The University of Denver hockey team Friday, which commemorate the program’s NCAA-record 11th title. The Pios won No. 11 at the 2026 Frozen Four in Las Vegas with an improbable 2-1 comeback victory against the Wisconsin Badgers. The players, coaches and staff received their rings Thursday night at a private ceremony.

Leaning into winning championship No. 11 in Sin City and on April 11, the rings have several nods to both Las Vegas and the number 11, including the phrase ‘National C11ampions’ and a removable poker chip that includes two records — 13-11-2 and 29-11-3 — to signify the 16-0-1 run the Pioneers went on to close the season and claim the program’s third title in five years.

David Carle and the Pios begin their quest for championship No. 12 with a trip to Alaska-Anchorage on Oct. 2-3. before back-to-back-to-back weekends at Magness Arena that will feature games against the USA Hockey National Team Development Program, plus national powers Michigan and Boston College.

DU’s freshman goaltender was chilling at Ball Arena this past April, watching the Avalanche play the Kraken, when a pal smashed the Pioneers’ freshman wall into a million little pieces.

“I was kind of just in shock, because guys were saying that the lead singer from The Lumineers was right there,”, the hottest goaltender in Denver, recalled to me at Magness Arena, where the defending NCAA champions began preseason camp Tuesday.

“And I just freaked out.”

Before long, he was introduced to one of his musical heroes, Wesley Schultz, frontman of the Denver indie band The Lumineers. The dude DU fans lovingly call Johnny Bricks broke down like a proper fanboy.

“I told him that the first song I learned and got good at was ‘,'” recalled Hicks, a renaissance type who dabbles in songwriting and painting in his spare time. “And it was cool.”

“Did he know who you were?” I wondered.

Hicks laughed.

“No,” he replied.

He’ll figure it out. In hindsight, that meeting with Schultz was about the only time in April 2026 that Hicks found himself starstruck.

A few days earlier, he’d helped DU tie a bow around perhaps the most remarkable of the program’s NCAA-best 11 national hockey titles. Hicks stoned Wisconsin in the NCAA tourney championship game, saving 29 shots in a 2-1 Pios win, joining Magnus Chrona and Matty Davis in the pantheon of DU net-minding greats.

Only nobody saw this kid, or his narrative, coming. Hicks was Patrick Roy with a pinch of Lou Gehrig, all rolled into one lean, mean 5-foot-10 package.

First, he Wally-Pipped starting DU goaltender Quentin Miller in late January, when the latter suffered a lower-body injury. The Pios were 13-11-2 at the time. The rest is DU history — with Johnny B. Goode in goal, the Pios went 16-0-1 to close out the year, rolling to an NCHC Frozen Four crown and their third national title since 2021. Hicks’ save percentage of 95.7% set a new NCAA record.

“How the heck do you top that?” I asked Hicks on Tuesday.

“I don’t think you try to follow it up,” he replied. “I think you just stick to the same mindset that got you there in the first place.

“And that wasn’t focusing on the results. (It was) just focusing on myself and what I could do to improve every single day.”

If you’re sweating a sophomore slump, relax. Historically, the stopper from Kamloops, British Columbia, has put together sequels that still somehow topped his debuts.

In his second season with the Merritt Centennials of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) in ’22-23, Hicks’ numbers improved over his debut Centennials campaign in GAA (3.53 after a 5.24 the year prior), save percentage (91.7% after an 89.4%) and wins (eight after zero). His BCHL numbers with the Brooks Bandits in Year 2 (’24-25) also shot up compared to Year 1 (’23-24), particularly in GAA (1.37 after a 2.13 the year prior), save percentage (94.3% after a 91.9%) and shutouts (six after zero).

“I don’t think there’s more pressure,” Hicks said. “I think it’s just noise at the end of the day that not only I, but the whole team, has to deal with … Because I know this year we’re going to be facing a lot of adversity. And I think it’s going to just do nothing but help us grow at the end.”

Hicks is one of those affable, north-of-the-border types who prefer to let actions speak louder. The Canuck has a bearing so level you could set a shelf with it. The voice is measured, confident, thoughtful and logical. Close your eyes, Johnny sounds a little like his coach. Actually, scratch that. He sounds a lot like his coach.

“I think the easy path is (what) a lot of kids take,” Pios boss David Carle told me Tuesday. “And we certainly try and look for individuals and talk to individuals about (how) harder is usually better — and harder is more fulfilling. And I think John’s a Grade-A example of that, when a guy takes off the way he took off.”

Hicks says the physical thing he’s worked the most on this summer was balance, keeping the body better aligned while pouncing from post to post. He’s a psychology major, so you can’t get in Johnny’s head unless he lets you. To that end, Carle recalled this exchange:

“If you’re you’re at a .957 (save percentage as a freshman),” the Pios coach asked Hicks recently. “What if you’re at a .921 (this season). How are you going to feel?”

Hicks shrugged.

“I don’t look at my stats,” the netminder countered. “I just focus on my routines the same way I prepared when I wasn’t getting starts. It’s the same way I’m going to prepare.”

If it’s good enough for DC, it’s good enough for me.

“Again, that’s kind of diving into his uniqueness,” the DU coach stressed. “He’s been able to show us that he can do it on the bottom end of it last fall, and through the first half of the season. I think we’re very bullish and confident that he can do it (again).”

Mind you, Hicks’ songwriting took a hit recently. He was back in Denver by July, working out, instead of back home at the cabin in B.C. Thank the smoke from local wildfires for that last one.

“I was really busy just being at the rink every single day and trying to get back into the routine of things,” Hicks said “because it was my first time cooking for myself without the dorm foods, as well. So I had to adjust to that, and that took a lot of time. Still does. So I didn’t have as much time this summer to really play any songs.”

He still whips the guitar out every other day, though. If the trusty acoustic is his Zen, girlfriend Ella is his muse. He’ll play “Stubborn Love.” She’ll play

“And I’m taking a guitar class this quarter,” Hicks chuckled. “So hopefully, I can get better.”

Johnny Guitar turns 21 on Friday. Pios fans would love a second verse just like the first.

Angelo Ricci is joining the Pioneers as director of skill development, the program announced Thursday. Ricci, a DU alum, has worked as an NHL skills coach since 2014.

“Angelo has been a part of the Denver hockey family for a long time, and we’re excited to officially bring him onto our staff,” Carle said in a statement. “His experience in player development speaks for itself, but just as important, he understands our program, our history and the standard we expect every day. We believe he can have a significant impact on our players and our program.”

Ricci worked for the Buffalo Sabres from 2014-18, and spent time as a skills and assistant coach with the Philadelphia Flyers from 2019-25. He played for the Pios from 1991-95.

He has also worked with the Colorado Thunderbirds since their inception in 2002, and has been the youth hockey program’s executive director since 2009.

“I am both delighted and honored to join the University of Denver hockey program as director of skill development,” Ricci said in a statement. “I am deeply grateful to Coach Carle and his staff for this opportunity, and I look forward with great enthusiasm to working with the players and contributing to the defense of our national championship. It is a privilege to give back to my alma mater and help uphold the proud tradition of Pioneer hockey.”

Ricci is just the latest offseason move for Carle and the Pios after the program won its record 11th national championship in April, and third in the past five seasons. Assistant coach Tavis MacMillan was named the program’s first general manager in June.

Amanda Kremer was named chief of staff Aug. 19. She is the first chief of staff for an NCAA college hockey program.

DU will raise the banner for its 2025-26 NCAA championship — the 11th in the program’s history — before the start of its Oct. 16 game against the Michigan Wolverines. The game is slated for a 7 p.m. start. It’s the first of a two-game series that continues at 6 p.m. Oct. 17.

Denver beat Wisconsin, 2-1, in the finals to capture the title in April. The Pioneers have won two of the last three national titles and three of the previous five.

A limited number of replica banners will be available while supplies last.

This is the first time Denver and Michigan will face-off in a regular=season game since March 1981 at the old DU Arena. DU also beat the then top-seeded Wolverines, 4-3, in double overtime to advance to the finals last season.

Denver opens its season on the road against Alaska Anchorage on Oct. 2.

Rudolph, who will be a freshman at the University of Denver next season, was the No. 4 pick in the 2026 NHL draft. Even better, he was selected by the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Arena in downtown Buffalo.

“It’s an incredible feeling,” Rudolph told reporters after being drafted. “To be selected by Buffalo in Buffalo, it means a lot. Just hearing the applause was a really cool moment.”

He also made history for the Pioneers in multiple ways. Rudolph is now the highest draft selection in DU program history. He and Ryan Lin, who went with the No. 21 pick to the San Jose Sharks, are now the first pair of first-round picks to be on the DU roster at the same time.

Rudolph, a 6-foot-2 defenseman, had 28 goals and 78 points in 68 games for Prince Albert in the WHL this past season. He also had nine goals and 27 points in 19 playoff games.

Lin, a 5-foot-11 defenseman, had 14 goals and 57 points in 53 games for Vancouver in the WHL. He’s also played for Canada at the U-18 world championships in each of the past two years.

Rudolph and Lin are part of the most anticipated recruiting class in Pios program history. The defending champions lost four defensemen from their title-winning team, but Rudolph, Lin, 2025 second-round pick Blake Fiddler and Ben MacBeath, a projected second-round choice in this draft will arrive to replace them this fall.

The landscape of college hockey has changed dramatically in recent years. The 2026-27 season will be the second year in which players from the CHL — a combination of Canada’s three top major junior leagues — will be eligible to play NCAA hockey. This Pios freshman class has seven CHL players (six from the WHL, one from the OHL) plus center Mikey Berchild, who spent the past two years at the USA Hockey National Team Development Program.

“I think it����ap exciting for our fans. There’s a notoriety that comes with (multiple first-round picks),” DU coach David Carle told The Denver Post earlier this week. “I think our challenge is not change at all who we are or the people we’re bringing in. That����ap what we’re most excited about. This has more to do with the CHL rule change than anything else.”

Denver has built itself into a college hockey powerhouse without the benefit of multiple first-round picks. The Pios have only had five in program history before this. There’s been plenty of future NHL talent, but not at the same levels of the sport����ap other traditional powers.

“They’re not picking Denver because we’re the fastest road to the NHL, or we’re offering the most money or we have the shiniest stuff,” Carle said. “They’re coming here because they want to be part of something bigger than themselves and they want to add to what we’ve already been able to do on this historic run.”

The Pioneers — defending NCAA champions, winners of a record 11 titles, including three of the past five — have never had multiple first-round NHL Draft picks in the program at the same time. That is expected to change Friday, when incoming freshmen Daxon Rudolph and Ryan Lin will hear their names called at KeyBank Arena in Buffalo during the opening round of this year’s draft.

Rudolph and Lin are the headliners from the most anticipated recruiting class in program history. Two other incoming Pios are expected to be drafted Saturday — defenseman Ben MacBeath is projected to be a second-round selection, while center Mikey Berchild should go in the middle rounds. The other four guys in the eight-member class are already NHL draft picks, including Blake Fiddler, the No. 36 selection in the 2025 draft.

“I think it’s exciting for our fans. There’s a notoriety that comes with (multiple first-round picks),” DU coach David Carle told The Denver Post. “I think our challenge is not change at all who we are or the people we’re bringing in. That’s what we’re most excited about. This has more to do with the CHL rule change than anything else.”

Tapping the CHL pipeline

The landscape of college hockey has changed dramatically in recent years. The 2026-27 season will be the second year in which players from the CHL — a combination of Canada’s three top major junior leagues — will be eligible to play NCAA hockey. This Pios freshman class has seven CHL players (six from the WHL, one from the OHL) plus Berchild, who spent the past two years at the USA Hockey National Team Development Program.

Gavin McKenna, expected to be the No. 1 pick Friday night, spent this past season at Penn State after previously playing in the WHL. The Pios had six former CHL players in their 10-person freshman class last season, including postseason star goalie Johnny Hicks.

Recruiting players from the CHL has changed the process for college programs — not just the who but the when. Before CHL eligibility, amateur players would often commit two or three years before arriving on campus. Now, college hockey recruiting looks a bit more like football and basketball, with key prospects making their decisions much later in the process.

“Tavis did a remarkable job with this class. It’s not easy. At the start of the year, Lin, Rudolph and Fiddler — none of them were committed,” Carle said of Tavis MacMillan, who was promoted to general manager/assistant coach Wednesday. “Tavis, to his credit, just really built relationships with the players and their representatives throughout the year. We’re not surprised with the work Tavis was able to do with this group, but it’s a remarkable group that adds what is already a great group of returners.”

Randolph, Lin and MacBeath are all part of a dynamite crop of WHL players in the 2026 draft class. McKenna and North Dakota’s Keaton Verhoeff are projected top-10 picks with WHL roots, while Rudolph, Lin, Carson Caels (a NoDak signee) and JP Hurlbert (a Michigan signee) could all end up in the top 15-20 selections.

They will arrive at DU at a critical time. Hobey Baker finalist Eric Pohlkamp and senior captain Kent Anderson were expected to turn pro, but sophomore Garrett Brown and junior Boston Buckberger joined them after the title run. That’s the entire right side of the defense corps plus the No. 1 guy on the left side.

Insert righties Randolph, Lin and Fiddler, plus a lefty in MacBeath, to remake a defense corps that still includes Colorado Avalanche draft pick Tory Pitner, former WHL captain Eric Jamieson and senior Cale Ashcraft.

Changing landscape of college hockey

Denver has built itself into a college hockey powerhouse without the benefit of multiple first-round picks. The Pios have only had five in program history before this. There’s been plenty of future NHL talent, but not at the same levels of the sport’s other traditional powers.

Can the Pios still win big with a new level of player steadily finding its way to Magness Arena?

“I think that’s a fair speculation, and time will tell,” Carle said. “I’m very confident in our staff’s ability, our program’s ability, our culture’s ability to do it. … Great players want to be coached, want to be in environments where they are held accountable and they want to win. We’re not changing at all how we’re operating. Our intent is to win on the ice, in the weight room, in the classroom and develop these players as people first while helping them achieve their dreams of winning a national championship.

“They’re not picking Denver because we’re the fastest road to the NHL, or we’re offering the most money or we have the shiniest stuff. They’re coming here because they want to be part of something bigger than themselves and they want to add to what we’ve already been able to do on this historic run.”

The new talent pool isn’t the only major change. This will be the second year of revenue sharing for college athletes.

Carle said the Pios did not offer any revenue-sharing money last season, opting to wait and plot out best practices for allocating the resources. DU players have earned compensation through Name, Image and Likeness contracts in recent seasons, but that money did not come through the university.

The Pioneers are extending revenue-sharing money to their players this coming season, and not just the incoming freshmen. Retaining current roster members has become a critical part of the modern recruiting process, given the transfer portal and financial means for other schools to poach players.

“I think just the best developmental path for me,” Rudolph told reporters in Buffalo ahead of the NHL draft about choosing the Pios and college hockey. “I think my time in the WHL was so much fun and really helped my game progress. Moving on to Denver next year will help me adjust to the NHL when that time comes.

“I think there’s a few reasons (for Denver). Obviously the coaching staff is a big one. Who I’m going to be around — there’s lots of my buddies there and western Canadians.”

Not only are the Pios defending champs with an exciting recruiting class, but the 2026-27 schedule is also one of the most anticipated in program history. After a trip to Alaska-Anchorage, the first three home weekends of the season are all bangers.

DU will welcome the NTDP U-18 team to Magness Arena, followed by Michigan and then Boston College. It’s the Wolverines’ first trip to Denver since 1981. The Pios beat the Wolverines in an instant classic at the 2025 Frozen Four and will make a return visit to Yost Arena next season.

Carle said the Pios are talking with the Wolverines about scheduling future games. They’re also working on future series with blue bloods like Minnesota and Boston University.

“We remain very hungry to continue to add to what we’re doing,” Carle said. “There is zero interest to take any steps backwards. It is pedal to the floor to capitalize on our success and to continue to build our brand and our momentum. I mean … certainly the five-year run, we feel like we’re in this golden age of Denver hockey and we want to capitalize on it to its full extent.”

Here are the 11 moments that defined DU’s run to the program’s record-extending 11th crown:

Jan. 16: Look at where DU was in mid-January, and the national title seems improbable. The Pioneers were blasted 5-0 by rival North Dakota in what coach David Carle called a Following this shellacking, DU was 12-10-2 and was treading water in a season where it looked like it would be a stretch to even make the NCAA tournament.

Jan. 23: After rebounding with a 3-2 victory in North Dakota on Jan. 17, the Pioneers fell 4-2 to St. Cloud State at Magness Arena. It was the final low point in a season that only went up from there, as it was DU’s last defeat of 2025-26. The Pioneers squandered a 2-0 led by yielding but from then on, DU was nothing but clutch in tight games.

Jan. 24: This is the volta in the Pioneers’ season. In a 6-0 win over St. Cloud State, Johnny Hicks took over due to an injury to starting goalie Quentin Miller about five minutes into the game. Hicks to start his unbeaten streak that stretched to 16-0-1 by the end of the season, while the offense showed its depth with 11 players with at least one point.

Jan. 31: In a 1-0 overtime win against Minnesota Duluth that foretold the drama of the NCHC Frozen Faceoff championship, Rieger Lorenz scored 2:17 into the extra frame Hicks stopped 19 shots to earn his first career shutout, and it was the first of four overtime wins down the stretch as the Pioneers gained confidence in pressure situations.

March 14: DU beat rival Western Michigan in the NCHC Frozen Faceoff semifinal, , as Samu Salminen lit the lamp to win the game just under six minutes into OT. This came after DU forced the extra frame when Boston Buckberger scored with 3:41 left in regulation, with the Pioneers on the power play and Hicks pulled from net in exchange for an extra attacker.

March 21: The Pioneers looked like they were going to run Minnesota Duluth out of Magness Arena with three goals in a span of 10 minutes in the opening period. But the Bulldogs stormed back to tie the game, and Hicks stood on his head throughout OT before Kristian Epperson scored shortly into the second extra frame to claim an NCHC record fourth National Cup.

April 9: After dominating the regional round with two wins by a combined score of 11-2, Michigan gave the Pioneers a heavyweight bout in the Frozen Four semifinal. Buckberger had his pinkie lacerated by a Wolverines skate late in regulation, but had it stitched and bandaged, and returned to the ice for overtime following a bloody moment that defined DU’s resiliency.

April 9: For a moment against Michigan, it appeared as if Hicks’ Cinderella season was over. In the third period en route to a 49-save night, the goalie lay flat on his back for about 30 seconds at T-Mobile Arena after Wolverines forward Malcolm Spence took the puck to the precipice of the crease and DU defenseman Eric Jamieson met him there, causing a collision with Hicks. The play knocked the wind out of Hicks, who remained in the game.

April 9: In that same game against Michigan, DU looked cooked until Clarke Caswell’s textbook tip-in with 2:46 left in the third period tied the game 3-3. Caswell redirected a shot from Garrett Brown from the goal line, and then captain Kent Anderson scored only his second goal of the season in double OT to end the longest game in DU history at 92 minutes, 35 seconds.

April 11: Out-possessed, out-shot and out-of-sorts through the first two periods, Hicks kept DU in shouting distance with a 1-0 deficit entering the third. Then, after tying the game on a Rieger Lorenz rebound shot right in front of the net, Buckberger’s one-timer from the right point was tipped in by Kyle Chyzowski to completely steal the momentum from Wisconsin.

April 11: Chyzowski’s goal with 5:52 gave DU a 2-1 lead, and put the onus to seal the championship on the player who had carried them to the final game in Las Vegas: Hicks. The 5-foot-10, under-recruited freshman nicknamed Johnny Bricks delivered with a handful of flashy saves down the stretch, including a kick save with his leg pad with

Michigan and Wisconsin came to Sin City to add another title for the conference in men’s hockey. The University of Denver had other ideas.

David Carle and the Pioneers slew both Big Ten Goliaths to remind everyone that DU remains the premier men’s college hockey program. The 11 national titles are more than any other program, but this is three in five seasons, with a fourth Frozen Four in there as well.

“A lot has been made of, like, haves and have-nots coming into college athletics and college hockey,” Carle said after the Pios defeated Wisconsin, 2-1, Saturday afternoon in the title game. “To me, we’re the thing that everybody wants. You want a smaller school who doesn’t have this behemoth budget and fan base and alumni base to still be able to be successful. I think we’re the proof of concept that it’s still possible.

“Yes, do we have advantages over other places? I am not sitting up here crying poor that we don’t have things. But we are a small institution. We are very committed, though, to our hockey program and making it a great experience for our student-athletes, our fans and our alumni. You don’t have to be big in hockey to be good. You have to invest and you have to care and have the right people to do great things. In a sport landscape, in college athletics, I think a place like Denver should really be celebrated.”

Adapting and thriving

There have been drastic, sweeping changes to college athletics during this run of Pios excellence. The transfer portal, Name, Image and Likeness deals and revenue sharing have changed college sports. Hockey added an extra seismic wrinkle before this season, allowing players from Canada’s three major junior leagues to be eligible.

Carle and the Pios continue to adjust and thrive with each change. Defenseman Eric Pohlkamp led this DU team in scoring and was a Hobey Baker finalist. Two years ago, he transferred from Bemidji State.

The CHL superstars who came to college hockey this year were the talk of the sport. Gavin McKenna and Jackson Smith at Penn State, Porter Matrone and Cayden Lindstrom at Michigan State, Cole Reschny and Keaton Verhoeff at North Dakota — all are recent or future NHL first-round picks.

Two former CHL players made the biggest plays Saturday night in the championship game. Kyle Chyzowski scored the title-winning goal in the third period. Johnny Hicks was the MVP of the Frozen Four, the NCAA Regional in Loveland and the NCHC Frozen Faceoff.

Both were in the WHL last year. Both are undrafted players. Now, they are NCAA champions.

“Just the standard we have every single day in the practices and how we treat each other, how people treat us in Denver,” said senior Samu Salminen, the team’s No. 1 center and also a transfer two years ago from UConn. “It’s a very special place to be. I feel like every single person who steps in that locker room, they know what it’s all about, and that’s winning. It’s all about team-first mentality. We don’t have individuals in this team. If we do, that’s a short run for those guys. I feel like our whole team has bought into that really well the whole year.”

‘Bigness doesn’t win championships all the time’

NHL teams have come calling for Carle, a 36-year-old coach with three NCAA championships and two World Junior Championship gold medals on his resume. With a 16-3 record, he has as many NCAA titles as NCAA tournament losses. He’s won as many titles as George Gwozdecky and Jim Montgomery combined.

He’s passed on multiple NHL jobs, and signed a multi-year contract extension with the school before this season. As long as he wants to be in Denver, Carle and the Pioneers plan to remain at the top of the sport.

Pohlkamp and junior Boston Buckberger could sign NHL contracts and move on. Three seniors need to be replaced.

The biggest question is whether both goalies, Hicks and fellow fabulous freshman Quentin Miller, will be here next fall or if the latter decides to transfer. But the Pios are expected to be loaded again next season.

Defenseman Ryan Lin, a potential top-10 pick in the 2026 NHL draft, committed to the Pios earlier this month. DU is also considered a finalist for defenseman Landon DuPont, the potential No. 1 pick in the 2027 draft, who wants to play college hockey next season. They also have three players from the USA Hockey National Team Development Program committed.

The rules of engagement have changed. The Pioneers’ place in the sport has not.

“I think we’re seeing that money doesn’t buy everything,” Carle said. “Bigness doesn’t win championships all the time, at least in our sport. Maybe that’s changing. Everybody seems to think it is, could, or will. I will tell you we will do our damnedest in our conference and in Denver to make sure that it doesn’t happen that way.

“We’re really proud to represent the NCHC, the best league in college hockey. If you’re a kid that wants to win and develop, we think it’s the best place to be.”

Two years after Matthew Davis put together a legendary run to help the University of Denver claim its record 10th national title, Pioneers freshman Johnny Hicks has done the same to capture No. 11.

Hicks made 29 saves, carrying his club for more than 45 minutes before the Pios finally sprung to life in a 2-1 victory Saturday afternoon at T-Mobile Arena against Wisconsin. This came two nights after a 49-save effort to outlast No. 1 national seed Michigan in a double-overtime semifinal win.

“I feel like I’m kind of at a loss for words,” Hicks said. “I’m just so proud of this group. We worked so hard for this and now that it’s here, it’s amazing.”

Still just 5-foot-10 regardless of how tall he has stood when it mattered for the Pios, Hicks is now 16-0-1 as the DU starter. The Pioneers finished this season on a 17-game winning streak, and the last two victories were equally improbable.

DU has now won three of the past five national titles, reaching the mountaintop in 2022, 2024 and 2026. The Pioneers’ 11 titles are now two more than any other NCAA program.

“It is in the walls,” Pios defenseman Cale Ashcroft said. “It’s the people that come through this program. We’re pushing each other to be better. We all have the same goals. At the start of the year, it is said that we want to win a national championship, and we’ll do anything to do it.”

Senior forward Rieger Lorenz found a breakthrough for the Pios at 7:31 of the third period. Kristian Epperson, who set up Kent Anderson’s double-overtime winner two nights ago, sent the puck to Garrett Brown for a slapshot from near the left circle. Lorenz battled in front and found just enough space to shovel home the rebound for his 17th goal of the season.

Freshman Kyle Chyzowski scored the championship winner at 14:08. He got a piece of a Boston Buckberger shot for his 13th goal of the year — and his third straight NCAA tournament contest with a tally.

It had been all Wisconsin to that point. The shots on goal were 25-6 in favor of the Badgers before Brown’s shot. Wisconsin clearly looked like a fresher team for the first 45 minutes, dominating in both possession time and the shot clock, but Hicks continued to write his incredible story by keeping DU in this one.

“He’s the best goalie in college hockey,” Ashcroft said. “Not much else to say about it. He’s undefeated. He’s phenomenal. He works so hard, so it’s awesome to see him have this success.”

Freshman center Vasily Zelenov put Wisconsin on the board at 6:24 of the opening period. He skated into the Pios zone on the left side and wired a wrist shot through a screen to beat Hicks. A seventh-round pick by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2024 NHL draft, it was Zelenov’s sixth goal of the season.

The Pioneers reached the title game with an instant classic, a double-overtime 4-3 win on Thursday against top-seeded Michigan. Hicks made 25 of his 49 saves after Clarke Caswell scored with 2:46 remaining in regulation to even the score at 3-3. Wisconsin played in the earlier game Thursday, knocking off No. 2-seeded North Dakota with a 2-1 victory.

Wisconsin, like DU, had a mid-season swoon. The Badgers lost six straight contests at one point — weekend sweeps by Penn State, Michigan State and Minnesota. They also lost 7-1 to Ohio State in the Big Ten tournament, but rebounded to win the Worcester Regional with a stunning comeback win against No. 3 seed Michigan State in the regional final.

But, just when it seemed like Wisconsin’s unlikely championship story was being written, DU just found a way.

“That’s a great question,” forward Kieran Cebrian said when asked how the Pios always seem to do that. “I think everyone in here trusts each other. We all want to play for each other and keep it going. I think the belief we have in each other is the biggest thing.”

The Pios finish the season at 29-11-3. DU was stuck in a 1-6-1 funk when starting goaltender Quentin Miller went down with an injury early in a Jan. 24 game against St. Cloud State. Hicks came in, helped the Pios to a 6-0 win, and outside of some cramping issues the next weekend, took off to become one of the great stories in college hockey this season.

When he gets a moment to start scrolling through his phone, Hicks will probably have a text massage from Davis waiting for him — one Denver hockey legend to another.

“We’ve been texting throughout the last few weeks,” Hicks said. “He’s just been wishing me the best of luck. It’s means a lot to have a relationship with a goaltender like that. Same with Magnus Chrona (the 2022 champion netminder), he’s been in touch as well.

“I’m just very grateful.”