For the 11th time in NCAA history, Denver is lifting the men’s hockey trophy. The Pioneers picked up a 2-1 win over Wisconsin to win the national championship for the third time in five years.
After going down 1-0 in the first period, Denver scored two third-period goals within a seven-minute span to take the lead and eventually the win. The second of those goals, the game-winner, was scored by freshman forward Kyle Chyzowski, who found the net with less than six minutes left in the game.
Saturday’s win caps off an impressive Frozen Four showing from the Pioneers, who rolled through Cornell and No. 4-ranked Western Michigan before advancing to the final after a grueling double-overtime win over Michigan on Thursday.
It also marks another stellar run from Denver head coach (and Pioneers alum) David Carle, who took over the team in 2018 after years as an assistant coach. Over the past five years, Carle has led Denver to five Frozen Four appearances, two conference regular-season championships and three NCAA championships.
The Pioneers are the most decorated team in college hockey, a sport that tends to not be dominated by the biggest conferences. Wisconsin’s loss, for example, means that the title drought for the hockey-loving Big Ten will stretch to 20 years. The last time a Big Ten won the NCAA championship was Michigan State in 2007; Big Ten schools, which still tend to go far in the Frozen Four, have made it to the final five times since then.
Denver’s National Collegiate Hockey Conference, though, has been highly decorated in recent years, picking up eight of the past 10 titles — with four of those belonging to the Pioneers.
