The National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) Frozen Faceoff Championship game between the Western Michigan University Broncos and the Denver University Pioneers was held on Saturday evening, Mar. 22. The Broncos were in search of their first NCHC championship, while the Pioneers were looking to win back-to-back.
From the start of the game, it was clear that it was going to be a back-and-forth, tight-knit affair. The first period went by scoreless despite the Broncos outshooting the Pioneers 10-4. The second period was all about the Pioneers, as they scored three unanswered goals. Then, in the third period, the Broncos answered with three of their own goals to force overtime. A second overtime was required and the local Minnesota hero Alex Bump stepped up to win it.
Pioneers/Broncos Overtime Winner
The perfect scenario for a championship game is a hard-fought battle until the end unless you have a favorite team in the mix, and then as long as they win, it doesn’t matter too much. However, in terms of having a great game, the closer it is, the better, and at first, it looked like the Pioneers were going to run away with it.
Then the Broncos proved why they made it this far by answering back to tie it, and it took a second goal from Bump to win the game. It was hard to see a loser because both teams fought hard, especially the goaltending, but it showed how good each team was. It’s not great to go down three goals early or give up a three-goal lead, but each team is very talented, and it showed.
“Yeah, I’ve scored a couple of goals here so it’s nothing new, but it’s always fun,” said Bump about having the scoring touch at the Xcel Energy Center in reference to his five goals back in the Minnesota State Hockey Tournament a few years ago and he continued about why he has that touch, “I don’t know, there’s a lot of people here, it’s almost a pain to play but although I don’t pay, but yeah I mean it’s always great to come back home in front of a bunch of friends and family.”
Pioneers Strong at the Beginning
Like their semifinal win over the Arizona State University Sun Devils, the Pioneers had scoring come from all over their lineup. None of the goal scorers from their first win scored in the second game. Jake Fisher recorded the first goal, and then, just a few minutes later, Eric Pohlkamp followed up by…
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