No. 4 Denver (14-4-3, 6-4-1-1 NCHC) at No. 14 Western Michigan (13-8-1, 6-5-1-1 NCHC)

5:05 p.m. MST Friday and Saturday at Kalamazoo, Mich.

Radio / webcast: 1600 AM (Friday) and 104.3 FM (Saturday) / NCHC.tv (subscription)

Series: DU leads, 16-7-1

Earlier this season: DU swept two games at Magness Arena, 5-2 and 4-3 in overtime

Overview

While Denver is on an eight-game unbeaten streak (7-0-1), Western Michigan had its 10-game unbeaten streak end last weekend at St. Cloud State. The Pioneers’ streak is their longest since 2017, when they won 13 in a row from Jan. 21 to March 11. … The teams are tied for third in the NCHC standings, just two points behind second-place Minnesota-Duluth and two points ahead of fifth-place North Dakota. This series, as well as DU’s vs. NoDak next weekend have huge implications for positioning for a home series in the conference quarterfinals. … Each team is dealing with impactful injuries. WMU has been without forward Wade Allison the past four games, after the junior missed the first 10 of the season while recovering from a knee injury he suffered last season. Denver won’t have sophomore goalie Devin Cooley (illness) for the fifth game in a row. It could get defenseman Les Lancaster (upper body) back. He and freshman forward Tyler Ward, who didn’t play much in the second half of the CC game, made the trip. … Freshman Filip Larsson (6-0-2, .919, 2.18 GAA) will get the call in net for the fifth and sixth games in a row for DU, while Trevor Gorsuch, who did not play in the teams’ earlier meetings this season, likely will go for the Broncos. Gorsuch is 11-4-1 with a .925 and a 2.19 GAA. … Liam Finlay leads Denver with 24 points, while Josh Passolt tops WMU with 14 goals and 23 points.

Three keys for Denver

Mind your Ps and Ks – The penalty kill nearly torpedoed Denver against Colorado College last Saturday, giving up three goals on four chances and making a game that DU dominated early a mad scramble to the finish, which came on Brett Stapley‘s shootout goal. Western Michigan takes a lot of penalties (nearly 14 minutes per game), but it also draws a lot of them, so special teams will be a huge factor.

Feed Luko – We’re not just talking pre- and post-game meals here. Senior Jarid Lukosevicius has feasted on the Broncos during his DU career, with 15 points (8 goals) in 11 games. He’s consistently provided the Pioneers with offense this season (13 goals, 20 points), a run that included a hat trick in the first game against the Broncos earlier this season and two goals -including an overtime winner – the next. So it would be a surprise if he doesn’t have his chances even with more attention being paid to him.

Stay vigilant – The past four meetings against Western Michigan have been interesting to say the least. Last season at Kalamazoo, the Broncos rallied from three-goal, third-period deficits to beat the Pioneers both nights. They twice tied DU early in the first game this season before the Pioneers pulled away, then they overcame a 2-0 deficit to take a 3-2 lead in the third period of the second game. Emilio Pettersen tied that game in the final minute before Lukosevicius won it in overtime. The point is WMU is a team that won’t go away easily.

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