The day is upon us. The Wisconsin Badgers lace up the skates this afternoon in Las Vegas in search of the program’s seventh national championship. Standing in their way is another old WCHA foe and the hottest team in hockey over the last decade, the Denver Pioneers.
The Badgers (24-12-2) shut down North Dakota to win their eighth-straight Frozen Four semifinal while Denver (28-11-3) outlasted Michigan and scored the game-winning goal nearly 13 minutes into the second overtime on Thursday night.
This
matchup was a long time coming, considering the Badgers and Pioneers were actually slated to meet in the first round of the tournament based on seeding; however, Dartmouth and Cornell were not eligible to be first-round opponents since they hail from the same conference, which resulted in Wisconsin and Cornell swapping regions.
The Badgers have won six of their nine championship appearances, with this game being a rematch of their first title game against Denver in 1973, a 4-2 win for Wisconsin. The Pioneers have ten championships to their name, including two of the last four.
Based on both teams’ performances in the tournament thus far, we could be in for a defensive battle. That’s largely thanks to the play of each team’s freshman goaltender. Wisconsin goalie Daniel Hauser flipped the switch once the tournament rolled around, playing his best hockey all year over the last three games.
Denver goaltender Johnny Hicks has been a revelation in net, a found treasure who took over in net after a lower-body injury to then-starter and fellow freshman Quentin Miller on January 24. Miller was named to the Mike Richter Award watchlist, yet somehow Denver may have stumbled upon an even better goaltender via the Wally Pipp method.
Hicks has not lost a game, going 14-0-1 in his starts while giving up just 1.20 goals per game on a .957 save percentage. Michigan peppered him all game in the semifinal, but Hicks came through time and time again. The undrafted freshman has yet to give up more than three goals in a game.
It’s no wonder Denver ranks fourth in the country in scoring defense, allowing only 2.10 goals per game. With the Pioneers now on the docket, Wisconsin will have played the teams ranked sixth, fifth, seventh, and fourth consecutively in their tournament run. That’s not surprising when you get this deep into the tournament, and the Badgers have been up to the task so far.
Wisconsin is the anomaly here, coming into the game with the nation’s 36th-ranked scoring defense. That stems largely from the six-game skid back in January, when the Badgers were giving up roughly six goals per game. It’s not indicative of the team we’ve seen over the last two weeks of the regular season, nor the three NCAA Tournament games to this point.
Denver can swarm opponents with four lines of quality production. The Pioneers have eight players with ten or more goals this season, and 14 different players with double-digit assists. Defenseman Eric Pohlkamp is maybe the most prolific two-way player in the sport and leads the team with 18 goals. He’s third in assists with 21 on the year.
I offer a consistent prediction every time the Badgers play against someone from the state of Wisconsin, so be on the lookout for freshman forward Kristian Epperson on Denver’s second line. The Mequon native has 11 goals and 21 points on the year, and is near the top of my list of possible Pioneer scorers due to the fact that Wisconsinites on other teams seem to disproportionately score against the Badgers.
The top two lines for the Pioneers both feature two forwards with 30 or more points. They have a prolific offense with nine NHL draftees among their forward group to go along with three defensive NHL draft picks. And we haven’t even mentioned the elite tactician behind the bench, head coach David Carle.
The chess match between Carle and Wisconsin coach Mike Hastings will be a huge part of this game, especially since both coaches are likely preparing for an all-out war and a low-scoring affair, at least if they have any say over the game script. Hastings had an excellent game plan for North Dakota and will need to muster up a little more magic to keep Denver in check.
One of the most talked-about storylines emerging out of Thursday night is Denver playing an extra period and a half of hockey in their semifinal against Michigan. At the end of the day, these are young, high-level athletes. Denver may have left that Michigan game bruised and bloodied with some tired legs, but it’s hard to imagine the Pioneers not able to meet the moment in a title game with a day of rest. That being said, if there are some tired legs on the Denver bench, it becomes more imperative that Wisconsin jump them from the very beginning and wear them down as the game goes on.
Much like the North Dakota game, getting the first goal will be huge. Considering the stellar play of Hicks in net, Wisconsin can ill-afford to play from behind. Denver is one of the least penalized teams in the country, so an early deficit becomes harder to dig out of against a Pioneer team that almost never beats itself.
As good as Wisconsin’s penalty kill was on Thursday, there is no way they can take that many penalties and keep pace with Denver. The Pioneer power play isn’t all that special statistically compared to North Dakota, but the amount of playmakers Denver can put on the ice will make every penalty a scary proposition.
The key to the game for Wisconsin comes down to winning the neutral zone, helping to disrupt Denver’s offensive flow, and creating some quick rush opportunities for the Badgers. They need to continue what they excelled at against North Dakota, overplaying the shooting side defensively and mitigating Denver’s ability to get clean looks on Hauser.
Speaking of Hauser, he will undoubtedly need to come up with a few clutch saves if Wisconsin is to win its seventh championship. Denver will be looking for rebound opportunities, so it’s imperative that Hauser swallow up everything on net and not get caught out of position. In short, make Denver earn everything. They’re a well-coached, extremely disciplined hockey team that is sure to make the Badgers do the same.
With the championship game upon us, there is no time to talk about feel-good stories and what a success this postseason run has been, whether Wisconsin wins or loses. This team feels like it could be a year ahead of schedule, but championship game appearances are never guaranteed. You have to make the most of your moment and capitalize when you get there. Wisconsin has been historically great at doing just that, and they have 60 minutes to do it again for a seventh banner.
NCAA Championship Game Info
Date: April 11
Time: 4:30 p.m.
Place: Las Vegas, Nev. | T-Mobile Arena
TV: ESPN | Radio: 1310 WIBA
