KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The No. 3 University of Denver hockey team secured its second consecutive Penrose Cup as NCHC regular-season champions on Saturday with a 3-1 victory against the No. 5 Western Michigan Broncos at Lawson Arena.
 
It is the third time that DU has won the Penrose Cup, with the school having also captured the hardware in 2017 and 2022 en route to national titles. Overall, Denver won its 15th conference regular-season championship, as the program won 12 such trophies in the old WCHA.
 
The victory gives the Pioneers the top seed for the upcoming NCHC Tournament, which culminates with the Frozen Faceoff at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, on March 17-18. DU will host the No. 8-seed Miami RedHawks in the best-of-three quarterfinal series at Magness Arena on March 10-12.
 
Denver (26-8-0, 17-5-0 NCHC) erased a first-period deficit against Western Michigan (21-12-1, 13-8-1 NCHC) and never relinquished the lead in front of a crowd of 4,419, the highest-attended game at Lawson Arena since 2012.
 
Sophomore Jack Devine tied the outing at 1-1 with a power-play marker midway through the middle frame, and fellow classman Carter Mazur tallied the game-winner 4:48 into the third period after forcing a turnover in the neutral zone and hitting twine on his ensuing wrist shot at the left circle.
 
Second-year forward Massimo Rizzo sealed the victory with an empty-net goal with 91 seconds remaining. Rizzo and Mazur both assisted on Devine's game-tying goal—the reigning NCHC Forward of the Week's ninth of the season. Mazur is second in the nation with 22 goals this season, and Rizzo is presently sixth in the country with 45 points (16 goals and 29 assists).
 
Goaltender Magnus Chrona stopped 30-of-31 shots for his 22nd win of the season and 73rd of this career. He made 11 saves in the first period when Western Michigan had three power-play opportunities, which included a five-minute major man advantage that also included a full two-minute 5-on-3.
 
Denver killed 5-of-6 penalties and another two-man disadvantage in the second period for 1:09. Ryan Gallant scored the Broncos' only marker of the night on the power play at 18:08 of the first period.
 
The Pioneers picked up their first sweep at Western Michigan since Feb. 26-27, 2016 and now have four series sweeps on the road this season—all against NCHC foes (Miami, North Dakota, Minnesota Duluth and Western Michigan).
 
UP NEXT: Denver wraps up the regular season next weekend with a home-and-home set against Colorado College. Friday's game is at 8 p.m. MT at Magness Arena and will be nationally televised on CBS Sports Network, while Saturday's season finale is at 6 p.m. MT at Ed Robson Arena in Colorado Springs.
 

POSTGAME NOTES

• The Pioneers are now 7-1-1 in their last nine games versus Western Michigan.
• Jack Devine has four goals in his last four games and is on a four-game point streak (4g/6a).
• Carter Mazur and Massimo Rizzo both tallied in each game of the series. Rizzo is now on a three-game goal streak and seven-game point streak, while Mazur is on a three-game goal streak and six-game point streak.
• Carter Mazur scored his sixth game-winning goal of the season, the second-most in the NCAA.
• Denver won 55.4 percent of its faceoffs, with Massimo Rizzo leading the team with 12 draw wins.
• The Pioneers finished 1-for-3 on the power play and has tallied with the man advantage in five straight games.

QUOTABLES
Richard and Kitzia Goodman Head Coach David Carle
On the late power-play goal against in the first period: "We were talking about it in the room. It was almost better we gave it up late rather than the one earlier in the period, just because how loud they are (the student section) and the building can really feel momentum against you. You hate to give up goals late in the period, but I thought that one worked for us with under two minutes to go, so we could get in the locker room and kind of reset."
 
On the penalty kill: "Unbelievable individual efforts, blocks by guys, great sticks throughout the night and I thought (goalie) Magnus [Chrona] was excellent all night long. Kept us within range."
 
On Carter Mazur: "Great all weekend. He got big goals for us, huge to get in the first five minutes of the period there. Just kind of a seeing-eye shot off the rush that found a whole through their goaltender, who I thought was excellent all night long, especially in the second and third periods, made some really big saves on us. I couldn't be happier for [Mazur] (in his home state in front of family)."
 
 
GOAL SUMMARY
1st Period
18:08 WMU (0-1) – PPG, Cole Gallant scored in front off a pass from Zak Galambos.
 
2nd Period
8:07 DU (1-1) – PPG, After the puck pinballed in front, Massimo Rizzo fed it over to Jack Devine, who scored with a low shot at the right circle.
 
3rd Period
4:48 DU (2-1) – Carter Mazur forced a turnover in the neutral zone and scored an unassisted goal from the left circle.
18:29 DU (3-1) – ENG, Massimo Rizzo tallied into the empty net with a shot from his own zone.
 
 
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