Michigan
Denver
Michigan to Face Denver in 29th Frozen Four Appearance
4/3/2026 2:21:00 PM | Ice Hockey
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The overall No. 1 seed in the 2026 NCAA Tournament, the University of Michigan hockey team (32-7-1) is back in the Frozen Four for the fourth time in five years. The Wolverines will take on Denver (27-11-3) in the national semifinal on Thursday (April 9) at 5:30 p.m. PT at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The game will air on ESPN2.
Notes
• Michigan makes an NCAA-record 29th appearance in the Frozen Four. Fourth-year head coach Brandon Naurato has now taken three of his four teams to the Frozen Four. This is also the third Frozen Four for Michigan seniors T.J. Hughes, Kienan Draper and Luca Fantilli, who reached Tampa in 2023 and Minneapolis in 2024.
• Denver owns a 47-36-1 advantage over Michigan in the all-time series, which dates back to 1951. The teams have met four times in the NCAA Tournament, including the 1964 NCAA Championship, in which the Wolverines won 6-3 in Colorado Springs. Michigan won twice more in regionals in 1999 and 2002 before the teams met again in the 2002 NCAA national semifinal in Boston. Labeled as one of Michigan's most talented teams with 13 first-round draft picks, the Wolverines dominated overtime, including a 2-on-1 chance, but it was the Pioneers who scored on a second-chance opportunity with 5:07 remaining in OT.
• Michigan has won the national championship nine times, with its last coming in 1998. The Wolverines have made the Frozen Four nine times since then, advancing to the championship game just once in those nine appearances, in 2011.
• The Wolverines won the Albany Regional after defeating Atlantic Hockey champion Bentley, 5-1, on Friday before a 4-3 win over No. 6-ranked Minnesota Duluth on Sunday. Goaltender Jack Ivankovic was named the Most Valuable Player of the regional with 54 saves in two games. Joining him on the all-tournament squad were Hughes, Ben Robertson and Garrett Schifsky.
• Hughes was named a Hobey Baker Hat Trick finalist as one of three finalists for the 2026 Hobey Baker Memorial Award, given to the best player in college hockey. The award will be announced on Friday (April 10) in a ceremony open to the public at Park MGM at 5 p.m. PT. The award has been won three times by Wolverines: Brendan Morrison (1997), Kevin Porter (2008) and Adam Fantilli (2023).
• The nation's top-scoring offense is led by Hughes, who has 56 points on 21 goals and 35 assists. Michael Hage and Jayden Perron are also point-per-game players. Hage has 51 points, including a nation-best 38 assists to go along with 21 goals. Perron adds 40 points in his first year as a Wolverine. Will Horcoff follows with a team-high 25 goals and 13 assists for 38 points.
• Michigan's top-ranked offense, scoring 4.56 goals per game, will go up against one of the best scoring defenses in the nation in Denver, which ranks fourth and limits teams to 2.10 goals per game.
• In comparing special teams, Michigan's power play ranks first nationally at 31.6 percent, while Denver ranks 32nd at 19.5 percent. The Pioneers' penalty kill ranks 19th at 82.4 percent, with the Wolverines 37th at 79.7 percent. Michigan's penalty kill, however, leads the nation in short-handed goals with 11.
• Denver is led by defenseman Eric Pohlcamp, a Hobey Hat Trick finalist along with Hughes. Pohlcamp leads his team in scoring with 18 goals and 21 assists for 39 points in 41 games. Rieger Lorenz and Sam Harris each have 34 points, while James Reeder has 33. Clarke Caswell has a team-high 25 assists. Johnny Hicks has emerged as the Pioneers' starting netminder in the second half of the season, taking over in late January, and is 14-0-1 with a 1.12 goals-against average and a .958 save percentage.
