DENVER – The University of Denver hockey team had six players named on Wednesday to 2024-25 All-Conference Teams by the National Collegiate Hockey Conference.
Sophomore defenseman Zeev Buium was one of two players to be a unanimous selection on the All-NCHC First Team and was joined by senior forward Jack Devine on the top grouping. Sophomore forward Aidan Thompson was selected to the Second Team, while forwards Carter King and Sam Harris and defenseman Eric Pohlkamp were all chosen to the league’s Third Team.
Denver two first-team members and six total honorees were the most in the entire conference. Buium and Devine both repeated as players on the NCHC First Team, while the other four Pioneers picked up their first NCHC awards of their career. Pohlkamp was named to the All-CCHA First Team last season as a freshman at Bemidji State.
Buium is the top scoring defenseman on the team and presently ranks tied for third among all rear guards in the country with 38 points, two fewer than first-place Mac Gadowsky of Army (40) in three fewer games. He paces all Pioneers with 30 assists, which is first for all NCAA D-men and ranks tied for third among skaters, and is tied for eighth at his position in goals with eight.
The San Diego, California, native has recorded at least a point in 25-of-33 contests he’s played and has recorded three points in four outings this season: a trio of assists on Oct. 5 at Alaska Anchorage and Feb. 1 vs. Omaha, a goal and two assists on Jan. 10 vs. Miami and three goals on Nov. 15 at North Dakota to be the first Denver defenseman with a hat trick since 2004 and just the 12th in program history. Western Michigan’s Alex Bump joined Buium in earning unanimous First-Team All-NCHC honors.
Devine leads the Pioneers in scoring for the second-straight season and ranks second in the nation with 50 points, just one behind Aiden Fink of Penn State (51). He also leads the country with 38 assists and has tallied 12 goals, with 10 coming since the New Year.
The Glencoe, Illinois, native has garnered points in 30-of-36 contests and has recorded multiple points in 15 games. He began the year with a career-high four assists on Oct. 5 at Alaska Anchorage and has recorded three or more points in four games, also doing so on Oct. 26 vs. Wisconsin (1g/2a), Nov. 15 at North Dakota (0g/3a) and Feb. 8 at Arizona State (0g/3a). Devine has gone on two career-long eight game assist/point streaks this season and has seven goals and 10 assists in his last 11 outings.
Thompson is second on Denver in scoring with a career-high 46 points and ranks third on the team in both goals (17) and assists (29). Nationally, he is tied for sixth in points and fifth in assists. The Fort Collins, Colorado, native began the season with a 14-game point streak (10g/12)—tied for the second-longest by a Pioneer since 2005—and was selected as the NCHC Player of the Month for November.
Harris leads the team in goals with 20 this season and became the 11th NCAA player to reach that threshold after tallying the game-winner on Friday night against Colorado College. He is tied for third in the country with seven game-winning markers, which also matches the fourth-most in a single season in DU history. The San Diego, California, native has also added 12 assists to rank fifth on the team in scoring with 32 points and also paces the Pioneers with nine power-play goals—tied for the third most in the nation.
King has scored a career-high 18 goals and has matched his personal best with 34 points this season. The senior captain ranks tied for 17th in the nation in goals and began the season on a 10-game point streak (7g/6a), one short of matching a career long from last season. The Calgary, Alberta, native has tallied multiple goals in three contests this year, including matching a personal high with four points on two goals and two assists on Oct. 18 versus Northeaster.
Pohlkamp is tied for fourth among NCAA defensemen with 31 points and is tied for eighth at his position with eight goals. He ranks sixth overall on the Pioneers in scoring and is second in shots on goal with 129, the second-most by a rear guard in the country. The Baxter, Minnesota, native has recorded three or more points in three games this season, including registering a career-high four points (1g/3a) last Friday vs. Colorado College. The sophomore picked up 18 points (4g/14a) in the last 16 games of the regular season.
Each of the six Pioneers, as well as the NCHC individual award winners will be recognized during the NCHC Awards celebration on Thursday, March 20, prior to the NCHC Frozen Faceoff in St. Paul, Minnesota.
UP NEXT: Denver begins a best-of-three series in the NCHC Quarterfinals against Colorado College on Friday at 7 p.m. MT at Magness Arena. Game 2 is Saturday at 6 p.m. MT, and if necessary, a Game 3 on Sunday will be at the same time.
TICKETS: NCHC Quarterfinal tickets at Magness Arena are available. Click here to purchase and for more information.
