Their contributions to the Denver hockey team’s defense might be better measured not by what their statistics are, but by what Pioneers opponents’ statistics aren’t.

They sit 13th and 18th in scoring for DU, but in the 20 games they’ve played together this season, the Pioneers’ defense is demonstrably stronger.

While DU’s average of 2.53 goals allowed per game with one of them out of the lineup is nothing to sneeze at, that number shrinks to 1.6 goals allowed per game when they’re both skating their regular shift.

They are, of course, senior defensemen Adam Plant and Tariq Hammond.

“The stats speak for themselves,” DU junior defenseman Blake Hillman said. “They’re really intelligent, and they definitely know how to shut down other teams’ top lines. They’ve really taken that into consideration for their game.

“They take pride in that on – and off – the ice. Both are really good shutdown D who can skate with anyone, make the right reads, make the right plays all the time.”

Defense keeps it clean

Fellow senior Tanner Jaillet receives the lion’s share of credit for Denver’s stingy average of 2.05 goals against per game (third in the nation). But the goaltender is quick to credit those in front of him, particularly his defensemen, for giving him clean looks at pucks and for clearing out the trash when the biscuit decides to linger near the crease longer than necessary.

Hammond, the Pioneers’ captain, and Plant, an assistant captain, have been two mainstays in those efforts. One wonders what DU’s numbers might look had they had the duo on the ice together for more 20 games this season.

Hammond missed the first 10 games of the season as he continued his recovery from an ankle injury suffered in last April’s national championship game. The injury required multiple surgeries and hours upon hours of rehab work in the ensuing months. That was just to walk normally, not taking into account regaining the explosive skating stride the 6-foot-2, 200-pounder displayed pre-injury.

Progress has been slow but steady, and as DU coach Jim Montgomery pointed out recently, many players would take a year or longer to come back from what Hammond accomplished in seven months.

The first game Hammond returned, Nov. 17, was the first one of nine that Plant, one of the team’s best skaters, missed over the next two months because of a host of upper-body injuries.

The next challenge

That goals-against difference – and the duo’s current solid state of health – is more important given when next up on the schedule is high-scoring Penn State in an NCAA Tournament opener (Saturday, 5 p.m. on ESPN3). The Nittany Lions average 3.7 goals per game (second in Division I) and have a deep and balanced offense.

MORE: An early look at the Denver-Penn State matchup

Plant is often deployed in a shutdown pair with sophomore Michael Davies, who was

Hammond’s D partner for most of last season. Hammond plays primarily with freshman Griffin Mendel and sophomore Erich Fear. Plant and Hammond both kill penalties and Plant is a frequent contributor on the second power-play unit.

While defense is their calling card, both can chip in offense. Plant’s 10 points are three off his career high, but his six goals match his career total entering this season.

He told me earlier this season he intentionally was trying to be more aggressive on offense to help pick up some of the slack for graduated Hobey Baker Award winner Will Butcher. Clearly that was feedback he received while participating in the Minnesota Wild’s prospect camp last summer.

Hammond’s six points are four below his career best, which came during 2015-16, and three below last season’s total, but he’s played 14 fewer games than last season and 10 fewer than in the previous season.

He, too, has caught the eye of pro scouts, attending the Montreal Canadiens’ prospects camp during the summer of 2016.

Both are willing to and capable of logging big minutes, often ones that start immediately to Jaillet’s right or left.

“Adam and Davies will be matched up against other team’s top lines,” Hillman said. “Tariq and Mendel are handling whoever they’re out against. They were out against St. Cloud’s top line (in the NCHC championship game on Saturday) and they’re physical. It’s not just one shutdown D pair. All three of ours are solid and feed off each other.”

The senior tandem adds something else. And it’s something Hillman and fellow junior Sean Mostrom have incorporated into their game as well – playing a bit of big brother to the Pioneers’ younger D-men. Davies and Fear are sophomores, and Mendel, Hillman’s partner Ian Mitchell and Ryan Orgel are freshmen.

“When we were without Tariq and Adam, we were missing our veteran presence,” Hillman said. “Just as they helped me when I was younger I had to take it upon myself to be more of a leader at the beginning of the year.

“Our group of defensemen is tight, and they set the tone for that. They’re great guys on and off the ice. Everyone has nothing but good things to say about them.”

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