PREVIEW: Pioneers Face Western Michigan in Frozen Four

ST. LOUIS – The University of Denver hockey team continues its national championship defense on Thursday as the Pioneers face conference-foe Western Michigan in the NCAA Frozen Four Semifinals at Enterprise Center, home of the NHL St. Louis Blues.

 

Game time is set for 3 p.m. MT and it will be televised nationally on ESPN2 and ESPN+. The national radio broadcast can be heard on Westwood One/SiriusXM channel 84, and voice of the Pioneers Jay Stickney has local radio call on Denver Sports 104.3 The Fan HD3.

 

No. 3 seed DU is in the Frozen Four for the 20th time in program history and is making its sixth trip in the last nine seasons (eight tournament appearances). The Pioneers have also reached the final weekend of the college hockey season in three of the last four years and are looking to become the first program to win three titles in a four-year span since themselves did it in 1958, 1960 and 1961.

 

Western Michigan is the lone No. 1 seed remaining in national tournament and reached its first Frozen Four in program history after defeating Minnesota State 2-1 in double overtime and dispatching Massachusetts by the same score in the NCAA West Regionals in Fargo, North Dakota, on March 27-29.

 

The Pioneers punched their ticket to the national semifinals by beating two-seed Providence 5-1 in the Northeast Regional Semifinals on March 28 in Manchester, New Hampshire, and then downing No. 1-overall seed Boston College, 3-1, on March 30 in a rematch of last year’s national title game.

 

Denver now gets set for another championship rematch as the Pioneers and Broncos met less than three weeks ago in the NCHC Frozen Faceoff Championship Game at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. WMU rallied from a 3-0 deficit and won 4-3 in a double-OT outing to be the first squad to win both the NCHC regular season and tournament championships since North Dakota in 2020-21.

 

The Pios own a 4-1-1 mark against WMU in neutral-site games, and the teams will be facing off for just the second time in the NCAA Tournament. Their only other meeting in the “Big Dance” was in the 2011 Midwest Regional Semifinals in Green Bay, Wisconsin, when Denver was in the WCHA and Western Michigan was in the CCHA. The Pioneers won that outing by a 4-3 score after Jason Zucker tallied at 11:14 of double-overtime to complete a two-goal comeback.

 

Denver last played a conference opponent in the NCAA Tournament in 2022 when it faced Minnesota Duluth in the West Regional Final in Loveland, Colorado.  The Pioneers’ last meeting in the Frozen Four against another NCHC squad was in 2016 when they played North Dakota in the national semifinals in Tampa, Florida.

 

DU and Western Michigan are tied for first in the NCAA in goals per game at 4.0, and they are also the only 30-win squads in the nation. The Pioneers reached the threshold to extend their school record to a fourth-straight season with their victory over Providence.

 

The winner of the DU-WMU matchup will play in the NCAA National Championship Game on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. MT (ESPN2/ESPN+). The second Frozen Four Semifinal features No. 2-seed Boston University and No. 4-seed Penn State following Denver’s game on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. MT.

 

 

PIONEERS IN THE FROZEN FOUR: Denver is in its 20th Frozen Four and is looking to extend its NCAA-record with an 11th national championship.

 

The Pioneers are aiming to make their 14th NCAA Championship Game, as they own a 13-6 all-time record in the national semifinals.  In title games, DU has a 10-3 record, winning each of their last five trips to the final.  The Pios played in four third-place games (when that was a thing) from 1966-1986 and went 2-2 in such contests.

 

Denver has made six of the last nine Frozen Fours dating back to 2016 (was not played in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic), winning the championship in 2017, 2022 and 2024.  DU’s participation in the 1973 Frozen Four was officially vacated by the NCAA Committee on infractions; those results are still being counted in the above totals.

 

EXPERIENCE AT THE FROZEN FOUR: The Pioneers have 12 players with previous Frozen Four experience, with Jack Devine and Carter King having previously played in four total semifinal or final games after helping Denver to titles in 2022 and 2024.  Graduate student Connor Caponi and senior Matt Davis both saw their on-ice debuts in college hockey’s final four last season after also being on the squad in 2022.

 

FROZEN FOUR MISCELLANEOUS

• Among Frozen Four participants, DU has four of the top six career point-getters, three of the top four career goal scorer and each of the three top assist contributors.
• With 24 goals, 74 assists and 98 points in his career, Zeev Buium is the highest-scoring defenseman among all Frozen Four squads.
• Buium’s seven points and five assists (tied) in six NCAA Tournament games are the most among all skaters in college hockey’s final four.
• Head coach David Carle owns four Frozen Four trips in five tournament appearances.
• DU’s 25 Frozen Four wins are tied with Michigan for the most among all-programs in college hockey history (includes 1973 semifinal win that was later vacated and does not include third-place game victories).

 
GOING FOR 3 IN 4: The Pioneers are looking to become the first NCAA program to win three national championships in a four-year span since Denver accomplished it itself in 1958, 1960 and 1961.
 
DU’s Connor Caponi, Matt Davis, Jack Devine and Carter King are four of 65 players in program history to win multiple national titles and are looking to join the legendary George Konik and Bill Masterton to be part of three national championship squads.  However, as was accustomed back in the early days of college hockey, neither Konik nor Masterton played as freshmen during that first 1957-58 championship campaign.
 
Michigan is the only other program to accomplish the feat of winning three championships in four seasons, as they won five in a six-year span (1951-53, 1955-56).
 
FACING WESTERN IN THE NATIONAL TOURNAMENT: Denver and Western Michigan have played just once before in the NCAA Tournament, with the Pioneers winning 3-2 in the 2011 NCAA Midwest Regional Semifinal in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
 
DU and WMU had met three times previously in the NCHC Frozen Faceoff Tournament, with the Pios going 2-1 in those outings. Denver won 4-3 in in the inaugural NCHC Semifinals on March 21, 2014 and claimed a 3-1 victory in Third Place Game on March 18, 2017 at Target Center in Minneapolis. The Broncos won 4-3 in double-overtime in this year’s conference title game on March 22 at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.
 
Overall, the Pioneers have a 4-1-1 record against the Broncos in neutral-site contests, which includes going 1-0-1 in the NCHC Pod in Omaha, Nebraska, in December 2020.
 
ST. LOUIS CONNECTIONS: Denver hockey director of sports performance Matt Shaw is from St. Louis … St. Louis Blue head coach Jim Montgomery served five seasons in the same role with the Pioneers from 2013-2018, winning a national championship in 20217 … DU hockey has 13 alumni that have played for the Blues, including Hockey Hall of Famers Glenn Anderson (1994-1996) and Craig Patrick (1974-75), as well as 2005 NCAA national champion Paul Stastny, who suited up for five seasons in Missouri (2013-18) and grew up in St. Louis … Former DU goalie Jack Caruso’s father, Mike, is an executive with the Blues, and Jack was a part of both the Pioneers’ 2022 and 2024 national titles … Alum McKade Webster is also from St. Louis and won championships in 2022 and 2024 as well, serving as team captain last year for the NCAA-record title … Denver was one of the first programs to play Lindenwood University (based in nearby St. Charles), one of the newest teams in NCAA Division I that began play in 2022-23.
 
ZEEV NAMED A HOBEY HAT TRICK FINALIST: Sophomore defenseman Zeev Buium was named on Thursday a Hobey Baker Award Hat Trick finalist for this year’s top men’s college hockey player in the nation.  Buium is Denver’s first Hobey Hat Trick finalist since Bobby Brink in 2022 and is looking to join Matt Carle (2006) and Will Butcher (2017) as Pioneers to win the award.
 
Joining Buium as “Hat Trick” finalists are forwards Ryan Leonard of Boston College and Isaac Howard of Michigan State.  The award will be presented on Friday, April 11 during the Frozen Four festivities in St. Louis.
 
Denver was the only team in the country to have two players recognized as top-10 finalists for the Hobey, as senior forward Jack Devine joined Buium and earned the top-10 honor for the second straight year.  Buium and Devine were the only finalists from the NCHC.
 
DU junior forward Aidan Thompson was also a nominee for this year’s award, and the trio of Pioneers were among 21 players from the NCHC and 91 nationally that were initially up for this year’s top honor.
 
CARLE FINALIST FOR COACH OF THE YEAR: Denver head coach David Carle is a finalist for the Spencer Penrose Award, which is given annually to the Men’s D-I Coach of the Year by the American Hockey Coaches Association.  The winner is selected by the nation’s 64 Division-I head coaches and will be announced on Tuesday, April 8; the award will be presented at the coaches’ convention on May 4 in Florida.
 
This is the 35-year-old’s fourth time up for the accolade, as he was also a finalist in 2019, 2022 and 2024 during DU’s previous three trips to the Frozen Four.  Pioneers have won the award four times in program history: Murray Armstrong (1961), Ralph Backstrom (1986), George Gwozdecky (2005) and Jim Montgomery (2017).
 
LAST TIME OUT: PIOS CLAIM REMATCH WIN OVER BC: Goaltender Matt Davis made 35 saves, including all 15 in the third period, to lead DU to a 3-1 win vs. No. 1 overall seed Boston College in the Northeast Regional Final on March 30 in what was a rematch of last year’s national title game as SNHU Arena in Manchester, N.H.
 
Zeev Buium had an assist on James Reeder’s game-winning goal 2:59 into the second period and sealed the game with an empty-net marker in the final seconds.  Fellow defenseman Eric Pohlkamp opened the scoring with 1:41 remaining in the opening frame.
 
DU’s victory secured its spot in the Frozen Four and marked the first time the defending NCAA champion earned the win in a rematch in the national tournament from the previous seasons’ title contest (0-7 previously)
 
PIOS PASS PROVIDENCE IN REGIONAL OPENER:  Defenseman Zeev Buium and forward Carter King each had three-point efforts with a goal and two assists to lead No. 3-seed Denver to a 5-1 victory over No. 2 Providence in the Northeast Regional Semifinals on March 28 in Manchester.
 
Junior Aidan Thompson also had multiple points (goal and assist) to reach the 20-goal threshold and sophomore Sam Harris tallied on the power play for his 23rd overall marker of the season.  Goaltender Matt Davis made 30-of-31 saves, with the only shot to get past him coming on a PC man advantage in the third period.
 
DU led 1-0 after the first period on Connor Caponi’s tally into an open net after the Friars goalie misplayed the puck behind his own net, and the Pios had a 3-0 advantage after the first 40 minutes of play following tallies from Buium and Harris in a matter of 2:44. 
 
REGIONAL HONORS: Denver defenseman Zeev Buium was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Northeast Regional in Manchester, N.H., after combining for five points (2g/3a) in the wins vs. Providence and Boston College on March 28-30.
 
Buium was also joined on the Regional All-Tournament Team with defenseman Eric Pohlkamp, forwards Carter King and Aidan Thompson and goaltender Matt Davis.   Pohlkamp scored the game-opening goal vs. BC, King had three points (1g/2a) vs. PC, Thompson totaled three points (1g/2a) on the weekend and Davis stopped 65-of-67 shots faced.
 
NOTABLES FROM REGIONALS

• The Pioneers are now 5-1 in national tournament games against Boston College, winning each of the last three meetings.  DU defeated Providence in the regional semifinals, earning its first victory against the Friars in the squads’ second meeting in tournament history.
• Matt Davis posted a 106:32 shutout streak of Boston College that stretched across three games dating back to Oct. 21, 2023 and included a shutout in the 2024 NCAA Championship Game.
• The National Championship rematch was the eighth time that two teams met in the national tournament after playing for the NCAA title the prior year. It was the first time that the defending champion earned the victory in the rematch (1-7).
• DU had never faced a team in a championship rematch the following year in the national tournament.
• The Pioneers were playing BC for the second-straight national tourney; they did the same thing last year with Cornell after playing the Big Red in 2023.
• Eric Pohlkamp tallied his 11th goal of the season in the Regional Final, tying his total from his freshman season in 2023-24 at Bemidji State.
• Denver had eight players make their debuts in the national tournament on March 28 vs. Providence: Garrett Brown, Hagen Burrows, Jake Fisher, Tory Pitner, Eric Pohlkamp, James Reeder, Samu Salminen and Alec Whipple.
• Zeev Buium recorded his fifth career game-winning goal and fourth of the season on March 28 vs. Providence.
• The Pioneers’ five goals scored vs. the Friars were their most in a national tournament game since DU won by the same 5-1 score in the 2022 NCAA Championship Game vs. Minnesota State on April 9, 2022 in Boston, Mass.
• Denver is now 2-2 all-time in NCAA Tournament games in Manchester, New Hampshire, after previously dropping games at SNHU Arena in 2013 and 2023.
• The Pioneers improved to 3-0 in Sunday games this season.

 

NATTY DAVIS: Goaltender Matt Davis made 35-of-36 saves against No.1 Boston College in the Northeast Regional Final on March 30 in a rematch of last year’s championship game; he also made 35 stops in that previous contest en route to a shutout victory and the Frozen Four’s Most Outstanding Player honor.

 

Davis enters the 2025 Frozen Four with a 0.74 goals-against average, .976 save percentage, one shutout and a 6-0 record is six career national tournament games.  Those numbers are each the best among all netminders in the national semifinals, as he has allowed one goal or fewer in each of the six previous outings.

 

Overall, Davis’ 63 career wins are the second-most among all national semifinal goalies (WMU Cameron Rowe, 69) and are tied with fellow national champion Peter Mannino (2004-08) for fifth place on the school’s all-time wins list.  The Calgary, Alberta, native owns 29 victories this season, the second-most in a season in program history and one shy of tying George Kirkwood (1960-61) for first place.

 

ANOTHER 30-WIN CAMPAIGN: Denver became the second NCAA squad this season to reach the 30-win mark (Western Michigan) after defeating Providence in the Regional Semifinals on March 28, extending the program’s record run of 30 victories or more to four consecutive seasons.

 

Overall, the Pioneers have now reached the 30-win threshold 10 times, with their 34 victories in 1985-86 setting the school record.  DU’s 32 wins a year ago were tied for the fourth-most in a season in program history; the Pioneers had 30 victories in 2022-23 and 31 in 2021-22.

 

DU has won 30 games in each of assistant coach Ryan Massa and Director of Hockey Operations Travis Culhane‘s time at DU (since 2021-22).

 

TWENTY SOMETHINGS: Junior forward Aidan Thompson became the third Pioneer to reach the 20-goal threshold after scoring in the Regional Semifinals on March 28 vs. Providence, joining teammates Sam Harris (23) and Carter King (21).  This is the second-straight season and third time in the last four years that Denver has had multiple players reach the mark.

 

The last time Denver had three skaters score 20 goals in a campaign was 2004-05 when Gabe Gauthier (26), Luke Fulghum (23) and Jonathan Foster (21) all accomplished the feat.

 

DU is the only school in the country with three players with 20 or more tallies, and one of two programs with multiple 20-goal scorers; Boston University is the other with Cole Eiserman (23) and Quinn Hutson (23).

 

NIFTY 50: Denver is the only program in the country with multiple 50-point scorers, as senior forward Jack Devine leads the nation with 57 points while linemate Aidan Thompson is tied for third in the NCAA with a career-high 53 points.

 

This is the second straight season that DU has had multiple players reach 50 points after Devine (56) and Zeev Buium (50) each reached the mark in 2023-24.

 

DIVINE DEVINE: Senior Jack Devine leads the nation in scoring with 57 points and paces all players in the NCAA with 44 assists after 43 games.  His 57 points are one more than he had in 2024-25 and is just the fourth 50-point campaign by a Pioneer since 2012: Henrik Borgstrom in 2017-18 (52) and Bobby Brink in 2021-22 (57).  The last time DU had a player record consecutive 50-point seasons was nearly 35 years ago when Daryn McBride accomplished the feat in 1987-88 (58) and 1988-89 (51).

 

Devine is looking to become just the third Pioneer to finish as the nation’s scoring leader, joining Brink in 2021-22 (14g/43a) and Ed Beers in 1981-82 (50g/34a).

 

The Glencoe, Illinois, native has produced two career-long point streaks of eight games, doing so to start the season from Oct. 5-Nov. 2 (1g/15a) and again from Nov. 9-Dec. 13 (1g/10a).  He has registered at least a point in 34-of-43 contests this year and multiple points in 17 outings, including in five of the first six games and in three consecutive from Oct. 19-26 and from Feb. 21-28.

 

Devine opened the season with a personal-best four assists on Oct. 5 at Alaska Anchorage (all on the power play) and recorded three points on Oct. 26 vs. Wisconsin (1g/2a), Nov. 14 at North Dakota (0g/3a), Feb. 8 at Arizona State (0g/3a) and March 16 vs. Colorado College—he owns 14 career three-point games in his college tenure.

 

The forward was named both the NCHC and National Player of the Month for October after leading all NCAA players with 14 points (1g/13a) in six games—it was his first career monthly honors.  Devine was also recognized as NCHC Player of the Month in February after being first in the league in goals (5-tied), assists (9-tied) and points (14).

 

BUIUM IN THE (RECORD) BOOK: Sophomore Zeev Buium owns 98 career points, the 10th-most in a career by a DU defenseman and two points away from being the 10th blueliner with 100 career points.

 

Buium’s 98 points are the most in the first two seasons by a Pioneer blueliner since Greg Woods had a pair of 52-point campaigns as a freshman in 1975-76 and sophomore in 1976-77.  He also owns the most points in any two-year period by a Denver rear guard since Woods’ combined 104 points as an underclassmen (1975-77).

 

The San Diego, Calif., native is 10th in program history with 74 career assists and is one helper shy of tying Will Butcher (2013-17) for ninth place on the all-time list.  His 48 points this year are tied for the seventh-most in a campaign and comes after he tied for the fifth-most points in a season as a freshman with 50 in 2023-24.

 

GETTING THEIR GAMES IN: The Pioneers have played the most games among any team in the country, as they have skated in 43 contests—tied for the fifth-most in a season in school history.

 

DU skated in 36 games during the 2024-25 regular season, as the team had a two-game exemption due to playing at Alaska Anchorage to the start of the campaign on Oct. 5-6.

 

The Pioneers are one game from tying for second place on the program’s all-time list, which they last accomplished last year when they skated in 44 outings en route to the 2024 national championship (also in 2003-04, 2016-17). The team record is 48 games played set by the 1985-86 squad that reached the Frozen Four.

 

HISTORY VS. WMU: The Pioneers and Broncos are meeting for the fourth time this season in a rematch of the NCHC Frozen Faceoff Championship Game.  Western Michigan scored four unanswered goals to erase a 3-0 deficit in the third period and defeat Denver 4-3 in double-overtime on March 22 at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn.  DU went 1-2-0 this year with WMU, with the teams splitting their only regular-season series of the year on Dec. 6-7 in Kalamazoo, Mich., with a pair of one-goal games.  The Broncos won 3-2 in the series opener at Lawson Arena before Carter King scored in overtime to lift the Pioneers to their own 3-2 win in the Saturday finale.  DU has a 10-5-1 record in its last 16 meetings against WMU and owns a 27-15-2 all-time record in the series.  The Pios sport a 22-11-2 mark in conference play against the Broncos and are 14-3-1 at home and 9-11 in road contests.  DU is 4-1-1 in neutral-site games against WMU.

 

PREVIOUS MEETING (MARCH 22, 2025): No. 6-ranked Denver lost 4-3 in double-overtime to the No. 3 Western Michigan Broncos in the NCHC Frozen Faceoff Championship Game on Saturday night at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn.  NCHC Forward of the Year Alex Bump scored the OT-winner unassisted just 22 seconds into the second extra stanza to complete WMU’s comeback; the Broncos tallied three times in the third period to erase a three-goal deficit.  Minnesota natives Jake Fisher and Eric Pohlkamp and NCHC Player of the Year Zeev Buium netted goals for the Pioneers, while Garrett Brown, Rieger Lorenz, Samu Salminen and Jared Wright contributed assists.  DU goaltender Matt Davis made 46 saves and stopped 16 shots in the first overtime period.  No. 3-seed Denver scored its three goals in a matter of 4:41 from 5:46 to 10:27 of the second period following a scoreless opening frame.  Fisher began the run on a tally off a rebound before defensemen Pohlkamp and Buium found the back of the net on wristers from the slot.

 

CONNECTIONS: Western Michigan’s Tristan Lemyre played the previous two seasons at Denver (2022-2024) and helped the Pioneers capture their NCAA-record 10th national championship in April … DU Director of Hockey Operations Travis Culhane is from Kalamazoo and graduated from WMU in 2017. Culhane is the son of former Broncos head coach Jim Culhane and served as Western’s Director of Hockey Ops during the 2018-19 season … Equipment Manager Nick Meldrum is from Warren, Mich., graduated from Lake Superior State in Sault Ste. Marie in 2007 and spent two years with the U.S. NTDP when it was in Ann Arbor prior to coming to DU … Jack Devine (2019-2021) and Zeev Buium (2021-2023) both played at the U.S. National Team Development Program in Plymouth, Mich. … Paxton Geisel began the 2023-24 season with the USHL Muskegon Lumberjacks and was a teammate that year with WMU’s Ty Henricks … Geisel was also teammates on the USHL Dubuque Fighting Saints with Samuel Sjolund in 2021-22 and with Owen Michaels in 2022-23 … Owen Michaels briefly played with Peter LaJoy on the NAHL Bismarck Bobcats in 2020-21 … Jared Wright and Alex Bump played together with the USHL Omaha Lancers in 2021-22 … Bump was also teammates with Cale Ashcroft and Kieran Cebrian with the USHL Tri-City Storm at the end of the 2022-23 season … Jake Fisher won a USHL Clark Cup championship with Iiro Hakkarainen and Hampton Slukynsky on the Fargo Force in 2023-24 … Connor Caponi played with Wyatt Schingoethe with the USHL Waterloo Black Hawks from 2018-2020, while Garrett Brown played with Zach Bade and Connor Brown on Waterloo at the end of the 2022-23 season … Boston Buckberger was a teammate of Cole Crusberg-Roseen with the USHL Lincoln Stars in 2022-23 … Zach Sharp skated with Sam Harris with the USHL Sioux Falls Stampede to begin 2022-23 before finishing the campaign with Cedar Rapids RoughRiders and was a teammate with Eric Pohlkamp … Zeev Buium played with WMU goalie Hunter Slukynsky Team USA that won the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship gold medal with David Carle serving as head coach … DU’s Samu Salminen (Helsinki) and WMU’s Iiro Hakkarainen (Espoo) and Joona Vaisanen (Kirkkonummi) are all from Finland … Denver’s Zeev Buium (San Diego) and Sam Harris (San Diego) and Western’s Ty Henricks (Mission Viejo), Ethan Wolthers (Valencia) and Ean Somoza and (Simi Valley) are all from Southern California.

 

SCOUTING THE BRONCOS: Western Michigan was ranked as the No. 1 team in the most recent USA Hockey/The Rink Live media poll and is the lone No. 1 seed remaining in the NCAA Tournament.  The Broncos own the most victories in the country with a 32-7-1 record and were the fourth-overall seed in the national tournament.  WMU is the first team in the NCHC to win the Penrose Cup as regular-season champions and Frozen Faceoff as tournament champions since North Dakota in 2020-21.  The Broncos enter the Frozen Four on an eight-game winning streak and have only lost once in regulation since the New Year (Feb. 21 at No. 12 Arizona State), going 21-3 in games since Jan. 3.  Western Michigan picked up a pair of 2-1 victories in West Regional in Fargo, N.D., defeating Minnesota State in double-overtime on a Grant Slukynsky game-winner on March 27 before taking down UMass on March 29.  Western Michigan is 5-1-0 in neutral-site contests this year, with its only loss being to then-No. 1 Michigan State in the Great Lakes Invitational championship game.  Pat Ferschweiler was named the NCHC Coach of the Year and Alex Bump was selected as the league’s Forward of the Year.  Bump leads the team with 23 goals and 47 points and is third on the squad with 24 assists.  Grant Slukynsky is second in scoring with 36 points and paces the squad with 26 assists.  WMU is tied as the highest scoring team in the NCAA with DU at 4.0 goals per game and has seven players with 10 or more markers this season.  WMU goaltender Hampton Slukynsky has started each of the past 11 games dating back to Feb. 22 at Arizona State.  Overall, Slukynsky owns a 17-5-1 record, 1.92 goals-against average, .923 save percentage and one shutout in 23 starts this season.

 

DU IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT: Denver is in the national tournament for the 34th time in program history and has reached the Big Dance in now 16 consecutive full seasons since 2008.  DU has a 46-25 all-time record in the NCAA Tournament, and the program is 17-3 in its last 20 tournament games dating back to 2017 and is 20-5 in its last 25 national contests since 2015. 

 

The Pioneers’ improved to 22-12 all-time in opening-round games after defeating Providence on March 28 in the Regional Semifinals.

 

DU has now reached the Frozen Four in six (2016, 2017, 2019, 2022, 2024, 2025) of its previous eight tries in the national tourney (across nine years)––winning titles in 2017, 2022 and 2024.

 

The Pioneers, whose 10 national titles are the most in college hockey history, are looking to become the first program to win back-to-back championships since Minnesota Duluth in 2018 and 2019 and is looking to repeat as national champs for the fourth time in its history and first since 2004 and 2005 (also 1960-61, 1968-69). 

 

DU is also aiming to be the first NCAA squad to win three titles in a four-year span since the Pios did it themselves in 1958, 1960 and 1961.  Michigan is the only other program to accomplish the feat, winning five championships in six years (1951-53, 1955-56).

 

THREE-POINT ZEEV: Sophomore Zeev Buium recorded his fifth three-point contest of the season in the Regional Semifinals vs. Providence on March 28 with a goal and two assists and now owns 10 such games in his career; he owns three multi-point outings during the 2025 postseason.  He also had a three points on Oct. 5 at Alaska Anchorage (0g/3a), Nov. 15 at North Dakota (3g/0a), Jan. 10 vs. Miami (1g/2a) and Feb. 1 vs. Omaha.

 

Buium registered 28 points (8g/20a) in the last 23 games of the regular season and has recorded at least a point in 30-of-40 games this year.  The San Diego, California, native leads all NCAA defensemen with 48 points and 34 assists this season.

 

NO SHORT STORY: Captain Carter King scored his second short-handed goal of the season on March 28 against Providence, with each of his man-disadvantage markers coming during the 2025 postseason.  He tallied his first shorty of the year in Game 3 of the NCHC Quarterfinals vs. Colorado College on March 16.

 

King now owns seven career short-handed goals, tying for second place on Denver’s all-time list with Dwight Mathiasen (1983-86).  Daryl Seltenreich (1986-88) owns the record with eight career shorties.

 

For King, the goal in the regional semifinal was also the 50th of his career.  He is the 62nd player in program history to reach the half-century mark and the second this season as Jack Devine reached the mark on Feb. 1 vs. Omaha.

 

DEVINE AMONG THE PIONEERS’ BEST ALL-TIME: Senior Jack Devine is the highest-scoring Pioneer in the modern era and is part of a select group of players with 50 goals, 100 assists and 150 points in their career.

 

Devine reached 100 career assists on March 8 at Colorado College, becoming the 12th Denver player to reach the mark.  By hitting the milestone, he also became just the 10th Pioneer in the school’s 50-100-150 point club and the first to join that group since Dave Shields from 1986-1990 (71g/108a).

 

The Glencoe, Illinois, native is 12th on the school’s all-time scoring list with 163 points (57g/106a) and the most by a DU player since Rick Berens had 180 points (94g/86a) from 1987-1991.

 

Devine scored his 50th career goal on Feb. 1 against Omaha to become the 61st player in school history to reach the half-century mark.  Devine’s former teammate Cole Guttman was the previous Pioneer to tally 50 career goals on Feb. 11, 2022 against Minnesota Duluth.

 

CONQUERING THE MANCHESTER DEMONS: The Pioneers picked up their first-ever victories in Manchester, New Hampshire, with a 5-1 victory over Providence in the Regional Semifinals and beating Boston College 3-1 in the final.  DU was playing at SNHU Arena for Regionals the third time in program history and was making it second visit in three years to the state’s largest city.

 

Denver’s first visit came on March 29, 2013 when it lost 5-2 to host New Hampshire in the Northeast Regional Semifinals, and the squad lost 2-0 to Cornell in the semifinals in its previous trip on March 23, 2023.

 

NCAA TOURNAMENT EXPERIENCE: Denver had eight players make their debuts in the national tournament during the NCAA Regional Semifinals vs. Providence on March 28: Garrett Brown, Hagen Burrows, Jake Fisher, Tory Pitner, Eric Pohlkamp, James Reeder, Samu Salminen and Alec Whipple.

 

The Pioneers entered this year with 13 players with previous NCAA Tournament experience on their roster, with seniors Jack Devine and Carter King tied for the third-most with among 2025 tournament players with 11 games each over the past four years.  DU has seven players on its roster that made their debuts in last year’s tourney, including 2024 NCAA Northeast Regionals and Frozen Four Most Outstanding Player Matt Davis.

 

Overall, DU has four players that were members of both the 2022 and 2024 national championship squads: Davis, Devine, King and graduate student Connor Caponi.

 

PIONEERS IN THE POLLS: Denver moved up to No. 2 in the USA Hockey/The Rink Live poll that was released following Regionals and was No. 6 in the final USCHO.com poll prior to the start of the NCAA Tournament.  DU finished No. 9 in the Pairwise computer rankings that determine the NCAA Tournament field.  The Pios were selected No. 1 in each of the first eight polls this year and in nine straight dating back to the final rankings from last season.

 

The NCHC had four ranked teams in the final polls before the start of the national tournament, the third-most among all leagues.  Joining DU in those rankings were Western Michigan at No. 3/3, Arizona State at No. 15/15 and North Dakota at No. 18/19.  Both Omaha and Colorado College also received votes in the USCHO.com poll.

 

DENVER, THE KINGS OF COLLEGE HOCKEY: The Pioneers have been among the top programs since the turn of the century, and they continued to solidify that spot last season by winning their NCAA-record 10th national championship in 2023-24.

 

Denver’s now eight Frozen Fours since 2000 are the fourth-most while its five national titles surpassed Boston College last year for the most in that time.  In the previous 20-plus years since 2004, DU’s eight Frozen Four appearances are tied for the second-most while its five NCAA Championships lead college hockey in that span.

 

PERFECT 10: Denver won its 10th national title during the 2023-24 season, breaking a tie with Michigan for the most in NCAA history.  The Pioneers captured their second championship in three years and their fifth in the past 20 completed seasons, the most among any program in that time (2004-present).  DU’s five NCAA titles are also the most by any school since the turn of the century (2000-present).

 

The Pioneers were previously tied with Boston College for the most titles since 2000, as the Eagles had won four championships in that time (2001, 2008, 2010, 2012).  DU became the first team since BC to win three titles in a span of seven tournaments (not contested in 2019-20 due to COVID-19 Pandemic).

 

CARLE THE YOUNGEST TO WIN TWO: Denver Head Coach David Carle guided the Pioneers to their second NCAA Championship in the previous three seasons in 2024 and DU’s third-of-four Frozen Four appearance since taking over in 2018 (2019, 2022, 2024, 2025).

 

After being the fourth-youngest coach in history to win an NCAA D-I national title in 2022 (32 years, 5 months, 0 days), Carle became the youngest ever to win two national championships following the Pioneers’ victory in 2024 (34 years, 5 months, 4 days).  Overall, the Anchorage, Alaska, native is the 20th coach in NCAA history to win multiple national championships and the first to do so since Scott Sandelin of Minnesota Duluth (2011, 2018, 2019).

 

PIONEERING OFFENSE: Denver is tied with Western Michigan for first in the NCAA in scoring at 4.0 goals per game, and DU leads the nation in total goals scored at 172.  The Pios led the country last season with 202 total goals and a 4.59 average.  Denver has scored at least four goals in each of the first 11 contests and has 26 such games overall this season.

 

BALANCED SCORING: The Pioneers have had 18 different players score a goal this year and 20 of the 22 skaters have registered at least one point.  Denver also has 14 skaters that have reached double-digits in points.

 

Denver is tied for first in the NCAA with the most players with 10-plus goals (8 players, Quinnipiac) and 20-goal scorers (2, Boston University).  The Pioneers also have the most players with at least 20 points (10-tied, Western Michigan), 30 points (7), 40 points (4) and 50 points (2) in the NCAA this season.

 

PLAYING AHEAD: The Pioneers have had the lead or have been tied for most of the season, as they’ve not trailed in 85.5% of game play this season (2235:06/2613:16)—leading for 49.7% (1299:41) or being tied for 35.8% (935:25) of the time.

 

DU has only been down on the scoreboard in 14.5% of game play this season (378:10) and didn’t trail for the first 244:12 of the season (4+ games).

 

ROAD TRIPPIN’: DU made its third trip to the U.S. northeast this year for NCAA Regionals and will have traveled approximately 13,590 miles for games away from Magness Arena this season (one way) when the squad heads to St. Louis, Missouri, for the Frozen Four.

 

The Pios traveled to New England twice previously during the regular season for series at Yale on Nov. 1-2 and Maine on Jan. 3-4 and began the campaign with a trip to Anchorage, Alaska, on Oct. 5-6.  DU traveled approximately 10,349 miles during the 2024-25 regular season after going 8,605 miles for road contests in 2023-24.

 

Counting postseason play at neutral sites, Denver owns a 23-7-0 record in its last 30 games away from Magness Arena since Feb. 16, 2024.

 

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