Denver pulls off double-OT
Denver survived a 4–3 double-overtime semifinal to beat Michigan and advance to the Frozen Four title game against Wisconsin — that win keeps Denver chasing an 11th national championship. (sports.yahoo.com) The result was the highlight of the Las Vegas weekend and is confirmed across NCAA live updates, setting up a rematch-style title game that frames Denver as the historical favorite. (ncaa.com) SportsCenter’s Denver roundup also tied the school’s win into a broader Denver sports surge this week. (x.com)
Denver needed 92 minutes and 35 seconds of hockey to get rid of Michigan, and the winning shot came from captain Kent Anderson, a defenseman with only his second goal of the season. The final was 4-3 in double overtime at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. (ncaa.com) (sports.yahoo.com) That result shoved Denver into Saturday’s national championship game against Wisconsin, scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Eastern time on April 11 on ESPN. Denver is chasing its 11th men’s hockey title, which would add to the record 10 it already owns. (ncaa.com 1) (ncaa.com 2) Michigan was not some random upset victim. The Wolverines entered Las Vegas as the overall No. 1 seed, and Denver came in as the No. 2 seed and the fourth-ranked team, so this was a heavyweight semifinal that turned into a survival test. (nchchockey.com) (ncaa.com) The game kept stretching because neither side could land the last punch after regulation ended 3-3. Denver finally broke it with 7:25 left in the second overtime, which is the hockey version of playing an extra quarter and then still needing another one. (sports.yahoo.com) (detroitnews.com) A big reason Denver was still alive that deep into the night was goaltender Matt Davis, who made 49 saves. When a goalie stops 49 shots, it usually means the rest of the team spent long stretches absorbing pressure and waiting for one clean chance back the other way. (denverpioneers.com) (nchchockey.com) This is also familiar territory for Denver. The program beat Michigan in overtime in the 2022 Frozen Four semifinal too, and Thursday’s win pushed the Pioneers to 3-1 in National Collegiate Athletic Association tournament games that have reached a second extra session. (denverpioneers.com) Now the bracket gives Denver a very different problem. Wisconsin reached the final by beating North Dakota 2-1 in the other semifinal, so the championship game matches the sport’s most decorated program against a Wisconsin team that has surged through this tournament. (ncaa.com) (nytimes.com) The backdrop is why this semifinal felt bigger than one wild finish. Michigan had just watched its school win the men’s basketball national title five days earlier, and Denver’s win stopped any dream of the Wolverines adding hockey to the same week. (sports.yahoo.com) So the last game in Las Vegas is set up cleanly: Wisconsin brings the upset run, Denver brings the history, and one double-overtime goal kept the Pioneers close enough to add one more banner. (ncaa.com) (usatoday.com)
