The #1 Denver Pioneers (13-4-0, 7-2-0 NCHC) traveled to Duluth, Minnesota, a city where they have not played particularly well historically, and promptly spotted the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs (8-9-0, 4-5-0 NCHC) a 2-0 lead. Dominic James and Ben Steeves each scored on Sean Behrens’ two first-period penalties – holding then tripping – to give the PK unit an inauspicious start to the weekend. But Massimo Rizzo responded with under two minutes left in the opening frame with a power-play goal of his own off of a beauty of a pass from goaltender Magnus Chrona to cut the deficit to one entering the first intermission. Continue reading Pioneers Erase Two-Goal Deficit, Come Back to Beat Bulldogs in Overtime →

In Game One against the Sun Devils on Friday, the Pioneers pelted ASU goaltender TJ Semptimphelter with 56 shots but only had three goals, including an odd game-winner that was batted in by the Sun Devils’ own Tim Lovell. The Pioneers just didn’t have any puck luck in on Friday. In Game Two on Saturday, though, that all changed as the #1 Denver Pioneers (12-4-0, 6-2-0 NCHC) throttled the Arizona State Sun Devils (8-9-0) 5-2 in the series finale at Magness Arena. For much of the game, Semptimphelter was nearly as excellent as he was a night ago but where pucks weren’t going in on Friday, they found twine on Saturday and the Pioneers forced him out of the game by the third period. Continue reading Pioneers Stick a Pitchfork Into Sun Devils To Earn Weekend Sweep →

Hockey is a fun sport. It’s fast, it’s skilled, it’s physical. But sometimes, it’s wild, weird, and altogether wacky and on Friday night, in the series opener between the Arizona State Sun Devils (8-8-0) and #1 Denver Pioneers(11-4-0, 6-2-0 NCHC), the latter held the day as the Pioneers skated to a 3-2 victory in a game that featured 56 DU shots on goal, a bad spearing major, and two separate challenges on Carter King’s game-winning goal. On a night in college hockey that saw some wild games around the country, the more than 5,200 in attendance at Magness Arena were treated to not only a unique hockey game but also a key DU pairwise victory. Continue reading Pioneers Survive Wild and Wacky Game vs Sun Devils to Avoid Upset →

Was it the turkey-induced Tryptophan, exam week or just taking the Omaha Mavericks too lightly? Denver (9-4-0, 5-2-0) was outshot, out worked and outplayed Friday night at Magness Arena. The Mavericks took no mercy on #1 ranked DU in a display of superior hustle and quickness. The Mavs beat DU to pucks, shut down passing lanes and beat the stuffing out of DU on shots, 40-22, in a dominant 3-0 victory.

Continue reading Omaha Blanks Denver in Dominating Fashion, 3-0 →

The January 27th, 2023 matchup between Denver and Colorado College which was originally scheduled to take place at Magness Arena has been moved to the home of the Colorado Avalanche: Ball Arena. E. Stanley Kroenke’s downtown Denver arena has a hockey capacity of 18,007, nearly 12,000 higher than Magness. This will be the second time in the last decade that a Battle for the Gold Pan matchup will be played in downtown Denver. The last time it happened, the Pioneers beat the Tigers 4-1 in front of 35,144 fans at the Battle on Blake at Coors Field back in 2016. Continue reading January 27th DU-CC Rivalry Game Moved to Ball Arena →

The #2 Denver Pioneers (9-3-0, 5-1-0 NCHC) shouldn’t have swept the #12 North Dakota Fighting Hawks (4-5-1, 1-2-1 NCHC). To put it frankly, they shouldn’t have won on Friday night. With the travel saga that started with a canceled flight into Fargo due to a blizzard and ended with a nearly six-hour bus trip from Minneapolis to Grand Forks on Friday preventing a morning skate and normal pregame preparation, the Pioneers had all the chips stacked against them. No one would have held it against them if they didn’t come away with the victory in game one. Instead, the Pioneers faced the adversity and laughed their way into the win column this weekend. Continue reading Denver Hockey Road Trip Recap: Pioneers Earn First Grand Forks Sweep in More Than a Decade →