2024–25 Denver Pioneers men's ice hockey season

2024–25 Denver Pioneers
men's ice hockey season
2024–25 Denver Pioneers; men's ice hockey season
Conference	NCHC
Home ice	Magness Arena
Rankings
USCHO	#1
USA Hockey	#1
Record
Overall	12–0–0
Conference	2–0–0
Home	6–0–0
Road	6–0–0
Coaches and captains
Head coach	David Carle
Assistant coaches	Tavis MacMillan; Dallas Ferguson; Ryan Massa
	Denver Pioneers men's ice hockey seasons; « 2023–24 2025–26 »

The 2024–25 Denver Pioneers men's ice hockey season will be the 76th season of play for the program and 12th in the NCHC. The Pioneers will represent the University of Denver in the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season, play their home games at Magness Arena and be coached by David Carle in his 7th season.

Season

Departures

Player	Position	Nationality	Cause
Sean Behrens	Defenseman	United States	Signed professional contract (Colorado Avalanche)
Tristan Broz	Forward	United States	Signed professional contract (Pittsburgh Penguins)
Shai Buium	Defenseman	United States	Signed professional contract (Detroit Red Wings)
Jack Caruso	Goaltender	United States	Graduation (retired)
Tristan Lemyre	Forward	Canada	Transferred to Western Michigan
Miko Matikka	Forward	Finland	Signed professional contract (Utah Hockey Club)
Lucas Ölvestad	Defenseman	Sweden	Transferred to Massachusetts
Massimo Rizzo	Forward	Canada	Signed professional contract (Philadelphia Flyers)
McKade Webster	Forward	Canada	Graduation (retired)

Recruiting

Player	Position	Nationality	Age	Notes
Hagen Burrows	Forward	United States	18	Orono, MN; selected 128th overall in 2024
Jake Fisher	Forward	United States	19	Woodbury, MN; selected 121st overall in 2024
Tory Pitner	Defenseman	United States	18	Greenwich, CT; selected 185th overall in 2024
Eric Pohlkamp	Defenseman	United States	20	Brainerd, MN; transfer from Bemidji State; selected 132nd overall in 2023
James Reeder	Forward	United States	18	Glenview, IL; selected 198th overall in 2024
Samu Salminen	Forward	Finland	21	Helsinki, FIN; transfer from Connecticut; selected 68th overall in 2021
Alec Whipple	Defenseman	United States	20	Far Hills, NJ

Roster

As of August 3, 2024.^[1]

No.	Player	Class	Pos	Height	Weight	DoB	Hometown	Previous team	NHL rights
1	Freddie Halyk	Sophomore	G	6' 5" (1.96 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	2003-08-27	Cochrane, Alberta	Camrose Kodiaks (AJHL)	—
2	Tory Pitner	Freshman	D	6' 1" (1.85 m)	183 lb (83 kg)	2006-03-06	Greenwich, Connecticut	Youngstown Phantoms (USHL)	COL, 185th overall 2024
3	Cale Ashcroft	Sophomore	D	5' 11" (1.8 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	2004-08-05	St. Albert, Alberta	Tri-City Storm (USHL)	—
4	Jack Devine	Senior	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	2003-10-02	Glencoe, Illinois	NTDP (USHL)	FLA, 221st overall 2022
5	Garrett Brown	Sophomore	D	6' 3" (1.91 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	2004-04-04	San Jose, California	Waterloo Black Hawks (USHL)	WPG, 99th overall 2022
6	Alec Whipple	Freshman	D	6' 0" (1.83 m)	181 lb (82 kg)	2004-02-09	Far Hills, New Jersey	Trail Smoke Eaters (BCHL)	TBL, 213th overall 2019
7	Aidan Thompson	Junior	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	2002-02-18	Fort Collins, Colorado	Lincoln Stars (USHL)	CHI, 90th overall 2022
9	Boston Buckberger	Sophomore	D	5' 11" (1.8 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	2003-06-01	Saskatoon, Saskatchewan	Lincoln Stars (USHL)	—
11	Samu Salminen	Junior	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	182 lb (83 kg)	2003-04-09	Helsinki, Finland	Connecticut (HEA)	NJD, 68th overall 2021
12	Sam Harris	Sophomore	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	2003-10-14	San Diego, California	Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL)	MTL, 133rd overall 2023
13	Hagen Burrows	Freshman	F	6' 3" (1.91 m)	176 lb (80 kg)	2005-10-13	Orono, Minnesota	Sioux City Musketeers (USHL)	TBL, 128th overall 2024
14	Rieger Lorenz	Junior	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	192 lb (87 kg)	2004-03-30	Calgary, Alberta	Okotoks Oilers (AJHL)	MIN, 56th overall 2022
15	Carter King	Senior	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2001-08-30	Calgary, Alberta	Surrey Eagles (BCHL)	—
17	Peter LaJoy	Sophomore	F	5' 7" (1.7 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	2002-02-27	Evergreen, Colorado	Danbury Jr. Hat Tricks (NAHL)	—
18	Jared Wright	Junior	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	176 lb (80 kg)	2002-11-22	Burnsville, Minnesota	Omaha Lancers (USHL)	LAK, 169th overall 2022
19	Jake Fisher	Freshman	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	192 lb (87 kg)	2005-03-27	Woodbury, Minnesota	Fargo Force (USHL)	COL, 121st overall 2024
21	Kent Anderson	Junior	D	6' 3" (1.91 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	2003-11-13	Calgary, Alberta	Green Bay Gamblers (USHL)	—
22	Connor Caponi	Graduate	F	5' 9" (1.75 m)	186 lb (84 kg)	2000-03-20	Milwaukee, Wisconsin	Waterloo Black Hawks (USHL)	—
23	Eric Pohlkamp	Sophomore	D	5' 11" (1.8 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	2004-03-23	Brainerd, Minnesota	Bemidji State (USHL)	SJS, 132nd overall 2023
24	Kieran Cebrian	Sophomore	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	2003-03-31	Denver, Colorado	Tri-City Storm (USHL)	—
27	James Reeder	Freshman	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	168 lb (76 kg)	2005-10-06	Glenview, Illinois	Dubuque Fighting Saints (USHL)	LAK, 198th overall 2024
28	Zeev Buium	Freshman	D	6' 2" (1.88 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	2005-12-07	San Diego, California	USNTDP (USHL)	MIN, 12th overall 2024
30	Paxton Geisel	Sophomore	G	6' 1" (1.85 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	2004-01-18	Estevan, Saskatchewan	Muskegon Lumberjacks (USHL)	—
35	Matt Davis	Senior	G	6' 0" (1.83 m)	179 lb (81 kg)	2001-06-16	Calgary, Alberta	Green Bay Gamblers (USHL)	—
39	Alex Weiermair	Sophomore	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	2005-05-10	Los Angeles, California	USNTDP (USHL)	—

Standings

2024–25 National Collegiate Hockey Conference Standings v t e
	Conference record										Overall record
	GP	W	L	T	OTW	OTL	SW	PTS	GF	GA	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA
#9 Western Michigan	4	3	0	1	1	0	0	9	10	6	8	6	1	1	27	14
#7 Colorado College	4	2	1	1	1	1	1	8	10	8	10	8	1	1	33	16
#1 Denver	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	6	0	0	12	12	8	4	57	17
Minnesota Duluth	4	2	2	0	0	0	0	6	16	13	11	5	6	0	37	37
#12 North Dakota	4	2	2	0	0	0	0	6	15	12	11	5	6	0	37	34
#11 St. Cloud State	2	2	0	0	1	0	0	5	6	3	11	8	3	0	26	21
Arizona State	4	1	3	0	0	1	0	4	9	13	12	4	7	1	31	32
Omaha	4	1	3	0	0	0	0	3	9	11	10	3	7	0	18	25
Miami	4	0	4	0	0	1	0	1	5	18	14	3	9	2	30	37
Championship: March 30, 2025 † indicates conference regular season champion (Penrose Cup) * indicates conference tournament champion (Frozen Faceoff Championship Trophy) Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll Updated: November 18, 2024

Schedule and results

Date	Time	Opponent^#	Rank^#	Site	TV	Decision	Result	Attendance	Record
Regular Season
October 5	8:07 pm	at Alaska Anchorage*	#1	Avis Alaska Sports Complex • Anchorage, Alaska		Davis	W 6–2	710	1–0–0
October 6	7:07 pm	at Alaska Anchorage*	#1	Avis Alaska Sports Complex • Anchorage, Alaska		Davis	W 4–1	659	2–0–0
October 18	7:00 pm	#19 Northeastern*	#1	Magness Arena • Denver, Colorado		Davis	W 5–2	6,837	3–0–0
October 19	7:00 pm	#19 Northeastern*	#1	Magness Arena • Denver, Colorado		Davis	W 5–2	7,051	4–0–0
October 25	7:00 pm	#20 Wisconsin*	#1	Magness Arena • Denver, Colorado		Davis	W 4–2	6,935	5–0–0
October 26	7:00 pm	#20 Wisconsin*	#1	Magness Arena • Denver, Colorado		Davis	W 6–1	6,560	6–0–0
November 1	5:00 pm	at Yale*	#1	Ingalls Rink • New Haven, Connecticut	ESPN+	Davis	W 6–0	1,498	7–0–0
November 2	5:00 pm	at Yale*	#1	Ingalls Rink • New Haven, Connecticut	ESPN+	Halyk	W 5–1	2,162	8–0–0
November 8	7:00 pm	Lindenwood*	#1	Magness Arena • Denver, Colorado		Davis	W 4–1	6,369	9–0–0
November 9	7:00 pm	Lindenwood*	#1	Magness Arena • Denver, Colorado		Davis	W 4–1	6,582	10–0–0
November 15	6:07 pm	at #9 North Dakota	#1	Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota (Rivalry)	Midco Sports	Davis	W 5–2	11,597	11–0–0 (1–0–0)
November 16	5:07 pm	at #9 North Dakota	#1	Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota (Rivalry)	Midco Sports	Davis	W 3–2	11,633	12–0–0 (2–0–0)
November 22	7:00 pm	Arizona State	#1	Magness Arena • Denver, Colorado
November 23	6:00 pm	Arizona State	#1	Magness Arena • Denver, Colorado
December 6	5:00 pm	at Western Michigan		Lawson Arena • Kalamazoo, Michigan
December 7	4:00 pm	at Western Michigan		Lawson Arena • Kalamazoo, Michigan
December 13	TBA	at Colorado College		Ed Robson Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado (Rivalry)
December 14	7:00 pm	Colorado College		Magness Arena • Denver, Colorado (Rivalry)
December 28	6:00 pm	UNLV*		Magness Arena • Denver, Colorado (Exhibition)
January 3	5:00 pm	at Maine*		Alfond Arena • Orono, Maine	ESPN+
January 4	5:00 pm	at Maine*		Alfond Arena • Orono, Maine	ESPN+
January 10	7:00 pm	Miami		Magness Arena • Denver, Colorado
January 11	6:00 pm	Miami		Magness Arena • Denver, Colorado
January 24	6:07 pm	at Minnesota Duluth		AMSOIL Arena • Duluth, Minnesota
January 25	5:07 pm	at Minnesota Duluth		AMSOIL Arena • Duluth, Minnesota
January 31	7:00 pm	Omaha		Magness Arena • Denver, Colorado
February 1	6:00 pm	Omaha		Magness Arena • Denver, Colorado
February 7	7:00 pm	at Arizona State		Mullett Arena • Tempe, Arizona
February 8	5:00 pm	at Arizona State		Mullett Arena • Tempe, Arizona
February 14	7:00 pm	North Dakota		Magness Arena • Denver, Colorado (Rivalry)
February 15	6:00 pm	North Dakota		Magness Arena • Denver, Colorado (Rivalry)
February 21	TBA	at Miami		Steve Cady Arena • Oxford, Ohio
February 22	TBA	at Miami		Steve Cady Arena • Oxford, Ohio
February 28	7:00 pm	St. Cloud State		Magness Arena • Denver, Colorado
March 1	6:00 pm	St. Cloud State		Magness Arena • Denver, Colorado
March 7	7:00 pm	Colorado College		Magness Arena • Denver, Colorado (Rivalry)
March 8	TBA	at Colorado College		Ed Robson Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado (Rivalry)
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Mountain Time. Source:^[2]

Scoring statistics

Rankings

Poll	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26 (Final)
USCHO.com	1 (42)	1 (43)	1 (47)	1 (48)	1 (48)	1 (48)	1 (48)	1 (50)
USA Hockey	1 (27)	1 (26)	1 (33)	1 (33)	1 (33)	1 (33)	1 (34)	1 (34)

References

^ "2023-24 Men's Ice Hockey Roster". Denver Pioneers. Retrieved August 3, 2024.
^ "2024-25 Men's Ice Hockey Schedule". Denver Pioneers. Retrieved September 9, 2022.

[1] "2023-24 Men's Ice Hockey Roster". Denver Pioneers. Retrieved August 3, 2024.

[2] "2024-25 Men's Ice Hockey Schedule". Denver Pioneers. Retrieved September 9, 2022.

[1]

[2]

v t e Denver Pioneers men's ice hockey
Playing venues	DU Arena (1948–1997) Magness Arena (1999–present)
Head coaches	Vern Turner (1949–1951) Neil Celley (1951–1956) Murray Armstrong (1956–1977) Marshall Johnston (1977–1981) Ralph Backstrom (1981–1990) Frank Serratore (1990–1994) George Gwozdecky (1994–2013) Jim Montgomery (2013–2018) David Carle (2018–)
Seasons	1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
Conference affiliations	WCHA (1951–1958, 1959–2013) NCHC (2013–present)
Rivalries	Colorado College Tigers (Battle for the Gold Pan) North Dakota Fighting Hawks
Culture & lore	Denver Cup
All-time leaders	Statistical leaders Dallas Gaume (266 Points) Rick Berens (94 Goals) Ron Grahame / Tanner Jaillet (82 Wins)
National championships	1958 1960 1961 1968 1969 2004 2005 2017 2022 2024
Frozen Four appearances	1958 1960 1961 1963 1964 1966 1968 1969 1971 1972 1973 1986 2004 2005 2017 2022 2024
NCAA Tournament appearances	1958 1960 1961 1963 1964 1966 1968 1969 1971 1972 1973 1986 1995 1997 1999 2002 2004 2005 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2022 2023 2024
Conference Tournament titles	WCHA: 1960 1961 1963 1964 1966 1968 1969 1971 1972 1973 1986 1999 2002 2005 2008 NCHC: 2014 2018 2024
Hobey Baker winners	Matt Carle (2006) Will Butcher (2017)
Mike Richter winners	Tanner Jaillet (2017)
University of Denver Denver, CO