Now that a week has passed from the start of the 2026 NCAA Tournament, I’ve had some time to process what I saw and experienced, as our beloved University of Denver won its NCAA record 11th title in the bright lights of the Las Vegas desert.

First, my hockey impressions:

DU was full value for both NCAA semi and final wins.  Don’t let anyone convince you that DU was ‘lucky’ to win the NCAA crown this year. Last time I checked, the goalie is part of the team, and usually an integral part of any winning hockey team. And DU goalie Johnny Hicks put on a record-setting performance that enabled DU to win the title. DU had the best goaltending in the NCAA tournament, and in fact, Hicks didn’t lose a single game since he started at midseason. He just posted an NCAA record .956 season saves percentage. He’s the big reason Cornell, Western Michigan, Michigan and Wisconsin all fell to Denver.

But it wasn’t just Hicks.  DU’s defense was also superb, too. Case in point are the 31 blocked shots against top-ranked Michigan – twice what DU normally blocks in a game. Defenders like Garrett Brown, Cale Ashcroft and Kent Anderson all stepped up to match the contributions of DU’s star defenders Eric Pohlkamp and Boston Buckberger.

Finally, DU found a way to score late clutch goals to win both NCAA tourney games. And, clearly, the other teams couldn’t and didn’t.  It’s a cliché, but great teams find ways to win, and while this DU team was often run over (as Hicks was) and bloodied (as Buckberger and Sam Harris were), this DU team also clearly had greatness in spades.  When you win 20+ games in a full season for 25 years straight and lead the nation in total NCAA titles, the confidence and experience to win a title banner lives inside the Denver players’ mindset and processes.  DU got the goal production when it needed it most, from all over the lineup, from seniors like Rieger Lorenz to freshmen like Kyle Chyzowski and Clarke Caswell.  It’s a rare combination of talent, heart, coaching and character – all coming together to create a team that stepped up and won it when it needed to be won. DU did it again! And we are all very fortunate to cheer on such a program.

The Little Guy can still win. Michigan and Wisconsin were excellent, Big 10, big-budget, huge public state flagship teams with big alumni bases who expected to win – and both played well enough to win. However, neither school did. The small private school with less money, fewer alumni, and less notoriety ended up winning.  That’s a ‘proof of concept’ as DU coach David Carle said after beating Wisconsin – that schools like Denver can still not only compete with, but also beat the bigger behemoth schools in college hockey if investment, expertise and caring are in place. DU carried the torch not only for the DU community, the City of Denver and the NCHC, but also for small privates everywhere who aspire to greatness.  This dynamic range of competition may not hold true forever in D-I college sports, given the changes in money flowing towards larger schools, but for now, let’s enjoy our David (Carle) vs Goliath moment.

DU gets it done as a clutch program. DU is 11-3 in Frozen Fours and an even more amazing 6-0 in NCAA title games since 2004.  The Pioneers have not lost an NCAA title game since 1973 – some 53 years ago. In short, if DU gets itself to the big moment in the biggest game, chances are that the Pioneers are going to be taking home the biggest trophy.  That’s not by accident. This DU team also has a 3.75 GPA, supports other teams in the DU athletic department and participates in community service. These guys are true role models, and they make us all proud. Attending all six DU Hockey NCAA title games won since 2004 has provided some of the best moments in my very full adult life, and I am so grateful at the amount of joy provided by our team. Thank you to all who made it happen!

Now, let’s talk about Las Vegas as host:

Las Vegas is a polarizing destination for hockey. Some love it, some don’t.  Personally, I give the city a B- for hosting. Positives? The weather was great, the flights were easy, the T-Mobile arena was a very nice NHL arena and the fans turned out in droves, selling out the barn. There was also plenty of mainstream entertainment to keep most people busy between games – casinos, concerts (the Eagles at the Sphere!), as well as pools, hotels, nightclubs, restaurants and bars for every level of budget and sophistication. Vegas is Vegas, and it remains wonderful for those who love it.

Negatives?  For me, I’m just not a Las Vegas guy. The city runs on gambling revenue, and the primary appeal of it is designed for the gambler, which I am not. But where Las Vegas really struggled for me was a general lack of preparation and caring about the event itself outside of the arena. This event was more than a bit lost in the general hum of a city seemingly focused on far bigger entertainment events. Despite 15,000-17,000 college hockey fans flying or driving in for the Frozen Four weekend, many of the bars and restaurants around the arena opened late and closed shockingly early. To make matters worse, many of these establishments were also just not ready to serve the large crowds of fans, even when open. For example, at Beerhaus, the main bar next to T-Mobile arena, an understaffed crew forced long waits for service – up to 30 minutes just to procure a beer. DU tried hard with its own parties at country bar Ole’ Red, but that was an inconvenient 25-minute walk from the arena. I’m sure DU would have liked to secure a closer party venue to the arena, but some bars, like Beerhaus, reportedly wanted a $30,000 up-front payment for a private space which only the bigger schools could afford.

In addition, the Hobey Baker ceremony on Friday was very poorly planned and relegated to a hotel ballroom that was far too small for the size of event. All in all, Vegas was okay, but the event could have been so much better with more preparation and caring by the organizers.

 Some Parting Thoughts:

We are now living in the greatest Golden Age of DU Hockey.  No disrespect to the 1960s, which DU dominated, but that was in an era where there were fewer teams competing and far lower levels of pre-TV hockey investment in the sport. And no disrespect to the 2004-2005 back-to-back DU years, which marked the heavy lift return of DU hockey to national relevance. But to see DU today as the NCAA hockey standard-bearer in this day of more programs, more media and bigger investment — it’s an incredibly special time for a DU hockey fan. Long may it continue!

DU did well in terms of school spirit. About 1,000 DU fans showed up in Las Vegas and while the three other, bigger state flagship schools brought more fans (as expected), DU fans were quite visible and sounded great. It was also fun to walk by our opponents’ fans. While some of them smiled back and congratulated us, others squirmed or turned the other way – which was more than a little amusing. DU Athletics brought the DU cheerleaders, invited a local Las Vegas high school band to represent us in the arena, handed out rally towels and hosted good parties for Pio fans to get together. There is room for minor future improvements in DU getting better proximity of those party sites to the game site. And if we’re going have high school bands represent us, they should at least learn the DU fight song. But those are minor quibbles.  DU showed up and got the job done, both on and off the ice!

Bring on next year. First, let’s hope coach David Carle continues to stave off NHL coaching bids to stay in Denver. With his three head coaching NCAA titles all before age 37, he’s already in an excellence category of his own. Sure, the Pios are losing some good players. Seniors Samu Salminen, Kent Anderson and Rieger Lorenz will all graduate into pro hockey, while DU’s three top junior defensemen are all leaving early for the NHL – Eric Pohlkamp, Boston Buckberger and Garrett Brown have already signed NHL contracts with San Jose, Columbus and Winnipeg, respectively. And DU is also losing underclassmen goalie Quentin Miller (Western Michigan) and forward Hagen Burrows (Notre Dame) to the transfer portal in search of greater playing time.  That’s five early departures – three to the NHL and two to the portal, plus the usual senior graduation losses (three) for a total of eight to replace. The good news is that DU has a lot of promising recruits coming in next season, including likely NHL first round pick Ryan Lin and potential second round pick Ben Macbeath on the back end — both from the CHL.  Add in US National U18 forward Mikey Berchild, who projects as a third round NHL pick, and Canadian Major Junior players like center Ryan Miller, already drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2025 and goalie Harrison Boettiger who may come to DU next year to take the spot of Quentin Miller. DU also remains (as of this writing) in the running for recruiting the services of 16-year old junior phenom Landon DuPont, perhaps the top pick for the 2027 NHL draft as a 17 year old. DU also has both Michigan and Boston College coming to play DU next year, as well as planning a Thanksgiving weekend visit to Boston University in Boston as regular season highlights.

All in all, these are perhaps the most glorious days to be a Pioneer fan in DU’s long history, and our grateful hats are off to all who made it happen!

Let the rest of college hockey fear and loathe us!

Puck Swami is the internet moniker of a longtime DU fan and alumnus. He shares his views periodically here at LetsGoDU.