Western Michigan Advances to First National Championship

Western Michigan University knocked off the defending national champions to advance to the 2025 Frozen Four Championship.

Apr 10, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, UNITED STATES; Denver Pioneers forward Kieran Cebrian (24) and Western Michigan Broncos forward Alex Bump (20) battle for control of the puck during the first period of the Frozen Four college ice hockey national semifinals at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Connor Hamilton-Imagn Images / Connor Hamilton-Imagn Images

Western Michigan University is flying high after advancing to its first-ever NCAA Men's Division 1 Ice Hockey Championship. The WMU Broncos knocked off the defending national champions, the University of Denver Pioneers, with an overtime victory. They will face the winner of Boston University and Penn State in the other Frozen Four semi-final matchup to decide the 2025 national champion.

Western Michigan continued its recent reign of terror over Denver in its Frozen Four meeting. The last time they met, WMU delivered Denver an upset double overtime defeat for the conference championship. That game was foreshadowing another double overtime classic as Broncos forward Owen Michaels delivered the goal that sends WMU to the national championship game. It was the fourth meeting between the two programs this season, and WMU ended the season series 3-1.

This affair began with WMU bringing high energy and assaulting Denver goalie Matt Davis with a barrage of shots. Their motto seemed to be fire everything on the net and see what happens. That also continued through the second period, as they dominated the game through 40 minutes.

The Pioneers wouldn't be denied all night long, however. They stormed back in the final frame, cutting WMU's lead to 2-1 with 12 minutes remaining thanks to Chicago Blackhawks prospect Aidan Thompson's intelligence and a bit of puck luck. After his first shot attempt was blocked, he found the bouncing puck and ripped it past the Broncos' starting goalie and Los Angeles Kings draft pick Hunter Slukynsky.

The scrappy Pioneers continued their clutch moments, as they tied the game late in the third period. Forward Jared Wright kept poking at a loose puck at the goal front, slipping it behind Slukynsky and tying the game at 2-2 with less than three minutes remaining. Even after the officials reviewed the play, the goal stood, and overtime became inevitable.

In overtime, the Pioneers had the energy to start, getting an early scoring chance against the Broncos. But Slukynsky locked in and kept his composure as he faced more shots against him, especially after a couple of turnovers directly led to Denver scoring chances. He stood tall, stopping 20 of 22 shots against him. He's allowed just four goals in three starts in the NCAA tournament.

One lingering question from this game is the status of Denver defender and Minnesota Wild draft pick Zeev Buium. The Hobey Baker Finalist took an awkward hit in the first period but remained in the game. He didn't look affected the rest of the contest, and the Pioneers continued deploying him for the most ice time on the team. He had an excellent chance in the overtime period that would have been a highlight-reel game-winner, but his shot was blocked at the last moment. He's one of the most intriguing prospects outside of the NHL, and the Wild are salivating at the thought of getting Buium in the lineup.

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