Exchanging No.1 and No. 2 seeds throughout the regular season, it’s only fitting the nation’s top two teams meet in the final game of college hockey’s grandest venue; the national championship. The No. 1 overall seed the DU Pioneers and the No. 2-seeded Minnesota-Duluth (UMD) Bulldogs will clash on April 8 in the United Center.
The fellow National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) foes will cross for the third time this season, after a splitting a series in early December. Denver (32-7-4, 20-4-3 NCHC) claimed Friday, Dec. 9th’s game 4-3, while UMD took Saturday’s victory 3-1.
“I think their staff knows us inside out. I feel like we know them inside out,” Denver head coach Jim Montgomery said. “It’s going to be a great college hockey game. NCHC opponents, two best teams consistently throughout the year in the NCHC, it’s going to be a barn burner and a great show for college hockey.”
Denver advances to the national title game after routing the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish 6-1 in the semifinal.
Duluth (28-6-7, 15-5-4 NCHC) advanced to the final over Harvard University in a thriller that was decided with 26.2 seconds on the clock. Senior forward Alex Iafallo tipped in a shot from teammate Will Raskob to secure the 2-1 victory and keep the Bulldogs hope of claiming their second national championship alive.
“I think it just shows a testament to our conference. You’ve got two NCHC teams, the toughest conference in college hockey,” Senior captain and Hobey Baker Award winner Will Butcher (Sun Prairie, Wisconsin) said, “We’re familiar with them and they’re very familiar with us. It’s going to be a tough game, it’s going to be physical, it’s going to be high pace. We’re going to see who wants it more.”
The Pioneers were without leading goal scorer (tied with Troy Terry (Denver, Colorado) 22 goals, 21 assists) Finnish freshman Henrik Borgstrom when facing Duluth as Borgstrom was ill. Borgstrom will be provide Denver leverage in Saturday’s matchup, as the Bulldogs have yet to witness his knavish puck-handling and meticulous shot.
“Yeah, I mean, anytime you can inject one of the most talented offensive players in college hockey into a lineup that the team hasn’t seen, you can watch film on them. But when you get on the ice, it’s a different world, especially for goaltenders,” Montgomery said. “The first time they can see him shoot a puck, they can look at it on film, but the puck gets on you real quick. If you’re not used to it, it’s by you. He puts it by them and they’re not used to it, has an NHL release, and hides his release. Kind of like Luis Tiant on the mound, puts it behind his hip, and he all of a sudden whips it at you.”
After last season’s heartbreak in the Tampa’s Frozen Four, the Pioneers are determined to clinch their eighth national title. For Denver, this is a business trip hence why the post-game celebrations were absent following the win over the Irish.
“It was just another game for us, we went out there and did our thing,” Butcher said. “We know what the goal is in front of us; to win a national championship. That was one game away and we had to win that game to get there. If we win tomorrow night [April 8] it’ll be a lot bigger of a celebration than what you’re use to seeing.”
Puck drop is scheduled for 6 pm MT.
