No. 3 Duke and No. 5 Denver to Clash in Baltimore Sunday

The Opening Faceoff

Duke travels to Baltimore for another top-five matchup Sunday against No. 5/8 Denver. Faceoff is set for 2 p.m., at Archbishop Spalding High School.
The Blue Devils are 11-6 versus Denver and have won six straight against the Pioneers. Denver's last win was a 14-9 win in Denver in 2017. Five of the past six games have been decided by three or fewer goals.
Denver enters Sunday's game with a 6-1 record with the loss coming to Yale on March 10. The Pioneers own top-20 victories over Johns Hopkins and Cornell. JJ Sillstrop headlines the offense with 27 points (18g, 9a), while Michael Lampert has nine goals and 13 assists. The Pioneers are allowing 10.29 goals per game and are led at the faceoff dot by Alex Stathakis' 60 percent win rate.
The Duke defense has been solid this season, holding teams to just 8.9 goals per game. The Blue Devils recently held Syracuse to just 10 goals, more than five goals below its season average, and the fewest it had scored all season.
Duke caps the eight games in 28 days stretch Wednesday against Boston University at Koskinen Stadium. Faceoff is at 3 p.m., on ACCNX.

By the Numbers
924 - Career faceoffs won by Jake Naso - the most in Duke history and one of nine in NCAA history to reach the benchmark and seventh in NCAA history

5.67 - Points per game average for Brennan O'Neill in three games against Denver - 17 (11g, 6a)

.611 - Freshman goalie Patrick Jameison's save percentage through 10 games, third nationally

4 - Of the past six matchups between Duke and Denver that have been decided by two or fewer goals

16.50 – Goals per game average for Duke - third nationally

8.90 – Goals per game allowed by Duke - fifth lowest nationally

1,763 – Combined faceoff wins for Duke's Jake Naso (924) and Denver's Alex Stathakis (839)

183 - Career goals for Brennan O'Neill, second among active DI players

276 – Career points for Brennan O'Neill, fifth in Duke history and 26 from becoming the fourth Blue Devil to 300

.321 - Denver's shot percentage for the season

.243 – Duke opponents' shot percentage for the season with only three shooting above 30 percent in a game this season

Series History

Duke and Denver are meeting for the 14th consecutive season. The Blue Devils are 11-6 all-time against the Pioneers and have won six straight. Denver's last win was a 14-9 victory in Denver.
Four of the past six contests have been decided by two or fewer goals, including last year's overtime victory. Brennan O'Neill is averaging 5.67 points per game versus the Pioneers and Jake Naso has won 63 percent of his faceoffs versus the Pioneers.
Denver and Duke last squared off as top-five foes in 2018 - a 15-12 victory for the No. 2 Blue Devils over No. 4 Denver. The two programs have been ranked in the top five five times (2014 -2, 2015, 2016, 2018). Duke is 3-2 in those games.

A Win Over Denver Would...

Be head coach John Danowski's 468th career win
Be Danowski's 249th win at Duke
Be the seventh straight against the Pioneers
Be Duke's third top-20 win of the season and first top-five victory

Duke On The Road

The Blue Devils are 3-1 in true road games this season. Duke is 60-26 in road matchups under head coach John Danowski. Since 2007, Duke has gone unbeaten in away games just twice - 2009 and 2010. Duke has one more true away contest at North Carolina.

Memorable Matchups And Comebacks

Five of the past six games have been decided by three or fewer goals, including last year's overtime win by the Blue Devils in Durham.
Duke has had a pair of memorable comebacks in recent years against the Pioneers. Last season, Brennan O'Neill orchestrated a thrilling finish, scoring a goal with 19 seconds left in the fourth quarter to send the game to overtime. After Duke drew a 60-second penalty on the ensuing faceoff, O'Neill scored the game winner 22 seconds into overtime.
In 2019, the Blue Devils trailed 7-4 at the beginning of the fourth quarter. After Denver went up 7-4 2:01 into the final period, Duke scored five straight in a span of 9:46 to take a 9-7 lead. The Pioneers responded with two uanswered to tie the game with 19 seconds left. Duke's Joey Manown called game with seven seconds left on an an unassisted goal. Duke had just two goals in the first half of that game.

Faceoff Battle Looming

Sunday's battle at the faceoff dot is one to watch as it features two of the top draw men in the country in Duke's Jake Naso and Denver's Alec Stathakis. Naso has 924 wins in 62 outings, while the Pioneer FOGO has 839 in 60 games to rank first and second among active players, respectively.
Naso only took one faceoff in the 2020 matchup with the Pioneers and is 30-of-58 (.625) for his career. Stathakis won 14-of-28 last season and is 50-of-85 (.588) overall in the four matchups.

Year-by-Year for Stathakis vs. the Blue Devils

2020: 13-of-15 | 2021: 10-of-12 | 2022: 13-of-30 | 2023: 14-of-28

Year-by-Year for Naso vs. the Pioneers

2021: 0-of-1 | 2022: 16-of-28 | 2023: 14-of-28|

Up Next

Duke returns home for its final non-conference game against Boston University. The Terriers recently down top-ranked Army. Faceoff is set for March 27 at 3 p.m., at Koskinen Stadium.

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