Kent Anderson Scores in Double Overtime to Send Pioneers Back to National Title Game

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – In a battle of college hockey titans, overtime – two of them, to be specific – was the only option. Kent Anderson, Denver’s captain, scored 12:35 into the second overtime to beat the #1 overall seed Michigan Wolverines and send the Pioneers through to the program’s 14th national title game, where they’ll meet Wisconsin in a rematch of the 1973 national championship.

“Really proud of him that he was able to come through for us on a huge goal,” DU head coach David Carle said of Anderson’s game-winner that sent the Pioneers through to the 2026 national title game. “Unsung hero, not many probably had him on the BucciOT Challenge, but it doesn’t matter.”

In a battle between the two programs with the most national titles of all time – Denver with 10 and Michigan with 9 – the margins for error in the second national semifinal game were, in a word, tight. After a hot start with Denver’s Kyle Chyzowski opening the scoring before Michigan’s Josh Eernisse and T.J. Hughes answered in the closing minutes of the first period, both teams settled into a defensive game, just daring the other to blink.

Sure, there were a few other goals scored in regulation – Cale Ashcroft tied it for DU early in the second period, Jayden Perron scored on Michigan’s only regulation power play in the third, and Clarke Caswell tied it back up in the closing moments of regulation – but for the bulk of the final 72 minutes of the game, neither team was willing to take a chance, risk a mistake, and let the game end because of it.

No story about this game, though, is complete without mentioning Denver’s sheer ineptitude on the power play. As fantastic as the result was for the Pioneers, their piss-poor effort with the man-advantage, 0-for-5 all evening and 0-for-4 in regulation, was a key reason why the game didn’t end in regulation.

So, they went to overtime. And then another one. Both teams refused to blink. Until Kristian Epperson found Anderson wide open in the high slot. DU’s captain, looking for just his second goal of the season, did not miss.

“I don’t score many goals, so this is ranking up top so far,” Anderson quipped when asked where he would rank his goal in his career. “It means everything to play in this national championship game. It’s our goal at the beginning of the year. It’s what we work for and what we play for at Denver.”

Anderson’s goal, a legendary moment for a team that found its identity just months ago, ended a four-hour nail-biter that saw the Wolverines outshoot the Pioneers 52-26 and freshman goalie Johnny Hicks continue his mind-boggling 15-0-1 run while at times singlehandedly keeping the Pioneers in the game, despite not only being under siege by the Wolverines at times, but also surviving what looked to be a scary collision with a Michigan player early in the third period, before Perron scored to make it 3-2.

“Sometimes those plays happen in hockey,” Carle said of Hicks’ injury. “Johnny is tough, a real competitor, obviously wasn’t fazed
by it. Real proud of him and our team not being fazed by it on the bench.”

DU’s poor injury luck didn’t stop there, either. Boston Buckberger, who missed Denver’s NCAA Tournament run to the Frozen Four last year, survived a scary incident too, when a Michigan player’s skate inadvertently cut his hand.

But none of it mattered. Hicks stayed in the game, making a number of huge, highlight-reel saves in both overtimes to keep the game alive, and Buckberger came back into the game, after presumably receiving a significant number of stitches, and played key minutes down the stretch of the second overtime.

In the end, it was another instant classic between the two top college hockey programs of all time. Sure, Michigan dominated the stat sheet, but that’s the funny thing about playing Denver this time of year – that doesn’t really matter. You may dominate possession. You may dominate shots attempted and shots on goal. But the Pioneers are comfortable playing that game, and the very second you make a mistake, or the puck lands on a Pioneer’s stick in the slot at just the right time, they’re going to take full advantage.

Tonight, Kent Anderson was the hero, but it was Denver’s staunch commitment to strong team defense and a refusal to stray from their identity and game plan that won them this game. And now, Denver will play for their 11th championship on Saturday in a rematch of the 2022 national championship head coaches – David Carle for Denver and Mike Hastings, who coached Minnesota State that year, for Wisconsin.

It’s taken 53 years, but the Pioneers will finally have their chance to exact some revenge for 1973.

Highlights

 

Top photo: AP Photo/Greg M. Cooper

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