No. 1 Denver vs. University of Lethbridge

When/Where: Sunday, 5 p.m. at Magness Arena in an college hockey exhibition

DU hockey update

The Pioneers return 15 players, including four selected to the 2017-18 All-NCHC preseason team – forwards Henrik Borgstrom, Dylan Gambrell and Troy Terry and goaltender Tanner Jaillet. … DU tops the preseason polls for USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey, and it’s the pick to take the NCHC regular-season crown as well. … This the only DU home game over the first 19 days of October. The Pioneers are off week 1 of the season before traveling to South Bend, Ind., on Oct. 13-14 for a rematch with NCAA quarterfinalist Notre Dame. DU opens its home slate the following weekend against Lake Superior State.

Lethbridge hockey update

The Pronghorns, a team comprised mainly of former Western Hockey League and Alberta Junior Hockey League players, were 17-14-3 last season. They lost to Colorado College, 4-1, in an exhibition at Breckenridge on Saturday night and then finish their three-game tour of Colorado with a Monday night matchup at Air Force Academy.

DU hockey storylines

Pioneers coach Jim Montgomery said he plans to dress the maximum 21 skaters allowed for an exhibition – seven defensemen and all 14 forwards. One defenseman who won’t dress is senior captain Tariq Hammond, who is recovering from a second surgery on the ankle he injured in the national title game vs. Minnesota-Duluth in April. Look for veteran blue liners Adam Plant, Blake Hillman and Michael Davies to be paired with some combination of junior Sean Mostrom, sophomore Erich Fear and freshmen Ian Mitchell and Griffin Mendel. With Hammond expected to miss most, if not all of October, those seven will be the Pioneers’ options. … The top two lines will feature the junior trio of Gambrell, Terry and Jared Lukosevicius – aka the group that contributed all three goals in the title game. Borgstrom will center fellow sophomore Liam Finlay and freshman Jaakko Heikkinen. Tyson McLellan, who played with Borgstrom and Finlay in the postseason, will center another line. … Pay particular attention to Jaillet’s backups – freshmen Dayton Rasmussen (a one-time Colorado Thunderbird) and Devin Cooley.

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