Denver Wins NCAA Men’s Hockey Championship

For the first two periods of the NCAA Men’s Hockey championship game on April 11th in Las Vegas, it looked like the Wisconsin Badger men would join the Badger women’s team as national champions. But in the end, Denver scored a pair of third period goals to put the Pioneers over the top and on to a 2-1 victory. It was Denver’s third NCAA championship in five years, and 11th overall, which is the most of any school.

The Pioneers had to work to get the championship. In addition to the 2-1 win over Wisconsin in the final, Michigan took Denver into double overtime in the semifinal before losing 4-3. Goalie Johnny Hicks kept them in both games, with 29 saves versus Wisconsin and 49 versus Michigan.