The No. 3-ranked University of Denver Pioneers earned their NCAA-record 10th National Championship in the team’s 2-0 win over No. 1-ranked Boston College in the Frozen Four National Championship on Saturday.
Sophomore forwards Jared Wright and Rieger Lorenz found the back of the net in the second period, while junior netminder Matt Davis stopped all 35 shots on goal in the game.
Shai Buium, Sean Behrens, Zeev Buium, and Lorenz each tallied an assist, while Jack Devine and Connor Caponi led the Pioneers with three shots on goal each.
Here are three key takeaways from Denver’s win.
Matt Davis Shines
Almost every championship run is led by a hot goaltender. Davis allowed just three goals on 141 shots (0.979 save percentage) in four NCAA Tournament games.
He consistently came up with a big-time save for the Pioneers. In Saturday’s game, Boston College freshman Ryan Leonard had a point-blank scoring opportunity, but a sprawling Davis got a glove on it before it could go into the net.
With Denver holding a 2-0 lead in the third period, the junior goaltender stopped all 23 shots as the Pioneers’ defense tightened up in Boston College’s last-ditch effort.
“They’re a team that keeps you on your heels,” Denver head coach David Carle said of Boston College. “If you play on your heels, you’re playing with fire. You have to find a way to skate forward and angles and stay on your toes and disrupt them and make them uncomfortable. I thought we did that well the first two periods. And the third period was Matt Davis’ show.”
Secondary Scoring
Denver’s depth was on full display in the games leading up the National Championship.
Against UMass in the Springfield Regional semifinal, it was Boston Buckberger and Tristan Broz. Against Cornell, it was Miko Matikka and Sam Harris. In the Frozen Four semifinals, it was Tristan Lemyre and Broz again.
Point being, the Pioneers found a way to win these games without any goals from Jack Devine or Massimo Rizzo, with the latter returning from injury against Boston University.
On Saturday night, it was no different. Wright, who had 14 goals during the regular season, tallied the all-important first goal of the game. Lorenz, who recorded a key goal in the NCHC Frozen Faceoff Championship game, tallied Denver’s second marker against Boston College.
For the Pioneers to beat Eagles goaltender Jacob Fowler, they needed a lucky bounce. Denver got that bounce on Wright’s goal after the initial shot deflected off Fowler’s mask and trickled into the back of the net.
Defensive Shutdown
For a team felt like it often needed to outscore their opponents in the first half of the season, Denver’s defensive and goaltending improvements in the second half were elevated further in the postseason.
The Pioneers limited Boston University to one goal, which came on a shorthanded breakaway. On Saturday, Denver’s defense managed to shut out Boston College for the first time this season.
The Eagles’ top line of Will Smith, Gabe Perreault, and Leonard combined for 18 shots on goal in Saturday’s game. However, the Pioneers did well limiting the high-danger opportunities. And when Denver needed their goaltending, Matt Davis was omnipresent.
“I think a lot of people maybe came at our defensive structure throughout the year, but we stuck to it,” senior captain McKade Webster said. “It’s just Denver hockey, doing whatever it takes, sacrificing everything for this group. It’s all about team
success and not individual success in this program.”
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