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DENVER – The No. 6 University of Denver hockey team hosts the No. 19 Miami University RedHawks in a two-game NCHC series this weekend at Magness Arena.
Friday and Saturday’s games are both set for 7 p.m. MT and will be broadcast on NCHC.tv. Saturday’s showdown will also be televised regionally on Altitude Sports. Denver will also be celebrating its hockey alumni weekend both days.
The Pioneers have a 5-1-0 conference record and are presently tied atop the NCHC standings with Western Michigan with 15 points but have played two fewer games than the Broncos. DU has a 9-5-1 overall record and hasn’t lost in regulation in its last nine contests (6-3-0).
Denver dropped its last game, falling 6-5 in overtime against Minnesota on Saturday in the 2025 U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game at Ball Arena despite holding a 52-25 edge in shots. DU scored four goals in the third period in a comeback attempt, with forward Samu Salminen and defenseman Boston Buckberger each netting two markers in the contest. James Reeder finished the night with a career-high three assists.
Minnesota opened the scoring early in the game, but the score was tied at the first intermission after Buckberger capitalized with a one-timer from the point during a power play with 25 seconds left in the period. The Gophers added two goals in the second frame, but the Pioneers chipped away at the deficit in the final 20 minutes. Salminen hit the back of the net twice in less than a three-minute span as DU and UM traded goals in a wild final period. Buckberger tied the outing at 5-5 with 23 seconds remaining in regulation to force OT, but Javon Moore scored the game-winner for Minnesota with 35 seconds left in the extra period.
Miami enters the weekend with a 10-4-0 overall record and 2-4-0 in NCHC play in what has been a resurgence season for the program. The RedHawks won the Friendship Four Tournament in Belfast, Northern Ireland, last weekend, as they shut out RIT 4-0 on Friday before winning the title the next day in a 3-2 victory over then-No. 20-ranked Union.
Denver has had success over MU in recent years, as the squad has won five straight games and is unbeaten in the last 18 matchups (17-0-1) dating back to Nov. 19, 2021. DU averaged five goals a game in last year’s four-game series and holds a 37-13-4 all-time record over the RedHawks and a 20-5-4 mark at home in the all-time series that dates back to 1986.
The weekend marks the final home games for the Pioneers for the 2025 calendar year and also wraps up a three-game homestay, the longest of the season to date for DU. Denver closes the first half of its schedule on Dec. 12-13 at St. Cloud State before returning to Magness Arena on Jan. 2 to open a four-game homestand against Maine and Western Michigan.
This will also be the only meeting of the regular season between Denver and Miami, as the Pios won’t be making a return visit Oxford, Ohio, during the 2025-26 main campaign.
PIOS ON A ROLL: While the Pioneers have dropped their last two games, the team has not lost in regulation in its last nine games dating back to Oct. 31 against Alaska Anchorage (6-3-0). Each of DU’s five losses this season have come by one goal.
Denver went on a six-game win streak from Nov. 1-21, its longest since winning 12 contests in a row to begin last season in 2024-25.
POHLKAMP MEMORABLE NOVEMBER: Junior Eric Pohlkamp earned two monthly awards this week as he was named both the NCHC and National Defenseman of the Month for November. His seven goals in the month were tied for the most among all NCHC skaters and were also the most among all NCAA blueliners, while he also added three assists in the eight games. He matched a career high by scoring his 11th goal of the season on Saturday against Minnesota in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game after firing a career-best 10 shots.
This is the first year both the conference and the National Hockey Commissioner’s Association are honoring separate defenseman and forwards of the month. It is his first monthly honors from the NCHC and from the national Hockey Commissioners Association. He was twice named the CCHA Defenseman of the Month (February and March 2024) while playing for Bemidji State as a freshman.
Overall, he blocked 11 shots and had a +10 plus/minus rating in November, while also registering three multi-goal games in the month. He matched a season high with three points on two goals and one assist on Nov. 21 at Arizona State.
The Baxter, Minnesota, native recorded six goals in a six-game stretch from Nov. 1-21, which included a career-long, four-game goal streak from Nov. 1-14 (4g/2a). It was the longest goal streak by a DU defenseman since at least the start of the 2002-03 season and the longest by a blueliner in the history of the NCHC. The goal streak was the longest by a defenseman in the NCAA this year and the longest since Cole Hutson also went on a four-game run for Boston University from Feb. 22-March 8, 2025 (4g/4a).
Pohlkamp leads the Pioneers in scoring with 17 points and also paces the program in overall goals (11), game-winning goals (2-tied) and shots (76) while ranking second in plus/minus rating (+16) and penalty minutes (19). His 11 goals lead all NCAA defensemen and are tied for fifth overall, and his 17 points are tied for second among all blueliners in the country.
MILLER ALSO EARNS NOVEMBER ACCOLADES: Freshman goaltender Quentin Miller was named the NCHC Goaltender of the Month for November after posting a 6-2-0 record, 2.08 goals-against average, .932 save percentage and one shutout in eight games. Both losses came in overtime, and he allowed two goals or fewer in five of the contests.
Matt Davis was the last DU goalie to earn monthly honors as he earned the award last March/April.
The Montreal, Quebec, native has made 12 consecutive starts and hasn’t lost in regulation in the past nine games (6-2-0). He went on a personal-best six-game winning streak from Nov. 1-21 and registered career highs in both games at Western Michigan, stopping 35-of-36 shots on Nov. 7 and 41-of-44 pucks his way on Nov. 8.
He began his collegiate career on a three-game unbeaten streak (2-0-1) and recorded a 117:17 shutout streak by tying Air Force in the season opener on Oct. 10 (1-1) before posting wins at Lindenwood on Oct. 18 (4-0) and Boston College on Oct. 24 (7-3). Magnus Chrona was the last DU netminder to go unbeaten in his first three career starts, as he won his first seven outings to begin the 2019-20 campaign.
Miller’s first career victory came in a 19-save shutout and a 4-0 victory at Lindenwood on Oct. 18. Posting a shutout for your first NCAA win hasn’t been an uncommon occurrence in recent years for the Pioneers, as Matt Davis recorded a clean sheet in his first career start on Oct. 16, 2021 vs. Air Force (25 saves) and Freddie Halyk did the same in his win against Air Force on Oct. 28, 2023 (24 saves).
BUCK GOES WILD, D-MAN OF THE WEEK: Defenseman Boston Buckberger scored twice on Saturday against Minnesota for his first career multi-goal game, and he was named the NCHC Defenseman of the Week for the second time this season and the fourth time in his career. It was the fourth-straight week that a Denver player was named the conference’s top defender of the week.
Buckberger now has five goals in his last five games after he went on a career-long, three-game goal streak from Nov. 14-21. It was the second time this season that a D-man had tallied in three straight games, as Buckberger joined defensive partner Eric Pohlkamp who did it in four straight from Nov. 1-14.
The Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, native netted the game-winning goal in both games against Colorado College on Nov. 14-15, including scoring his first overtime-winner in the series opener. Teammate and fellow rear guard Cale Ashcroft was the last Pioneer to score the game-winning marker in back-to-back regular season contests, as he did it on Dec. 14, 2024 vs. Colorado College and Jan. 3, 2025 at Maine.
SAM IS STREAKING: Junior Sam Harris had an assist on Saturday and is on a six-game point streak (3g/4a), the longest of the season by a Denver player. It is Harris’ longest point streak since going on an eight-game stretch from Jan. 11-Feb. 14, 2025 (7g/4a).
The forward scored twice on Nov. 22 at Arizona State for his first multi-goal outing of the season and seventh of his career. Harris now owns 11 points on nine goals and two assists in nine all-time games against the ASU, the NCAA squad that is the closest to his hometown of San Diego, California. He scored his first career hat trick on Feb. 8, 2025 at ASU.
SALMINEN SCORING: Senior forward Samu Salminen scored twice on Saturday of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game vs. Minnesota for his first multi-goal game of the season and third of his career. It was his third multi-point outing of the season, and he is on a three-game point streak (3g/4a).
Both of Salminen’s goals came in the third period, marking the second time this season that a Pioneer tallied twice in the same stanza (Eric Pohlkamp, 3rd, Oct. 11 vs. Bentley)
The Helsinki, Finland, native matched a career high with four points (1g/3a) and three assists on Nov. 21 at Arizona State. His first career four-point contest was Feb. 1, 2025 vs. Omaha (1g/3a) in an 11-2 victory by the Pioneers. His four points at ASU were the most in a game this season by a Denver player, and it was the first four-point game by a Pioneer since Eric Pohlkamp had a goal and three assists on March 7, 2025 vs. Colorado College.
NOTABLES
The Pioneers’ 25 shots on goal in the first period were its most in a single frame this season and 20 shot differential (25-5) was also the team’s highest amount. The team’s previous high for a stanza was 22 shots in the third period on Oct. 10 at Air Force.
Denver and Minnesota were playing for the first time since March 1-2, 2013 and the Gophers were visiting the Mile High City for the first time since Feb 10-11, 2012.
DU is now 73-94-12 all-time against UM and had its five-game home winning streak against the Gophers come to an end. The teams used to be members of the Western Collegiate Hockey Conference.
Eric Pohlkamp scored his seventh goal in the past eight games.
Pohlkamp fired a career high 10 shots on goal, the most in a game this season by a Pioneer (Previous high: 9 with Bemidji State at North Dakota on Nov. 25, 2023).
James Reeder recorded a career-high three assists, marking the third three-helper game of the season by a Pioneer. Each of his three assists came in the third period, the most in a period this season by a Pioneer.
Sam Harris and Boston Buckberger both played in their 100th career games.
Samu Salminen (16) and Kieran Cebrian (15) both recorded season-high faceoff wins.
DU had its second 50-plus shot performance of the season after firing 59 at Air Force in the season opener on Oct. 10.
Denver’s four goals in the third period were tied for the most in a single frame this season (Oct. 10 vs. Bentley, 3rd), and the 11 combined goals were the most in a game this season.
The Pioneers won a season-high 47 faceoffs
Denver scored its third pulled goalie goal of the season late in the third period
MCMORROW HEADING TO USA TRAINING CAMP: Freshman forward Brendan McMorrow has been invited to the U.S. National Junior Team’s training camp later this month in preparation for the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship on home soil.
McMorrow is one of 28 players that were named to Team USA’s preliminary roster for the upcoming World Juniors in St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota, from Dec. 26, 2025-Jan. 5, 20026. Training camp is set from Dec. 15-23 at Amsoil Arena in Duluth, Minnesota, and the final 25 players of the team will be announced by Dec. 24.
The Lakeville, Minnesota, native previously played for the U.S. National Team Development Program (2022-2024) and won gold medals at the 2022 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge (1g/5a) and 2024 World Junior-A Challenge (2g/5a). He also earned a silver medal while playing in all seven games at the 2024 IIHF U18 World Championships
Team USA is the defending champions after winning both the 2024 and 2025 tournaments in Sweden and Canada, respectively, with Denver hockey head coach David Carle leading both squads to gold.
HISTORY VS. MIAMI: Denver and Miami get set to face off in the only two matchups during the regular season after the Pioneers swept the four-game series in 2024-25. DU last played Miami on Feb. 21-22, 2025, winning 5-1 and 5-2 in the teams’ first games in Oxford, Ohio, since Oct. 28-29, 2022. The Pioneers won by scores of 4-1 and 6-2 at home on Jan. 10-11, 2025. Denver leads the all-time series with a 37-13-4 record and is unbeaten in the last 18 meetings with Miami (17-0-1). The Pioneers are 23-1-1 in the last 25 matchups and are 28-3-4 in the series since Jan. 30, 2016. At home, DU has a 20-5-4 record in the series that dates back to Nov. 14, 1986 and the Pios are unbeaten in the past 15 contests (14-0-1) at Magness Arena against MU. Their last loss on home ice in the series was Feb. 22, 2019 (3-1). Denver has a 14-5-0 record in Oxford against the RedHawks. Denver swept Miami in two games in both the 2022 and 2023 NCHC Quarterfinal series. The RedHawks’ last victory over the Pios was a 3-0 win on Dec. 19, 2020 in the NCHC Pod in Omaha, Nebraska.
PREVIOUS MEETING (FEB 22, 2025): The No. 6 Pioneers beat the Miami RedHawks 5-2 on Saturday night to sweep the two-game series at Steve “Coach” Cady Arena in Oxford, Ohio. Denver had five different players score for the second-straight night, with junior forward Aidan Thompson and sophomore defenseman Zeev Buium both finishing with a goal and an assist. Senior Carter King, sophomore Kieran Cebrian and freshman Jake Fisher also scored. Senior forward Jack Devine had two assists to surpass 150 career points. He reached the milestone with the primary helper on Buium’s seventh goal of the season with 1:27 left in the second period, giving DU a 3-1 lead at the time. Devine is the 22nd player with at least 150 career points and is the first Pioneer to reach the milestone since Rhett Rakhshani in 2010. His second assist came on Thompson’s empty-net goal with 2:13 left to play, and he is now tied with Rakhshani (2006-2010) and Bill Abbott (1951-55) for 18th place on the school’s all-time scoring list. Denver outshot Miami 31-23 in the contest, with DU goaltender Freddie Halyk making 21 saves in his fourth victory of the year.
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 last season 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 is having a resurgence season and is ranked No. 19 in the latest USCHO.com poll. It is the first time that MU has been in the ranking since January 2019. The RedHawks own a 10-4-0 overall record and is 2-4-0 in NCHC play. MU has a 4-2-0 record on the road this year, which includes road sweeps at RPI and Lindenwood. Miami is coming off a pair of wins in Belfast, Northern Ireland, to win the 2025 Friendship Four Tournament. The RedHawks beat RIT 4-0 last Friday before earning a 3-2 victory against then-No. 20 Union in the championship game last Saturday. Matteo Giampa leads the team with eight goals and 15 points, while Vladislav Lukashevich is first with 12 assists and tied for second with Kocha Delic (6g/8a) with 14 points. Goaltender Matteo Drobac has played in all 14 games in net and owns a 10-4-0 record, 3.00 goals-against average, .902 save percentage and two shutouts.
MILESTONE MEN: Junior defenseman Boston Buckberger and forward Sam Harris became the first players this season to appear in their 100th career games after each reaching the milestone on Saturday in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game.
Cale Ashcroft (four games away) and Kieran Cebrian (five away) are both within five games of reaching the century mark, while Eric Pohlkamp is nine away from playing in his 100th career NCAA contest. Additionally, senior Samu Salminen is four outings from 125 in his collegiate career and fellow classmate Rieger Lorenz is nine from 150 games—he leads all active players in games played.
SHOTS ON SHOTS ON SHOTS: The Pioneers presently lead the nation at 39.2 shots per game and have fired 40 or more shots in seven contests so far this season. DU outshot Minnesota 52-25 on Saturday in its second game of the season with 50 or more shots. The Pioneers outshot the Gophers 25-5 in the first period for its most shots in a period since the start of the 2021-22 season, and it was the largest shot differential for a single frame since they outshot UMass 22-1 in the third period on Oct. 14, 2022.
Denver fired 49 shots on goal in each game of the series against Alaska Anchorage on Oct. 31-Nov. 1 and finished with a combined total of 98-37. It was the most shots by DU in a two-game series since outshooting Arizona State 99-40 on Dec. 2-3, 2022.
DU had a 35-14 edge in shots on goal at Northeastern on Oct. 25 and only allowed two shots on goal in the first period, the fewest in a stanza since also allowing just two shots on goal in the second on Oct. 5, 2024 at Alaska Anchorage.
The Pioneers began the season on Oct. 10 by outshooting the Air Force Falcons 59-24, the team’s most shots on goal since firing 66 against Lake Superior State on Oct. 20, 2017. Denver’s plus-35 shot differential was its highest since having a plus-36 differential on Dec. 2, 2022 vs. ASU (56-20). Denver’s season high for shots on goal last season were 46 on Nov. 8, 2024 vs. Lindenwood, and the previous time the Pios had 50 or more shots on net was when they had 56 on Dec. 2, 2022 vs. Arizona State.
HOME ICE ADVANTAGE: Denver is 75-16-5 in its last 96 contests at Magness Arena and sports an 82-20-6 record on the DU hilltop since the start of the 2019-20 campaign (108 games). The Pioneers went 15-5-1 at home during the 2024-25 season, with wins in each of their first six games and going 8-3-1 in the 12 contests after the New Year.
THE BATTLE AT BALL ARENA: The Pioneers played their second regular-season game at Ball Arena on Saturday, Nov. 29 against Minnesota in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game, falling 6-5 in overtime. DU’s first game at the home of the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche was on Jan. 27, 2023 when it defeated rival Colorado College 2-0 in front of a crowd of 17,952—the highest attended indoor hockey game in the state of Colorado in DU history.
Denver was serving as the host of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game for the third time in its history and was playing in the contest for the fourth time. DU is 2-2-0 all-time in the USHHOF Game, as the school previously hosted event at Magness Arena on Oct. 11, 2008 vs. Notre Dame (5-2 win) and Dec. 29, 2012 vs. Boston University (6-0 win). Denver and UM had played against one another in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game once before, as the Pioneers traveled to St. Paul to face the Golden Gophers at Xcel Energy Center in their inaugural participation of the event on Oct. 9, 2004; Minnesota won 5-2.
DOMINANT DEFENSE: The Pioneers rank seventh in the nation and lead the NCHC by allowing 2.0 goals against per game, and they have held opponents to one goal or fewer in eight of the 15 contests this year.
Denver ranks fourth in the country in scoring margin at 1.9, as the team’s 3.9 goals for per game are tied for the third-best in the NCAA.
PIONEERS IN THE POLLS: Denver ranks No. 6 in this week’s USCHO.com poll and comes in at No. 5 in the USA Hockey rankings after being No. 4 on both lists last week. The Pioneers began the year at No. 4 on each preseason list and are presently No. 5 in the NPI rankings that will determine this year’s NCAA Tournament field.
The NCHC’s six ranked teams are tied with Hockey East for the most among all conferences while its four in the top 10 are also tied for the first with the Big Ten. Minnesota Duluth leads all conference members at No. 4/4 while North Dakota is at No. 5/6. Western Michigan is behind DU at No. 7/7 while Miami returns to the polls at No. 19/19. Colorado College also reentered the USCHO.com poll at No. 20 and received votes in the other; Arizona State and St. Cloud State earned votes in each ranking as well.
MONTH BY MONTH: Denver went 6-2-0 in the month of November for its 31st consecutive full month with at least a .500 record or better dating back to January 2021.
PIONEERS HEADING TO SWITZERLAND FOR SPENGLER CUP: Defenseman Eric Pohlkamp was named on Oct. 16 to the U.S. Collegiate Select team that will compete at the 2025 Spengler Cup in Davos, Switzerland, from Dec. 26-31. The junior was among the first 10 players added to the roster, which features 25 student-athletes that will represent NCAA hockey at the prestigious international tournament.
All returning First and Second Team All-Americans received an automatic invitation to the team. The remainder of the roster, which included representation from all six conferences, was constructed by the USCS coaching staff and organizing committee, with guidance from select NHL scouts.
Pohlkamp won’t be the only Pioneer at the tournament, as Associate Director of Sports Medicine Aaron Leu was named as the head athletic trainer of the U.S. College Team over the summer. Leu is in his 22nd year at DU and has worked with the men’s ice hockey program as the head athletic trainer for 21 of those seasons.
This will be the second time an American-based select team has taken part in the Spengler Cup, following a U.S. squad that won the tournament in 1988. Two Denver players have suited up for Team Canada at the Spengler Cup in recent years as student-athletes, with Massimo Rizzo doing so in 2023 and Ian Mitchell in 2019.
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