For 11-time (and defending) national champion Denver Hockey, the phrase “the rich get richer” has never rung more true than it has already this offseason. Fresh off their somewhat improbable run to David Carle’s third NCAA title in the last five years, the Pioneers are gradually announcing (read: publicly acknowledging what has effectively been known for weeks) and welcoming what may be the best incoming freshman class in program history…at least on paper. Continue reading Denver Hockey Set to Welcome Historic Incoming Class this Fall →

We already knew that Denver was going to host Michigan and Boston College this Fall (and travel to Bowling Green at some point). We just didn’t know exactly when. Well, now we do, and folks, it’s a doozy – Denver opens its home portion of the schedule against Michigan on October 16th and 17th. While the ceremony has not yet been officially scheduled, it’s all but guaranteed that the Pioneers will raise their 11th banner to Magness Arena’s rafters before playing the very same Wolverines that they beat in double overtime of the Frozen Four just a week and a half ago.

See the post below from Denver Hockey on Twitter for the full schedule: Continue reading Denver Hockey Releases 2026-27 Schedule, Will Host Michigan in Home Opener →

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes. When Mark Twain (allegedly) said that, he wasn’t talking about the Denver Pioneers hockey program, but he may as well have been. On a sun-soaked afternoon at T-Mobile Arena in southern Nevada, the Denver Pioneers, trailing 1-0 after being outshot 21-5 through two periods by the Wisconsin Badgers, did their level-best impression of the 2022 national champions, scoring twice in the final period to bring home the program’s 11th title, breaking their own record of 10, set in 2024. Continue reading Even-Year Magic! Pioneers Erase Third-Period Deficit to Bring Home National Championship #11 →

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. Continue reading Kent Anderson Scores in Double Overtime to Send Pioneers Back to National Title Game →

Let’s jump in a time machine and go back to January 23rd. Denver had just lost, 4-2, at home to St. Cloud State and had won just once in their previous eight games. The Pioneers were hovering around .500 at Magness Arena, and the vibes around the program and among the fanbase were as low as they’ve been in years (losses to Lindenwood and Alaska Anchorage will do that). Those same Pioneers, thanks to their latest 6-2 victory over the defending national champion Western Michigan Broncos in the Loveland Regional Final at Blue Arena in Loveland, have not lost since and earned their 7th trip to the Frozen Four since 2016. Continue reading Vegas Baby: Pioneers Rout Broncos to Earn Seventh Frozen Four Berth Since 2016 →

LOVELAND, Colo.– There is dominance, and then there is what the #2-seeded Denver Pioneers (26-11-3) did to the #3-seeded Cornell Big Red (22-11-1) in the second Loveland Regional Semifinal matchup. The Pioneers started fast, scoring off of a fortuitous bounce – a sign of things to come – just six minutes into the game and did not relent until the final buzzer, shutting out the Big Red, 5-0 at Blue FCU Arena. Freshman goalie Johnny Hicks earned the shutout in his first-ever NCAA Tournament game, stopping all 24 of Cornell’s shots while the Pioneers were relentless in the Big Red’s end, ensuring visiting goaltender Alexis Cournoyer was under siege all game long. Denver moves on to face Western Michigan – again – in the Loveland Regional Final with a Frozen Four berth on the line. Sunday’s 1pm MT matchup (ESPN2) will be the sixth game between the Pioneers and Broncos this season. Continue reading Denver Routs Cornell in Dominant NCAA First Round Shutout →

There you have it. The 2026 NCAA Men’s Hockey Tournament bracket is set. We knew #5 overall Denver would go to Loveland as the host of that regional, but the only questions that remained were what #1 seed would join them at Blue FCU Arena, and who they would play in the first round. The answers are Cornell – again – and #4 overall Western Michigan. The full bracket is below: Continue reading Western Michigan, Cornell, and Minnesota State Join Denver in Loveland Regional →

Denver left the last Frozen Faceoff held in St. Paul last year with broken hearts after Western Michigan’s Alex Bump scored just two seconds into the second overtime to give the Broncos the second of their eventual three championships. The #2-seeded Pioneers, back in the conference’s final game for the third-straight season and hosting the #3-seeded Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs in the first-ever Frozen Faceoff championship held on campus, were determined to prevent history from repeating itself. They came dangerously close to doing just that after they blew an early 3-0 lead, but Kristian Epperson’s goal less than two minutes into the second overtime to give the Pioneers the 4-3 victory avenged last year’s heartbreak and prevented a second-straight double-overtime loss. Continue reading Denver Earns Double-Overtime Victory Over Minnesota Duluth to Win Record 4th Frozen Faceoff Championship →

It was always going to end in overtime. It was a postseason matchup between Denver and Western Michigan. Those are (apparently) the rules. It had to end in overtime. And boy, did the third straight postseason overtime matchup between the #2-seed Pioneers (24-11-3) and #3-seed Broncos (26-10-1), this time in the NCHC Frozen Faceoff semifinals, deliver. DU never led, but it didn’t matter, as Boston Buckberger netted the equalizer late in the third before Samu Salminen potted the game-winner under six minutes into extra time to send the Pioneers to their third-straight NCHC Frozen Faceoff championship game with the 2-1 overtime victory at Magness Arena. Continue reading Pioneers Exact Overtime Revenge on Broncos to Advance to NCHC Title Game →

Senior Night is always a special evening, honoring the exploits of every year’s oldest class that spent four years building its legacy and laying the foundation for the future. It’s doubly special when that celebration coincides with an impressive milestone for that senior class’s head coach, who recruited them and molded them into the special class that they are. Tonight, after scoring three goals in less than four minutes in the third period, the #8 Denver Pioneers (21-11-3, 17-6-1 NCHC) sent off the Class of 2026 – D Kent Anderson, F Rieger Lorenz, and F Samu Salminen – in style, earning a 4-1 victory over the Arizona State Sun Devils (14-21-1, 7-16-1 NCHC) which ended their season and gave head coach David Carle his 200th career victory as a head coach. Continue reading Pioneers Explode with Three in the Third to Earn David Carle’s 200th Victory on Senior Night →