Pioneers Pull Off the Desert Shocker: Denver Ousts No. 1 Michigan in 2OT

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LAS VEGAS — In a game that will be remembered as an instant Frozen Four classic, the Denver Pioneers stunned the top-seeded Michigan Wolverines with a 4–3 victory at T-Mobile Arena on Thursday night.

Senior captain and defenseman Kent Anderson, who had only scored one goal in 41 games prior to last night, became the unlikely hero. At 7:25 of the second overtime period, Anderson found himself alone in the slot and wired a shot glove-side past Michigan’s Jack Ivankovic to send the Pioneers to the national championship

The Hicks Wall

While Anderson provided the final blow, Denver’s true savior was rookie goaltender Johnny Hicks. Faced with a relentless Michigan attack that outshot Denver 52–26, Hicks stood tall with a career-high 49 saves.

Hicks was perfect in the extra frames, stopping all 21 shots he faced in overtime—including a point-blank robbery of Michigan’s Garrett Schifsky in the first OT that would have ended the game.

How it Happened

The game was a back-and-forth heavyweight bout from the opening puck drop:

The Lead-Off: Denver’s Kyle Chyzowski opened the scoring midway through the first, but Michigan responded quickly with goals from Josh Eernisse and T.J. Hughes to take a 2–1 lead into the intermission.
The Grind: Denver’s Cale Ashcroft tied it up early in the second, and the score remained deadlocked until late in the third.
Late Drama: Michigan took a 3–2 lead on a power-play goal by Jayden Perron with nine minutes remaining. Just as the Wolverines seemed destined for the final, Denver’s Clarke Caswell redirected a Garrett Brown pass into the net with only 2:46 left in regulation to force overtime.

Championship Bound

The win extends Denver’s incredible winning streak to 12 games and keeps their quest for a record-breaking 11th national title alive.

The Pioneers (28–11–3) will now face Wisconsin in the National Championship game this Saturday at 2:30 p.m. local time. Wisconsin advanced earlier in the night with an upset of their own, knocking off North Dakota.