No. 3 Denver (19-5, 10-2 NCHC) at No. 4 St. Cloud State (16-6, 8-4)

Friday, 6:30 p.m., and Saturday, 5 p.m., at St. Cloud, Minn.

Streaming / Radio: NCHC.tv / 104.3 FM HD-3

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

This is the Pioneers’ most important series of the second half. They’ve traded spots near the top of the rankings with the Huskies, and they’re the clear front-runners for the Penrose Cup. Denver has the NCHC’s second-most potent offense (3.88 goals per game), while St. Cloud is third (3.45). And these two teams allow the fewest goals per game by a lot – St. Cloud is first (1.95) and Denver is second (2.08). If one is looking to poke holes, neither team has excelled on special teams, particularly the power play. That makes the scoring numbers more impressive because the teams are filling the net more at even-strength.

The top three NCHC goalies by goals-against average are in this game – Dominic Basse (1.61) and Jaxon Castor (2.01) of St. Cloud and Denver’s Magnus Chrona (2.07). Chrona hasn’t allowed a goal in nearly seven periods. They are Nos. 1, 3 and 5 in saves percentage, in that order.

The teams fill the offensive leaderboards as well. Denver’s Massimo Rizzo, who is on an 11-game points streak, has 32 points, including 22 assists and Casey Dornbach has 26 points. Carter Mazur’s 17 goals are second in the nation. Then you have forward Tristan Broz, like Dornbach a Minnesota native, who has scored seven of his nine goals in the past eight games, including four this past Saturday. For St. Cloud, Grant Cruikshank – like Basse a one-time Colorado College player – has 15 goals, and Jami Krannila (25 points) and Zach Oakbe (24, 13 goals) are in the top 10 in points.

DU and SCSU split their series earlier this season at Magness Arena. St. Cloud won the opener in overtime, 4-3, while DU bounced back to take the second game, 3-2.

©First Line Editorial 2023