Denver’s double‑OT thriller
Denver survived a wild Frozen Four semifinal, beating Michigan 4-3 in double overtime to reach the national championship — a game settled when defenseman Kent Anderson scored the second‑OT winner on Thursday in Las Vegas. (denverpost.com) The win puts Denver into the title game against Wisconsin and extends the Pioneers’ shot at an 11th national championship, a matchup the NCAA bracket and USA Today say features two teams peaking at the right time. (ncaa.com) (usatoday.com)
Denver looked finished with 3:00 left in regulation, down 3-2 to Michigan in Las Vegas, and still found a way to win 4-3 nearly 40 minutes later when defenseman Kent Anderson scored in the second overtime. The shot came at 12:35 of the second extra period, capping one of the longest and strangest games of this Frozen Four. (espn.com) Michigan did almost everything that usually wins a hockey game. The Wolverines outshot Denver 52-26, killed every penalty, and carried a lead into the final three minutes before Denver tied it late and dragged the game into overtime. (sports.yahoo.com) The goalie who kept Denver alive was Johnny Hicks, who finished with 49 saves. On a night when Michigan kept tilting the ice, Hicks turned the game into a test of patience instead of a track meet. (espn.com) The game also carried a weird echo from a year ago. Denver’s 2025 season ended in a double-overtime semifinal loss, and this time the Pioneers were the team still standing after two extra periods instead of the team walking off stunned. (duluthnewstribune.com) For Michigan, the loss fit a brutal pattern that has lasted decades. The program last won the national title in 1998, and this semifinal became its fifth straight Frozen Four loss and another overtime defeat on a stage where it used to own the sport. (aol.com) For Denver, the win kept alive a much newer run of dominance under coach David Carle. The Pioneers won the national championship in 2024 for their record 10th title, moving past Michigan’s nine, and now they are one win from title No. 11. (denverpioneers.com) (ncaa.com) The opponent waiting on Saturday is Wisconsin, which beat North Dakota 2-1 in the other semifinal. The championship game is set for April 11 at 5:30 p.m. Eastern time at T-Mobile Arena, with Denver trying to win its third title in five years and Wisconsin chasing its first since 2006. (ncaa.com) (apnews.com) That final now has a neat split-screen feel to it. Denver arrives as the sport’s modern standard with 10 banners already up, while Wisconsin arrives as the old power trying to end a 20-year title wait after peaking at exactly the right time in April. (ncaa.com) (apnews.com) What got Denver there was not control but survival. A team that managed only 26 shots and spent long stretches under pressure is still skating for the championship because one goalie absorbed 52 Michigan attempts, one late push erased a 3-2 deficit, and one defenseman found open ice at 12:35 of double overtime. (sports.yahoo.com) (uscho.com)
