Mike Benning scored a game winning third period goal on Saturday night, as the Denver Pioneers won their ninth title with a 5-1 win over Minnesota State in the NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey National Championship game at TD Garden in Boston.
Minnesota State struck first on the powerplay in the first period. Sam Morton would find a loose puck as the Mavericks were putting pressure on the Denver defense. Morton would snap a quick shot between the legs of Pioneers goalie Magnus Chrona at 13:59 for a 1-0 lead. Minnesota State owned a majority of the play in the first 20 minutes with an 8-3 shots on goal advantage. Both teams had some chances in the second period, but no goals were put up. David Silye had a breakaway shorthanded for the Mavericks for their best opportunity, but was turned away by Chrona. Cameron Wright had the best chance for Denver on a 3 on 2 breakout later off a one timer, but missed an open side of the net by shooting it off the side of the goal.
In the third period, Minnesota State stormed the net with several Grade A opportunities in front of Chrona in the first four minutes but couldn’t convert. Denver tied it up when Ryan Barrow buried a rebound past Dryden McKay at 4:46. The Pioneers then had a chance on a powerplay, and would score the game winner just after the extra man situation ended on a one timer short side on McKay by Benning at 7:33. A goal a minute later that would of made it 3-1 was disallowed when Bobby Brink ran into McKay for goaltender interference. After a turnover later, Denver did make it 3-1 when Massimo Rizzo converted at 13:34 on a beautiful setup from Carter Mazur on a 2 on 1 break. The Pioneers wrapped up their first title since 2017 when Brett Stapley and Wright scored empty net goals at 17:28 and 18:00.
McKay made 15 saves for Minnesota State, who was appearing in their first Division I National Title game. McKay, the Hobey Baker Award winner this season, ends a great career. The Mavericks end up at 38-6, and the loss broke an 18 game win streak as they hadn’t suffered a defeat since January 14. Chrona made 27 saves for Denver. Benning and Wright had a goal and an assist, and Mazur added two assists. The Pioneers (31-9) win the title for a second straight time in the city of Boston, with the last one coming in 2004 in a 1-0 victory over Maine. David Carle becomes the fourth youngest head coach in history (age 32) to win a D1 men’s hockey championship, and the youngest to win it since 1963.
