The first semifinal of the Frozen Four on Thursday in St. Louis is rife with appealing storylines.
Defending national champion Denver puts its repeat bid up against the only top seed remaining, Western Michigan, in the teams’ fourth matchup of the season. The National Collegiate Hockey Conference rivals split a two-game series in Kalamazoo, Mich., on Dec. 6-7 before the Broncos outlasted the Pioneers 4-3 in double overtime last month at the NCHC Frozen Faceoff in Saint Paul, Minn.
Denver (31-11-1) made history in stopping Boston College 3-1 on March 30 in the Northeast Regional final in Manchester, N.H. In winning the rematch of last season’s national championship game, the Pioneers became the first school to do so in eight opportunities.
“There were a lot of things stacked up against us and made this challenging,” said Denver coach David Carle. “You have to have that killer instinct and emotion this year to try to win and send teams home. They are trying to send us home … we are trying to survive.”
Goaltender Matt Davis is a big reason the Pioneers continue to survive. He came up with 35 saves against Boston College, making him 6-0 in NCAA tourney games the last two seasons with a 0.74 goals-against average and an otherworldly .976 save percentage.
Meanwhile, Western Michigan (32-7-1) punched its ticket for St. Louis by edging Massachusetts 2-1 on March 29 to win the Fargo Regional. Liam Valente and Tim Washe scored power-play markers during a five-minute man advantage bridging the second and third periods, while goalie Hampton Slukynsky made 28 saves.
It’s the first trip to the Frozen Four for the Broncos, who have tied a program record for most wins in a season under fourth-year head coach Pat Ferschweiler. The former Detroit Red Wings assistant coach has 102 wins and four NCAA Tournament appearances to his credit.
“I could not be more proud of this group for the way they care about each other and the way they have succeeded all season,” Ferschweiler said.
The winner plays either Penn State or Boston University in Saturday night’s championship game.
–Field Level Media
