If you’re a fan of NCHC rivalries, you’ll like Denver’s home schedule in 2017-18. North Dakota returns to Magness Arena, and Minnesota-Duluth and St. Cloud also pay visits.

If you like the variety of compelling non-conference matchups, then this  might not be your season.

The slate also features a later start to the regular season and an extra break. What follows is a closer, month-by-month look at the Pioneers’ schedule for the 2017-18 season.

October: Your first chance to see DU’s new players in person is the annual exhibition, this time on the 1st against Lethbridge. The games begin in earnest two weeks later with a series at Frozen Four opponent Notre Dame. The Pioneers open their home schedule the following weekend against Lake Superior State, which finished seventh in a relatively weak WCHA. DU closes out the month with a series in Boston, first against BU then vs. BC the next night.

Analysis: Two road trips in the first three series against what should be ranked opponents will give us a good baseline of what we might expect from the likely preseason No. 1 team.

November: The month opens with a trip to Western Michigan, followed by visits from St. Cloud State and North Dakota. The Broncos are tough at home but suffered significant personnel losses, something North Dakota can relate to. I think the Huskies will be one of the NCHC’s better teams. After the NoDak series the Pioneers have a two-week break.

Analysis: It typically takes Jim Montgomery’s teams a while to find their footing in the first half of the season, so these three series on the heels of a trip to Boston, will be a big challenge.

December: The Pioneers pay a visit to national championship game foe Minnesota-Duluth to begin the month before the first home-and-home with Colorado College. The rest of the month includes a non-conference series against Dartmouth at Magness before the year ends with home games against Merrimack and Air Force.

Analysis: The UMD series caps a rough stretch of five consecutive tough series. DU’s success vs. CC is well documented and Dartmouth finished ninth in ECAC Hockey. Merrimack made the Hockey East playoffs, and Air Force – which is coming off its second ever elite eight appearance – likely will be ranked will have its deepest team in years, maybe ever.

January: The new year starts with a trip to Miami, which was young last season and always plays DU tough. After a week off, the Pioneers entertain Omaha before going to North Dakota.

Analysis: A sneaky tough month. Oxford isn’t an easy place to play, nor is Grand Forks for that matter. Omaha has had almost no success vs. the Pioneers over the past three seasons.

February: UMD comes to town to kick off the month. After another week off, DU and CC resume their home-and-home slate before the Pioneers finish the month at St. Cloud.

Analysis: This month will determine where DU is seeded heading into the NCHC playoffs. The Pioneers should be in high gear, if past performance is any indicator, and this should prepare them well for the postseason.

March: The regular season ends with a visit from Miami before the NCHC quarterfinals, Frozen Faceoff and NCAA Regionals. The Frozen Four is in the first week in April.

Season analysis: There is little question the Pioneers will be back in the NCAA Tournament unless they suffer A. mass defections for the pros (meaning at least four underclassmen) B. mass injuries or C. some combination of A and B. … The 10-game stretch from late October through the first weekend in December will be crucial. The only four home games in it are vs. St. Cloud and North Dakota – neither of which is ever an easy out. Even though DU typically catches fire in the second half, this stretch will play a key role in PairWise Rankings.

©Chris Bayee 2017