Western Michigan Broncos Win NCHC Frozen Faceoff in 2OT Over Denver Pioneers

The National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) Frozen Faceoff Championship was held on Saturday evening, Mar. 22, at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, between the Western Michigan Broncos and the Denver University Pioneers. Both semifinal games on Friday, Mar. 21, were tight, and it looked to be the same story with the championship.

Each team had its chances. The first period went by scoreless, but the second period saw the Pioneers open the scoring with three straight goals. The Broncos tried to answer back in the third and tied it up late to force overtime. The first overtime didn’t result in a winner, so a second overtime was needed where Alex Bump scored 22 seconds in to win it 4-3.

Game Recap

Both sides had chances throughout the first period, but neither team could get anything past the goaltenders. The period ended scoreless, but the Broncos had the slight upper-hand in shots, 10-4.

The second period tilted towards the Pioneers as they scored three unanswered early in the second. The first goal was scored by Jake Fisher; Samu Salminen, and Garrett Brown, assisted him in making it 1-0. Eric Pohlkamp tallied the second goal; Rieger Lorenz and Jared Wright assisted him. Zeev Buium scored the third and final goal in the middle frame unassisted to end the period 3-0 in favor of the Pioneers.

Alex Bump Western Michigan Broncos — Alex Bump, Western Michigan Broncos (Photo credit: WMU Hockey Twitter/X)

The Broncos answered back in the third as Zack Sharp scored early to pull his team back within two goals. Liam Valente and Grant Slukynsky assisted him. That goal helped swing the momentum back in the Broncos’ favor as Alex Bump scored his second of the tournament to get his team back within a goal. Owen Michaels assisted him. The Broncos continued to fight back and tied the game on a goal by Tim Washe.

The overtime went back and forth and no one scored through the first 20 minutes. Then just 22 seconds into the second overtime, Bump stepped up and won it for the Broncos with his second of the game. Both teams will be back in action later this week in the NCAA tournament regionals.