Michigan
Denver
No. 2 Michigan to Visit No. 1 Denver for Top-Two Showdown
10/14/2026 9:00:00 AM | Ice Hockey
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The top two teams in the nation will go head-to-head this weekend as the No. 2-ranked University of Michigan ice hockey team travels to No. 1-ranked Denver for a two-game series at Magness Arena. The teams will face off on Friday (Oct. 16) at 7 p.m. MDT and Saturday (Oct. 17) at 6 p.m. MDT, with both games streaming on NCHC.tv and airing regionally on Altitude Sports.
Notes
• The Wolverines are 4-0 after sweeping Bowling Green and Alaska Anchorage to open the season. Denver also opened its season with a sweep of Alaska Anchorage during the first weekend of October but was idle last weekend.
• This will be the first regular-season meeting between the teams since 1981. Denver holds a 48-36-1 advantage in the all-time series. The teams met regularly as members of the Midwest Collegiate Hockey League (1950-53), Western Intercollegiate Hockey League (1953-58) and Western Collegiate Hockey Association (1959-81). Since then, the teams have met four times in the postseason: Michigan earned 5-3 wins at the 1999 Regional and 2002 Regional (held at Yost) before Denver ended Michigan's season in the national semifinals in both 2022 and 2026, winning in overtime each year.
• Michigan leads the nation in scoring offense with 28 goals through four games, averaging 7.00 goals per game. The Maize and Blue also lead the nation in team assists (49) and points (77) and are tied for the national lead in scoring margin (5.00).
• Senior Jayden Perron leads the nation in scoring with 13 points on seven goals and six assists through four games. He recorded his first career hat trick Saturday against the Seawolves to extend his point streak to 10 consecutive games. Perron was named the Big Ten First Star of the Week for the second consecutive week, becoming the first Wolverine to earn the honor in back-to-back weeks since Luke Hughes in 2022 (Feb. 15, Feb. 22).
• Senior Michael Hage ranks second nationally in scoring at 3.00 points per game and leads the nation with nine assists. He recorded his third career four-assist game Saturday. Hage also ranks sixth nationally in faceoffs won with a 66.7 percent success rate. With 96 career points, Hage needs four more to reach the Century Club.
• As a team, the Wolverines rank sixth nationally in faceoffs, with their top three centers all above .500. Freshman Jack Nesbitt leads the way at 69.2 percent (45-20), followed by Hage at 66.7 percent and Cole McKinney at 57.1 percent (40-30).
• Sophomore Drew Schock leads Michigan defensemen in scoring with six points on three goals and three assists after totaling 10 points during the entire 2025-26 season. Schock and Adam Valentini also share the team lead in blocked shots.
• Sophomore goaltender Jack Ivankovic owns a .931 save percentage, stopping 108 shots through the first four games. He is closing in on his 1,000th career save with 982 entering the weekend.
