Frozen Four shocker
Denver pulled off a dramatic double‑overtime win to reach the NCAA title game — defenseman Kent Anderson scored the second‑OT winner as the Pioneers beat Michigan 4-3. (That victory puts Denver in the national championship against Wisconsin on Saturday at 5:30 p.m., and the program is now playing for its 11th national title.) (denverpost.com) (sports.yahoo.com)
Denver looked finished twice on Thursday night in Las Vegas, and twice it came back before captain Kent Anderson ended a 4-3 game against Michigan in the second overtime to send the Pioneers into the national championship. (ncaa.com) (espn.com) The winning shot came 7:25 into the second overtime, and it came from a player who had scored only his second goal of the season. Anderson is a defenseman, which in college hockey usually means your first job is stopping rushes, not ending national semifinals. (espn.com) (nchchockey.com) The other reason Denver survived was goaltender Johnny Hicks, who stopped 49 shots. When a goalie sees that much rubber for nearly five periods, every rebound turns into a small emergency, and Hicks kept putting them out. (denverpioneers.com) (cbsnews.com) Michigan came in as the No. 1 overall seed and the top-ranked team in the country, so this was not Denver knocking off an equal. Denver entered the Frozen Four as a No. 2 regional seed, which made the matchup feel more like a heavyweight favorite against a program that knew how to win in April. (nchchockey.com) (espn.com) That last part matters because Denver is the sport’s blue-blood program. The Pioneers already own a record 10 national championships, and this win put them one game from No. 11 and a third title in five years. (ncaa.com) (espn.com) The path there has not looked smooth. Denver’s record is 28-11-3, which is strong but not dominant, and Thursday’s semifinal turned into the kind of game where one bad line change or one tired defender can end a season. (denverpioneers.com) (espn.com) Now the final is Denver against Wisconsin on Saturday, April 11, at 5:30 p.m. Eastern on ESPN at T-Mobile Arena. Wisconsin reached the title game by beating North Dakota 2-1 in the other semifinal. (ncaa.com) (espn.com) So the championship is set up as old power against old power: Denver, the record-holder with 10 titles, against Wisconsin, another traditional giant trying to add one more banner. Denver got there by outlasting the tournament favorite for 87 minutes and 25 seconds of hockey. (theathletic.com) (espn.com)
