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 →