Top-ranked Denver got Wisconsin’s best on Friday and found a way to win. The Pioneers possessed the puck far more on Saturday and rolled to another victory.

One month into the season, DU stands 6-0 and with a trip to Yale on deck this weekend and a visit from Lindenwood the following one, there is a distinct possibility it could be 10-0 entering NCHC play. That mid-November series at North Dakota has all the makings of one of the biggest of the season. It could match two teams in the top six and two teams generally considered to be the league’s best.

Here’s a first-month checkup on the Pioneers:

DU Follows a Familiar Script

Denver is scoring five goals per game (second in Division I). It’s allowing 1.7 (tied fifth).

Sound familiar? It should. This tracks fairly closely to last season and several before that.

Even the special teams have been fairly special. The power play is effective 29 percent of the time (eighth), and the penalty kill has succeeded 90 percent of the time (tied 11th).

Some might quibble about the level of competition, but Anchorage, Alaska, isn’t an easy trip, and both Northeastern and Wisconsin were ranked when they visited Magness Arena.

To Pass Is Devine

If someone had told you senior Jack Devine and sophomore Zeev Buium would have one goal between them one month into the season, an alarm bell probably would have sounded. However, the duo has 20 assists, and their example of sharing of wealth is working for the Pioneers. Devine’s 14 points top D-I.

Sophomore Sam Harris has six goals, senior Carter King five, and junior Aidan Thompson four. Three newcomers — transfers Samu Salminen (three goals), Eric Pohlkamp (five points) and freshman Jake Fisher (three and five) — have contributed. Thompson (11) is tied for fifth in Division I in points. Fisher is making a strong case to join Buium on the U.S. World Junior Championship team at the end of the year.

The core group has been incredibly consistent.

Devine and King have a point in every game, and Devine has moved into 55th on DU’s career scoring list with 120 points. Pohlkamp has a point in five consecutive games and Thompson and Harris in four.

Forecast: Mostly Sunny

What’s remarkable about how well the Pioneers are playing is they lost a considerable amount of firepower and experience from last season’s team.

The defense, which was my primary question coming into the season, has been solid. Boston Buckberger and Pohlkamp have been a tremendous pair. Kent Anderson has complemented Buium well. And sophomore Cale Ashcroft seems to have found another gear to his game.

Yes, there will be bumps in the road and plenty of teachable moments. But a championship hangover? It doesn’t seem like it.

©First Line Editorial 2024