DU Hockey formally announced its full 2023-24 schedule on Wednesday. The Pioneers start their season in head coach David Carle’s home state when they travel to Fairbanks to play the Alaska Nanooks, October 7th & 8th. Two weeks later, they venture east to face college hockey powers Boston College and Providence. The Pioneers return home to open Magness Arena homecoming weekend against newcomer Augustana and regional rival Air Force on October 27th and 28th respectively.
Denver opens NCHC conference play on November 3rd and 4th in a home-and-home series against Colorado College. Denver takes a quick detour after the Tiger series and travels to Arizona State to take on the Sun Devils at Mullett Arena. This match-up is certain to draw Pioneer fans for an early-season road trip to the desert.
Following the trip to Tempe, Denver returns to conference play against Omaha at Magness Arena on Alumni Weekend followed by a Yale matchup over Thanksgiving weekend at home. The two other non-conference teams to visit Magness Arena are Minot State (exhibition) on December 30th and Niagara on January 5th and 6th. Denver closes conference play against the Colorado College Tigers March 8th and 9th.
Denver's 36-game slate features non-conference games at home vs. Air Force, Augustana, Niagara & Yale and on the road at Arizona State, Boston College & Providence.
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— Denver Hockey (@DU_Hockey) June 7, 2023
The other key conference home date is the Fighting Hawks series at Magness Arena on December 1st and 2nd. See the full schedule HERE.
Top photo courtesy of the NCHC
Somewhat disappointing.
No Big 10 opponents?
I can see why some in Denver are disappointed. I believe DU appears to have lost some scheduling leverage via its recent successes, as perhaps more and more schools don’t wish play in Denver.
The best non-league opponents are all road games – BC, PC, ASU and UAF. Those are tough places to play. And there a lot of road games in the final months of the schedule, too,
That said, the cupcake home weekend with AFA and Augustana should be a sweep to please the homecoming crowd.
The Yale home weekend at Thanksgiving may be quite a tough one for the Pios, as DU often plays very poorly around holiday times against the Ivies, going back 40 years now, without the DU students to cheer them on. And while Niagara’s appearance may not get many DU fans exited in January, the Purple Eagles went 3-1 against the NCHC last year.
The biggest crime is having to play North Dakota without the DU students on campus – one of three home series while DU is in finals or winter break. DU does this from time to time, taking the extra money they can make by selling DU student seats at regular ticket prices. I hate this practice, because it reduces the home ice advantage, but the DU beancounters must love it, because it keeps happening.
CORRECTION: I’ve been told by a reputable source that DU has ‘no control’ over dates in the league portion of schedule. That very well may be true, but I still hate the fact that DU plays North Dakota on DU’s break.
Overall, I like the schedule. With so many players departing for the pros, Denver needs to build some confidence and momentum in the nonconference schedule. Plus, there are some very tough road games mixed into their schedule. I think this is just about right for where they are…