Frozen Four Breakdown: How Denver Took Home the Title

Four teams hit the rink this past weekend at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, to see who would be crowned the 2026 NCAA D1 Frozen Four Champions. 

Two games were played on Thursday, with the championship game on Saturday. In the end, only one team would lift the trophy high and get their picture taken as their snapshot would be frozen in time forever.

Badge of Honor
The first matchup on Thursday was between the North Dakota Fighting Hawks and the Wisconsin Badgers. Badger fans marked their territory in section 7, while the North Dakota faithful sat in section 16. In the first ten minutes of the game, both teams had shots on goal, and there were plenty of scuffles as the temperature rose. It was not until a tick under seven minutes that the first goal of the tournament occurred. 

Wisconsin’s Simon Tassey gave his team the lead against the Fighting Hawks. In the span of twenty seconds, Wisconsin had another shot on goal before Ryan Borrtelli received a pass from the crease to the middle, and his shot slid past the goaltender to put the Badgers up 2-0. As the first period ended, fans booed when two players got tangled up with the puck and the action ended. Wisconsin outshot North Dakota 18-4 in the first period and remained dominant until the third period.

North Dakota had plenty of opportunities to get the puck in the net, but the players were not in sync for most of the game. It seemed like the Fighting Hawks forgot the fundamentals of hockey. Penalties were galore in the second period. The green and black almost scored near the tail end of their 5-4 advantage, but could not get the puck past the goaltender Daniel Hauser. 

They even had a 5-3 power play with six minutes left to go in the second period, but missed an opportunity with a minute to go. Just when it looked like the Badgers were going to get a shutout, forward Simon Tassy scored with 52 seconds to go in the game in one last gasp for a comeback. The Badgers could not score an empty-netter, but advanced to the national championship. Hauser recorded 21 saves, and the Badgers had 15 more shots on goal despite the Fighting Hawks winning five more faceoffs.

The Wolverines can’t claw their Way to a Win.
With the Badgers headed to the championship, it was time for fans in attendance to find out who their opponent was. The Denver Pioneers battled the Michigan Wolverines for 82 minutes on the ice. It took two overtimes for a winner to be crowned in the second game of the Frozen Four tournament. 

The Pioneers had the first shot of the game, but it was the Wolverines who were more aggressive throughout the first period. In the 13th minute, Michigan missed a golden opportunity as the puck slid wide right of the net past the goalie. Denver University found the net first, halfway through the first period, where Kyle Chyzowski scored his 12th of the season.
Michigan responded with a goal of its own after winning a faceoff in its zone. TJ Hughes scored his 10th goal of the season to tie it up.
Both teams lit up the scoreboard for a 3-3 hockey game that needed two OTs for a winner to be declared. With a little over seven minutes to go in 2OT, Kent Anderson found a way past the goalkeeper to advance the Pioneers to the championship game.

Pioneering their Way to Victory
After battling Michigan in a double OT thriller, the Denver Pioneers looked to secure their 11th title in school history. Meanwhile, the Wisconsin Badgers were seeking their 10th Frozen Four victory. Only one of these teams was going to get to hold the trophy up high, while the other left Vegas in despair.
Wisconsin was hot right out of the gate, with the first shot off the right post followed by two more shots that bounced off the goalie. It took half of the period for Denver to get their first shot from the middle of the crease that bounced off the goalie's pads. The Badgers ended the period with a flurry of shots, but none found the back of the net, despite having five times more shots than their opponent, ten. In the second twenty-minute block, both teams had their opportunities, but neither could capitalize.

Denver tied up the game with a rebound shot by Rieger Lorenz off a slapshot. With the game tied at 1-1, fans wondered if they were going to see déjà vu. Instead, Hauser lost his stick on a save, leaving him with only his hands. That proved to be the deciding factor, as the Pioneers scored the game-winner. 

The Badgers fans headed for the exits, but the Pioneer fans celebrated with their team. Singing along to “Country Road” and “We are the Champions”, the team took turns hoisting the trophy and cutting the nets. The refs in this game let the players skate as only three penalties were called. The Pioneers' goaltender, Johnny Hicks, had 26 saves and was named the most outstanding player of the tournament.

Outside of the four teams that participated in the tournament, there were jerseys from the following states and countries: USA, Japan, Canada, Minnesota, Alaska, Maine, Missouri, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, North Dakota, and the host state of Nevada to name a few. It is recorded that over 53,000 fans attended or were a part of the Frozen Four in Las Vegas. Next year, the tournament will be held in Washington, D.C. for the second time and for the first time in almost 20 years.
Denver University has won three of the past five tournaments, and only seven times since 1948 has a team hoisted the trophy back-to-back years. Denver has done it before, and Minnesota-Duluth is the last team to do so in 2018-2019. Who will be the last team standing in Washington, D.C.? It is an unpredictable tournament with a hardcore following, and it was an unbelievable experience to witness in person.