Athletics & Recreation

Hockey team wins NCHC championship, starts NCAA championship play Saturday

Junior Zac Larraza and freshman Emil Romig each scored third-period goals to break open a 2-2 deadlock and lift the University of Denver hockey team to a 4-3 victory over Miami in the 2014 National Collegiate Hockey Conference Championship Game Saturday night at the Target Center in Minneapolis.

With the win, Denver earns an automatic berth in the 2014 NCAA Division I Men’s Hockey Championship for the seventh consecutive season. The No. 4 seed Pioneers, who have claimed seven previous NCAA Division I National Championships in their history, will open Northeast Regional play vs. No. 1 seed Boston College at the DCU Center in Worcester, Mass., at 2 p.m. MDT Saturday. The game will be televised on ESPNU and WatchESPN online, and watch parties are scheduled at the Crimson & Gold, the Pioneer, Boone’s Tavern, Stadium Inn and South Philly Cheesesteaks.

Saturday’s showdown also will be broadcast live on Denver’s 102.3 FM and 105.5 ESPN Radio beginning with an expanded pregame show at 1 p.m.

No. 2 seed UMass-Lowell and No. 3 seed Minnesota State will square off in the other Northeast Regional Semifinal at 5:30 p.m. Saturday on ESPN3.

Saturday’s semifinal winners will advance to Sunday’s Northeast Regional Championship, which will begin at 3 p.m. MDT and will be televised on ESPNU and WatchESPN online. The winner of Saturday’s game will earn a spot in the 2014 NCAA Frozen Four, which is scheduled to be held at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia April 10–12.

The Pioneers currently boast a record of 20-15-6, which included a mark of 10-11-3-2 in NCHC action. Denver has secured a 20-win season for the 13th consecutive year, which is the longest current stretch nationally, and enters the NCAA Tournament on a season-best four-game winning streak.

 

 

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