Sunday, April 14, 2024

Denver Wins 10th NCAA Hockey Title Overall

Jared Wright and Rieger Lorenz scored goals less than six minutes apart, and Matt Davis stopped all 35 shots he faced as the University of Denver claimed the 2024 NCAA Division I men's hockey title on Saturday night with a 2-0 win over No. 1 Boston College in St. Paul, Minn.

Wright broke open a scoreless game at 9:42 of the second period when his shot from the left side glanced off the crossbar, off of BC goaltender Jacob Fowler (24 saves), and into the net. Lorenz, who assisted on Wright's goal, followed up with a wrist shot over Fowler's stick at 15:16 to give the Pioneers all the offense they would need on the night, before a crowd of 18,694 at Xcel Energy Center.

Davis, who earned Frozen Four Most Outstanding Player accolades, proved to be the difference, with 23 of his 35 saves coming over the final 20 minutes of play as the top-ranked Eagles attempted to claw back into the contest. BC also hit two posts in the game, while Davis stopped Will Smith on a first-period breakaway, and then added a point-blank arm save on Ryan Leonard's one-timer in-close in the final period. The Calgary native finished the 2024 NCAA tournament with a 4-0 record for the Pioneers, while stopping 138 of the 141 total shots he faced.

DU (32-9-3 overall) has earned two of the last three NCAA titles, and has now won a record 10 national championships overall, breaking the tie it had held with Michigan since 2022. BC (34-6-1), which was seeking is first national hockey title since 2012, saw its 15-game winning streak snapped as it was shut out for the first time in the 2023-24 campaign.

Next year's Frozen Four will be held in St. Louis, for the first time since 2007 when Michigan State defeated BC in the final.

No comments:

Post a Comment