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Wednesday, April 15, 2026

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No. 1 seed Michigan falls to No. 2 seed Denver in Frozen Four semifinal in double overtime VIHAAN EASWAR Daily Sports Writer

AS VEGAS – The pain was familiar. Heartbreakingly so. In the No. 1 seed Michigan hockey team’s nine trips to the NCAA Frozen Four since the Wolverines last tasted a national championship in 1998, Michigan had fallen at the first hurdle in eight of them, including in each of its four most recent trips. Yet each time, the Wolverines hoped that it would be different. There was always a new bit of kindling to fuel the flame of hope — Hobey Baker Award nominees, future NHL superstars and lateseason surges of momentum. And this year, it was just that, again. A young, rapidly assembled Michigan team had left behind the preseason expectation that it would stumble into the NCAA Tournament through the backdoor,

taking the country by storm in one of its best regular seasons in years. Leading the polls for much of the year and claiming the Big Ten Tournament title, the Wolverines sauntered into the Frozen Four as the No. 1 overall seed and favorites to win it all. There was a real sense that this would be the breakthrough, the year one of college hockey’s blue bloods would reclaim its place at the top of the mountain. But instead, it was the same old story — quite literally. On Thursday, in a mirror of its 2022 overtime defeat at this stage to this same opponent, No. 1 seed Michigan (318-1 overall, 17-6-1 Big Ten) fell to No. 2 seed Denver (28-11-3, 17-6-1) 4-3 in double overtime, in an offensive thriller, as a season to remember ended in a heart-wrenchingly recognizable way. “So proud of this group,” Wolverines coach Brandon Naurato said. “It’s a special group. It’s hard to have it be over.”

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Michigan looked outgunned for most of the first period. Entries into the Wolverines’ zone came with ease for the Pioneers, who peppered freshman goaltender Jack Ivankovic with six shots in just the first three minutes. And about 10 minutes in, Denver drew first blood. The Pioneers successfully navigated another zone entry and chained together three quick passes to drop a puck into the path of forward Kyle Chyzowski, who slotted it through Ivankovic’s legs to put Denver up 1-0. It took Michigan just two moments to shoot its way into a duel. The first came courtesy of senior forward Josh Eernisse, who won a face-off, then sniped home from the exact same spot to level the score. And a little over a minute later, it got its second, when senior forward T.J. Hughes pounced on a simple backdoor tap-in off a deflected shot from freshman forward Adam Valentini to give the Wolverines their first lead of the game.

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But the Pioneers’ response came promptly, when less than three minutes into the second period, defenseman Cale Ashcroft let it rip from deep to level the score at 2-2. As the second period wore on, Michigan looked more likely to strike next, winning the possession battle and knocking on the door of Denver goaltender Johnny Hicks — but the door remained closed. The duel went quiet for a while after that. But with about nine minutes left in the third period, Pioneers defenseman Eric Jamieson received his marching orders. Jamieson slammed his stick to the floor of the box in frustration, knowing that what he’d done might’ve just cost his team the game. That frustration would prove to be justified when junior forward Jayden Perron slotted one home on the subsequent Wolverines power play. With less than nine minutes left on the clock, Michigan seemed to have delivered the finishing shot. But 60 minutes wouldn’t be

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enough to decide the winner of a duel between two of the most potent offenses in college hockey — a call that Denver forward Clarke Caswell made, when he tipped in a puck at the backdoor to level the score at 3-3 and send the contest to overtime. It would come down to one goal, a photo finish to decide an offensive thriller worthy of ending in such fashion. As it happened, 80 minutes wasn’t enough either, as both teams remained scoreless through the first period of overtime. Both teams were penalized again, but neither could take advantage of the subsequent power play. Michigan continued to buffet Hicks’ goal, but he wouldn’t let anything past him. The Wolverines had more of the puck. They had more than double the shots. The creeping feeling that this time would be different still lingered in the background.

But it stayed only a feeling. About thirteen minutes into the second period of overtime — 93 minutes in total — Pioneers defenseman Kent Anderson picked the puck up in the slot and rifled past Ivankovic. It had happened again. Ivankovic stayed slumped on the ice. Senior defenseman Tyler Duke stared blankly ahead. Freshman forward Cole McKinney dropped to one knee. Valentini picked himself off the ice, then leaned back out of exhaustion. “I’m proud of the guys,” senior forward Josh Eernisse said. “We fought, we pushed. We had our chances. They’re a good team. They got their bounce, they buried their chance, but I would say every guy left it out there.” The faces were new. But it was a scene Michigan’s been watching on repeat for 28 years.

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