No. 9 Denver (2-0) vs. Alaska Fairbanks (0-4)

7:07 p.m. Friday and Saturday at Magness Arena

TV/radio: Friday – Altitude, Saturday – Altitude2; NCHC.tv (both nights) / AM 1600 (both nights)

Series: Denver leads, 7-1

Last meeting: Denver won, 5-4, on Jan. 29, 1994. An interesting side note to that game was current Pioneers assistant Tavis MacMillan was a high-scoring senior forward on that Nanooks team.

Overview

Denver welcomes a determined Nanooks team this weekend. Alaska Fairbanks gave St. Cloud State all it could handle for more than four periods last weekend, falling 3-2 on Friday and actually leading 2-1 at one point in the second period Saturday before ultimately losing. The road hasn’t been kind to the Nanooks, who opened with a pair of shutout losses at Arizona State. With just four goals in four games, they clearly will try to keep these games tight. Junior forward Kyle Marino leads Fairbanks with three points. Junior Anton Martinsson has started three of the Nanooks’ first four games. … The Pioneers have had no such problems with offense as 13 players hit the scoresheet last weekend, led by junior Liam Finlay and freshman Emilio Pettersen with four points and senior Jarid Lukosevicius and freshman Brett Stapley with three points.

Three things to watch

What can Durf do for you? – Sophomore winger Jake Durflinger scored on his first shift of the season last Friday, and he paired with Jaakko Heikkinen and Tyson McLellan to form a highly effective shutdown line that also sustained some offensive pressure. Saturday, he skated on the left wing with fellow sophomores Kohen Olischefski and Ryan Barrow, and that line was more and more noticeable as the game wore on. Meet Durf, DU’s security blanket v.2018.

Delightful D – As well as goaltender Devin Cooley played, the Pioneers’ defense was also stout, limiting second chances, keeping shots to the outside and making quick, clean zone exits. And they did it while switching out parts with seven blue liners dressed on Saturday. This weekend is another opportunity to integrate more of the freshmen defenders with the veterans.

Who breaks out next? – Friday, freshman Emilio Pettersen had a three-point game. Saturday, Liam Finlay posted four points, including his second career hat trick, and freshman Brett Stapley went for three points. If this pattern continues, we should expect someone else to have a big night at some point this weekend. Who will it be?

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