Denver men's hockey defeats Wisconsin to win third NCAA championship in 5 years

AtlanticBruinsCanadiensLightningMaple LeafsPanthersRed WingsSabresSenatorsMetropolitanBlue JacketsCapitalsDevilsFlyersHurricanesIslandersPenguinsRangersCentralAvalancheBlackhawksBluesJetsMammothPredatorsStarsWildPacificCanucksDucksFlamesGolden KnightsKingsKrakenOilersSharksScores & ScheduleStandingsPodcastsFantasyNHL OddsNHL PicksPlayoff projectionsNHL Draft rankingRed Light NewsletterDenver men’s hockey defeats Wisconsin to win third NCAA championship in 5 yearsKyle Chyzowski scored on a tip to give Denver a 2-1 lead in the third period. Lucas Peltier / Imagn Images Share full article5LAS VEGAS — For the third time in five years, the Denver Pioneers are national champions. With it, head coach David Carle, at just 36 years old, has further cemented himself as a college hockey great. And DU has further cemented itself as the pre-eminent hockey program in the nation with its record-extending 11th national title. For much of their 2-1 win over Wisconsin at T-Mobile Arena, the Pioneers looked like they were drowning. They lost first-line center and alternate captain Samu Salminen (a New Jersey Devils prospect) for much of the first half of the game to what looked like a shoulder injury, Salminen sprinting down the tunnel favoring it after drawing an early tripping penalty. For a spell, they were without two of their centers after sophomore Jake Fisher took a high dump in to his face and sprinted down the tunnel himself. For the second game in a row, Mike Hastings’ Wisconsin Badgers smothered their opponent for much of the 60 minutes. At the end of the first period, the shots were 10-2 in favor of Wisconsin. Denver’s two shots on goal tied a record low for a period in a championship game. After two periods, the shot difference had ballooned to 21-5. “We threw everything at the net and just couldn’t find a way to get one through,” Wisconsin alternate captain Gavin Morrissey said. The Badgers’ forecheck was relentless, they won the vast majority of footraces and puck battles, and they were connected out of their own zone and through neutral ice. The Badgers scored first, too, with Buffalo Sabres seventh-rounder Vasily Zelenov attacking on one of those sequences through neutral ice. He went directly at star DU defenseman and San Jose Sharks prospect Eric Pohlkamp, ripping a wrister past him and over Pios goaltender Johnny Hicks’ right shoulder bar down to make it 1-0. But that was the only time the Badgers would sneak one past Hicks. Led by their unbeatable freshman goalie, the Pioneers hung around. And they eventually drew even when alternate captain and Minnesota Wild prospect Rieger Lorenz, on Denver’s ninth shot of the game nearly 48 minutes in, jumped on a rebound. It was just the Pioneers’ second grade-A chance of the game, but it was enough. After a late blast from junior defenseman Boston Buckberger — who, just two days earlier, had to leave the semifinal after his hand and finger were sliced open by a skate — was tipped in by Kyle Chyzowski, it was suddenly Denver’s game to lose. Wisconsin captain Ben Dexheimer nearly tied it late, putting a shot off the crossbar, but Denver hung on. “I’m still shocked,” Dexheimer said. “I couldn’t be prouder of this team. I couldn’t be more proud to wear the W. We’ve set the standard for Wisconsin.” The national championship grows Denver’s NCAA men’s college hockey record to 11, two clear of Michigan. “It would have been great to hold them to nine shots,” Hastings said, “but when you’re playing against a team that’s as accomplished as they are, you know there’s going to be a push. The ones that leave the scars are the ones you remember the most. … We had a kick at the can. … We just couldn’t find a way to get it to two.” Denver’s goalie continued his incredible run to start his collegiate career, stopping 29 of 30 shots to finish his freshman season 16-0-1. Hicks was a brick wall early in the contest, holding the Badgers to one goal in the opening frame despite Wisconsin playing nearly the entire period in the offensive zone. Despite not being the tallest goalie, Hicks does an exceptional job of working to see through traffic, bobbing and weaving to see shot releases without sacrificing angles. The lone shot that beat Hicks was a laser of a wrist shot by Zelenov, who used the defender to shield the release from Hicks’ vision. One of Hicks’ biggest saves came early in the third period when Wisconsin winger Jack Horbach created a partial breakaway for himself with a steal in the neutral zone. He skated in all alone and fired a shot high to the short side, but Hicks gloved it to keep it a one-goal game. Minutes later, Denver tied it 1-1. The Pioneers found their game late, but Hicks was the only reason the game was within reach at that point. — Jesse Granger Wisconsin dominated possession for the majority of the game, largely thanks to an incredibly effective forecheck. The Badgers skated well without the puck, supported one another and pressured the puck all over the ice. It started early. Wisconsin swarmed the Pioneers from the puck drop, flipping pucks into the offensive zone and winning them back. The Badgers held a commanding 10-2 shot advantage in the first period, setting a record for the fewest shots allowed in a period of the national championship game. Wisconsin’s pressure was just as impressive while defending, with forwards applying tons of back pressure to help their defenders. Even on the rare occasions that Denver’s skaters did find open ice, they had grown so accustomed to the constant pressure that they still rushed their passes. That all changed in the third period, when Denver finally found its rhythm passing the puck and created sustained time in the Wisconsin zone. — Jesse Granger Though David Carle was making history opposite Mike Hastings on Denver’s bench, Hastings has turned Wisconsin’s program around, and this was his third Frozen Four appearance in six years. Last year, the Badgers won just 13 games and finished sixth in the seven-team Big Ten. A few months ago, after losing six straight games in January, they held a team meeting with their season in the balance. They needed help to get into the national tournament and trailed by two goals late in the third period of the Worcester Regional final to before posting a 4-3 overtime win over Michigan State. But then they were here and Hastings got his team, without its only first-round pick — Logan Hensler — due to injury, to play their two best games of the season against two of the best teams in the country. The Badgers nearly beat the No. 6, No. 5, No. 3 and No. 2 teams in the country by NPI (the new index used to determine seeding in the national tournament) over the last few weeks to get here. — Scott Wheeler One year after losing a Hobey Baker finalist defenseman in Zeev Buium, the University of Denver could be in a similar position this offseason. Junior defenseman Eric Pohlkamp, a Hobey finalist this season, will have to decide whether he wants to sign with the Sharks and go pro. Pohlkamp, a fifth-round pick in 2023, has elevated his game the past two seasons at Denver since transferring from Bemidji State University. Pohlkamp racked up nearly 40 points this season, with 18 goals and 21 assists in 43 games. Coach David Carle praised him for his “abrasive” style on the ice, how competitive he is and how he can impact the game at both ends. “To be honest with you, I really didn’t know much about Denver, coming from a small town in Minnesota,” Pohlkamp said. “Found out really quick what it meant to be a Pioneer. Don’t care about the money, the fame, the glory, you just come here to win.” — Joe Smith The Pioneers were pretty much dominated most of this game and had gone a period and half without a grade-A chance when senior Rieger Lorenz came through with the biggest goal of his life. Lorenz went to the net front and put in a rebound to beat Daniel Hauser for the tying goal. Denver had been outshot 25-6 at that time but kept at it. Lorenz, 22, was nearly the hero in Thursday’s Frozen Four semifinal against Michigan, too, with his redirection in the first overtime going off the crossbar. Lorenz said this has been a big year for him in tying his offensive and defensive games together, getting a top-line role for the Pioneers. The tying tally Saturday gave Lorenz a career-high 17 goals (one more than 16 in his sophomore year after he had just six last year). Lorenz told The Athletic he plans to sign with Minnesota after the Frozen Four. It’s unclear what that deal will look like, an ATO for rest of the season then start next season, or just sign to start next season. — Joe Smith Ten and a half months ago, Senators fourth-round pick Blake Montgomery was winning the Memorial Cup with the London Knights. A few months before that, he was one of the very first players to make the move from the USHL to the CHL when it looked as if eligibility into the NCAA was going to open up for CHL players. And Saturday, he was one goal from becoming the first player in this new era to win both the CHL and NCAA titles. He was a standout in both games in Vegas this week. He stands out because of his length (Wisconsin lists him at 6 feet 4 and 182 pounds but he might be even taller than that). But he also stands out because of his speed. He’s one of the best skaters on the ice every time he’s out there, no matter who is out there with him, and his ability to fly down the wall or through the middle of the neutral zone was so valuable all week. He wasn’t a top dog for the Badgers as a freshman. He lined up at third-line left wing for them and played only 13:21 in the semifinal. But he registered five shots in the semi (including a couple out of strong drives to the net) and was even more noticeable from shift to shift in the final. That final bit of execution wasn’t there to find the scoresheet, but he played with confidence and must’ve created at least half a dozen entries himself Saturday. Montgomery has the makings of a bottom-six piece for the Sens if he continues to develop, progress and assert himself like he did this week. — Scott Wheeler Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms