Early look at Denver vs. AIC

No. 6 Denver (23-11-5) vs. No. 19 AIC (23-16-1)

NCAA West Regional final at Fargo, N.D.

Saturday, 7 p.m., ESPNU

How they got here

  • Denver finished fourth in the NCHC, won its first-round series vs. North Dakota in two games, lost to NCHC champion Minnesota Duluth in the semifinals, 3-0, before dusting Colorado College, 6-1 in the consolation game. The Pioneers then avenged their 2018 NCAA loss to Ohio State by blanking the Buckeyes, 2-0, on Friday.
  • AIC won both the regular season and playoff championships for Atlantic Hockey Conference, beating Niagara in overtime for the latter last Saturday. On Friday night it became the second consecutive AHC team to knock off top-seeded St. Cloud State in the NCAA Tournament after Air Force accomplished the feat last year. The Yellowjackets beat the Huskies, 2-1.

How they match up statistically

Goals: DU 109 (2.79) / AIC 129 (3.23)

Goals against: DU 79 (2.03) / AIC 116 (2.90)

Power play: DU 15.2% / AIC 19.2%

Penalty kill: DU 82.6% / AIC 80.5%

Leading scorers: DU – Liam Finlay 35 points (15 goals), Jarid Lukosevicius 18 goals (28 points) and Emilio Pettersen 24 assists (30 points). AIC  – Blake Christensen 47 points and 31 assists, and Tobias Fladeby 18 goals (26 points).

Top goaltenders: DU – Devin Cooley 11-6-2, 1.85 GAA, .934 save%, 4 shutouts;  Filip Larsson 12-5-3, 1.97, .932, 3 ShO / AIC – Zackarias Skog 20-13-0, 2.54, .899, 5 ShO.

Past 10 games: DU 6-3-1 / AIC 6-4

©First Line Editorial 2017-19

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