The reigning national champions of NCAA D-I hockey received their rings this past weekend, celebrating their second title in three years.
The team captained by senior forward McKade Webster boasted a 32-9-3 record, capping it off with a 2-0 win against Boston College to obtain the title for the school’s tenth national championship. Current graduate student and forward Connor Caponi described the experience as euphoric.
“Just like it was the first time, you kind of can’t believe it’s happening. Just a special moment with my teammates and guys who feel like my brothers. It was really special,” said Caponi.
The leadership group of the team, which included Caponi, was given the unique opportunity to contribute to the design of the ring. These players were presented with different rings and styles, and were able to select elements for the final design.
“It was hard to keep it silent because we knew what the rings looked like. Three of us did, but the rest of the guys didn’t, so it was hard to stay silent and not tell anybody but we were pretty good about it,” he said.
Caponi is the only player from last year’s senior group to be returning for his fifth year, after the seniors gained another year from the COVID-19 pandemic that affected their freshmen season. He is also one of the few who was with the team during the 2022 national championship run.
“My favorite part of the ring was the inside of the ring because we weren’t able to do that in 2022. We were able to put all the goals from the tournament and a little thing for Matty (Davis) because he stood up and stood on his head for us. It was cool to be able to honor some of our teammates that got us to the national championship,” said Caponi.
Player’s names and numbers don one side of the ring, while a depiction of sophomore Zeev Buium jumping onto goaltender Matty Davis fills the other. Inscriptions of “How bout now” and “We went pios” line the center of the ring. Forward facing shows the Denver arc over the championship trophy.
The team is looking forward to defending their title this upcoming season to extend their lead for the most national championships in D-I hockey.
“Personal goal is to just, honestly, do what I do and that’s play physical and play hard against the other players. Obviously to add more offense too, but my job on the team is to make the other players feel uncomfortable,” said Caponi.
The Crimson and Gold open their season on the road versus the University of Anchorage Seawolves on Oct. 5. They return home Oct. 25-26 to play Northeastern and raise their championship banner.
