A lopsided first period doomed Western Michigan to a 6-2 loss against conference rival Denver in an NCAA men’s ice hockey regional final in Loveland, Colorado, on Sunday evening.
The loss ends the season for the Broncos, a No. 1 seed in the tournament and pursuing a repeat as national champions, having won the tournament in 2025.
Zach Bookman and Theo Wallberg scored for the Broncos, while Sam Harris, Kyle Chyzowski, Samu Salminen, Brendan McMorrow, Kiernan Cebrian and Eric Pohlkamp scored for Denver. Chyzowski had a three-point night, adding two assists.
Things unraveled quickly, with the Pioneers going up, 2-0, 5:34 into the game, opening the scoring after just two minutes. Harris opened the scoring, followed by Chyzowski scoring on a nice stretch pass feed from Pohlkamp.
Western Michigan appeared to stabilize the game, momentarily, in response.
Zach Bookman scored his second goal of the tournament a few minutes after Denver went up 2-0, finding his own rebound in the crease and shoving it home. But 2-1 ended up being the closest the Broncos got.
Denver stretched the lead, scoring on a 2-on-1 opportunity that beat WMU goalie Hampton Slukynsky as James Reeder fed Salminen shortly before McMorrow tacked on a fourth goal on a backdoor rebound opportunity with around five minutes remaining in the period.
Slukynsky made 26 saves on 31 shots faced, giving up five goals two days after a stalwart performance in the regional semifinals. Denver’s Johnny Hicks made 26 saves against 28 shots.
Leading 4-1 after one period, Denver never lost control of the game.
The Broncos scored in the middle of the third period after a scoreless second, cutting Denver’s lead to two and making the score 4-2, but it didn’t spark the comeback.
Denver responded with a goal by Cebrian with just more than six minutes to play for a 5-2 lead — which then became 6-2 after an empty-net goal for Denver — that scuttled Western Michigan’s hopes for another trip to the Frozen Four and a chance to defend a national championship.
Andrew Graham is a freelance writer.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Slow start against Denver deprives Western Michigan of Frozen Four bid
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