The Pioneers opened December the same way they opened the season — with a pair of victories over Arizona State.

Now they’re hoping to keep it going against one of the top teams in the country and a conference opponent.

Minnesota Duluth (10-5-1, 3-2-1 NCHC), No. 5 in this week’s USCHO.com poll, hosts No. 11 Denver (10-4, 4-2) on Friday and Saturday. Both games are set to start at 6 p.m. each night.

The Pioneers are coming off sweeping Arizona State by a combined score of 13-3 to run the Pioneers’ winning streak to six games.

It helped shake off early-season road woes.

“Going into the (last) weekend (we were) 1-4 on the road,” DU coach David Carle said on the Coach’s Show this week. “Our previous four-game skid … it felt like some time had passed and it was an opportunity to get back out on the road and show how much our team has grown as a group. Really proud of our efforts.”

Returning from Thanksgiving break, the Pioneers won 6-2 Dec. 3 and 7-1 a day later to improve to 10-4 on the season.

The Bulldogs, however, are coming off a pair of road losses to Northern Michigan. But that Bulldogs team won’t be the same one the Pioneers see this weekend.

Denver likely will have a tougher test in the Bulldogs than what they saw from the Sun Devils. And that’s because the Bulldogs should have a full bench, according to the Duluth News Tribune.

“We’ve dealt with it (injuries) since the Minnesota series. Basically all year we haven’t had a full complement of players,” Bulldogs coach Scott Sandelin told the Duluth News Tribune. “That’s part of the game, right?”

Denver is tied for third in the conference with 12 points, the Bulldogs are fifth with 11.

And Denver is rolling.

Brett Stapley notched his first career hat trick against the Sun Devils Dec. 3, then returned to add another goal and assist a night later. The senior from Campbell River, British Columbia, also had an assist on Friday.

Stapley opened the season with a goal against ASU and notched his second against Miami (Ohio) Nov. 19. His five goals match a career high, which he did in both his freshman and sophomore seasons.

Goaltender Magnus Chrona stopped 31-of-33 shots Dec. 3 and 25-of-27 Dec. 4, while making his season-high fourth consecutive start.

Denver also swept Arizona State in the Pioneers’ openers, beating the Sun Devils 8-3 and 4-3, respectively, at Magness Arena in the second week of October.

The series against the Bulldogs will be Denver’s last before a nearly three-week hiatus. The Pioneers will return to play on New Year’s Eve at home against Alaska Fairbanks.