Over their last three matchups, dating back to last year’s late November series at Magness Arena, the Denver Pioneers have outscored the Yale Bulldogs a whopping 20-0. Last year, after goaltender Matt Davis was sidelined with an early-season injury, Denver thumped Yale 5-0 and 9-0 and then, in game one at Ingalls Ice Rink in New Haven, Conn., the #1 Pioneers (7-0-0, 0-0-0 NCHC) picked up right where they left off and shut out the Bulldogs (0-1-0, 0-0-0 ECAC) to the tune of 6-0.

Denver was supposed to demolish Yale and they did. The Pioneers are the top-ranked team in the country and undefeated while the  Ivy League Bulldogs finished 2023-24 at #51 in the Pairwise Rankings and had the enormous task of opening their season against the defending national champions. The cards were already stacked against the hosts and Denver wasted no time allowing them to gain their footing as Rieger Lorenz scored his first goal of the season barely five minutes into the game.

Then, in the second period – the period when the Pioneers have shined the most in recent years – Denver stepped on the gas. Freshman Jake Fisher scored his fourth of the season, Eric Pohlkamp stayed hot scoring the first of his two goals on the night, and Boston Buckberger scored his second of the season to blow the game open at 4-0 before the final stanza. Captain Carter King added his sixth goal of the game five minutes into the third and then Pohlkamp tallied Denver’s sixth marker on a late five-on-three power play.

Five different Pioneers scored a goal and 12 different Pioneers recorded a point, including four that recorded at least two. 2024’s assist king, Jack Devine added yet another helper on Pohlkamp’s 5-on-3 goal to bring his total to 14 through seven games and his point total to 15.

The Pioneers out-shot the Bulldogs 31-22 and went 1/2 on the power play. The penalty kill was perfect at 2/2 and is 90.9% for the season. Denver also dominated the faceoff dot, something they struggled with last season, winning 32 of 50 and through seven games, they’ve won 55.1% of their faceoffs. Should that hold through the season, it would be a vast improvement over last season’s team, which won just 49.8% of them.