2022–23 Denver Pioneers men's ice hockey season

Coming off of the program's 9th National Title, Denver, predictably, had to contend with a good deal of roster turnover. The top 4 scorers from the nation's best offense were gone, as were a slew of other forwards, but the team's defense remained mostly intact. With 5 of the 6 regulars on the blueline returning, along with starter Magnus Chrona, the Pioneers had a solid foundation to try and repeat as champions. The responsibilities on offense ended up being taken over by a mix of returners, freshmen and transfers but led by sophomores Carter Mazur and Massimo Rizzo.

Denver retained its #1 ranking entering the season and looked good as they won the Ice Breaker Tournament to kick off the '23 season. The Pios stumbled in the second week, getting swept by Massachusetts, but they soon recovered and finished out the first month of the season with 4 straight wins. Denver was able to regain its perch atop the polls after a solid performance against a pair of ranked teamsand kept their spot even after dropping a decision to Omaha after Thanksgiving. By the time the winter break rolled around, Denver was riding a 7-game winning streak and a virtual lock to make the NCAA tournament.

The Pioneers had an inauspicious beginning to the second half by losing to Alaska straight away. While Denver recovered to earn a split, the loss knocked them from the top of the polls. The team appeared to bounce back with a pair of 7–0 shutouts over bottom-feeding Miami, they were then swept by St. Cloud State and suddenly found themselves in a dogfight for the conference title.

The Pios refocused afterwards and were dominant down the stretch. Denver's relatively light schedule allowed them to go 9–1 in their final ten games and finish well ahead of everyone else for the regular season crown. More importantly, their outstanding record ensured that Denver was not only going to make the NCAA tournament but receive one of the four #1 seeds. As they began their postseason run, the only trouble for the team was that Chrona was nursing a lower-body injury and could not play in the quarterfinals.[1] Luckily, the team was playing Miami and easily rolled over the RedHawks. Chrona had recovered enough to return for the semifinal and was in goal against Colorado College. While their goaltender's health was a topic of conversation going into the game, Chrona was strong in goal and allowed just a single marker on the power play. Unfortunately, the Pios' offense never got going. Denver was unable to solve the Tiger netminder and was knocked out by their long-time rival.[2]

Despite the setback, the Pioneers still had a chance to repeat when the began the NCAA tournament as the #4 overall seed. They were given the top spot in the East Regional and, though they were far from their campus, the Pioneers had overcome worse. Their opponent in the first round was an old enemy in Cornell, who had had their own trouble scoring in a conference semifinal, but Denver was the odds-on favorite to win the match. It was, however, the Big Red who got off to a quick start and took a lead less than t3 minutes into the game. Cornell kept up the pace and were able to double their lead midway through the period while simultaneously tamping down any attack from Denver. The Denver offense was mostly silent through the first 40 minutes of play, managing to get just 11 shots on goal, but the team tried to stage a dramatic comeback in the third. Denver fired 16 shots on the Cornell cage, desperately trying to score and extend their season. Unfortunately, just like the previous game, the Pioneers could not find the back of the net and were shutout for the 5th time that season. It was the first time in nearly 30 years that Denver had been shutout in consecutive games and could not have come at a worse time.[3]

As of August 26, 2022.[4]

No.	S/P/C	Player	Class	Pos	Height	Weight	DoB	Hometown	Previous team	NHL rights
2		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		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		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		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		Owen Ozar	Sophomore	F	5' 9" (1.75 m)	156 lb (71 kg)	2000-04-05	Prince Albert, Saskatchewan	Waterloo (USHL)	—
11		Lucas Ölvestad	Freshman	D	6' 1" (1.85 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	2002-03-19	Stockholm, Sweden	Dubuque (USHL)	—
13		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		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		Carter King	Junior	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2001-08-30	Calgary, Alberta	Surrey (BCHL)	—
16		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		Casey Dornbach	Graduate	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	183 lb (83 kg)	1997-07-07	Edina, Minnesota	Harvard (ECAC)	—
18		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		Tyler Haskins	Freshman	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	2003-07-07	Rochester, Minnesota	Madison (USHL)	—
20		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		Kent Anderson	Freshman	D	6' 3" (1.91 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	2003-11-13	Calgary, Alberta	Green Bay (USHL)	—
22		Connor Caponi	Junior	F	5' 9" (1.75 m)	186 lb (84 kg)	2000-03-20	Milwaukee, Wisconsin	Waterloo (USHL)	—
23		Lane Krenzen	Senior	D	5' 10" (1.78 m)	188 lb (85 kg)	1998-02-21	Twig, Minnesota	Austin (NAHL)	—
26		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		Kyle Mayhew (A)	Graduate	D	5' 7" (1.7 m)	158 lb (72 kg)	1997-12-25	Anaheim Hills, California	Fairbanks (NAHL)	—
28		Brett Edwards	Senior	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	192 lb (87 kg)	1998-09-10	Grande Prairie, Alberta	Drumheller (AJHL)	—
29		Tristan Lemyre	Freshman	F	5' 9" (1.75 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	2001-01-15	Mirabel, Quebec	Dubuque (USHL)	—
30		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		Jack Caruso	Junior	G	5' 9" (1.75 m)	187 lb (85 kg)	1999-06-07	St. Louis, Missouri	Fairbanks (NAHL)	—
32		Justin Lee (C)	Senior	D	6' 0" (1.83 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2000-03-14	Waskada, Manitoba	Fargo (USHL)	—
34		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		Matt Davis	Sophomore	G	6' 0" (1.83 m)	179 lb (81 kg)	2001-06-16	Calgary, Alberta	Green Bay (USHL)	—

[6]

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