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 →

At this point, the only guarantee in life other than death and taxes is a Denver Hockey season with at least 20 Pioneer victories. With their 5-2 comeback victory over the Arizona State Sun Devils (14-20-1, 7-15-1 NCHC) at Magness Arena tonight, in this year’s penultimate regular season game, the #8 Denver Pioneers (20-11-3, 16-6-1 NCHC) extended the Tenzer Streak to 24 consecutive full seasons in which they have won at least 20 games. With the victory, Denver moves three points clear of third-place Western Michigan in the NCHC standings and up to #6 in the NPI, which would be the #2 seed in the Loveland Regional. Continue reading Pioneers Extend Tenzer Streak to 24 With 5-2 Victory over Arizona State →