Denver’s 11th NCAA Hockey Title Denies Big Ten Another Championship

Denver goaltender Johnny Hicks (31) celebrates after defeating Wisconsin in the championship game at the NCAA Frozen Four men's college hockey tournament Saturday, April 11, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

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Since January, the Big Ten Conference has been on a tear, winning national titles in football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball. But on Saturday night, the league came up short, as the University of Denver defeated Wisconsin, 2-1, in the NCAA men’s hockey championship game in Las Vegas.

Denver won its record 11th hockey title and third in the past five seasons. The Pioneers also won in 2022 and 2024. Boston College (2008, 2010 and 2012) is the only program in the past 65 years to have three championships in a five-year span.

Hockey is unlike most other Division I sports, especially football and basketball, where the Power Four conferences of the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC dominate. The Big Ten is the only one of those leagues that sponsors hockey, and the conference only did so starting with the 2013-14 season when Penn State started a Division I program. The Big Ten has six schools (Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Ohio State, Penn State and Wisconsin) that play all of their sports in the conference, as well as Notre Dame, an independent in football and a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference in most other sports.

Only 63 colleges have men’s hockey, and the other five leagues besides the Big Ten are hockey-specific: Atlantic Hockey America, Central Collegiate Hockey Association, ECAC Hockey, Hockey East and National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC).

The tournament champions in each of those leagues receive an automatic berth in the NCAA tournament, while the 10 at-large berths are determined by the NCAA Power Index (NPI), a measure introduced this season that factors in a team’s winning percentage and strength of schedule. The NCHC and Big Ten each had three at-large teams in this year’s field, while the ECAC and Hockey East had two apiece.

Denver, which was No. 5 in the NPI entering the NCAAs, received an automatic berth after defeating Minnesota Duluth, 4-3, in double overtime in the NCHC championship game. Freshman forward Kristian Epperson, a third round pick by the Los Angeles Kings in last year’s NHL draft, scored the game-winner.

In the NCAA West Regional, Denver shut out Cornell, 5-0, before posting a 6-2 victory over No. 1 seed Western Michigan to advance to the Frozen Four. The Pioneers then upset No. 1 ranked Michigan, 4-3, in double overtime in the national semifinals. Michigan had twice as many shots on goal (52) than Denver (26), but freshman goalie Johnny Hicks made 49 saves and senior defenseman Kent Anderson score the game-winner, ending Michigan’s seven-game winning streak.

In the final, Wisconsin also had twice as many shots (30) as Denver (15), but Hicks was once again impressive, making 29 saves. Freshman forward Kyle Chyzowski scored with 5:52 remaining in the third period, giving Denver its 11th title and denying Wisconsin its seventh NCAA championship and first since 2006.

Denver’s 13th consecutive victory also denied the Big Ten another national title, following Indiana’s football championship in January to culminate a 16-0 season, UCLA’s victory in the women’s basketball title game on April 5 and Michigan’s win in the men’s basketball championship game on April 6.

This season, Denver had 14 players on its roster who have been drafted by an NHL team, the third-most in Division I, only trailing Boston University (19) and Michigan State (15). Denver’s highest pick was Rieger Lorenz, a senior forward who was drafted in the second round (56th overall) in 2022. The Pioneers also had two third round picks in Epperson and senior forward Samu Salminen, the 68th overall selection in 2021. Salminen transferred to Denver last season from the University of Connecticut.

Lorenz was second on the team with 35 points (17 goals and 18 assists), while Salminen had 29 points (11 goals and 18 assists) and Epperson had 22 points (11 goals and 11 assists). Junior defenseman Eric Pohlkamp, a fifth round draft pick in 2023, led Denver with 39 points (21 goals and 18 assists). Pohlkamp was one of three finalists for the Hobey Baker award, which goes to college hockey’s top player.

Hicks, meanwhile, has not been drafted by an NHL team and didn’t become Denver’s starter until Jan. 24 when starter Quentin Miller sustained an injury. When Hicks took over, Denver was just 13-11-2, but the Pioneers won 16 of their final 17 games. The only exception was a 2-2 tie at Colorado College. Denver won the best-of-three shootout that game, but it counted as a tie, although the Pioneers earned an extra point in the standings. Hicks, the most oustanding player in the NCHC tournament, West Regional and Frozen Four, finished the season with a 1.19 goals against average and .957 save percentage

“Johnny Hicks is unbelievable,” Anderson said after the national title game. “He’s undefeated. We couldn’t have done any of this without him.”

Said Denver coach David Carle: “I think (Hicks taking over as the starter) raise the guys’ level of urgency. We all believe in Johnny, but none of us knew Johnny would do what Johnny did over the last 16, 17 games.”

Carle, who is just 36 years old, is tied for first among active coaches with three national titles, joining Minnesota-Duluth’s Scott Sandelin, who is 61 and won championships in 2011, 2018 and 2019. Carle has received interest from NHL teams, but he signed a multi-year contract extension with Denver last May.

Carle has strong ties to the school. Months before enrolling at Denver in 2008, where he was expected to be a major contributor as a defenseman, Carle was diagnosed with a heart condition that forced him to retire. He instead spent his college years working alongside coach George Gwozdecky and then got into coaching himself after graduating.

After Gwozdecky left for the Dallas Stars in 2018, Carle took over at Denver when he was just 28, becoming the youngest coach in DI men’s hockey. Carle has since led Denver to five Frozen Four appearances, the most of any team during that time period.

As long as Carle is around, the Pioneers should be in contention for the NCAA championship. This year’s team featured 10 freshmen, and Carle has a proven track record of developing players, sending players to the NHL and winning.

Denver is also committed to hockey. Most of its sports, including men’s and women’s basketball, are moving in the 2026-27 school year to the West Coast Conference, but that league doesn’t sponsor hockey. As such, Carle and his players will remain in the NCHC, a loaded conference with eight of the past 10 NCAA champions where the Pioneers can test themselves against other top programs.

“It’s a smaller school,” Lorenz said. “Obviously, we’re the top sport on campus, you might say. You come to Denver, they care a lot about their hockey. It’s a super special place.”

This article was originally published on Forbes.com