Tanner Jaillet and Denver have the stingiest defense in Division I. Photo courtesy of Shannon Valerio, DU Athletics

NCHC semifinal – No. 1 Denver (28-6-4) vs. No. 11 North Dakota (20-14-3)

Friday: 6:30 p.m. (CBSSN, AM 1600)

Season series: Denver leads 1-0-1 with both games at North Dakota.

NCAA implications: DU is in, the question is where it will be a top seed. “We’re going to be 1, 2 or 3 depending on where we finish this weekend,” DU coach Jim Montgomery said Thursday. “We’re focused on staying in the moment to win this tournament. … It’s a great opportunity for our team to have an experience in front of a big crowd in a Frozen Four-type atmosphere (Friday night), which we hadn’t seen last year until we got to the Frozen Four. It’s going to be very beneficial heading into next week and hopefully the Frozen Four.” North Dakota is 11th in the most recent PairWise Rankings. If it beats the Pioneers it’s in for sure. Even if it loses it has a decent chance to make the NCAA field.

DU update: The Pioneers are on a 13-game winning streak, the longest current one in Division I and tied for the fourth longest in school history. They routed rival Colorado College by a combined 8-1 in an NCHC quarterfinal series last weekend. … DU has the lowest goals-against average in the nation (1.84) – a testament to a strong, veteran defense and junior goaltender Tanner Jaillet, who is one of 10 semifinalists for the Mike Richter Award. “We always say great defense leads to great offense,” said senior Will Butcher, who was selected the NCHC’s player of the year and top offensive defenseman on Thursday. “Having Jaillet in the back of the net and our experienced defense aided that a little bit, then our offense takes off in the second half like it usually does. … He’s a huge part of our team. He’s so calm back there. He calms the whole D core. He gives everyone back there confidence.” Jaillet’s 24 wins are tied for first in D-I, his 1.84 GAA is fourth and his .929 save percentage is eighth. Butcher (35 points) is part of a deep (seven scorers with 22 or more points) and talented offense. Freshman Henrik Borgstrom (38 points, 21 goals) was the league’s freshman of the year. Sophomores Dylan Gambrell (37 points), Troy Terry (36 and 19 goals) and Jarid Lukosevicius (26 and 11 goals) also are heavy contributors.

North Dakota update: After an up-and-down season, the Fighting Hawks finished with a sweep at Miami before sweeping St. Cloud State in an NCHC quartefinal. They are every bit Denver’s match offensively – Shane Gersich had 21 goals and 37 points, Brock Boeser and Avlanche pick Tyson Jost have 15 goals and 31 points apiece. And defenseman Tucker Poolman has 30 points. Goaltender Cam Johnson was in Jaillet’s situation a year ago, playing in front of a deep, veteran defense. After four members left for the pros he’s seen a lot more pucks this season. Still, he’s 19-11-3 with a 2.40 GAA and .904 save percentage.

How it could go down: Expect plenty of offense as both teams are capable of scoring in bunches. The difference should be Denver’s defense and Jaillet.