2022–23 Denver Pioneers men's ice hockey season

2022–23 Denver Pioneers
men's ice hockey season
Ice Breaker Tournament, Champion
NCHC, Champion
NCAA Tournament, Regional Semifinal
Conference1st NCHC
Home iceMagness Arena
Rankings
USCHO#6
USA Today#6
Record
Overall30–10–0
Conference19–3–0
Home20–6–0
Road10–2–0
Neutral0–2–0
Coaches and captains
Head coachDavid Carle
Assistant coachesTavis MacMillan
Dallas Ferguson
Ryan Massa
Captain(s)Justin Lee
Alternate captain(s)Kyle Mayhew
Carter Mazur
McKade Webster
Denver Pioneers men's ice hockey seasons
« 2021–22 2023–24 »

The 2022–23 Denver Pioneers men's ice hockey season was the 74th season of play for the program and 10th in the NCHC. The Pioneers represented the University of Denver in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season, were coached by David Carle in his 5th season and played their home games at Magness Arena.

Season

Coming off of the program's 9th National Title, Denver, had 5 of the six regulars on the blueline returning, along with starter Magnus Chrona, and offense was taken over by a mix of returners, freshmen and transfers including Carter Mazur and Massimo Rizzo.

Denver retained its #1 ranking entering the season and won the Ice Breaker Tournament to kick off the '23 season. In the second week the team was swept by Massachusetts, and finished the first month of the season with 4 straight wins. Denver regained first place and kept their spot after losing to Omaha after Thanksgiving. By the winter break, Denver had a 7-game winning streak.

The Pioneers began the second half by losing to Alaska. Denver recovered to earn a split; the loss removed them from first place. The team won a pair of 7–0 shutouts over last-place Miami, and were then swept by St. Cloud State and had a place at the conference title.

Denver was 9–1 in their final ten games and finished well ahead of everyone else for the regular season crown and Denver made the NCAA tournament with one of the four #1 seeds. As they began their postseason run, Chrona was nursing a lower-body injury and could not play in the quarterfinals.[1] Denver defeated the Miami RedHawks. Chrona returned for the semifinal and was in goal against Colorado College. He allowed one marker on the power play. Denver was eliminated.[2]

The Pioneers still began the NCAA tournament as the #4 overall seed and had the top spot in the East Regionale. Their opponent in the first round was Cornell, who got off to a quick start and took an early lead. The team was shut out for the 5th time that season. It was the first time in nearly 30 years that Denver had been shut out in consecutive games.[3]

Departures

Player Position Nationality Cause
Ryan Barrow Forward  Canada Graduation (signed with Manchester Storm)
Bobby Brink Forward  United States Signed professional contract (Philadelphia Flyers)
Cole Guttman Forward  United States Graduation (signed with Chicago Blackhawks)
Reid Irwin Forward/Defenseman  Canada Left program (retired)
Carter Savoie Forward  Canada Signed professional contract (Edmonton Oilers)
Brett Stapley Forward  Canada Graduation (signed with Laval Rocket)
Antti Tuomisto Defenseman  Finland Signed professional contract (HC TPS)
Jack Works Forward  Canada Transferred to Michigan Tech
Cameron Wright Forward  Canada Graduation (signed with Colorado Eagles)

Recruiting

Player Position Nationality Age Notes
Kent Anderson Defenseman  Canada 18 Calgary, AB
Tristan Broz Forward  United States 19 Bloomington, MN; transfer from Minnesota; selected 58th overall in 2021
Casey Dornbach Forward  United States 25 Edina, MN; graduate transfer from Harvard
Tyler Haskins Forward  United States 19 Rochester, MN
Tristan Lemyre Forward  Canada 21 Mirabel, QC
Rieger Lorenz Forward  Canada 18 Calgary, AB; selected 56th overall in 2022
Lucas Ölvestad Defenseman  Sweden 20 Tampa, FL
Aidan Thompson Forward  United States 20 Fort Collins, CO; selected 90th overall in 2022
Jared Wright Forward  United States 20 Burnsville, MN; selected 169th overall in 2022

Roster

As of August 26, 2022.[4]

No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team NHL rights
2 Illinois Sean Behrens Sophomore D 5' 9" (1.75 m) 178 lb (81 kg) 2003-03-31 Barrington, Illinois NTDP (USHL) COL, 61st overall 2021
4 Illinois Jack Devine Sophomore F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 2003-10-02 Glencoe, Illinois NTDP (USHL) FLA, 221st overall 2022
6 Missouri McKade Webster (A) Junior F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 2000-07-28 St. Louis, Missouri Green Bay (USHL) TBL, 213th overall 2019
7 Colorado Aidan Thompson Freshman F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 2002-02-18 Fort Collins, Colorado Lincoln (USHL) CHI, 90th overall 2022
9 Saskatchewan Owen Ozar Sophomore F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 156 lb (71 kg) 2000-04-05 Prince Albert, Saskatchewan Waterloo (USHL) —
11 Sweden Lucas Ölvestad Freshman D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2002-03-19 Stockholm, Sweden Dubuque (USHL) —
13 British Columbia Massimo Rizzo Sophomore F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 178 lb (81 kg) 2001-06-13 Burnaby, British Columbia Coquitlam (BCHL) CAR, 216th overall 2019
14 Alberta Rieger Lorenz Freshman F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 192 lb (87 kg) 2004-03-30 Calgary, Alberta Okotoks (AJHL) MIN, 56th overall 2022
15 Alberta Carter King Junior F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2001-08-30 Calgary, Alberta Surrey (BCHL) —
16 Minnesota Tristan Broz Sophomore F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 183 lb (83 kg) 2002-10-10 Bloomington, Minnesota Minnesota (Big Ten) PIT, 58th overall 2021
17 Minnesota Casey Dornbach Graduate F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 183 lb (83 kg) 1997-07-07 Edina, Minnesota Harvard (ECAC) —
18 Minnesota Jared Wright Freshman F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 176 lb (80 kg) 2002-11-22 Burnsville, Minnesota Omaha (USHL) LAK, 169th overall 2022
19 Minnesota Tyler Haskins Freshman F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 2003-07-07 Rochester, Minnesota Madison (USHL) —
20 Alberta Michael Benning Junior D 5' 9" (1.75 m) 178 lb (81 kg) 2002-01-05 St. Albert, Alberta Sherwood Park (AJHL) FLA, 95th overall 2020
21 Alberta Kent Anderson Freshman D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 2003-11-13 Calgary, Alberta Green Bay (USHL) —
22 Wisconsin Connor Caponi Junior F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 186 lb (84 kg) 2000-03-20 Milwaukee, Wisconsin Waterloo (USHL) —
23 Minnesota Lane Krenzen Senior D 5' 10" (1.78 m) 188 lb (85 kg) 1998-02-21 Twig, Minnesota Austin (NAHL) —
26 California Shai Buium Sophomore D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 2003-03-26 San Diego, California Sioux City (USHL) DET, 36th overall 2021
27 California Kyle Mayhew (A) Graduate D 5' 7" (1.7 m) 158 lb (72 kg) 1997-12-25 Anaheim Hills, California Fairbanks (NAHL) —
28 Alberta Brett Edwards Senior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 192 lb (87 kg) 1998-09-10 Grande Prairie, Alberta Drumheller (AJHL) —
29 Quebec Tristan Lemyre Freshman F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 2001-01-15 Mirabel, Quebec Dubuque (USHL) —
30 Sweden Magnus Chrona Senior G 6' 5" (1.96 m) 218 lb (99 kg) 2000-08-28 Stockholm, Sweden Skellefteå J20 (J20 SuperElit) SJS, 152nd overall 2018
31 Missouri Jack Caruso Junior G 5' 9" (1.75 m) 187 lb (85 kg) 1999-06-07 St. Louis, Missouri Fairbanks (NAHL) —
32 Manitoba Justin Lee (C) Senior D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2000-03-14 Waskada, Manitoba Fargo (USHL) —
34 Michigan Carter Mazur (A) Sophomore F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 173 lb (78 kg) 2002-03-28 Jackson, Michigan Tri-City (USHL) DET, 70th overall 2021
35 Alberta Matt Davis Sophomore G 6' 0" (1.83 m) 179 lb (81 kg) 2001-06-16 Calgary, Alberta Green Bay (USHL) —

Standings

2022–23 National Collegiate Hockey Conference Standings
Conference record Overall record
GP W L T OTW OTL SW PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
#6 Denver † 24 19 5 0 2 1 0 56 94 53 40 30 10 0 150 86
#11 Western Michigan 24 15 8 1 2 0 0 44 86 60 39 23 15 1 148 102
#20 Omaha 24 13 9 2 2 2 1 42 71 64 37 19 15 3 109 97
#5 St. Cloud State * 24 12 9 3 2 1 3 41 85 68 41 25 13 3 133 95
Minnesota Duluth 24 10 14 0 1 4 0 33 65 81 37 16 20 1 95 114
#17 North Dakota 24 10 10 4 3 0 2 33 75 70 39 18 15 6 127 110
Colorado College 24 6 15 3 0 2 2 25 37 60 38 13 22 3 79 99
Miami 24 3 18 3 0 2 0 14 39 96 36 8 24 4 73 137
Championship: March 18, 2023
† indicates conference regular season champion (Penrose Cup)
* indicates conference tournament champion (Frozen Faceoff Championship Trophy)
Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll

Schedule and results

Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Decision Result Attendance Record
Exhibition
October 1 6:00 PM at UNLV* #1 Magness Arena • Denver, Colorado   Chrona W 10–0  4,781
Ice Breaker Tournament
October 7 7:05 PM #11 Notre Dame* #1 Magness Arena • Denver, Colorado (Ice Breaker Tournament) Altitude Chrona W 5–2  5,859 1–0–0
October 8 6:00 PM Maine* #1 Magness Arena • Denver, Colorado (Ice Breaker Tournament) Altitude Davis W 3–1  5,447 2–0–0
Regular Season
October 14 5:00 PM at #13 Massachusetts* #1 Mullins Center • Amherst, Massachusetts ESPN+ Chrona L 2–4  7,297 2–1–0
October 15 5:00 PM at #13 Massachusetts* #1 Mullins Center • Amherst, Massachusetts ESPN+ Chrona L 0–3  6,315 2–2–0
October 21 7:00 PM #11 Providence* #4 Magness Arena • Denver, Colorado Evoca Chrona W 4–1  5,218 3–2–0
October 22 6:00 PM #11 Providence* #4 Magness Arena • Denver, Colorado Evoca Chrona W 3–2  6,324 4–2–0
October 28 5:00 PM at Miami #3 Steve Cady Arena • Oxford, Ohio   Chrona W 4–0  1,921 5–2–0 (1–0–0)
October 29 5:00 PM at Miami #3 Steve Cady Arena • Oxford, Ohio   Chrona W 4–2  2,011 6–2–0 (2–0–0)
November 4 7:00 PM #4 St. Cloud State #2 Magness Arena • Denver, Colorado Altitude Chrona L 3–4 OT 6,015 6–3–0 (2–1–0)
November 5 6:00 PM #4 St. Cloud State #2 Magness Arena • Denver, Colorado Evoca Chrona W 3–2  6,220 7–3–0 (3–1–0)
November 11 6:00 PM at #12 North Dakota #2 Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota (Rivalry) Midco Chrona W 3–2  11,738 8–3–0 (4–1–0)
November 12 5:00 PM at #12 North Dakota #2 Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota (Rivalry) Midco Chrona W 6–3  11,852 9–3–0 (5–1–0)
November 25 7:00 PM Omaha #1 Magness Arena • Denver, Colorado   Chrona L 0–3  5,689 9–4–0 (5–2–0)
November 26 6:00 PM Omaha #1 Magness Arena • Denver, Colorado   Chrona W 6–3  5,269 10–4–0 (6–2–0)
December 2 7:00 PM Arizona State* #1 Magness Arena • Denver, Colorado Altitude 2 Chrona W 3–2  5,260 11–4–0
December 3 6:00 PM vs. Arizona State* #1 Magness Arena • Denver, Colorado   Davis W 5–2  5,510 12–4–0
December 9 6:00 PM at Minnesota Duluth #1 AMSOIL Arena • Duluth, Minnesota MY9 Chrona W 3–2  6,487 13–4–0 (7–2–0)
December 10 6:00 PM at Minnesota Duluth #1 AMSOIL Arena • Duluth, Minnesota MY9 Chrona W 4–3 OT 6,354 14–4–0 (8–2–0)
December 16 7:00 PM Lindenwood* #1 Magness Arena • Denver, Colorado Altitude 2 Davis W 5–0  4,944 15–4–0
December 17 6:00 PM Lindenwood* #1 Magness Arena • Denver, Colorado   Davis W 5–4  5,268 16–4–0
January 6 7:00 PM Alaska* #1 Magness Arena • Denver, Colorado Altitude 2 Crona L 1–3  6,221 16–5–0
January 7 6:00 PM Alaska* #1 Magness Arena • Denver, Colorado   Crona W 7–2  6,254 17–5–0
January 13 7:00 PM Miami #4 Magness Arena • Denver, Colorado   Crona W 7–0  5,858 18–5–0 (9–2–0)
January 14 6:00 PM Miami #4 Magness Arena • Denver, Colorado Altitude 2 Crona W 7–0  - 19–5–0 (10–2–0)
January 20 6:30 PM at #4 St. Cloud State #3 Herb Brooks National Hockey Center • St. Cloud, Minnesota FOX 9+ Crona L 3–7  4,080 19–6–0 (10–3–0)
January 21 5:00 PM at #4 St. Cloud State #3 Herb Brooks National Hockey Center • St. Cloud, Minnesota FOX 9+ Crona L 0–2  5,148 19–7–0 (10–4–0)
January 27 7:00 PM Colorado College #5 Ball Arena • Denver, Colorado (Rivalry) Altitude Crona W 2–0  17,952 20–7–0 (11–4–0)
February 4 6:00 PM at Colorado College #4 Ed Robson Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado (Rivalry) ATTRM Crona W 4–1  3,892 21–7–0 (12–4–0)
February 10 7:00 PM North Dakota #4 Magness Arena • Denver, Colorado (Rivalry) CBSSN Crona W 5–3  5,979 22–7–0 (13–4–0)
February 11 6:00 PM North Dakota #4 Magness Arena • Denver, Colorado (Rivalry)   Crona W 5–2  6,193 23–7–0 (14–4–0)
February 17 7:00 PM Minnesota Duluth #3 Magness Arena • Denver, Colorado   Crona W 6–2  6,218 24–7–0 (15–4–0)
February 18 6:00 PM Minnesota Duluth #3 Magness Arena • Denver, Colorado Altitude 2, TSN2 Davis L 5–6  6,361 24–8–0 (15–5–0)
February 24 5:00 PM at #5 Western Michigan #3 Lawson Arena • Kalamazoo, Michigan CBSSN Chrona W 5–2  3,947 25–8–0 (16–5–0)
February 25 4:00 PM at #5 Western Michigan #3 Lawson Arena • Kalamazoo, Michigan   Chrona W 3–1  4,419 26–8–0 (17–5–0)
March 3 7:00 PM Colorado College #3 Magness Arena • Denver, Colorado (Rivalry) CBSSN Chrona W 2–1  6,667 27–8–0 (18–5–0)
March 4 6:00 PM at Colorado College #3 Ed Robson Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado (Rivalry) ATTRM Chrona W 4–2  3,894 28–8–0 (19–5–0)
NCHC Tournament
March 10 7:00 PM Miami* #3 Magness Arena • Denver, Colorado (Quarterfinal Game 1)   Davis W 6–2  4,873 29–8–0
March 11 6:00 PM Miami* #3 Magness Arena • Denver, Colorado (Quarterfinal Game 2)   Davis W 7–2  5,567 30–8–0
March 17 3:00 PM vs. Colorado College* #3 Xcel Energy Center • Saint Paul, Minnesota (Semifinal, Rivalry) CBSSN Chrona L 0–1  10,242 30–9–0
NCAA Tournament
March 23 3:30 PM vs. #12 Cornell* #4 SNHU Arena • Manchester, New Hampshire (East Regional Semifinal) ESPNews Chrona L 0–2  3,631 30–10–0
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Mountain Time.
Source:[5]

Scoring statistics

Name Position Games Goals Assists Points PIM
Massimo Rizzo C 38 17 29 46 14
Carter Mazur LW 40 22 15 37 32
Casey Dornbach F 40 13 21 34 29
Michael Benning D 39 13 21 34 38
Aidan Thompson C 32 10 22 32 4
Jack Devine RW 38 14 17 31 19
Tristan Broz C 40 10 18 28 35
Carter King F 38 11 12 23 6
Shai Buium D 38 4 17 21 18
Sean Behrens D 31 3 18 21 29
McKade Webster LW 30 6 8 14 34
Kyle Mayhew D 40 2 11 13 18
Justin Lee D 40 6 7 13 59
Jared Wright LW 34 8 4 12 2
Rieger Lorenz C/LW 37 2 7 9 20
Tristan Lemyre D 17 4 3 7 2
Owen Ozar F 27 1 5 6 10
Connor Caponi F 39 2 4 6 26
Brett Edwards F 38 1 4 5 18
Lucas Ölvestad F 22 1 3 4 10
Kent Anderson D 22 0 2 2 4
Magnus Chrona G 32 0 1 1 2
Tyler Haskins F 13 0 1 1 0
Lane Krenzen D 12 0 0 0 2
Matt Davis G 13 0 0 0 0
Jack Caruso G 3 0 0 0 0
Total 150 250 400 431

[6]

Goaltending statistics

Name Games Minutes Wins Losses Ties Goals Against Saves Shut Outs SV % GAA
Jack Caruso 3 11:08 0 0 0 0 4 0 1.000 0.00
Matt Davis 13 509:27 8 1 0 15 185 1 .925 1.77
Magnus Chrona 32 1861:43 22 9 0 68 739 4 .916 2.19
Empty Net - 27:35 - - - 3 - - - -
Total 40 2409:53 30 10 0 86 928 5 .915 2.14

Rankings

Main article: 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey rankings
Poll Week
Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 (Final)
USCHO.com 1 (37) - 1 (41) 1 (46) 4 3 (7) 2 (15) 2 (5) 1 (44) 1 (41) 1 (17) 1 (29) 1 (26) - 1 (29) 4 (3) 3 (4) 5 4 (1) 4 3 (7) 3 3 3 3 4 (1) - 6
USA Today 1 (25) 1 (25) 1 (30) 1 (33) 4 3 (4) 2 (15) 2 (1) 1 (29) 1 (25) 2 (10) 1 (14) 1 (15) 2 (13) 2 (14) 3 (2) 3 3 4 (2) 4 3 (1) 3 3 3 3 4 7 6

Note: USCHO did not release a poll in weeks 1, 13, or 26.[7]

Awards and honors

Player Award Ref
Michael Benning AHCA West All-American Second Team [8]
Carter Mazur
Massimo Rizzo
Magnus Chrona NCHC Goaltender of the Year [9]
Justin Lee NCHC Defensive Defenseman of the Year [9]
Michael Benning NCHC Offensive Defenseman of the Year [9]
Magnus Chrona NCHC Three Stars Award [9]
Magnus Chrona NCHC First Team [10]
Michael Benning
Massimo Rizzo
Carter Mazur NCHC Second Team [10]

Players drafted into the NHL

2023 NHL Entry Draft

Round Pick Player NHL team
5 133 Sam Harris † Montreal Canadiens

† incoming freshman [11]

References

  1. ^ "Colorado College knocks off No. 3 Denver in NCHC semifinals". The Rink Live. March 17, 2023. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  2. ^ "FRIDAY, MARCH 17, 2023". College Hockey Inc. March 17, 2023. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  3. ^ "Denver Hockey Media Guide 2020-21" (PDF). Denver Pioneers. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
  4. ^ "2019–20 Men's Ice Hockey Roster". Denver University. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
  5. ^ "2022-23 Men's Ice Hockey Schedule". Denver Pioneers. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
  6. ^ "Denver Univ. 2022-2023 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
  7. ^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  8. ^ "Two Northeastern players repeat as first-team All-Americans". USCHO.com. April 7, 2023. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
  9. ^ a b c d "Western Michigan's Polin named NCHC player of year, Denver's Chrona top goalie, North Dakota's Blake best rookie for '22-23 campaign". USCHO. March 17, 2023. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  10. ^ a b "NCHC Reveals 2022-23 All-Conference Teams". NCHC. March 8, 2023. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  11. ^ "NCAA player rankings, selections in 2023 NHL Draft". USCHO.com. Retrieved June 30, 2023.