The No. 1 Michigan Wolverines (31-7-1) are back in the Frozen Four for the fourth time in five years. After a dramatic overhaul of the roster in the offseason, head coach Brandon Naurato and his team are looking to take a step they have not taken since 2011. And then the final one that they have not taken since 1998.
Michigan was dominant against Bentley in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. Even with a late scratch to the nation’s leader in assists, Michael Hage (13G, 38A), the Wolverines
cruised to victory, 5-1. Senior captain and Hobey Baker finalist, T.J. Hughes (21G, 35A), chipped in three points, his third consecutive multi-point effort, and Garrett Schifsky (14G, 12A) and Jayden Perron (17G, 23A) each added two points of their own.
Also of note, Ben Robertson (1G, 21A) lit the lamp for the first time all season with a buzzer-beating blast from the blue line at the end of the opening period. Not to be outdone, goalie Jack Ivankovic (.923) was again sensational, stopping 23-of-24 shots and only allowing the one goal with less than 30 seconds left to narrowly miss out on a shutout.
In the regional final matchup against Minnesota-Duluth, the Wolverines came out on fire with three first-period goals, all three in different facets of the game. First, it was Will Horcoff (25G, 13A) extending his team’s goal-scoring lead at even strength. Then, it was Adam Valentini (11G, 15A) connecting on the power play before Schifsky added his second of the tournament while on the penalty kill.
But the Bulldogs were not going down without a fight. With roughly four minutes to go, suddenly it was a 4-3 game. Perron had helped preserve Michigan’s lead by scoring early in the period, but now Minnesota-Duluth’s vaunted forecheck had found its rhythm and began pressing. But Michigan did not break — Ivankovic stopped 30 shots, including 13 in the third period, and the Wolverines are now headed to Las Vegas.
With one NCHC opponent laid to waste, Michigan now turns its attention to another and an all-too-familiar foe. Denver (27-11-3) eliminated the most talented Michigan team in program history in the 2022 Frozen Four. The 3-2 (OT) defeat saw the Wolverines run out of gas and only muster 21 shots on goal. With four years to reflect, this is a rebuilt team ready for revenge. Across the ice, David Carle’s perennial powerhouse is looking for more of the same.
Getting to know Denver
Since Carle took over for Jim Montgomery, in his first seven seasons (excluding the COVID-canceled season), Carle has won two national titles, appeared in three other Frozen Fours (including 2026) and only missed the NCAA Tournament once. The Pioneers have arguably been the most consistent team this century, although this season put that to the test.
Denver enters Frozen Four play winners of 15 straight, including a dominant opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament where it outscored Cornell and Western Michigan, 11-2. But in January, this team was reeling. Standing at 12-10-2, losers of six straight, Carle made a dramatic change to save his season — he was changing goalies.
The next weekend, each goalie (both freshmen) got a start in net, and by the end, Carle had his guy. Goaltender Johnny Hicks (.958) is undefeated since his audition weekend against St. Cloud State, and has never (!) lost a game he started in college. The freshman leads the country in save percentage and has allowed zero goals more times than he’s allowed three. The rest of the Denver team is slightly below-average by their illustrious standards, but Hicks might be the Second Coming for this program. This isn’t to say the Pioneers are bad by any means, either.
Up front, Denver is balanced with four 30-point forwards and six with 25 or more. Rieger Lorenz (16G, 18A) leads the group in goals, while Clarke Caswell (7G, 25A) is the premier set-up man, leading the team in assists.
On the blue line, junior Eric Pohlkamp (18G, 21A) is the team leader in points and goals. But not just an offensive dynamo, Pohlkamp also leads the team in blocks with 77, 24 more than any other Pioneer, and has been named as one of the three Hobey Baker finalists.
Here is how these teams stack up statistically according to national rankings:
- Scoring Offense: Michigan (1), Denver (8)
- Scoring Defense: Michigan (11), Denver (3)
- Power Play: Michigan (1), Denver (33)
- Penalty Kill: Michigan (37), Denver (19)
- Faceoff Win Percentage: Michigan (9), Denver (24)
The winner of this game will face the winner of another Big Ten vs. NCHC battle, Wisconsin/North Dakota, on Saturday, April 11, at 5:30 p.m. ET.
Key to the game
Pepper, pepper, pepper Hicks with shots. In this game, any shot is a good shot. Dirty goals — tip-ins, deflections, ricochets — will be the difference between these two teams. This is not a precision game, but a game for volume shooting. Hicks has made 30 or more saves only four times this season, and in those games, one went to overtime, one went to double overtime and one extended into a shootout. The only one that didn’t need extra time was against 12-win Omaha when Denver still won the shot battle. If Michigan can outshoot Denver and cross the 30-shot mark, the Wolverines will be in a great position to win this game.
National Semifinal
- When: Thursday, April 9, 8:30 p.m. ET
- Where: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, NV
- How to watch: ESPN2
- How to listen: Varsity Podcast Network
