Three DU Pioneers Sign Pro Contracts

The University of Denver hockey team will require some retooling next season. No less than three key Pioneer undergraduates have signed professional contracts since DU fell to eventual national champion Western Michigan in an NCAA semifinal on April 10 in St. Louis.

Sophomore defenseman Zeev Buium, the NCHC Player of the Year and one of three finalists for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award, signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the NHL's Minnesota Wild. In two years at DU, Buium, 19, from San Diego, collected 24 goals and 74 assists for 98 points. 

Junior forward Jared Wright inked a two-year entry level contract with the Los Angeles Kings, and has reported to Ontario (AHL). Wright, 22, a Burnsville, Minn. native, tallied 32-22—54 points over three seasons with DU. 

Junior forward Aidan Thompson signed a two-year ELC with the Chicago Blackhawks, and has been assigned to Rockford (AHL). In three seasons with the Pios, Thompson, 23, from Fort Collins, Co. notched 42-75—117 points.

Buium, Wright and Thompson were all members of Denver's record-breaking 10th NCAA title team in 2024.

WMU, BU Advance to 2025 NCAA Title Game

Owen Michael's second goal of the game less than 30 seconds into the second overtime period propelled Western Michigan to a 3-2 victory over defending national champion Denver in the first NCAA Frozen Four semifinal tonight at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis. 

WMU (33-7-1 overall), making its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Division I national semifinals, outshot DU by a 47-22 count overall, including 32-8 through the first two periods of play. The Pioneers (31-12-1), who had been seeking their third NCAA crown in four seasons and 11th overall, tied the game with two third-period goals, and got 44 saves in all from Matt Davis in his final appearance for DU.

In the nightcap, Jack Hughes recorded a goal and an assist, and Mikhail Yegorov made 32 saves to lead Boston University to a 3-1 win over Penn State. The Terriers (24-13-2), playing in their third consecutive Frozen Four, are now headed to their first national title game since 2015. Nicholas DeGraves scored for the Nittany Lions (22-13-4), who were skating in their first-ever Frozen Four since the program was elevated to varsity/NCAA status in 2013.

WMU and BU will now meet on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2) in the 2025 national championship game. The Broncos are seeking their first-ever NCAA championship, while the Terriers are after their sixth overall and first since 2009.

Sun Devils Sweep No. 1 Denver

Defending NCAA champion Denver's 21-game winning streak dating back to last season is history. The Pioneers were swept by visiting Arizona State in a pair of conference games at Magness Arena this weekend, by 3-2 and 5-2 decisions.

In Friday's meeting, ASU got two goals from Artem Shlaine, including the game-winner with 45 seconds remaining in regulation, and 30 saves from Luke Pavicich in topping DU for the first time since Nov. 10, 2023 in Tempe, Ariz. In Saturday's rematch, Shlaine scored two more goals and a second straight game-winner, while Pavicich made 26 saves for the Sun Devils, who are in their first season in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference after nine seasons as an NCAA Division I independent. 

ASU (6-7-1 overall, 3-30 NCHC) returns to action this weekend at home against Minnesota-Duluth, while DU (12-2-0, 2-2-0) will visit Western Michigan, all in NCHC play.

Denver Remains Atop National Poll

Defending national champion Denver remained atop this week's USCHO.com NCAA Division I men's hockey poll. The Pioneers opened their 2024-25 campaign with a two-game sweep at former WCHA opponent Alaska Anchorage over the weekend.

Rounding out the top five were Boston College, Boston University, Michigan State and Minnesota. BC opens its season this weekend at MSU, while BU topped Holy Cross in a single game and MSU swept a pair of outings at Lake Superior State. North Dakota, Cornell, Quinnipiac, Wisconsin and Michigan make up the rest of this week's top 10, with only Michigan having played this past weekend in a split with visiting Minnesota State.

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.

BC, Denver to Meet Saturday for NCAA Crown

The national title game is set. It will be Denver against Boston College on Saturday night in St. Paul, Minn., for the 2024 NCAA Division I men's hockey championship, after both teams won national semifinal contests today at the Xcel Energy Center.

In the opening game this afternoon, Tristan Broz scored just over 11 minutes into overtime to lift Denver to a 2-1 win over Boston University. Luke Tuch opened the scoring for BU (28-10-2 overall) with a shorthanded goal in the first period, before Tristan Lemyre tied it for DU in the second. BU outshot DU, 34-29, overall, even though the Terriers did not receive any power plays. Matt Davis made 33 saves in net for the Pioneers (31-9-3), while Mathieu Caron finished with 27 stops for the Terriers.

In the nightcap, Will Smith opened the scoring just over a minute into the opening stanza as top-ranked Boston College blanked Michigan, 4-0. The Eagles (34-5-1), who set a school record for most victories in a single season with tonight's win, broke the game open with goals 49 seconds apart in the second period from Smith and Cutter Gauthier (NCAA-high 38th goal of the year) while the two teams were skating 4-on-4. 

Gabe Perreault, who also assisted on both of Smith's goals, closed out the scoring early in the third period with an unassisted tally for the Eagles. Jacob Fowler stopped all 32 shots he faced in earning his third shutout of the season for BC, which was outshot by a 32-22 margin. Jake Barczewski had 18 stops for the Wolverines (23-15-3), who were making their third consecutive trip to the Frozen Four, and who were shut out for the first time in a Frozen Four appearance.

BC and DU will now meet for the national title on Saturday (6 p.m. ET, ESPN2). It will be a rematch of a game from October at BC, where the Pioneers edged the Eagles, 4-3. DU is seeking its record 10th NCAA men's hockey title all-time, and second in three years, while BC is after its sixth national championship ever, and first since 2012.

DU Tops North Dakota, Stays Atop NCHC

Defending NCAA champion Denver has solidified its hold on first place in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference.

The fourth-ranked Pioneers upended visiting North Dakota, 5-3, on Friday evening at Magness Arena to improve to 22-7-0 overall this season, and 13-4-0 in the NCHC. UND dropped to 12-12-4 overall (6-9-2 NCHC). 

Carter Mazur scored twice for DU, to break a personal five-game pointless string, while Mike Benning had two assists for the Pioneers and Magnus Chrona made 34 saves in net. Jackson Blake set up two goals for the Fighting Hawks, who finished 2-for-8 on the power play. Jakob Hellsten stopped 11 of 12 shots for UND after relieving starter Drew DeRidder, who took the loss after surrendering four goals on 11 shots against.

DU is now five points ahead of second-place Western Michigan in the NCHC standings, while UND remains tied for sixth place with Colorado College. DU and UND  meet again tonight in Denver to close out their regular-season series, with the Pioneers having won all three meetings so far this season. 

Peter McNab 1952-2022

Longtime NHL player and color commentator Peter McNab (Denver) passed away on Sunday at the age of 70 after battling cancer.

Born in Vancouver, McNab was selected 85th overall in the 1972 NHL Amateur Draft, and went on to a 14-year NHL career with Buffalo, Boston, Vancouver and New Jersey in which he scored 363 regular-season goals before retiring in 1987.

A ten-time 20-goal scorer and a six-time 30-goal scorer who also recorded two 40-goal seasons, including nine straight campaigns from 1974 to 1983, McNab tallied 363 goals and 450 assists for 813 points in 954 career NHL regular-season contests. He also added 40-42—82 points in 107 Stanley Cup playoff outings, and helped Boston to the Stanley Cup Final in both 1978 and 1979. 

A 6-foot-3, 205-pound forward, McNab played three NCAA seasons at DU (1971-1973), registering 78-92—170 points in 105 appearances. In his third and final season with the Pioneers, he collected a career-best 32-40—72 points in 38 outings and led DU to a third-place finish at the NCAA championship in Boston. He turned pro the following season and recorded 34-39—73 points with Cincinnati (AHL) in his lone minor-league campaign, while also making his NHL debut with Buffalo. He later represented the United States at the 1986 World Championships in the then-Soviet Union.

McNab, the son of the late NHL player/executive Max McNab and the brother of former NHL scout/executive David McNab (Wisconsin), went on to become a color commentator for New Jersey for eight years following his retirement as an active player. He then joined the Colorado Avalanche and was a party to their 1996, 2001 and 2022 Stanley Cup championships.

Rest in peace, Peter.

Denver Wins 2022 IceBreaker

Defending men's Division I national champion Denver is first in the national polls this week after winning the season-opening 2022 IceBreaker Invitational on home ice over the weekend. The Pioneers, who won their record-tying ninth NCAA title in April, defeated Notre Dame, 5-2, and Maine, 3-1, at Magness Arena last Friday and Saturday, respectively..

Transplanted Harvard forward Casey Dornbach scored DU's first and final goals in the win over the Fighting Irish, then assisted on both of Carter Mazur's tallies in the victory over Maine. Magnus Chrona, who backstopped DU to the national title in Boston, stopped 18 shots against UND, while Matt Davis made 24 saves versus Maine. 

It was Denver's first IceBreaker title since it defeated Providence in 1999 in DU's inaugural tournament appearance, also at home. The Pioneers also participated in 2006 and 2016.

DU (2-0-0) hits the road this weekend for a pair of contests at No. 13 UMass, which is coming off a season-opening tie at AIC. 

DU's Bozak Saves Blues in Denver

In a year where his alma mater won the NCAA Division I men's hockey national title, Tyler Bozak (Denver) kept his current NHL club alive in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and in his old college town.

Bozak's goal just over three-and-a-half minutes into overtime last night in Denver lifted the St. Louis Blues to a 5-4 win over the host Colorado Avalanche. St. Louis fought back from a three-goal second-period deficit, scoring four times in the third period to force overtime after Colorado regained a late lead. The Avalanche still leads the best-of-seven second-round series, three games to two.

Bozak, 36, played two years at DU (2008, 2009), notching 26 goals and 31 assists for 57 points in 60 outings, while helping the Pioneers to two NCAA tournament berths. The Regina, Sask. native then signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs as a free agent, and has 170 goals and 291 assists for 461 points in 814 career regular-season NHL games with Toronto and St. Louis. 

Bozak has also recorded 13-26—39 points in 67 career Stanley Cup playoff contests. He posted five goals and 13 points in 26 postseason outings in 2019, in his first season with St. Louis, as the Blues won their first-ever Stanley Cup.

Game Six of the Blues-Avalanche series will be played Friday night at 8 p.m. ET in St. Louis.

Denver Wins Ninth NCAA Hockey Title

Through the first 40 minutes of this year's NCAA Division I men's ice hockey title game, the University of Denver couldn't buy a goal. In the final 20 minutes, it couldn't stop scoring them.

The Pioneers overcame a one-goal deficit through two periods of play with five unanswered third-period scores in a 5-1 victory over Minnesota State before 17,850 on-lookers at TD Garden in Boston on Saturday night. DU (31-9-1 overall) has now won two national hockey titles in the last six years, and also moved into a first-place tie all-time with its ninth NCAA title overall.

For MnSU (38-6-0), the loss snapped an 18-game winning string that dated back to Jan. 14 against Northern Michigan. It was also the first time since Oct. 16, 2021 at Michigan that the Mavericks, who were playing in their first-ever NCAA Division I championship contest, had lost a game after leading after two periods.

Sam Morton's power-play goal 14 minutes into the game stood up through the first two stanzas, as MnSU limited DU to just eight shots on net in that span. The floodgates then opened for DU just under five minutes into the final frame, when Ryan Barrow poked home a rebound to put the Pioneers on the board.

Mike Benning's slapshot from the right circle just under three minutes later stood up as the game-winning goal, just seconds after a DU power play expired, before Massimo Rizzo finished off a 2-on-1 rush six minutes later to make it a 3-1 contest. Brett Stapley and Cameron Wright then added empty-net goals in the final three minutes to ice matters for DU.

Magnus Chrona finished with 27 saves for the National Collegiate Hockey Conference's Pioneers, who last won an NCAA hockey title in 2017 in Chicago. At the other end of the ice, 2022 Hobey Baker Memorial Award winner Dryden McKay made 15 stops for the Central Collegiate Hockey Association champion Mavericks. Benning was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. 

DU, which had previously won NCAA Frozen Fours in Boston in 1960 and 2004, is now tied with Michigan for the most NCAA hockey championships overall with nine each. The Pioneers defeated the Wolverines in a semifinal game on Thursday to advance to this year's national championship game. Saturday also marked the fifth national title for the NCHC since the conference was formed in 2013.

Denver, MSU Advance to 2022 NCAA Title Game

The Big Ten Conference got two teams to this year's men's Frozen Four, but neither will appear in the 2022 NCAA Division I title game at TD Garden in Boston. 

Denver outlasted top-seeded Michigan, 3-2, tonight as Carter Savoie followed up his own rebound with just over five minutes remaining in the first overtime period to send the Pioneers (30-9-1 overall) to their first national title game since 2017. Michigan, which featured 13 NHL draft choices on its roster, including seven first-round selections, closed its campaign at 31-10-1.

In the nightcap, Minnesota State surrendered an early goal to in-state rival Minnesota, but then roared back with five scores of its own over the last 40 minutes as the Mavericks advanced to their first-ever NCAA championship game with a 5-1 win. Hobey Baker Memorial Award finalist Dryden McKay made 16 stops for the victorious Mavericks (38-5-0), who have now won 18 straight contests this season. Minnesota ends its year at 26-13-0.

DU, from the NCHC, and MSU, from the new CCHA, will now meet on Saturday night in Boston (8 p.m. ET, ESPN2) in the final NCAA game of the season to see who will lift the national champion trophy.

DU's Stastny Plays 1,000th NHL Game

Paul Stastny (Denver) played in his 1,000th NHL regular-season game on Tuesday night, as his Winnipeg Jets blanked Vancouver, 5-0.

Stastny, 35, the son of Hockey Hall of Fame forward Peter Stastny, was presented with a silver stick by his Winnipeg teammates prior to the game, making him the first player to be so honored in franchise history. He has recorded 263 goals and 492 assists for 755 points for Colorado, St. Louis, Winnipeg and Vegas in an NHL career that began in 2006-07. He has also recorded 25-42—67 points in 97 Stanley Cup Playoff appearances, and has never played a game in the minor leagues.

Stastny skated for two seasons at the University of Denver (2004-2006), and as a freshman helped the Pioneers to the 2005 NCAA title while personally winning WCHA Rookie of the Year accolades. In 81 career games at DU, he tallied 36-62—98 points, and earned Second Team All-America status as a sophomore after a 19-goal, 53-point campaign.

Born in Quebec, Stastny grew up in New Jersey and St. Louis, and has represented the United States in international competition on several occasions. He won a silver medal with the U.S. at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, and later helped the Americans to a bronze medal at the 2013 IIHF World Championship in Sweden.

Shattenkirk on the Move, Butcher Stays Put

A pair of former NCAA defensemen are heading different ways in the NHL's Atlantic Division.

Kevin Shattenkirk (Boston University) was bought out by the New York Rangers with two years remaining on his four-year, $26.6 million contract, according to Reuters, while Will Butcher (Denver) signed a new three-year deal worth $11.2 million with the New Jersey Devils, according to msn.com.

Shattenkirk, 30, joined the Rangers in the summer of 2017 after splitting the 2016-17 campaign between St. Louis and Washington. In two seasons in Manhattan, the first limited by injury, he notched seven goals and 44 assists for 51 points in 119 regular-season outings.

A 2014 U.S. Olympian, Shattenkirk has registered 75-274—349 points in 609 NHL regular-season games with Colorado, St. Louis, Washington and the Rangers. He also has five goals and 34 points in 64 career Stanley Cup Playoff appearances. A first-round draft choice (14th overall) of Colorado in 2007, and a product of the U.S. National Team Development Program, he totaled 18-60—78 points in 121 contests over three seasons at BU, and was also a member of the Terriers' 2009 NCAA championship team.

Also originally drafted by Colorado (2013, 123rd overall) and trained by the U.S. NTDP, Butcher signed with the New Jersey Devils as a free agent in 2017 after completing a highly-successful three-year stint at DU that culminated in both an NCAA title and the Hobey Baker Memorial Award. In 158 appearances overall with the Pioneers, he collected 28-75—103 points. His totals included seven goals and career-high 37 points as a junior captain in 2016-17, when he was also named a First Team All-America selection.

Butcher, 24, who has represented the U.S. at both the World Junior Championship and the World Championships, has notched nine goals and 74 points in 159 NHL regular-season outings over two seasons with the Devils, and also has four points in five career Stanley Cup Playoff matches. He posted 44 points in 2017-18 to earn selection to the NHL All-Rookie Team that season.

UMass, Minnesota-Duluth to Play for NCAA Title

Marc Del Gaizo scored in overtime just after midnight to send Massachusetts to its first-ever NCAA Championship game with a 4-3 win over Denver. The Minutemen will face defending national champion Minnesota-Duluth, which ousted Providence, 4-1, in the early Frozen Four semifinal on Thursday at Key Bank Center in Buffalo.

Del Gaizo's slapshot from above the left circle 15:18 into sudden death pulled out the victory for UMass, which had held a 3-1 lead after 20 minutes on three power-play goals, only to have
Denver's Cole Guttman score twice in the third period for the Pioneers to force the extra session. DU, which was looking to play in its second NCAA title game in three seasons, outshot UMass, 40-28,
although Filip Lindberg made 37 saves for the Minutemen.

Minnesota-Duluth overcame two disallowed first-period goals to earn a spot in its third consecutive national championship game, as Justin Richards scored twice for the Bulldogs in their win over the Friars. UMD broke a 1-1 tie in the third period on a goal by Billy Exell midway through the final stanza, before the Bulldogs added two late empty-net tallies to seal the contest. Hunter Shepard made 28 stops for the Bulldogs, who became the first team to advance to three straight men's hockey NCAA title contests since Boston College (2006-2008).

UMass and UMD will face off at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday (ESPN2) to decide this year's Division I men's national champion. It will be the first time ever that a Hockey East school meets a
National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) school with the national title at stake.

Carle Takes Reins at Denver

David Carle is the new men's hockey head coach at the University of Denver. The longtime DU assistant succeeds former head coach Jim Montgomery, who joined the NHL's Dallas Stars earlier this month.

Carle, 28, has served as an assistant with the Pioneers for eight of the last nine seasons, spending the 2013-14 campaign as an assistant with Green Bay (USHL) before rejoining DU as a full-time assistant in 2014. He has helped DU to eight NCAA Tournament berths in his overall tenure, including the 2017 NCAA title.

The past four seasons, according to denverpioneers.com, Carle has helped Denver to a 115-51-23 overall record, a 66-32-14-8 mark in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference, one NCHC regular-season title, two NCHC Frozen Faceoff titles, and four NCAA Tournament appearances with one national championship. He becomes the youngest current head coach in NCAA Division I men's ice hockey with this hiring.

A native of Anchorage, Alaska, Carle was offered the head coach position at UAA earlier this year, but turned it down. His college playing career came to a premature end as a freshman in 2008 when he was diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, after which he joined Denver’s coaching staff as a student assistant under former head coach George Gwozdecky. A product of Shattuck- St. Mary's in Minnesota, Carle was drafted by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the seventh round of the 2008 NHL Draft.

Carle, who has served as DU’s primary recruiter, is expected to retain former fellow assistant coach Tavis MacMillan.

2018 Hobey Hat Trick Announced

The 2018 Hobey Hat Trick is set.

The three finalists have been selected for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award, named for the former Princeton University hockey and football star, and annually awarded since 1981 to the top player in NCAA Division I men's ice hockey.

University of Denver sophomore forward Henrik Borgström, from Helsinki, Finland, led the Pioneers in scoring this season with 23 goals and 29 assists for 52 points in 40 games. He helped DU to the 2018 NCHC Championship, and played his final game in a 5-1 loss to Ohio State in the NCAA Midwest Regional final on March 25 before signing with the NHL's Florida Panthers.

Harvard University junior forward Ryan Donato led the Crimson with 26-17—43 points despite taking time out to play for the United States in the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, where he led the Americans with five goals and six points. The Boston native signed with the Boston Bruins after Harvard was eliminated in the ECAC semifinals by Clarkson on March 16, and responded with three points in his first NHL game. 

Northeastern University junior forward Adam Gaudette paced the Huskies with 30-30—60 points in 38 outings, including Northeastern's first Beanpot Tournament crown in 30 years. The Braintree, Mass. native signed with the Vancouver Canucks after the Huskies were eliminated by Michigan in an NCAA Northeast Regional semifinal on March 24.

The 2018 Hobey Baker Award will be presented on April 6 in St. Paul, Minn. (NHL Network, 6 p.m. ET). Last year's winner was Denver defenseman Will Butcher, who then led the Pioneers to the 2017 NCAA title and is now a member of the New Jersey Devils.

Denver's Butcher to Join Devils

Will Butcher is going from Denver to the Devils.

The 2017 Hobey Baker Memorial Award winner as the top player in NCAA Division I men’s ice hockey this past season, Butcher has signed a two-year contract with the NHL’s New Jersey Devils worth approximately $925,000, as reported at NJ.com. A Wisconsin native who was drafted by the Colorado Avalanche in the fifth round in 2013 just before enrolling at the University of Denver, he eschewed his drafting club to sign with New Jersey as a free agent.

Butcher scored seven goals and added 30 assists for a career-high 37 points in 43 outings in 2016-17 as Denver won its eighth NCAA hockey championship overall, and first since 2005. He also earned All-America honors on defense for the second consecutive season. In 158 career appearances with the Pioneers from 2013 to 2017, Butcher registered 28-75—103 points, including 15 power-play goals and four game-winners, according to USCHO.com, and helped DU to four NCAA Tournament appearances. He prepped with the U.S. National Team Development Program for two seasons prior to joining the Pioneers.

Alexander Kerfoot of Harvard, a forward who was drafted by the Devils in the fifth round in 2012, has instead signed with the Avalanche as a free agent. Kerfoot, who last year captained the Crimson to its first NCAA Frozen Four appearance since 1994, recorded career highs of 16-30—46 points and eight power-play goals in 37 contests as Harvard claimed both the ECAC regular-season and tournament titles. He finished with 36 goals and 124 points in 122 career games, and also helped Harvard to three consecutive NCAA Tournament berths over his final three campaigns.

Denver Wins 2017 NCAA Men's Hockey Title

For the first time since 2005 and the eighth time overall, the University of Denver Pioneers are the NCAA Division I men's ice hockey national champions. DU held on for a 3-2 win over the University of Minnesota-Duluth on Saturday night in the national title game at the United Center in Chicago.

Following a scoreless first period, Denver junior forward Jarid Lukosevicius tallied a pair of goals 16 seconds apart to put DU ahead, 2-0. After senior forward Alex Iafallo got the Bulldogs within one score with a power-play goal, Lukosevicius connected again from short range to complete the first hat trick in a Division I men's hockey national title game since Denver head coach Jim Montgomery did the same as a player for NCAA champion Maine in 1993.

Freshman forward Riley Tufte put home a rebound late in the third period to again bring the Bulldogs back within a goal, but UMD couldn't gain the equalizer despite pulling freshman goaltender Hunter Miska (25 saves) for an extra attacker with less than two minutes remaining in regulation. Junior netminder Tanner Jaillet, the 2017 winner of the Mike Richter Award as the nation's top goaltender, finished with 38 stops for the Pioneers, who were outshot, 17-3, in the third period after junior defenseman Tariq Hammond was injured, although he returned for the postgame celebration. UMD outshot DU on the night, 40-28.

Denver captain and 2017 Hobey Baker Memorial Award winner Will Butcher completed his career with a national championship after DU was eliminated in the NCAA semifinals last year by North Dakota. Denver's senior class finished with 102 total victories in its four campaigns and made the NCAA tournament all four years, with DU now having made the NCAAs nine straight seasons overall.

Denver's most recent NCAA titles came back-to-back in 2004 and 2005. The Pioneers' eighth national title all-time ties them for second place overall with National Collegiate Hockey Conference rival North Dakota, which won the national championship last year. Michigan leads all-time with nine NCAA crowns. UMD, the NCHC's playoff champion, was seeking its second NCAA championship in school history. Denver was the NCHC's regular-season king, and held the No. 1 overall ranking in the country entering the 2017 NCAA Tournament.

The 2018 Frozen Four will be held at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn., the first time it will be held in Minnesota since UMD won the 2011 title.

Denver's Butcher Wins Hobey Baker Award

University of Denver senior defenseman and team captain Will Butcher is the winner of the 2017 Hobey Baker Memorial Award as the top player in NCAA Division I men’s ice hockey. The honor was bestowed upon Butcher on Friday in Chicago, site of this year’s NCAA Frozen Four. The award is presented by the Decathlon Club of Bloomington, Minn.

Butcher becomes the second Denver Pioneer to win the Hobey Baker Award in its 36-year history, and the first since fellow defenseman Matt Carle in 2005. That was the last year that DU, currently ranked No. 1 in the nation, won its most recent of seven NCAA hockey championships.

A native of Sun Prairie, Wis., and a 2013 draft choice of the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche, Butcher leads all Denver blueliners with seven goals and 30 assists for 37 points to go along with 18 penalty minutes in 42 games so far this season. In three years at DU, he has tallied 28-75—103 points and 53 PIM in 157 career outings, along with 15 power-play and four game-winning goals.

Also on Friday, Denver junior goaltender Tanner Jaillet copped the 2017 Mike Richter Award, which is annually awarded to the most outstanding netminder in NCAA men's hockey. In 37 outings so far this season, the Red Deer, Alta. native has posted a 27-5-4 record with a 1.83 goals-against average and a .928 save percentage. Denver head coach Jim Montgomery won the Spencer T. Penrose Award earlier in the week as Division I men's hockey's top coach.

Butcher, Jaillet, Montgomery and Denver will look to cap the 2016-17 campaign with a national title on Saturday night, when the Pioneers meet Minnesota-Duluth in the national title game at the United Center (8 p.m. ET, ESPN).