LAS VEGAS — For a couple of breathless moments Thursday night, it appeared that Johnny Hicks’ incredible, improbable run was going to end in a similar fashion to how it began.
Hicks, a freshman sensation who has yet to lose a game since being thrust into the University of Denver net because of an injury to classmate Quentin Miller, was flat on his back on the ice at T-Mobile Arena and motionless for nearly 30 seconds. It was early in the third period of a tie game in a national semifinal against Michigan at the 2026 Frozen Four, and he got run over after Wolverines forward Malcolm Spence took the puck to the edge of Hicks’ crease and DU defenseman Eric Jamieson met him there.
“It just kind of knocked the wind out of me,” Hicks said. “I took a second to breathe and got up fine. I was just taking a breather. I was surprised. He kind of came out of nowhere. It was an unlucky play. I’m glad everyone was OK.”
Not only was Hicks fine to continue, but he was just getting started with the latest chapter of this fairy tale. Hicks finished the night with a career-high 49 saves and the Pioneers found a way to knock off the top-seeded Wolverines in an instant classic, 4-3, in double overtime. He and the Pios will play Wisconsin here on Saturday afternoon in the national title game.
The diminutive goaltender stood taller than anyone by the end of the night. He made 25 of those saves after Clarke Caswell scored with 2:46 left in regulation to send the game to overtime. Michigan sent wave after wave of offensive attacks in his direction, but the Wolverines could not find a fourth goal against Hicks.
He is now 15-0-1 since taking over the starter role with a 1.20 goals against average and a .957 save percentage. No team has scored four times on Hicks.
“I don’t think I even have to say it, but he’s unbelievable,” Pios defenseman Boston Buckberger said. “Itap like a broken record. We talk about how good he is, and he keeps showing up performing. He battles harder than anyone, works harder than anyone behind the scenes. For him to do what he did (Thursday) night was just utterly special. He got ran over, almost looked like a linebacker taking a hit and he got right back up.
“He’s a warrior for us. We love him back there.”
Hicks is listed at 5-foot-10 and 157 pounds. He’s a skinny guy. It’s unavoidable.
Pios captain Kent Anderson told a story Friday about the time Hicks was hiding from DU strength coach Matt Shaw, but it wasn’t what someone might expect after seeing the goaltender’s slight frame.
“He’s always putting in the extra work, but he was in our training room doing his little core workout,” Anderson said. “We were wondering, ‘What are you doing in the training room, not in the gym?’
“He was hiding from our strength trainer, Matt Shaw, because he was doing too much. He can never shut it off. He’s a competitor. Just shows the kind of guy he is. Couldn’t be more happy for him.”
The origin story for Hicks has quickly become part of DU’s storied hockey lore. Miller, who was having a fantastic freshman campaign, was injured early in a game against St. Cloud State.
Enter Hicks, who helped the Pios shrug off seeing their starting goaltender go down by pitching a shutout the rest of the way in a 6-0 win. He dealt with cramping issues in his first start the following Friday against Minnesota-Duluth and had to give way to No. 3 goalie Paxton Geisel.
The next night, Hicks was back in the net, and the opposing team finished the night with another goose egg. And he hasn’t looked back since.
“To me, those two moments, you kind of see what he’s all about mentally and as a competitor,” Pios coach David Carle said. “I think again you saw it last night after the big collision between him and Spence and Jamieson around our net. He kind of took a moment to gather himself, dusted himself off, got back in there and really wasn’t fazed by it.
“It’s kind of been him throughout this whole stretch. He’s not fazed by much.”
