Denver Pioneers men's ice hockey travels to Frozen Four in St. Louis, face Western Michigan in semifinals
"We want to be the team that no one wants to play," head coach David Carle told CBS Colorado.
The Pios are trying to repeat something the program hasn't done since 1961 -- win three college hockey national championships in four seasons. They're also looking to win back-to-back national championships following its
2024 victory
.
"We've been here a lot of times through the last four years, so comfortable in these moments," forward Connor Caponi told CBS Colorado. "I think nobody is getting nervous."
As
reported
by DU, "Denver now gets set for another championship rematch as the Pioneers and Broncos met less than three weeks ago in the NCHC Frozen Faceoff Championship Game at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. WMU rallied from a 3-0 deficit and won 4-3 in a double-OT outing to be the first squad to win both the NCHC regular season and tournament championships since North Dakota in 2020-21."
"Denver, they're a great team," said Pat Ferschweiler, head coach of Western Michigan, in an interview with CBS Colorado. "They're organized; they're defending champions. There's a lot of accolades you can give to Denver. But we've played them tight, and we've played them well three times, and I think that would give anyone confidence."
The semifinal between the Pios and conference rival Broncos is scheduled 3 p.m. Thursday, April 10. The winner will advance to the championship round and play against the decider for the semifinal between Boston University and Penn State. The national championship is scheduled 5:30 p.m. Saturday, April 12.
Among other accolades involving DU hockey this season: Defenseman
Zeev Buium
has been named a 2025 Hobey Baker Award Hat Trick finalist, which recognizes college hockey's top player.
"I think we know we have a fantastic team, and they have a great team as well," Caponi said. "I'm sure it's going to be a fantastic game. It's going to be a part of it getting under each other's skin."
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