Fear not, Pioneers fans.

En route to what some prognosticators deemed would be a rebuilding season, No. 5 Denver has emerged as the last team in Division I without a loss while continuing its tradition of lethal top lines.

Neither development was expected, particularly given the departures of forwards Henrik Borgström, Dylan Gambrell and Troy Terry to the NHL immediately after the season and highly successful coach Jim Montgomery to the Dallas Stars a little more than a month later. That trio of forwards combined for 50 goals and 143 points in 41 games last season. That worked out to be 37 percent of DU’s goal output and 39 percent of its point production … from just three players.

A sequel

In their wake, however, the Pioneers, who are off to their best start since going 9-0 to begin the 2001-02 season, have discovered a unit that thus far is on pace to exceed the numbers of last season’s terrific triumvirate.

Senior Jarid Lukosevicius has teamed with freshmen Cole Guttman and Emilio Pettersen to spark the Pioneers’ 5-0-1 start. The trio has combined for 12 goals and 27 points thus far, which projected over 41 games would be 82 goals and 184 points. If the numbers held, Pettersen would score 75 points and Lukosevicius would tally 48 goals, astonishing totals in the present age of college hockey.

The odds are against this pace continuing, but if it remotely comes close we’re still talking about a bumper crop of offense.

The fulcrum of this scoring machine has been Lukosevicius, who frequently played with Terry and Borgström last season and joined them and Gambrell on the top power-play unit. The senior, who is one of DU’s three assistant captains and who was named the NCAA’s first star of the week after a five-goal eruption vs. Western Michigan last weekend, has seven goals among his 10 points after striking 21 times last season.

But his scoring might be secondary to the intangible factors he’s providing the Pioneers.

“Luko is the straw that stirs the drink from a competitive standpoint,” DU coach David Carle said. “He goes about it the right way and is the ultimate competitor.

“He wants to do things the right way and win the right way. He’s a great leader for the young kids, showing them how to get the most out of every drill, every shift, every day. He’s really embraced being a leader, it’s energized him even more.”

Sudden impact

Pettersen has 11 points, including the tying goal against Western Michigan in the waning moments of Saturday’s game. He’s the top-scoring freshman in Division I and No. 9 overall after the season’s first month.

“I think we have great leadership from Lukosevicius,” said Pettersen, who was the NCHC’s rookie of the month for October. “He pushes us every day. He’s been here for four years now, and he knows exactly how to play college hockey, so he’s been a big help for me and Guttman. We’re working off each other a lot and using our skill.”

Lukosevicius, who at 23 is five years older than Pettersen and four years Guttman’s senior, said he’s been impressed with his linemates since the start of practice this fall.

“They’re easy to read off of,” he said after a season-opening victory at Air Force. “They support pucks and know where to be when they don’t have the puck. They cause a lot of turnovers on the forecheck.”

Guttman, the line’s center, “only” is averaging a point per game. He and Pettersen are part of the top-scoring freshman class in Division I (26 points). He said a key to the trio’s early success is their skill sets are complementary.

“We bring different things to the table,” Guttman said. “Emilio has such great awareness. He can find us in open spots and thread a pass through three sticks. Luko has that great shot. He can finish.”

Numbers don’t lie

It’s not as if the trio wasn’t capable of have a productive start. Lukosevicius finished fourth on DU in scoring last season with 34 points, and he boasts a release that has garnered NHL attention. He participated in the Vancouver Canucks’ prospect camp over the summer.

Pettersen had 46 points in 60 games as a 17-year-old for Muskegon of the USHL, a league largely populated with 19 and 20 year olds.

Guttman, who was shut down in December because of a hip injury that required surgery, had 54 points, including 27 goals, in 53 games during his age 17 season in the USHL.

Still, the group’s early output has been eye opening. Besides their complimentary skills, each member of the line has good wheels. Guttman and Pettersen were recruited in part because of that. Lukosevicius has probably improved his skating more than any other area in the past year, and it shows.

The road ahead, which begins Friday at No. 2 St. Cloud State, will get much tougher. The Huskies are an offensive juggernaut in their own right, and it’s a solid bet their fans haven’t forgotten Guttman committed to St. Cloud, de-committed then signed a National Letter of Intent with Denver not long after.

Next weekend, No. 1 and defending national champion Minnesota-Duluth pays a visit to Magness Arena, followed by No. 3 Providence over Thanksgiving weekend for a non-conference series. In early December, a trip to No. 11 North Dakota awaits. Such is life at high-profile NCHC school.

Whatever hurdles the Pioneers face, they’ve answered one of their biggest offseason questions – where will the offense come from?

“They just give us so much energy every time they step on the ice,” sophomore defenseman Ian Mitchell said. “They’re coming over the boards looking to make plays. We know they’re going to make a play and have a good chance to score goals.

“The chemistry they’ve had from the start has been remarkable. It will big for us if they can continue it.”

©First Line Editorial 2016-18