on Dec. 5-6, which came the week after Miami played in the Friendship Four in Northern Ireland.  The Pioneers have won seven straight games and are unbeaten in their last 21 contests (20-0-1) against Miami.  DU has also won five in a row on home ice and is 16-0-1 versus MU at Magness Arena since February 2019.  The Pioneers last loss to the RedHawks was Dec. 17, 2020 during the NCHC Pod in Omaha, Neb., and their last defeat at home was by a 3-1 score on Feb. 22, 2019.  Denver leads the all-time series with a 39-13-4 record and is 25-1-1 in the last 27 matchups and are 30-3-4 in the series since Jan. 30, 2016.  DU has a 22-5-4 record at home in the series that dates back to Nov. 14, 1986 while the teams sports a 14-5-0 mark on the road in Oxford. 
 
PREVIOUS MEETING (DEC. 6, 2025): Five different players found the back of the net for the No. 6 University of Denver hockey team on Saturday as the Pioneers defeated the No. 19 Miami RedHawks 5-2 at Magness Arena to sweep the weekend series.  Three freshmen scored for Denver, as defenseman Eric Jamieson and forwards Brendan McMorrow and Kyle Chyzowski all hit twine while sophomore Hagen Burrows and junior Sam Harris also tallied. In total, 10 different Pioneers registered points on the evening.  Goaltender Quentin Miller stopped 22-of-24 shots faced to help DU secure its first home weekend sweep of the season. Fellow rookie netminder Johnny Hicks made his collegiate debut for Denver with 1:28 remaining in the third period (one save).  Burrows and McMorrow both scored unassisted goals in the contest, with Burrows opening the scoring at 3:02 of the first frame after intercepting a clearing attempt by the RedHawks. McMorrow netted the game-winning marker during a penalty kill with 3:26 left in the second period off a great individual effort. He fought for the loose puck in the neutral zone, spun past a Miami defender twice before depositing the puck over the shoulder of goalie Matteo Drobac, who finished with 26 saves.  Miami twice tied the outing, evening the score at 1-1 from Matteo Giampa in the first and 2-2 on a marker from Maximilion Helgeson in the second.
 
CONNECTIONS: Miami's Charlie Michaud is from Denver … Tory Pitner played junior hockey in Ohio with the USHL Youngstown Phantoms from 2022-2024, winning the Clark Cup Championship in 2023 … Denver's Kent Anderson, Eric Jamieson and Rieger Lorenz and Miami's Brayden Morrison are all from Calgary, Alberta … DU's Hagen Burrows and MU's Blake Mesenburg and Bradley Walker are all from the same hometown in Minnesota (Orono) … Miami head coach Anthony Noreen was previously in the same role at the USHL Tri-City Storm and coached Denver's Kieran Cebrian from 2020-2023 and Cale Ashcroft from 2022-23 … Cebrian played two years on Tri-City with Shaun McEwen (2021-23) while Ashcroft was a teammate of McEwen in 2022-23 …. MU's Ryan Smith played on Tri-City with Ashcroft and Cebrian in 2022-23 … Cebrian was a teammate of Nick Donato on Tri-City during the 2020-21 season … Michael Quinn played part of the 2021-22 campaign with Sam Harris on the USHL Sioux Falls Stampede and won the Clark Cup Championship in 2023-24 with DU's Jake Fisher while a member of the USHL Fargo Force … Kyle Chyzowski and Ryder Thompson played four years together on WHL Portland Winterhawks from 2021-2025 … Michael Phelan and Badley Walker were teammates with DU's Brendan McMorrow on the USHL Waterloo Black Hawks in 2024-25 … Doug Grimes played with Eric Pohlkamp briefly with the USHL Cedar Rapids RoughRiders in 2021-22 and was a teammate of Boston Buckberger with the Lincoln Stars in 2022-23 … Denver's Paxton Geisel played on USHL Dubuque with Brayden Morrison in 2022-23 … Hagen Burrows and Justin Stupka both split the 2023-24 campaign with the USHL Sioux City Musketeers.
 
SCOUTING THE REDHAWKS: Miami has had a resurgence season in 2025-26 with a 18-12-2 overall record and has earned several spots inside the top 20 polls this year.  MU finished seventh in the NCHC standings with 28 points and with a 9-13-2 mark in league play.  The RedHawks ended a six-game losing streak last Saturday with a 4-2 win at Omaha after falling 5-3 the previous night. During that recent skid, Miami faced top-10 ranked teams in Western Michigan, North Dakota and Minnesota Duluth on back-to-back-to-back weekends.  Miami played in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on Nov. 28-29 and won the Friendship Four Tournament by defeating RIT 4-0 and Union 3-2.  Kocha Delic leads the team in scoring with 25 points and is also first in assists with 14.  Matteo Giampa is second on the team with 24 points (12g/12a) and David Deputy is third with 22 points while also pacing the RedHawks with 15 goals.  MU's Shaun McEwen was named the NCHC's Defenseman of the Week on Monday after totaling two goals—one of which was shorthanded—and two assists in the series vs. Omaha.  Goaltender Matteo Drobac has started 33-of-34 games in net and owns a 17-14-2 record, 2.67 goals-against average, .913 save percentage and three shutouts this season.
 
SENIOR CLASS SUCCESS: Denver's 2026 seniors own the second-most victories by a graduating class in program history.  This year's group took sole possession of the second spot from the 2005 class by winning its 113th game on Feb. 28 against Arizona State, and they became the 17th class in DU's annals to record 100 career victories when they reached the milestone on Nov. 14 vs. Colorado College.
 
So far, the 2026 seniors' accolade list includes four Gold Pan trophies over rival Colorado College, three, 30-win seasons, the 2022-23 NCHC Penrose Cup, 2024 NCHC Frozen Faceoff title, back-to-back trips to the NCAA Frozen Four in 2024 and 2025 and the 2024 national championship.
 
PIONEERS IN THE POLLS: Denver ranks No. 7 in both the latest USCHO.com and USA Hockey polls that were released last Monday.  The Pioneers began the year at No. 4 in each preseason media poll and are presently No. 8 in the NPI computer rankings that will determine this year's NCAA Tournament field.
 
The NCHC leads all conferences with four teams ranked and also has the most in the top 10 with all four schools represented at the top half in each poll.  Joining DU in the rankings from the NCHC are North Dakota (3/2), Western Michigan (4/4), Minnesota Duluth (10/10).  St. Cloud State, Miami and Colorado College all earned votes in the USCHO.com poll.
 
OFFENSIVE DEFENDERS: Denver has received 28.7 percent of its goals this season from D-men (35-of-122), including 30 combined tallies from three Pioneers in Eric Pohlkamp (16), Boston Buckberger (8) and Eric Jamieson (6).
 
DU 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 Air Force, Colgate, Colorado College, St. Thomas).
 
Pohlkamp's 16 goals and 34 points this season lead all NCAA defenders in each category, while Buckberger is tied for seventh at his position in tallies and tied for 12th in points (24).  Jamieson is tied for second among rookie blueliners in goals.
 
HOME COOKING: The  back half of Denver's 2025-26 campaign featured plenty of home games at Magness Arena, as the Pioneers played 11 of their final 16 games of the regular season in their friendly confines after the New Year.  DU played 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.  Denver also had a stretch of six-straight outings in the state of Colorado from Jan. 23-Feb. 7.
 
DU has won six straight games on home ice, its longest stretch of the season.
 
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 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.
 

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