Is DU an average hockey team that is going to continue to be subject to the wild swings it demonstrated during the 2015-16 season’s first half, or is it a potential NCAA threat that will accelerate its growth during the second half and peak come March?

In order for the No. 17 Pioneers to approach or reach the magic 20-win mark (they are 7-7-2) heading into the postseason, they will need to win roughly two out of every three games during the final 18 of the regular season. Playing in a powerful conference such as the NCHC, arguably the nation’s toughest, the Pioneers can make a strong case to return to the NCAA tournament by faring well in their league from here on out.

Here are some pluses and minus from the Pioneers’ first half:

Plus: Scoring balance – Six points separate DU’s top-10 scorers (13 points for defenseman Will Butcher and seven for forward Troy Terry). Every line has shown it can score, though rarely have more than two clicked in any one game. The defense also is contributing. Beyond Butcher, Nolan Zajac has 10 points and Adam Plant, Matt VanVoorhis and Nick Neville have goals. Coach Jim Montgomery has a lot of options when building his lines.

Minus: Consistency – Loss, three wins, two losses, four wins and two ties, four losses. Those are DU’s season results. First 10 games – 33 goals. Past six – 14. Goals against – 22 in the first 10 games. Past six – 25. Remember the first 10 games included four games vs. ranked teams – No. 4 Boston College, No. 8 Boston University and No. 13 Minnesota-Duluth twice. The past six have included four games vs. ranked teams as well – No. 4 North Dakota twice and No. 6 St. Cloud State twice. Which is it? If DU figures this out, it could enjoy a long playoff run because it is not an ability question.

Plus: Skating – Watch the Pioneers over the course of a handful of games and one of their standout characteristics is they are an excellent skating team at every position. Several of their defensemen have the wheels to jump into a play and get back in position, and when the forward are committed to back checking they can make life difficult on other teams. At some point DU’s defense-to-offense transition game is bound to improve and generate more goals. They have had some beautiful near-misses.

Minus: Size – DU lost a lot of beef when last season’s seniors collected their caps and gowns. Josiah Didier, Zac Larraza, Ty Loney and Larkin Jacobson were all north of 200 pounds and 6 feet. Only freshmen Colin Staub and Sean Mostrom are listed at more than 200 pounds. Bigger teams, particularly those with bigger defensemen (see both Boston teams, NoDak and even St. Cloud State), have given the Pios problems. This is what it is at this point.

Plus: Freshmen – The six who have played have contributed 32 points, led by Dylan Gambrell‘s 12 points. The heady Gambrell has performed so well that he is playing himself into NHL draft consideration next summer. Terry is a top-six forward fixture who like Gambrell oozes skill, skating and smarts, and Jarid Lukosevicius, who started on a highly effective fourth line with captain Grant Arnold and Matt Marcinew, has moved up the lineup. Logan O’Connor has played in all but two games and Colin Staub has played in eight. Defenseman Blake Hillman is one of the team’s most improved players from the start of the season until now, and I would not be surprised to see him get top-four minutes going forward.

Minus: Defensive breakdowns – There has been some buzz that the Pioneers’ goaltending has let them down at times so far, but I would contend the real culprits are D-zone collapses, poor coverage on rebounds and soft gaps from the circles down. One of the problems DU has had is allowing goals in bunches. It’s as if once the defensive floodgates open, they’re hard to close. Despite their December struggles, the Pioneers still allow fewer than three goals per game so this also is very fixable.

Plus: Penalty kill – The Pioneers have been very good at this all season, and at times great. The recent slump affected this some, but to only allow one power-play goal all weekend to St. Cloud was an accomplishment. DU kills off nearly 86 percent of the chances against them, 17th best out of 60 D-I teams. They are one of the least penalized teams in the nation (9.12 minutes per game), and they have a fleet of fast, intelligent forwards so this should continue.

Minus: Power play – Besides the overall consistency, this really is the other great mystery to this Pioneers group. The Pioneers have just nine PPGs in 60 tries (15 percent). Their speed and skill gets them almost four chances per game, but they only score on it every other game. Raising this 10 percent (to 25) would mean one PPG per game. That could have sent DU into December undefeated. Teams are focusing a lot of attention on Danton Heinen and Trevor Moore, so either they have to find a way to get rolling, or others such as Gambrell, Terry and Quentin Shore need to back fill. Perhaps the forwards need to adopt the mindset that the main defensemen on the PP – Butcher, Zajac and Plant – seem to have – fire away. Montgomery has commented that he wants the PP to be simple and far more aggressive. Surely this won’t remain an issue all season with the scorers DU can ice on any given night, will it?

Plus: Adjustments and leadership – It doesn’t appear there have been any sacred cows with  Montgomery and his staff. Lines are shuffled, pairs are mixed and matched and goalies rotated (and replaced) as deemed necessary. The Pioneers are 15 deep at forward, eight deep on D and have two starting-caliber goalies, which should keep everyone on their toes. As disappointed as Montgomery has been after the past two series (NoDak, St. Cloud), he also stayed even-keeled and focused on solutions not hypotheticals. He and his assistants say they believe in this group, and I have seen no reason not to believe them. And that is because … there is an excellent leadership core on this team. One of the privileges I’ve had is to interview Arnold, Gabe Levin, Butcher and Zajac. Each has their strengths, but it’s Arnold who sets the tone. It’s not by accident that he’s DU’s first two-year captain in two generations. His assistants offer a mix of seriousness (Butcher) and levity (Levin and Zajac). The team’s fourth senior, Shore, also brings a strong presence. All are consistent in their belief in their teammates.

Next up: A look at DU’s upcoming opponent, No. 16 Notre Dame

@MagnessMayhem