After a somewhat inauspicious start to the season, Denver went on a six-game roll to close out the first quarter of its season 6-2. That run included sweeps of Boston University (then ranked No. 2), Michigan State on the road and a Western Michigan squad that I still believe could finish in the top four in the NCHC.

The next quarter of the season features 10 games, beginning with a huge series in Grand Forks, N.D., this weekend against the squad that took out DU in the Frozen Four in April.

The matchup kicks off what will be an interesting portion of the schedule for the No. 2 Pioneers.

The No. 6 Fighting Hawks (5-3-1) are reeling a bit after being swept by Minnesota-Duluth for the first time in nearly two decades and then losing and tying No. 8 Minnesota last weekend. North Dakota sustained heavy personnel losses to the pros.

After that the Pioneers return home to play Miami (3-4-2), which has a younger team and was swept by Western Michigan last weekend.

Thanksgiving weekend sees Denver travel to Air Force and then play host to an improved Wisconsin team. The Falcons have gone 2-3-1 since winning the Ice Breaker Tournament but are coming off their best performance – winning 3-1 at Army – since that opening weekend. The Badgers (5-3) are one of many teams in the Big Ten that appear to be significantly improved from a season ago.

December opens with the first of two home-and-home series against Colorado College (3-5), which is already halfway toward its win total from all of last season. The Tigers dress a predominantly underclassmen lineup but one that is faster and more skilled than a season ago.

The first half concludes with what is shaping up as DU’s biggest home series – two games against Duluth (7-1-2), which started NCHC play with sweeps of North Dakota and St. Cloud State.

November and December weren’t kind to the Pioneers last season, and I wonder if the down time before North Dakota will help or hurt, but with a strong next five weeks the Pioneers can set themselves up well heading into the second half.

Here is a closer look at how each unit has performed for DU this far:

Goaltending

Tanner Jaillet has started seven of eight games and has been very good to superlative throughout. His 1.73 goals-against average and .931 save percentage are by far the best in the conference among starting goalies, and he has either kept the Pioneers in games or won them in part each of the past three sweeps. He’s clearly the go-to guy now, but I wonder if senior Evan Cowley, who allowed just two goals in his only start, will get a game here or there.

Defense

The Pioneers are allowing just 1.88 goals per game, sixth best in the nation. Jaillet is part of the reason, but each of the three regular pairs plus freshman fill-in Erich Fear has contributed to it as well. Captain Will Butcher and Adam Plant have the awareness and skating ability to get the puck out of the zone quickly and pressure the other team. Butcher is putting up the offensive numbers (seven points) but Plant has quietly been rock solid, and I would say improved over last season. Tariq Hammond has continued to grow as a shutdown defender who can jump into the play, and his partner, freshman Michael Davies, is clearly gaining comfort and letting his skilled game come to the forefront. Both pairs have been critical penalty killers. Matt VanVoorhis and Blake Hillman have continued their steady play of a season ago. They are an asset at even strength. Hillman is playing on the power play and both see time killing penalties, VanVoorhis as a forward. This group has been a team strength night in and night out.

Forwards

Close doesn’t count except in horse shoes and hand grenades the saying goes, but if it did sophomore Jarid Lukosevicius might have 12 goals right now instead of three. He and freshman Henrik Borgstrom (team-high nine points and four goals) and sophomore Troy Terry (six points) have been very good of late. Bergstrom and Terry’s skill with the puck is a sight to behold and Lukosevicius seems to always be around the net. It’s been a good top-line combination for DU, and any of the three are capable of scoring binges. Dylan Gambrell‘s early return from an upper-body injury gave the offense a needed jolt, and he was slotted with senior Matt Marcinew, who like Gambrell has four points, and sophomore Colin Staub, who like Lukosevicius stays very involved down low. Marcinew is the Pioneers’ face-off ace but has the shot to capitalize on playing with someone of Gambrell’s ability. Freshman Liam Finlay has gotten some minutes here as well. The other line that probably will stay together is the trio of freshman Tyson McLellan, senior Evan Janssen and sophomore Logan O’Connor. Until Borgstrom’s recent nightly clinics I would have said McLellan was the Pioneers’ best freshman so far, and in terms of all-around play he probably is. Speedy and tenacious, the third line creates a lot of problems for teams. All three also are main penalty killers. The fourth line has had a lot of moving parts thus far. Seniors Emil Romig and Evan Ritt have played several games there. Freshman Kevin Conley has been in the mix, and junior Rudy Junda, Finlay and even Staub have seen time there. Romig also has played on the second line, and has been one of the team’s better players night in, night out. Surprisingly, DU’s offense has been below the Division I mean of 3 goals per game (2.75). There is a lot of potential with this group, and we probably have only caught glimpses of what it’s capable of thus far.

Special teams

In the season of the ref (because they’re controlling the games more than any time I can remember recently), the Pioneers have shown exceptional discipline so far, taking just 10 minutes of penalties per game, tied for second fewest in the nation. They’re killing off penalties at an 84.6 percent rate, a number I’m surprised isn’t a bit better because of how strong Jaillet and the defense have been. After an abysmal start, the power play showed plenty of life against Western Michigan and is hitting at 15.6 percent, which is middle of the pack nationally. The schedule gets tougher, but both numbers likely will improve.