The Denver Pioneers return to the ice for their first game of the 2018-19 season on Friday, Oct. 12 at Air Force. Puck drop is set for 7:05 p.m.

DENVER: SNAPSHOT
• Denver returns 55% of its point scoring and 48% of its goal scoring from 2017-18
• Jarid Lukosevicius leads the returners with 76 points (43-33-76) in 118 career games
• Returners/Lost: 15/11 (Total), 9/5 (Forwards), 5/4 (Defenseman), 1/2 (Goalies)
• Last season, the Pioneers made their 11th consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament and became the first two-time winners of the NCHC Frozen Faceoff
 
DENVER LAST GAME
Exhibition: Denver 6, Alberta 4
• Cole Guttman, Emilio Pettersen and Slava Demin each recorded multi-point games
• Devin Cooley made 24 saves on 27 shots through two periods
• The Pioneers went 2/6 on the power play and 6/9 on the penalty kill
 
DENVER: UP NEXT
Denver vs. Alabama-Huntsville – Oct. 13, 2018
• The Pioneers will face the Chargers for the first time since the teams split a series on Jan. 6-7, 2011 at Magness Arena
• Denver is 5-1-0 all-time against Alabama-Huntsville
• Chargers head coach Mike Corbett played at Denver from 1993-1997
 
AIR FORCE: SNAPSHOT
• The Falcons return 55.6% of their point scoring and 61% of their goal scoring from 2017-18, in addition to goalie Billy Christopoulos who logged a 2.06 GAA and .922 SV% in 97% of Air Force's games last season
• Air Force was selected 1st in the Atlantic Hockey preseason poll. The Falcons are receiving votes in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine and USCHO.com polls
• Last season, Air Force made its seventh trip to the NCAA Tournament and advanced to the elite eight for the third time in school history. The Falcons have won 20 or more games in each of the last three seasons, marking the first time in school history they have accomplished that feat
 
AIR FORCE: LAST GAME
Exhibition: Air Force 2, Alberta 2 (OT)
• The Falcons fell behind 2-0 early in the second period, but rallied to force a tie
• Billy Christopoulos made 30 saves on 32 shots
• Air Force went 2/4 on the power play and 2/4 on the penalty kill
 
AIR FORCE: UP NEXT
Air Force at Colorado College – Oct. 13, 2018
• The Falcons will travel to Colorado Springs for their only game of the seasons against the Tigers
• Last season, Air Force defeated Colorado College, 6-3, on Dec. 29, 2018 at the Cadet Ice Arena
YOUNG PIONEERS
• At 28, David Carle is the youngest coach in Division I college hockey
• The Pioneers have the fourth-youngest team in college hockey with an average age of 20 years/8 months
• Colin Staub (24), Denver's oldest player, is more than six years older than Brendan Budy (18), the Pioneers' youngest player
• The Pioneers have 20 freshmen and sophomores, the most since the 2007-08 season when Tyler Bozak was a freshman
 
NHL CENTRAL SCOUTING
• Brendan Budy and Sean Comrie were each named to the NHL Central Scouting preliminary players to watch list for the 2019 NHL Draft, receiving C ratings as potential fourth, fifth or sixth round selections
 
EXPERIENCED STAFF
• Assistant Coach Tavis MacMillan served as head coach of Alaska-Fairbanks from 2004-07
• Assistant Coach Dallas Ferguson served as head coach of Alaska-Fairbanks from 2008-17
• Volunteer Assistant Coach Steven Reinprecht played 663 NHL games over 11 NHL seasons, winning a Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche in 2001
• Team Manager Ben Scrivens played 144 NHL games over five NHL seasons in addition to representing Canada at the 2018 Winter Olympics

DENVER PIONEERS SUCCESS 
• Denver Athletics has claimed the I-AAA Directors' Cup in 10 of the last 11 seasons, for the top finish in the Directors' Cup standings amongst schools without football.
• The Pioneers have claimed 33 National Championships in their history (Skiing 24, Hockey 8, Men's Lacrosse 1).
•Denver's 35th place overall Directors' Cup finish in 2016-17 is the department's bestin its history. DU's men's programs finished fifth in the Capital One Cup for the second time in three years.
•Entering 2018-19, the Pioneers are one of five athletic departments in the country to take home an NCAA title in each of the last five years. country to take home an NCAA title in each of the last four (4) years