LOVELAND, Colo. – The University of Denver hockey team aims to secure a third-straight appearance in the NCAA Frozen Four on Sunday as the Pioneers take on the Western Michigan Broncos in the West Regional Final at Blue Arena.
 
Game time for the NCAA quarterfinal matchup is 1 p.m. MT and will be nationally televised on ESPN2. The radio broadcast can be heard on Denver Sports 104.3 The Fan HD3. Limited tickets are still available.
 
NCHC-foes Denver and Western Michigan face off for the sixth time this season and for the second time in about two weeks' time after playing in the Frozen Faceoff Semifinals on March 14 at Magness Arena. The Pioneers won that contest, 2-1, in overtime and went on to capture the conference championship the following week with a double-OT victory against Minnesota Duluth.
 
The Pioneers and Broncos will be meeting in the postseason for the fourth time in two seasons as they also played in the NCHC Championship and NCAA Frozen Four last year. Each of the previous three playoff matchups have needed extra time, with WMU winning both contests in 2025 in the second OT period.
 
Denver, which is the No. 2-seed in the West Regional, advanced to the NCAA's "elite eight" with a 5-0 victory on Friday afternoon against No. 3 Cornell at Blue Arena. Three Pioneers registered multiple points as Clarke Caswell and Sam Harris both had a goal and an assist, and Cale Ashcroft had two helpers. Denver scored three of its goals on redirections in the slot area, and goaltender Johnny Hicks held up the wall on the other end of the ice by stopping all 24 shots for his third shutout of the season.
 
Western Michigan is the top seed in the region and began play on Friday in Loveland with 3-1 victory versus No. 4 Minnesota State. Zaccharya Wisdom and Zach Bookman each had a goal and an assist, Samuel Sjolund had two helpers and goaltender Hampton Slukynsky made 23-of-24 saves. After a scoreless first period, the Broncos scored twice in the second frame and held off the Mavericks' comeback attempt in the third.
 
Denver owns a 4-2-1 record against Western Michigan at neutral-site venues and went 3-2-0 overall during the season versus the Broncos. The teams split their four-game regular-season series, with each squad winning in regulation on home ice.
 
DU and WMU are the last two national champions in the NCAA, with the Pioneers winning in 2024 in St. Paul, Minnesota, and the Broncos going on to win their first title last year after beating Denver in the semifinals in St. Louis, Missouri.
 
The Pios are aiming to make it back to the national semifinals for a fourth time in the last five seasons. DU has reached the Frozen Four in six of the last nine held tournaments dating back to 2016.
 
FACING WESTERN IN THE NATIONAL TOURNAMENT: Denver and Western Michigan are set to meet in the NCAA Tournament for the third time in their history and for the second-straight year after the teams squared off in the 2025 Frozen Four in St. Louis, Mo.  The Broncos won that national semifinal in what was a 3-2 double-overtime thriller that saw the Pioneers rally from two goals down in the third period.
 
DU won 3-2 in the first national tournament meeting during the 2011 NCAA Midwest Regional Semifinals in Green Bay, Wisconsin—a game that also needed double-overtime to produce a winner.
 
DU and WMU have met fourth times previously in the NCHC Frozen Faceoff Tournament, with the Pios going 3-1 in those outings. Denver won 2-1 in overtime in this year's semifinals meeting on March 14 at Magness Arena.  Overall, the Pioneers have a 4-2-1 record against the Broncos in neutral-site contests, which includes going 1-0-1 in the NCHC Pod in Omaha, Nebraska, in December 2020.
 
LAST TIME VS. WMU (MARCH 14, 2026): The Pioneers secured their spot in the NCHC Frozen Faceoff Championship Game with a 2-1 overtime victory against the Western Michigan Broncos in the conference semifinals on Friday night at Magness Arena in Denver.  Denver senior forward Samu Salminen netted the game-winning goal 5:48 into overtime after the contest was forced into extra time by junior defenseman Boston Buckberger with 3:41 remaining in the third period while the Pios were on the power play and had their goaltender pulled for an extra attacker.  DU freshman goalie Johnny Hicks ensured the win against WMU by posting career highs with 38 saves and 39 shots faced. He saw a combined 28 shots in the second and third periods and denied all five that the Broncos placed on net in the overtime period.  Sophomore forward James Reeder recorded an assist on each marker that the Pios had, with junior defenseman Eric Pohlkamp and senior forward Rieger Lorenz also being credited with helpers.  Broncos goaltender Hampus Slukynsky made 30-of-32 saves, with the Pios placing 21 shots in total on net in the opening 40 minutes of play.  Garrett Szydlowski recorded the first goal of the contest for WMU at 13:19 on a redirection off a shot by Bobby Cowan. Tyler MacKenzie also had an assist on the Broncos' sole marker.  Three minutes later, Buckberger registered the equalizer with a slap shot from high in the zone during a 6-on-4, as Denver was on a power play and had an additional man on the ice with Hicks on the bench.  Salminen recorded his 10th goal of the season to bring the Pioneers the win, as Reeder's initial shot caromed off Lorenz and his skate before sliding past Slukynsky.
 
HISTORY VS. WMU: Denver has a 3-2-0 record against Western Michigan this season, with the squads facing off two weeks ago on March 14 in the NCHC Frozen Faceoff Semifinals at Magness Arena—a 2-1 OT win for the Pioneers.  DU and WMU split their four-game regular-season series, with both teams winning their two contests in regulation on the road.  DU earned a sweep at Lawson Arena in Kalamazoo on Nov. 7-8 with wins of 3-1 and 6-3, and the Broncos responded by beating the Pioneers at Magness Arena by scores of 4-1 and 6-2 on Jan. 9-10.  Denver and Western are meeting in the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season and third time overall, with both squads owning one win.  DU rallied from a two-goal deficit in its last matchup in the 2024 NCAA Frozen Four in St. Louis, Mo., but ultimately lost to WMU, 3-2 in double-overtime.  The Pios own a 13-8-1 record in the past 22 matchups and lead the all-time series at 30-18-2, with the squads first facing off on Nov. 26-27, 1982.  DU has a 14-5-1 overall record against WMU on home ice and is 11-11-0 in Kalamazoo.  The Pioneers have a 4-2-1 advantage in neutral-site contests in the all-time series.
 
CONNECTIONS: Equipment Manager Nick Meldrum is from Warren, Mich., graduated from Lake Superior State in Sault Ste. Marie in 2007 and spent two years with the U.S. NTDP when it was in Ann Arbor prior to coming to DU … Kristian Epperson and Brendan McMorrow both played at the U.S. National Team Development Program in Plymouth, Mich., from 2022-2024 … Denver's Kent Anderson, Eric Jamieson and Rieger Lorenz and Western's Sam Huck are all from Calgary, Alberta … Huck previously played with Brendan McMorrow with the USHL Waterloo Black Hawks in 2024-25 and with Rieger Lorenz with the AJHL Okotoks Oilers in 2021-22 … Paxton Geisel began the 2023-24 season with the USHL Muskegon Lumberjacks and was a teammate that year with WMU's Ty Henricks ... Geisel was also teammates on the USHL Dubuque Fighting Saints with Samuel Sjolund in 2021-22 and with Owen Michaels in 2022-23 … James Reeder played with Joona Vaisanen at Dubuque in 2023-24 … Jake Fisher won the USHL Clark Cup championship with Iiro Hakkarainen and Hampton Slukynsky on the Fargo Force in 2023-24 … Eric Jamieson and Tyler MacKenzie were teammates last season with the WHL Everett Silvertips … Garrett Brown played with Zach Bade on the USHL Waterloo Black Hawks at the end of the 2022-23 season … Boston Buckberger was a teammate of Cole Crusberg-Roseen with the USHL Lincoln Stars in 2022-23 … Zach Sharp skated with Sam Harris with the USHL Sioux Falls Stampede to begin 2022-23 before finishing the campaign with Cedar Rapids RoughRiders and was a teammate there with Eric Pohlkamp … Hampton Slukynsky won the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship gold medal on Team USA with David Carle serving as head coach … DU's Samu Salminen (Helsinki) and WMU's Iiro Hakkarainen (Espoo) and Joona Vaisanen (Kirkkonummi) are all from Finland … Sam Harris (San Diego) and Ty Henricks (Mission Viejo) are both from Southern California, while James Reeder (Glenview) and Owen Michaels (Naperville) are from the Chicagoland area … Zaccharya Wisdom played the previous two seasons in Colorado at Colorado College.
 
SCOUTING THE BRONCOS: Western Michigan is the reigning national champions and is 4-1 in its last five games, with its only loss coming to DU in the Frozen Faceoff Semifinals.  Zaccharya Wisdom and Zach Bookman each had a goal and an assist and Samuel Sjolund had two assists on Friday in WMU's 3-1 victory vs. Minnesota State in the Regional Semifinals.  The Broncos are the No. 1 seed in the West region after finishing fourth in the NPI but they are ranked No. 5 in both the latest USCHO.com and USA Hockey media polls that came out on Monday.  Western Michigan has a 27-10-1 overall record this season and finished third in the NCHC standings with a 16-7-1 mark in conference play and 48 points, four fewer than Denver.  Grant Slukynsky leads WMU in scoring with 40 points (10g/30a) and is also first on the squad with 30 assists.  Liam Valente is the top goal scorer with 20 tallies and has also added 15 assists to rank second on the squad with 35 points.  William Whitelaw (19g/15a) is third on the team in scoring with 34 points.  Goaltender Hampton Sluknysky, Grant's brother, has started all 38 games this season for the Broncos in net and has registered a 27-10-1 record, 2.22 goals-against average, .917 save percentage and four shutouts.
 
ROLL PIOS: Denver is unbeaten in its last 14 games with a 13-0-1 record since Jan. 24 vs. St. Cloud State.  The Pios' current run is the fifth-longest in a single season in program history and the longest since the 2016-17 championship squad went on a 15-game run from Oct. 14-Dec. 9, 2016 (12-0-3).
 
This is also the second time this season that Denver has gone at least 12 contests without losing in regulation, as the team went 9-3-0 from Oct. 31-Dec. 12 in a stretch that included sweeps at defending national champion Western Michigan (Nov. 7-8), against rival Colorado College (Nov. 14-15) and at home versus Miami (Dec. 5-6).
 
The Pioneers' current 10-game overall win streak is their longest of the campaign and longest since going 12-0-0 to start 2024-25.  DU finished by matching a season best by going unbeaten in its last four road contests (3-0-1) and by winning its last 10 home games—the longest home-winning stretch in a single season since posting 19 straight victories in its friendly confines from Dec. 8, 1967-March 9, 1968.
 
LORENZ ETCHING HIS NAME IN THE RECORD BOOK: Denver senior Rieger Lorenz leads all active NCAA players with 166 career games played, which ranks fourth-most in program history.  The alternate captain one games shy of tying Ed Cristofoli for third on the overall list and for the most by a four-year Denver player.
 
Connor Caponi set the school record last season and finished his career with 185 games played while Ryan Barrow previously set the mark with 168 contests in the 2022 NCAA National Championship Game, but both Caponi (2020-2025) and Barrow (2017-2022) played five years with the Pioneers by gaining an extra year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
 
DENVER NOTABLES

• Each of the last three postseason matchups between Denver and Western Michigan have been decided in overtime (both NCHC and NCAA Tournaments).
• The Pioneers own a 4-3-3 record in overtime this season and are unbeaten in their last five games that have gone past regulation (3-0-2).
• Denver and Cornell were meeting in the NCAA Tournament for the third time in four years (2023, 2024), with DU now winning each of the past two contests.
• DU is now 4-3 all-time in the NCAA Tournament vs. Cornell and holds a 9-6-0 record in the all-time series.
• Denver posted its eighth shutout in its history of the NCAA Tournament. It was the Pioneers' first shutout since beating Boston College 2-0 in the 2024 NCAA National Championship Game in St. Paul, Minn.
• The shutout was DU's eighth of the season, the most by any team in the NCAA in 2025-26.
• Rieger Lorenz scored his 16th goal of the year to tie a career high for a single season and stretched his career-long point streak to 12 games, tied for the fifth-longest by a Denver skater since 2005.
• Lorenz played in his 166th career game, one shy of matching DU's record by a four-year player (Ed Cristofoli, 1985-1989).
• The Pioneers stretched their winning streak to 10 games and unbeaten streak to 14 games (13-0-1). The winning streak is their longest since winning their first 12 games to start the 2024-25 campaign, while its unbeaten streak is the fifth-longest in a single season in program history and the longest since the 2016-17 championship team had a 12-0-3 record early in their campaign.
• Goaltender Johnny Hicks also pushed his unbeaten streak to 14 games and winning streak to 10 contests, both career longs. He is on a 103:51 shutout streak.
• The freshman Hicks registered his third career shutout, tied for the most by a DU goaltender this season (Quentin Miller). He has allowed one goal or fewer in 10 of the 14 games during his current unbeaten streak.
• Jake Fisher scored the first game-winning goal of his career and ninth tally of the season, tying a personal best for a single campaign.
• Freshman Clarke Caswell recorded his fourth multi-point game of the season and his second straight after also having a goal and an assist vs. Minnesota Duluth in the NCHC Final on March 27.
• Sam Harris (1g/1a) registered his fifth multi-point performance of the campaign.
• Cale Ashcroft had two assists for his first multi-point game of the season. He now has a career-high nine assists this season.
• Boston Buckberger and Sam Harris both played in their 125th career games.
• Eight Pioneers played in their first career NCAA Tournament game: Clarke Caswell, Kyle Chyzowski, Kristian Epperson, Johnny Hicks, Eric Jamieson, Brendan McMorrow, Brady Milburn and Reid Varkonyi.
• Denver took just one penalty for the sixth time this season.

HERE'S JOHNNY!: Freshman Johnny Hicks is unbeaten in his first 14 career decisions at 13-0-1, and he has started each of the last 13 games since Quentin Miller left early in the game on Jan. 24 vs. St. Cloud State with a lower-body injury.  Hicks' 13-game unbeaten streak is the longest to begin a collegiate career by a DU goaltender since at least the start of the 2002-03 season (online databases presently don't go back any further).
 
The Kamloops, British Columbia, native leads the nation with a 1.07 goals-against average and .960 save percentage in 18 games and 13 starts this season (Min. 33% of minutes played by team).  He has allowed one goal or fewer in 10 of the 14 games during his current unbeaten streak.
 
RIEGER RISING: Forward Rieger Lorenz is on a career-long, 12-game point streak, the longest of the season by a Denver player and tied with Zeev Buium (Nov. 3-Dec. 9, 2023) for the fifth-longest by a Pioneer since 2005.  It is also the longest point streak by a Pioneer since Aidan Thommpson had a run of 14 contests to start the 2024-25 campaign.  The left wing has recorded eight goals and eight assists during this stretch that began on Jan. 31 vs. Minnesota Duluth. 
 
Lorenz also posted a personal best by scoring in five straight games from Jan. 30-Feb. 14 for the longest goal scoring streak by a DU skater since Miko Matikka netted a marker in six consecutive contests from Nov. 4-24, 2023 (6g/1a).  The Calgary, Alberta, native's previous best goal streak was three in row as a sophomore from Nov. 11-19, 2023 (4g/0a), and the previous long for the season by a Pioneer was defenseman Eric Pohlkamp's four-game run from Nov. 1-14 (4g/2a).
 
DU HOSTING REGIONALS IN LOVELAND: Denver is the host institution this week for the 2026 NCAA West Regionals in Loveland at Blue Arena, home of the American Hockey League's Colorado Eagles. The Eagles are the primary minor-league affiliate of the NHL Colorado Avalanche.
 
DU has served as regional hosts in Loveland twice before in 2021 and 2022.  The Pioneers defeated UMass Lowell and Minnesota Duluth in 2022 in Northern Colorado on the way to winning their nine national championship.  Denver will also host regionals in Loveland in 2027 before hosting the NCAA Frozen Four in 2028 at United Center in Chicago, Illinois.

TAKE ME HOME, COLORADO: DU is 11-2 all-time in national tournament games in the state of Colorado, posting a 4-0 mark in Colorado Springs, 4-2 in Denver and 3-0 in Loveland.
 
Prior to its 2022 games at Blue Arena, DU hadn't played an NCAA Tournament contest in the state of Colorado since 2004. That squad defeated Miami 3-2 and North Dakota 1-0 on March 26-27 in the West Regionals in Colorado Springs to advance to its first Frozen Four since 1986 and ultimately win its sixth national title two weeks later in Boston.
 
The Pioneers won 1961 national title over St. Lawrence on home ice at DU Arena, and they also hosted the 1965 national semifinals and final and 1986 quarterfinals vs. Cornell at their old barn.  Denver won the 1969 championship over Cornell at the Broadmoor Ice Palace in Colorado Springs.
 
MARCH IS WINNING TIME: Richard and Kitzia Goodman Hockey Head Coach David Carle owns a 40-14-5 career record in March, with the 40 victories being his most in a single month.  Additionally, his .720 winning percentage in March is his second-best mark behind only October (.779), where he sports a 32-8-3 all-time record in the opening month of the season.
 
DU IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT: Denver is in the national tournament for the 35th time in program history and has reached the Big Dance in now 17 consecutive full seasons since 2008. The Pioneers have made it to the NCAA Frozen Four in three of the past four seasons and six times in the last nine held tournaments (2016, 2017, 2019, 2022, 2024, 2025).  DU's 10 overall national titles are the most in college hockey, with the program also owning the most since the turn of the century: 2004, 2005, 2017, 2022 and 2024.
 
Denver has a 47-26 all-time record in the NCAA Tournament and is 13-3 in its last 16 games and owns an 18-4 mark dating back to 2017. Since 2015, the Pioneers are 21-6 in their 27 tournament contests.  DU has posted a 24-12 all-time mark in opening-round games after it defeated Cornell on Friday in the West Regional Semifinals in Loveland, Colorado.
 
NCAA TOURNAMENT EXPERIENCE: Senior forward Rieger Lorenz is tied for first among all players in the 2026 men ice hockey championships with most tournament games played with nine.  Minnesota State's Tristan Lemyre also has nine games, as Lemyre was on DU's 2024 national championship squad and also won a 2025 national title as a member of Western Michigan. Lemyre scored a key goal for DU in the 2024 Regional Semifinals vs. UMass in Springfield, Mass.
 
Denver senior Kent Anderson and juniors Kieran Cebrian and Sam Harris are tied for third among active players with eight contests (also Quinnipiac's Victor Czerneckianair).  Junior defensemen Cale Ashcroft and Boston Buckberger both have five career NCAA games under their belt while eight Pioneers made their debut in the national tournament last season: Hagen Burrows (4 games), Garrett Brown (4), Jake Fisher (4), Eric Pohlkamp (4), James Reeder (4), Samu Salminen (4), Tory Pitner (3), Alec Whipple (2).
 
Eight Pioneers played in their first career NCAA Tournament game on Friday vs. Cornell: Clarke Caswell, Kyle Chyzowski, Kristian Epperson, Johnny Hicks, Eric Jamieson, Brendan McMorrow, Brady Milburn and Reid Varkonyi.
 
SENIOR CLASS SUCCESS: Denver's 2026 seniors own the second-most victories by a graduating class in program history with 119 wins.  This year's group took sole possession of the second spot from the 2005 class by winning its 113th game on Feb. 27 against Arizona State, and they became the 17th class in DU's annals to record 100 career victories when they reached the milestone on Nov. 14 vs. Colorado College.
 
So far, the 2026 seniors' accolade list includes four Gold Pan trophies over rival Colorado College, three, 30-win seasons, two NCHC Frozen Faceoff Faceoff titles (2024, 2026), the 2022-23 NCHC Penrose Cup, back-to-back trips to the NCAA Frozen Four in 2024 and 2025 and the 2024 national championship.
 
DEFENDING DENVER: The Pios rank tied for fourth in the nation by allowing 2.1 goals per game, and team has held opponents to one goal or fewer in 18-of-40 contests this year.
 
Each of DU's first six losses of the season came by a single goal.  Of Denver's 23 defeats since the start of the 2024-25 season, 15 have been by one goal while five other games featured empty-net markers by the opponent.
 
OFFENSIVE DEFENDERS: Denver has received 27.5 percent of its goals this season from D-men (39-of-142), including 34 combined tallies from three Pioneers in Eric Pohlkamp (17), Boston Buckberger (10) and Eric Jamieson (7).
 
DU is the only programs in the country with three rear guards with seven or more goals and are among four squads in the nation to have multiple blueliners reach that goals threshold (Air Force, Clarkson, Colgate.
 
Denver defensemen scored 40 goals last season, with Zeev Buium (13) and Pohlkamp (11) leading the position group in double-digit tallies.  The Pios had 22.9 percent of their markers in 2024-25 come from blueliners (40-of-174).
 
Pohlkamp's 17 goals and 37 points this season lead all NCAA defenders in each category, while Buckberger is tied for sixth at his position in tallies and tied for ninth in points (28).  Jamieson is tied for second among rookie blueliners in goals (Penn State's Jackson Smith, 11).