Denver Wins 2026 NCHC Frozen Faceoff Championship

DENVER – The No. 2-seed University of Denver Pioneers hockey team beat the No. 4-seeded Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs 4-3 in double-overtime on Saturday night in the NCHC Frozen Faceoff Championship Game at Magness Arena. 
 
Freshman forward Kristian Epperson netted the game-winner 1:54 into the second extra stanza to help the No. 4-nationally ranked Pioneers take home the National Cup for the fourth time. DU (25-11-3, 17-6-1 NCHC) now owns most NCHC Frozen Faceoff championships in league history and picked up its 19th overall tournament title in the program’s record book (15 in the WCHA).
 
This is the first year in NCHC history where the entire conference tournament was played at home venues.
 
“I just commend our fans, our league, our administration here at DU for making this happen; our fans were excellent,” said Denver Richard and Kitzia Goodman Hockey Head Coach David Carle. “You know, throughout this whole format it was wonderful to be on campus sites, and I thought it adds a lot of energy and excitement to the games. So really happy for that, and obviously another great hockey game tonight, different than the last one (semifinal versus Western Michigan). Great start by us, great response by them, and even from there we found a way to make a play at the end. I thought both teams obviously played really hard, played well. Wouldn’t be surprised to see them again down the line.”
 
Senior forward Rieger Lorenz and freshman forward Clarke Caswell each contributed a goal and an assist, and junior defenseman Garrett Brown had a career-high two helpers in contest. Junior defenseman Boston Buckberger also tallied, while senior Samu Salminen, junior Cale Ashcroft and freshman Brendan McMorrow all had an assist each.
 
Pioneers goaltender Johnny Hicks earned tournament Most Outstanding Player honors after posting career highs with 41 saves on 44 shots faced, which included making 14 saves in the first overtime period.
 
Minnesota Duluth goaltender Adam Gajan stopped 29-of-33 shots that DU sent his way. Max Plante, Grayden Siepmann and Hunter Anderson tallied for the Bulldogs (23-14-1, 11-12-1 NCHC).
 
The first period was all Pios as they netted three goals in a span of 10 minutes. Lorenz started the Denver scoring blitz at 3:33, and Caswell netted his sixth of the season three minutes later after a fortuitous bounce off his leg from Ashcroft’s shot. Buckberger gave the Pios the 3-0 edge at 13:02 before Duluth answered back with its own marker by Plante.
 
No. 6-nationally ranked UMD evened score in the middle frame with two power-play markers from Siepmann and Anderson. The Bulldogs finished 2-for-4 on the man advantage while Denver went 0-for-2 with the extra man.
 
Denver played a double-overtime conference title game for the second straight season after doing it last year as well against Western Michigan, but this time it went in its favor with Epperson tallying his first career OT goal and second career game-winning marker.
 
Hicks was among four Pioneers on this year’s All-Tournament Team and was joined with forward Lorenz and defensemen Buckberger and Eric Pohlkamp.
 
UP NEXT: The Pioneers will host the NCAA West Regionals at Blue Arena in Loveland, Colorado, next weekend, March 27-29. DU will find out who it will face in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday during the Men’s Ice Hockey Selection Show on ESPNU at 1 p.m. MT.
 
 
POSTGAME NOTES

• DU secured its 19th overall conference tournament championship and fourth in the NCHC. DU last won the Frozen Faceoff in 2024 at the then-Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota.
• The Pioneers won a conference tournament title on home ice for the first time since 1986 when they won a two-game goal aggregate series vs. the Minnesota Gophers. 
• Denver hosted a single-elimination championship game on home ice for the first time since the 1970 WCHA Final vs. Wisconsin and won its first such contest since the 1969 WCHA Final against Colorado College.
• The last time Denver won a conference trophy on home ice was March 5, 2022, when it completed a weekend sweep of Colorado College to earn a share of the NCHC Penrose Cup as regular-season champions. 
• Saturday’s contest was the latest in the season that DU had hosted a home game since March 22, 1986 when the Pios lost 4-3 to Cornell in the NCAA Quarterfinals. 
• DU and UMD were meeting in the NCHC tournament for the first time since their quarterfinal series in 2024, and they played their first-ever championship game against one another in league history. 
• Denver and Minnesota Duluth were playing in a conference tournament final for just the second time overall, and the Pios earned their first win after UMD won the 2009 WCHA Final Five championship. 
• The Pioneers were in the NCHC title game for a third straight season and for the fifth time overall. DU improved to 4-1 all-time in the conference’s championship outing.
• DU played in its second-straight Frozen Faceoff Championship Game that needed double-overtime after also playing into the second extra-stanza last year vs. Western Michigan.
• The Pios improved to 4-3-3 in OT this season and are unbeaten in their last five games that have gone past regulation (3-2-0).
• Senior forward Rieger Lorenz extended his career-long point streak (7g/8a) to 11 contests. 
• Denver stretched its unbeaten streak to 13 games (12-0-1), tied for the fifth-longest in a single season in program history and the longest since 2016-17 when it had 13 wins in a row from Jan. 21-March 11, 2017. That year’s national championship-winning squad also went on a 15-game unbeaten run earlier in the campaign from Oct. 14-Dec. 9, 2016 (12-0-3).
• Denver finished with a home record of 15-6-1 and with 10 straight wins at Magness Arena, its longest home-winning stretch in a single season since posting 19 straight victories from Dec. 8, 1967-March 9, 1968.
• Kristian Epperson scored his second career game-winning goal and first overtime-winner.
• Samu Salminen recorded his 90th career point on Rieger Lorenz’s goal.
• Boston Buckberger extended his point streak (2g/1a) to three games.
• Garrett Brown had a career-best two assists and recorded the second multi-point game of his career. 

 
GOAL SUMMARY
1st Period
3:31 DU (1-0) – Samu Salminen forced a turnover behind the goal line and sent a pass to the low slot for Rieger Lorenz, who gathered the puck and hit twine with a wrist shot.
6:37 DU (2-0) – Cale Ashcroft shot from the left circle deflected off a Bulldogs player and the knee of Clarke Caswell before flying past goaltender Adam Gajan’s right pad.
13:02 DU (3-0) – Boston Buckberger’s wrist shot from high in the slot got through traffic and went top shelf.
18:40 UMD (3-1) – Max Plante scored on a rebound in front after Zam Plante’s initial shot was blocked by a Pioneer defender.
 
2nd Period
4:19 UMD (3-2) – PPG, Grayden Siepmann scored on a snap shot from the left circle that went inside the near post.
18:05 UMD (3-3) – PPG, Hunter Anderson buried a one-time snap shot at the right circle after taking a cross feed from Kyle Gaffney.
 
3rd Period
No Scoring
 
Overtime 1
No Scoring
 
Overtime 2
1:54 DU (4-3) – Kristian Epperson knocked in the puck from the left side of the crease after taking a pass from Clarke Caswell.
 
 
QUOTABLES
Richard and Kitzia Goodman Hockey Head Coach David Carle
On goaltender Johnny Hicks’ performance: “I thought both goalies; I mean, it could have went sideways for both of them, you know. It’s a tough start for them, and we find a way to make some plays, and then they respond, and I thought both goalies were then the team’s best players from there on out. So I thought it was really impressive for both guys. Obviously, Johnny’s been, you know, you asked about the stretch he’s on, I’ve been asked and talked a lot about him in this stretch, and there’s not much more to say—he’s just been excellent for us. I mean, these guys said he’s been a rock for us. You know, can’t do it without him. And his reads, his poise, his confidence, timely saves, timely whistles; it’s all kind of working for him right now, and our team is obviously benefiting, and he’s a huge part of it.”
 
On the team’s depth and resilience: “Yeah, I mean [Garrett] Brown and [Kristian] Epperson come back in the lineup, I think Brown had two assists, Epperson scores the goal. Obviously been doing it for a long time without both of them, you know, through this NCHC playoff run. A lot of people said, who’s your fourth line? Who’s your first line? I think different lines step up on any given night, and certainly that was true tonight again.”
 
Senior Captain Kent Anderson
On winning the National Cup in Denver: “Just being able to do that in our home building, super special. You know, obviously a big game and trophy on the line. Just proud of our group for coming through and making a play there at the end. A lot of games in Magness, and it feels good to win that one.”
 
On Johnny Hicks’s performance in net: “He’s amazing and he’s a rock back there. No matter what happens—if there’s goals against, he’s locked in and we trust him back there. And for him to come through there, 41 saves I think it was, huge. And his performance has helped us out a lot in the second half of the season, and it was a great game tonight.”
 
Senior Forward Rieger Lorenz
On emotions after the win: “It was super emotional. Obviously we’ve played a lot of cool games in Magness. I think this is best for last here. Me and Kent have been through a lot in our four years here, and I think we’ve become better people, better players. So yeah, taking the last loop around was super emotional for the both of us, happy I could do it with him.”
 
On the possibility of history repeating itself and mirroring the 2024 national title team: “You look at the ’24 team, I think we built momentum throughout the back half of that season there. I don’t think we win the national championship if we don’t win the Frozen Faceoff. It was a super big game for our group. Happy to see that we pulled through and we feel pretty good going to regionals right now with the way we’re playing.”
 

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