ST. LOUIS – The No. 3-seed University of Denver hockey team rallied from two goals down in the third period to force extra time, but the Pioneers lost 3-2 in double overtime to the No. 4-overall seed Western Michigan Broncos in the NCAA Frozen Four national semifinals on Thursday evening at the Enterprise Center.
 
Denver finished the 2024-25 campaign with a 31-12-1 overall record, extending the program's record of winning 30 or more games to now four straight seasons. The Pioneers reached the Frozen Four for the third time in four years and they were making their sixth trip in the last nine full seasons.
 
Junior forwards Aidan Thompson and Jared Wright scored in the third period to push the game beyond regulation, as Thompson cut DU's deficit to 2-1 at 6:49 and Wright tallied on a scramble with 2:39 remaining in the stanza. Defensemen Cale Ashcroft, Garrett Brown and Eric Pohlkamp recorded assists.
 
Senior goaltender Matt Davis made 44 saves, including stopping all 12 in the first period and denying 18-of-20 shots in the second.
 
Western Michigan, the last of the four remaining No. 1 seeds, opened the scoring in the middle frame when Brian Kramer found the back of the net on the power play at 6:16 of the period. The Broncos added another on Owen Michaels' 15th goal of the campaign to put the highest-remaining seed left in the Frozen Four up by a pair of goals going into the second intermission.  
 
WMU outshot DU 47-22 overall, but DU had the 9-4 edge in the category in the third to help even the scoreboard.
 
Michaels netted his second goal of the night and the OT-winner just 26 seconds into the second extra period to send the Broncos to the championship game against either Boston University or Penn State on Saturday.
 
The Pioneers were scoreless on their three power-play chances, while WMU went 1-for-3 on the man advantage
 
Thursday marked the first game at the Frozen Four to go to double-overtime since Colorado College defeated Vermont in 2OT in 1996.  
 
 
POSTGAME NOTES

• Denver dropped to 5-3 in overtime games in the NCAA Tournament, with the squad previously winning each of the last three such contests. The Pioneers have now played an OT contest in each of the last three years in the NCAA Tournament.
• The Pios are now 2-1 all-time in double-overtime games in NCAA Tournament history.
• Denver went 1-2 in overtime games against Western Michigan this season and played its second double-OT contest against the Broncos (3-4 loss, March 22 in NCHC Frozen Faceoff Championship Game)
• Each of DU and WMU's four games were decided by one goal, with three being decided in OT.
• The Pioneers' previous NCAA Tournament game vs. WMU (2011 Midwest Regional Semis) also went into double overtime (DU won 3-2), with DU's Jason Zucker tallying the winner at 11:14 of the second extra session.
• Denver finished 2-3-1 overall this season in overtime.

 
GOAL SUMMARY
1st Period
No Scoring
 
2nd Period
6:16 WMU (0-1) – PPG, Brian Kramer found the back of the net on a wrist shot from the slot following a Broncos face-off win.
14:32 WMU (0-2) – Owen Michaels scored unassisted from the right side.
 
3rd Period
6:49 DU (1-2) – Aidan Thompson tallied from the right circle after gathering a bouncing puck.
2:39 DU (2-2) – Jared Wright was able to knock in the puck off an Eric Pohlkamp shot while Rieger Lorenz was crashing the net.
 
Overtime
No Scoring
 
Second Overtime
0:26 WMU (2-3) – Owen Michaels gathered the puck after a Denver defenseman tried to knock the puck out during a Broncos rush and scored with a wrister from the slot. 
 

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