The University of Denver hockey team is heading to its third straight Frozen Four.
The Pioneers knocked off the defending national champion, Western Michigan University, 6-2, in Sunday's NCAA West Regional Final at Blue Arena in Loveland. Denver got off to a hot start with four goals in the first period to tame the top-regional seeded Broncos and reach the program’s 21st Frozen Four appearance and fourth in the last five seasons.
DU plays No. 1 overall seed Michigan in the Frozen Four on Thursday, April 9, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The winner advances to the national championship on Saturday, April 11.
North Dakota and Wisconsin are facing off in the other semifinal game.
DU goes for an unprecedented 11th national championship.
The NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Tournament has been played since 1948. It’s a single-elimination tournament that features 16 teams from all six Division I conferences. The winners of the four regionals advance to the Frozen Four.
DU has won the most national championships with 10. The Pioneers’ first national title came in 1958, when they beat North Dakota, 6-2, at Williams Arena in Minneapolis. Their most recent national championship was in 2024. Denver defeated Boston College, 2-0, at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn.
How to watch the Frozen Four
The semifinals will be televised on ESPN2 and the final will be on ESPN, according to ESPN. They’ll also stream via ESPN Unlimited for subscribers. (Oddly enough, the NCAA says the final will be on ESPN2.) Radio broadcasts can be found on 104.3 The Fan.
National Semifinals, Thursday, April 9
Wisconsin vs. #2 North Dakota — 3:00 p.m. MT
Denver vs. #1 Michigan — 6:30 p.m MT
National Championship, Saturday, April 11
TBD vs. TBD — 3:30 p.m. MT
How the Pioneers beat Western Michigan
Freshmen played big roles in the win in the regional final. Freshman forward Kyle Chyzowski led all scorers with a career-high three points (two goals and one assist) for the game. Fellow freshman Brendan McMorrow and juniors Kieran Cebrian and Eric Pohlkamp each had a goal and assist. Senior center Samu Salminen and junior left wing Sam Harris each scored a goal.
Freshman goalie Johnny Hicks stopped 26 of 28 shots during the game. He extended his unbeaten streak to 15 games (14-0-1) and was voted the Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA West Regional.
“You come to Denver with the expectation to win. We recruit players who want to win, who want to be a part of something bigger than themselves,” said Coach David Carle. “And, this group is no different. Their fingerprints are obviously all over this game. It starts with our leadership as they talked about bringing them along. But if you want to win and play to a high standard, you come to Denver.”
The Pioneers outshot the Broncos 32-28 for the game. DU also went 1-for-3 on power plays. Hicks, Cebrian, forwards Harris, Clarke Caswell and defenseman Cale Ashcroft were named to the All-Tournament Team.
"We're a lineup full with a bunch of skill and grit. So, it's incredible that we're able to score all the way up and down the lineup. All four lines, all the pairings, it's incredible,” Harris said. “And when it comes to this time of year, goals aren't pretty. They just bounce off things, and for them to bounce in the net for us today, it was great."
The Pioneers avenged last season’s 3-2 double overtime loss to Western Michigan in the Frozen Four to make their seventh appearance in the NCAA semifinals in the last 10 tournaments. They finished 4-2-0 against the Broncos during the year and 2-0 in the postseason after also beating them in this year’s National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC)’s Frozen Faceoff Championship in double overtime.
