DU Hockey won their ninth and 10th straight games to start the 2024-25 season this past weekend, setting a new record for the best start to a season in their 75-year program history. 

The Crimson and Gold defeated Lindenwood 4-1 in both games of the Friday and Saturday series in Magness Arena. Both games were characterized by a slow start in the first period and a better finish in the later periods. 

During Saturday’s first intermission, DU celebrated the 75th anniversary of the program and welcomed back alums from teams as old as the 1950s. Each decade of players was brought onto the ice and recognized by the fans. 

DU also wore special alternate jerseys all weekend that commemorated the original color palette on the first jerseys worn by the program in 1949.  

“For us, we try to reflect on our history a lot,” Head Coach David Carle said. “For our guys to see that, it will be one of the cooler moments they have during their time here as being a part of that first intermission ceremony.” 

To start Friday’s game, DU came out of the gates in the first-period flat. Denver approached the start on the right note with their physical play but was sloppy with passing and two power play opportunities. 

Their efforts in the second period vastly improved. Three goals during a seven-minute stretch gave DU the momentum they needed to shut the door to a possible upset. 

Junior forward Jared Wright got the party started and finished a rebound off defenseman Eric Pohlkamp’s shot that banked off the boards behind the net, giving Wright his fourth of the season. 

Sophomore forward Sam Harris finished on a two-on-one opportunity less than three minutes later. Four minutes after that, freshman forward James Reeder finished a beautiful power-play goal. Pohlkamp fed a pinpoint pass to Reeder’s perfectly placed stick in front of the net, leading to Reeder’s fourth of the season. 

Pohlkamp ended as the first star in Friday’s game, a testament to the overall series he had against Lindenwood. The sophomore transfer from Bemidji State assisted all three goals in the second period, picked up four points total during the weekend and anchored the DU defense which he’s been doing all season thus far. 

“I think he’s earned the trust and respect of his teammates here quickly and the on-ice stuff speaks for itself,” Carle said. “I think the way he’s implemented himself in the team dynamic has really attributed to his success.”

At the beginning of the third frame, Lindenwood capitalized on DU’s bad net-front defense and brought the score within two. Lindenwood fired nine shots on goal in the third, their most in a period during the two-game series. 

Nine minutes later, sophomore forward Rieger Lorenz slotted away a rebound and scored his second goal in 10 games to bring the game to its concluding score, 4-1. A slow start was combated with a better finish. 

“We learned a lot from tonight,” Pohlkamp said post-game. “The first period was tough, it was really slow. Their [defensemen] were pinching our forwards and we really didn’t know what to do, so we made some adjustments and the second and third were a lot better for us.” 

But, the slow start was extended to two periods during game two on Saturday. DU struggled to wane off the scrappy and physical Lions and were limited in creating chances in their offensive zone. 

Lorenz scored his second of the weekend halfway into the first period, but after that, it was a dull period full of non-sustained pressure and Lindenwood doing a good job of limiting anything DU was rallying. 

Lindenwood tied the game 12 minutes into the second period off of a Tyler Loughman shot that got past senior goaltender Matt Davis’s glove side. 

But, the hero in Saturday’s game was Harris, who potted two third-period goals to lift DU to their record consecutive win. Five minutes into the period, Harris tipped sophomore defenseman Cale Ashcroft’s point shot past Lindenwood’s Owen Bartoszkiewicz into the back of the net. 

Less than six minutes later, Harris received a beautifully accurate pass from Reeder and buried a rifling shot that crushed Lindenwood’s last burst of momentum. Harris picked up his team-leading ninth goal of the season and, as of Nov. 11, he also leads the country according to College Hockey News. 

“Being hard at the net front, that’s something I always take pride in,” Harris said as the reason why he is burying his chances more this season. “Making sure I am getting there and working harder than the guy defending me is something that I put a lot of pride into.”

Another highlight from the final period of the series was the first career shift of sophomore forward Peter LaJoy. LaJoy got in a tussle with Lindenwood’s Brody Mortenson, which led to LaJoy being ejected from the game approximately 30 seconds into his first appearance with Denver. The DU bench was visibly animated and ecstatic as LaJoy exited the ice. 

After improving to 10-0, the season focus now moves to NCHC play for the Crimson and Gold. They will take on one of their tougher conference opponents, North Dakota, in enemy territory on Nov. 15 and 16. 

“It’s going to be a tough weekend, it’s going to be a big test for our group,” Harris said. “But, I’m looking forward to it and we just have to play harder than them.” 

Game one of the series begins on Friday at 5 p.m. Both games are available to stream on NCHC TV or on the radio on 104.3 Denver Sports.