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University of Denver goaltender Adam Berkhoel was an impenetrable steel wall throughout the Frozen Four tournament, but he melted into a sea of crimson and gold after it was all over.
The Pioneers engulfed their senior goaltender after a superb 24 save shutout, giving the Pioneers their first NCAA National Championship title in 35 years April 10 at the Fleet Center in Boston.
Gabe Gauthier slid the only goal of the game through the five whole of Maine goaltender Jimmy Howard at the 12:26 mark of the first period to give DU the lead and eventually the title.
After the game, senior Greg Keith commented that someone was looking down on the team from above. No, he was not alluding to God, but Keith Magnusson, who was the All-American captain of the Pioneers the last time they won the championship and tragically passed away a few months ago in a car accident.
Magnusson must have been looking after the Pioneers because not only was a Maine goal disallowed a quarter of the way through the first period, but they were able to fight through a late Maine 6-on-3 advantage.
DU was forced to play three men down with two minutes remaining when Matt Laatsch was called for hooking and Gauthier for closing his hand on the puck. Maine immediately pulled Howard to give them a sixth man.
As the seconds ticked down to zero, the fans that gathered back home at Magness Arena to watch the game on the jumbotron were standing, yelling and waving foam fingers as the Pioneer bench cleared in a furry. The single section of Pioneer’s faithful at the Fleet Center also joined in.
When the puck dropped to open the game both teams required some time to feel each other out and play some back and forth hockey. DU was clearly spending more time beyond the Maine blue line. DU cleared it out of the zone, but was called for the first penalty of the game at the 3:40 mark of the first period, when Max Bull hit a Maine player from behind.
The excitement kicked up a notch as Maine kept pressing on the power play, eventually putting one past Adam Berkhoel. But reminiscent of the final minutes of the semi-final game against Minnesota-Duluth, the goal was reviewed and ultimately disallowed because a player across the ice from the shot barely had his skate in the crease.
The Pioneers escaped what could have developed into a remake of the first period of the semi-finals and appeared to come out firing on all cylinders to start the second period.
The puck went back and forth until Maine had an excellent chance 14 minutes into the period when a player tried to wrist one up top from close range on Berkhoel. But the DU goaltender was a wall. Moments later, DU went on a power play and a short handed opportunity for Maine turned fatal when their player slipped while trying to create a breakaway from the blue line.
Thanks to a DU penalty a short time later, the teams played a minute of four on four before Maine’s penalty was a man up. Maine went on the power play and although having four great chances to score, they failed to net one on Berkhoel.
Down in his butterfly stance, Berkhoel seemed to float between the posts. It was a hard fought scoreless second period in which Maine outshot the Pioneers 9-6.
A “Lets go Denver,” shout echoed through Magness Arena for the first time about eight minutes into the third as both teams were getting good chances. Half way through the period, Maine had a two on one short hand opportunity, but Kevin Ulanski made a great poke check to remove the puck from the player’s stick before a shot could be fired. Play continued back and forth up until the unforgettable final two minutes of the game.
The Black Bears outshot the Pioneers 24-20 and took six less penalty minutes, but as they have had to do throughout the season and playoffs, the Pioneers found a way to win.
Perseverance was pivotal for the DU quest for the NCAA Championship when they headed to Colorado Springs in late March as an at-large bid for the CCHA West Regional games. They were invited as a No. 2 seed and defeated Miami (Ohio) in the opening game of the West Regional.
Berkhoel saved 21 shots and Caldwell and Laatsch each scored as the Pioneers defeated Miami (Ohio) 2-1.
The Pioneers advanced to play top-ranked North Dakota in what turned out to be thrilling game. Fulghum deflected a Max Bull slapshot into the back of the net in the third period of a scoreless game. Berkhoel made an incredible 33 saves to preserve the win, earning him the NCAA West Regional Most Outstanding Player.
Minnesota-Duluth found out in a late four-goal DU flurry that a two-goal lead is the most dangerous advantage to have in hockey. The Pioneers fought back from a 3-1 deficit to knock off the Bulldogs 5-3 in the opening semi-final game of the Frozen Four to advance to the title game against the University of Maine.
Senior Lukas Dora netted the game-winner through the pads of Bulldog goaltender Isaac Reichmuth with 11:35 remaining in the third period.
Boston is where the Pioneers completed their pursuit for a sixth national title, moving them into third place all-time behind Minnesota (9) and North Dakota (7). Berkhoel was selected as most valuable player of the Final Four.
