The path to the postseason begins now.

Nonconference play is officially over for David Carle and No. 6 Denver after a weekend series against No. 15 Maine in which the Black Bears came into Magness Arena and took the opener before both teams settled for a 3-3 tie on Saturday night.

“Obviously, we played them last year in their building. I thought it was two hard-fought games here in our building, as it was last year,” Carle said. “They’re a team that plays extremely hard and, I think, prepares you for conference play and what’s coming. We need to have a good week of practice as we prepare for the defending national champions and a team we beat earlier this year in their building.”

The Pioneers had to shake off some rust from the holiday break as they played for the first time in three weeks in Friday night’s 5-2 loss, but the group found its groove again on Saturday, controlling the pace of play and even finding a way to get a pair of power-play goals for a unit that struggled in the first half of the season.

After the Black Bears opened the scoring in the series finale, DU quickly capitalized on its first man-advantage opportunity with all five players touching the puck on a beautiful team goal that only needed a slight tap into the net from junior forward Sam Harris.

“It was great,” Carle said. “They moved it around really well, handled their pressure. That group’s finding a little bit of chemistry and it was nice to see them execute, for sure. Hopefully it gives us some confidence and some life as we go back into conference play.”

Freshman Kyle Chyzowski continued his hot streak by scoring on the power play in the second period for his fourth goal in the last six games.

Junior defenseman Eric Pohlkamp rushed back to campus this week after playing with the U.S. Collegiate Selects team at the annual Spengler Cup in Davos, Switzerland. 

Pohlkamp and the collection of American college players — the first time a group like this competed in the tournament — made it all the way to the final on New Year’s Eve before falling to host HC Davos.

“It was definitely a whirlwind,” Pohlkamp said. “I wanted to play (here) yesterday. It was a blast of an opportunity. Such a beautiful place, I’d do it over again in a heartbeat. You really can’t explain how cool it was. My parents came out, so that was probably the best part. It was the trip of a lifetime.”

With nonconference play in the rearview mirror, the Pios are currently second in the NCHC standings with 24 points from their first 10 conference games. They’re just one point behind rival North Dakota for the top spot in the race for the Penrose Cup (regular-season championship).

The final seven series of the regular season will each present their own unique challenge, but maybe none bigger than next weekend’s against Western Michigan, the defending national champions who ended DU’s season in the Frozen Four last April in St. Louis.

“They’re a tough team to play against every year and we really look forward to playing them,” Pohlkamp said. “It’s gonna be definitely a tough matchup and we swept them in their building, so they’re gonna come out ready to play, for sure.”

The Pios have already faced the Broncos this season with DU taking both games in Kalamazoo back in November, but now have something to bounce back from themselves after coming up short in the first weekend of action in 2026.

“It’s (about) coming to the rink detailed, ready to work, with a level of focus and attention to detail to give us our best chance to have success (next) Friday night,” Carle said. “A team we know, obviously, really well in Western (Michigan), but we need to have a good week of practice to make sure we’re ready to go on Friday night.”