2018 NCAA Tournament

Midwest Regional: Denver (22-9-8) vs. Penn State (18-14-5)

Saturday, 5 p.m., at Allentown, Pa.

Series: Denver leads, 1-0, a 6-3 victory in the Midwest Regional final in 2017

TV / radio: ESPN3 / AM 1600

Denver update

The Pioneers open defense of their eighth national championship with a rematch of one of the games on their path to last April’s title. Denver regained its mojo after a Game 1 loss to Colorado College in an NCHC quarterfinal and has won four in a row, capped by Saturday night’s victory over St. Cloud State for the league’s playoff title. The Pioneers’ streak of 11 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances is the longest active run in college hockey, and they’ve won 20 games or more for 17 consecutive seasons. … Hobey Baker Award finalist Henrik Borgström leads the DU offense with 50 points (fifth in Division I), including 22 goals. He was the NCHC Player of the Year and Forward of the Year, as well as a first-team all-conference pick. Troy Terry (44 points) and Dylan Gambrell (42) were second-team all-conference picks, and defenseman Ian Mitchell (26 points) made the league’s all-rookie team. … Junior left wing Jarid Lukosevicius is right on Borgström’s heels with a career-high 19 goals among his 32 points. … Denver will get forward Tyson McLellan back this weekend. The sophomore has missed the past 26 games because of a shoulder injury. This marks the healthiest DU has been all season, coach Jim Montgomery said. … It’s also the healthiest the Pioneers’ frame of mind has been. “I think the biggest change has been maturity in leadership and maturity in freshmen,” the coach said. “At this time of the year with the way we’ve been playing they know they have to come out and beat us. …. I feel that we’re peaking because we’re playing the right way because we’re committed. … People being unselfish, sacrificing their bodies.”

MORE: DU’s defense flourishes with healthy Hammond and Plant

Net gains

Senior Tanner Jaillet can tie DU Athletic Director Ron Grahame for the program’s victories record with one more. The reigning Mike Richter Award winner is sitting on 81 entering the tournament. Jaillet is entrenched in the top 10 in several statistical categories – his 1.85 goals-against average is fifth, his .929 save percentage is seventh, and his five shutouts are tied for fifth. “Ron Grahame was a terrific goaltender, that says it all,” Montgomery said. “I’m not saying that because he’s my boss. I remember watching him play in the NHL when I was a kid. Tanner approaching his wins record speaks volumes his game and what he’s done at Denver. (What’s remarkable about) Tanner is his anticipation. He’s so square to pucks. He knows where it’s going before the guy passing it does.” Jaillet was the NCHC Goaltender of the Year for the second consecutive season.

Penn State update

Notre Dame, the East Region’s top seed, edged Penn State, 3-2, in a Big Ten semifinal last weekend. Penn State has nine players with 20 or more points, led by junior forward Andrew Sturtz (40), while sophomore Dennis Smirnov has a team-high 15 goals, and Sturtz and sophomore Nate Sucese have 14 apiece. Sophomore Peyton Jones (2.98 GAA, .906 save percentage) plays the majority of the games in net.

By the numbers

There might be no more telling numbers than these – Denver is 11-1-2 against teams in this NCAA Tournament field, while Penn State is 3-9-2. … While the Nittany Lions’ offense is slightly better (3.7 goals per game to Denver’s 3.3), the Pioneers’ defense is noticeably stronger (2.05 goals allowed per game to PSU’s 3.11). … The power plays are similar in strength – DU’s hits at 22.2 percent while PSU’s is successful 21.9 percent of the time, but the Pioneers the penalty killing edge, 84.7 to 81.9 percent. … DU has gone 3-0 in its past three regional semifinal games.

©First Line Editorial 2017-18