The #3 Denver Pioneers (26-8-0, 17-5-0 NCHC) are the 2022-23 Penrose Cup champions and, thanks to a weekend sweep of the  #5 Western Michigan Broncos (21-12-1, 13-8-1 NCHC) at Lawson Arena in Kalamazoo, MI, they will fly home with their second-straight regular season crown. A night ago, they were the beneficiaries of a third-period major penalty and scored twice on it to win 5-2 and tonight, despite committing six penalties including a major, they won 3-1. Continue reading Pioneers Clinch Second-Straight Penrose Cup With Weekend Sweep of Western Michigan →

The #3 Denver Pioneers (24-8-0, 15-5-0 NCHC) scored three goals in the third period to nearly erase a 5-2 deficit but their penalty kill couldn’t kill off a penalty when they absolutely had to and DU came up one goal shy in a 6-5 loss to the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs (13-16-1, 8-12-0 NCHC) in front of 6,361 fans in a sold-out Magness Arena. The loss ended the Pioneers’ winning streak at five and allowed the second-place Western Michigan Broncos to pull to within five points of the first-place Pios. Continue reading Pioneers’ Furious Third-Period Rally Comes Up Just Short as Winning Streak Ends Against UMD →

The #3 Denver Pioneers (24-7-0, 15-4-0 NCHC) added another win on Friday night and earned the opportunity to finish off the four-game season sweep of the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs (12-16-1, 7-12-0 NCHC) with a 6-2 victory. The Pios, who are 131-88-13 all-time vs UMD and 5-5 in the last 10 had one of their best performances of the season and continued to prove that they are ready for the playoffs as the stretch run draws closer. Continue reading Devine Intervention: Pioneer Forward Scores Twice as DU Rallies over UMD In Final Two Periods →

The #4 Denver Pioneers (23-7-0, 14-4-0 NCHC) swept the North Dakota Fighting Hawks (12-13-4, 6-10-2 NCHC) in a four-game regular season series for the first time since the 2009-10 season. After miserable travel delays and a long bus ride from Minneapolis to Grand Forks to kick off the series opener in November, the Pioneers managed to earn a huge early road sweep with 3-2 and 6-3 victories. Then, this weekend, working with shifting rules throughout both penalty-filled games, the Pioneers stayed on their march towards the postseason with 5-3 and 5-2 victories at Magness Arena to clinch the season series sweep and move eight points clear of second-place St. Cloud State and Western Michigan in the race for the Penrose Cup. Continue reading Pioneers Special Teams Shine as Denver Clinches Season Sweep of North Dakota →

The NCHC isn’t exactly known for its top-quality officials. There are entirely too many examples throughout the conference’s 10-year existence of referees inserting themselves into situations and affecting the outcomes of games. You can now add tonight’s 5-3 victory for the #4 Denver Pioneers (22-7-0, 13-4-0 NCHC) over the North Dakota Fighting Hawks (12-12-4, 6-9-2 NCHC), DU’s biggest out-of-state rival, at Magness Arena to that ever-growing list. Fortunately, unlike many of those others, the officials did not, in fact, affect the outcome, though Tom Stearns and Ryan Hersey tried their damnedest. Carter Mazur and his Pioneers, though, would not be denied and the Pioneers improved to 3-0 on the season vs their archrivals this season. Continue reading Pioneers Survive Referees, Poor Special Teams Play to Move to 3-0 vs North Dakota →

On the brink of a fourth consecutive Gold Pan and coming off a shutout win over the Tigers at Ball Arena last weekend, the #4 Denver Pioneers (21-7-0, 12-4-0 NCHC) traveled to Colorado Springs for Round Two of the 2022-23 Battle for the Gold Pan. As with many large rivales, tensions were high and penalties and rough play were the name of the game. Continue reading Denver Brings Home the Gold Pan in an Eventful Night in Colorado Springs →

Nearly every Monday morning from late September through mid-April, USCHO.com and USA Hockey Magazine post their weekly college hockey media polls. And nearly every Monday morning from late September through mid-April, College Hockey Twitter (it’s a thing! Come join us and get mad at everything!) goes into an uproar over the polls, regardless of the rankings and who is and isn’t ranked.

Some of the various opinions you’ll see on a weekly basis can be summarized as follows: Continue reading Polls & Ratings & Comparisons, Oh My! Making Sense of College Hockey’s Rankings →

The #5 Denver Pioneers (20-7-0, 11-4-0 NCHC) are no strangers to big games on NHL sheets. After all, just nine months ago, they went to Boston and won the program’s ninth national title at the home of the Boston Bruins (who now employ Jim Montgomery as their head coach…the DU-Boston roots just keep growing). Now, less than a year later, the Pioneers showed out again in an NHL building, this time at the home of the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche, Ball Arena against the Colorado College Tigers (10-14-1, 6-8-1 NCHC), their in-state nemesis and opened the 2022-23 Battle for the Gold Pan with a 2-0 victory. The shutout was Magnus Chrona’s fourth of the season, extended his shutout streak vs Colorado College to five games (Dating back to February 25, 2021) and moves him into a tie for second-most shutouts in DU history, now two shy of Peter Mannino’s all-time record of 15. Continue reading Pioneers Open 2022-23 Battle for the Gold Pan with 2-0 Shutout at Ball Arena →