College Hockey Game of the Week: No. 1 Denver Pioneers vs. No. 9 North Dakota Fighting Hawks

The No. 1 Denver Pioneers travel to play the No. 9 North Dakota Fighting Hawks in a highly-anticipated match-up.

The last time these two teams played back in January the Fighting Hawks bested the Pioneers winning 4-2.

These teams have played each other many times. In 268 matchups North Dakota has won 139 times, while Denver has won 116 times. They have tied 13 times.

Denver won the National Championship last season, and is off to a hot start again with a 10-0-0 record, on their way to being ranked No. 1 in the country.

In Denver’s last game, they beat Lindenwood 4-1. Sam Harris potted two goals for the Pioneers.

Aidan Thompson and Jack Devine are tied for the team lead in points for Denver with 17 a piece.

North Dakota finds itself in the top ten ranked at No. 9. They are 5-4 this season. Two of their losses came in a two-game series against No. 6 Cornell

In their last game, the Fighting Hawks defeated Minnesota Duluth 4-1.

Louis Jamernik V leads North Dakota in points with nine.

Special teams are going to be a big factor in these games, especially the power play. Both of these teams have extraordinary power plays. Denver has converted on 34% of their power plays, while North Dakota has converted on 33% of theirs.

Both teams will need to stay out of the box or have a great penalty kill.

Zeev Buium was drafted 12th overall by the Minnesota Wild last year. He is the top defenseman for the Pioneers. So far this season he has ten points, which are all assists.

Denver's success comes from the fact they have been outshooting their opponents by more than ten shots per game. The Pioneers average 34 shots per game, while their opponents average 22.9 shots per game

North Dakota has been averaging 28.4 shots per game. Their opponents have been right around there as they have been averaging 27.1 shots per game.

As in every game the goaltenders will need to be at their best. For the Fighting Hawks, we will likely see T.J. Semptimphelter. He hasn’t had the greatest season so far posting a .901 save percentage and 2.76 GAA. North Dakota has won five games with him in goal.

If Semptimphelter struggles they could turn to Hobie Hedquist. He has been good this season with a .913 save percentage and 2.25 GAA in six games played.

The Pioneers will likely start Matt Davis against the Fighting Hawks. Davis has been one of the best goalies in college hockey this year. In the nine games that he has played, he has only allowed 12 goals.

He’s posted a .942 save percentage and a 1.34 GAA. He ranks in the top ten for both save percentage and GAA.

The two games this weekend should be great ones to watch.

The games will be played at Ralph Engelstad Arena. Friday's puck drop is set for 7 p.m and Saturday will begin at 6 p.m.

Andrew Matz is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email atm5759@psu.edu.