The No. 5 University of Denver hockey team opened its 2025-26 season this past weekend with a two-game stretch against Air Force and Bentley. The Crimson and Gold tied Air Force, 1-1, on the road Friday night before returning home Saturday for a dominant 6-0 shutout at Magness Arena.
The Crimson and Gold’s short trip down I-25 began with an early challenge as Air Force struck first with just over three minutes left in the opening frame. The Falcons held that lead until late in the third period, when freshman forward Clarke Caswell, in his NCAA debut, scored the game-tying goal for his first career tally.
In overtime, both teams pushed hard for the win with several close chances, including a post hit by junior defenseman Eric Pohlkamp, but neither team could find the back of the net. The game went to a shootout, where Denver came out on top, 2-1, with goals from junior forward Sam Harris and freshman forward Kyle Chyzowski, though the game officially goes down as a tie.
Freshman goaltender Quentin Miller made his NCAA debut and stopped 23 of 24 shots, keeping DU within striking distance throughout the night.
“Good for the guys going out and getting the shootout victory. Tough environment for 10 freshmen to play in,” said Head Coach David Carle. “I’m really proud of how we just continued to play through because they (Air Force) don’t make things easy on you.”
Saturday night’s home opener told a different story, as Denver found its rhythm in front of a home crowd. Pohlkamp opened the scoring midway through the first period off a feed from Caswell, and senior forward Samu Salminen added a power-play goal in the second to extend the lead to 2-0 heading into the final frame.
The Crimson and Gold exploded for four goals in the third period. Pohlkamp netted a short-handed goal to make it 3-0, followed by sophomore forward Jake Fisher tipping in a centering pass from junior defenseman Cale Ashcroft. Pohlkamp completed his hat trick with a high shot over the goalie’s blocker before freshman defenseman Eric Jamieson scored his first collegiate goal late to seal the 6-0 win.
Junior goaltender Paxton Geisel stopped all 21 shots he faced in his first start since December 2023.
“Yeah, felt good. Obviously, it’s been a while since I’ve played a full game, last year having surgery,” Geisel said postgame. “Guys played great in front of me, pretty much limiting a lot of Grade A’s (scoring chances).”
“We had a lot of shot volume on the weekend, and lots were made on the new people on the team and trying to get them comfortable at the level and the timing and all of that,” said Carle. “So to see some go into the back of the net was really good for everyone.”
The Crimson and Gold improve to 1-0-1 on the season and remain unbeaten in their last nine home openers (7-0-2). Denver now hits the road for a four-game stretch, beginning with a two-game series at Lindenwood next weekend before heading east to face Boston College and Northeastern.
The team returns to Magness Arena for Homecoming weekend on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 to face Alaska Anchorage.
