Frozen Four final set
Denver survived a dramatic double‑overtime 4‑3 win over Michigan to reach the NCAA title game against Wisconsin in Las Vegas, a game widely called one of the tournament’s best. ( ) Michigan’s Jayden Perron had given the Wolverines the lead with 8:58 left, but Denver battled back and got key goaltending from Johnny Hicks to force and win the extra session. ( )
Denver looked finished with 8:58 left in regulation, down 3-2 after Michigan winger Jayden Perron put the Wolverines ahead in Las Vegas. Then Sam Harris tied it for the Pioneers with 3:35 left, and the game kept going for nearly 20 more minutes of overtime hockey. (ncaa.com, sports.yahoo.com) The winner finally came at 12:35 of the second overtime, when Denver captain Kent Anderson skated into the slot and beat Michigan goaltender Jack Ivankovic for a 4-3 semifinal win. Denver now plays Wisconsin on Saturday, April 11, at 5:30 p.m. Eastern time for the national championship. (denverpioneers.com, espn.com) This was not a tidy comeback. Michigan outshot Denver 52-27, and Denver goaltender Johnny Hicks had to stop 49 pucks, including a string of chances after a crease collision in the third period. (denverpioneers.com, nhl.com) The first period alone felt like a whole game. Denver scored first through Kyle Chyzowski, then Michigan answered with goals from Josh Eernisse and T.J. Hughes to take a 2-1 lead into intermission. (sports.yahoo.com, denverpioneers.com) Denver pulled level in the second period when defenseman Cale Ashcroft scored, which set up the late third-period swing from Perron and Harris. By the time Anderson ended it, the teams had played more than 92 minutes. (sports.yahoo.com, espn.com) The backdrop matters here because Michigan came in as the No. 1 overall seed in the 2026 National Collegiate Athletic Association men’s tournament. Denver was the No. 2 seed out of its regional, but it is also the sport’s most decorated program with 10 national titles. (espn.com, ncaa.com) Wisconsin reached the final first by beating North Dakota 2-1 in the other semifinal. That set up a title game between a Badgers team chasing its first championship since 2006 and a Denver team chasing its third in five years. (ncaa.com, coloradoan.com) Las Vegas is part of the story too. The 2026 Men’s Frozen Four is the first one staged in Las Vegas, at T-Mobile Arena, which gave college hockey one of its wildest semifinal finishes on a stage better known for prizefights and National Hockey League games. (sports.yahoo.com, ncaa.com) So the championship game is set because Denver survived the tournament favorite by one shot after 49 saves from Hicks and one finish from Anderson. Wisconsin gets a Denver team that just lived through the kind of semifinal that can either empty a roster or harden it in 48 hours. (denverpioneers.com, espn.com)
