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The Detroit Red Wings celebrate Michigan State Hockey Olympian Olympian on March 4, 2026 in Detroit.
The second half of the April 9th Frozen 4 doubleheader quickly became a classic and a marathon.
It took two overtimes, but Denver defeated No. 1 Michigan on Kent Anderson’s winning goal with just over seven minutes left in the second overtime. The Pioneers advance to the National Championship Game on Saturday, April 11th vs. Wisconsin.
Denver is seeking its third title in the past five years. The Pioneers lost to Western Michigan in double overtime last season. The goal was Anderson’s sixth of his career and second of the season.
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Clark Caswell scored with 2:46 left in the third period to tie the game at 3-3 and send the game to overtime. The win extended the Pioneers’ unbeaten streak to 16 games.
Kyle Szyzowski took the lead in the first period, and Michigan answered with a goal from Josh Arnisse to take a 2-1 lead after one period. Cale Ashcroft tied the score in the second period, and Jayden Perron scored with 8:58 left in the third to give the Wolverines a 3-2 lead.
Michigan was unable to score again for nearly the final 42 minutes of the game, losing despite outscoring Denver 52-26.
USA TODAY brought you the latest on the Frozen Four semifinal game between Michigan and Denver. Check out the highlights here:
| team | P1 | P2 | P3 | 1OT | 2OT | final |
| denver | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Michigan | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
Kent Anderson scored Denver’s winning shot in the second overtime, giving the Pioneers a sudden-death overtime victory over Michigan State. Denver advances to Saturday’s national championship game against Wisconsin.
Christian Epperson and Eric Jamieson assisted on the goal.
It was Anderson’s sixth career goal and second of the season.
The University of Michigan and the University of Denver remain tied 3-3 with 8 minutes, 41 seconds left in the second overtime. Nearly 40 minutes had passed since the last goal, or over 1 hour and 40 minutes in real time.
The second overtime of Frozen 4 Semi-Final Game 2 is underway. Michigan continues on the power play for the first 29 seconds.
Note: In sudden death overtime, all either team needs is a goal.
Although the game went into overtime for 20 minutes, neither team was able to score a sudden death goal, allowing them to advance to the national championship game. The game will now go into the second overtime period, with Michigan starting the game with 29 seconds left on the power play.
Wisconsin will probably enjoy sitting back and watching both teams play two extra sessions.
Will Horcoff was called for a penalty and Denver went on a power play with 2:26 left in overtime. The Pioneers are 4-0 on the power play so far.
Denver called a timeout in overtime with 4 minutes, 22 seconds left in the game. This was the Pioneers’ only timeout in overtime. This match lasted over 75 minutes, and both teams were clearly tired and struggling.
Both teams are playing hard in hopes of winning the national championship, but the score remains 3-3 after the middle of overtime. With 9 minutes and 35 seconds left in overtime, the next goal would win the game.
TJ Hughes returned to the ice after being sidelined with a shoulder injury.
Michigan star TJ Hughes came off the ice with an apparent shoulder injury, according to an ESPN broadcast. It’s not clear what his injury is or when it occurred.
Overtime is starting between Michigan and Denver. The Wolverines called a timeout less than two minutes into the overtime session.
The 2025 Frozen Four featured two overtime periods, with Western Michigan defeating Denver in two OT periods to advance to the national championship game. Frozen 4 was the first time since 1996 that multiple overtimes were required.
The game was tied 3-3 at the end of regulation, and the NCAA’s official rules for overtime are as follows:
- Rule 91.4 Tie Games – Postseason Conference/NCAA Tournament Competitions – When advancement within a bracket or tournament champion is required, a series (single game, mini-game series, etc.) in a format that results in a tie shall be broken by a 20-minute sudden victory overtime period.
The second semifinal game between Denver and Michigan will go to overtime after the Pioneers tied the game 3-3 with 2:46 remaining.
Clark Caswell’s goal with 2:46 left tied the score at 3-3, and Denver has no intention of letting go of its 15-game unbeaten streak. Garrett Brown and Kristan Epperson assisted on the goal.
Jaden Perron scored on a power play with 8:58 left in the game to give Michigan a 3-2 lead. Will Horcoff and Malcolm Spence assisted on the goal.
As mentioned earlier, the Wolverines are scoring on an NCAA-leading 31.6% of their power plays this season.
At the media timeout with 9 minutes, 46 seconds left in the game, Michigan and Denver remained tied 2-2. The Wolverines would have their first power play opportunity of the game after the timeout. Denver is 0-for-4 on power play attempts today.
The Wolverines are scoring 31.6% on the power play this season, leading the NCAA.
The University of Michigan’s Malcolm Spence slammed into Denver goaltender Johnny Hicks on a chance to take a break, leaving him on his back for several minutes until the Pioneers’ training staff checked on him.
Hicks managed to save the play. He seems okay and will remain in the game.
The third period of the national semifinal between Michigan and Denver is underway. There are 20 minutes left to decide which team will face Wisconsin in Saturday’s national championship game.
Denver tied the game with a goal early in the second period, but that was all they scored. After the second intermission, the game entered the final period tied at 2-2.
Johnny Hicks had 20 saves for the Pioneers and Jack Ivanovic had 13 saves for the Wolverines.
The final 20 minutes could decide who will face Wisconsin for the national title on Saturday. Of course, if no one is in the lead after the third period, it will be overtime.
At the final media timeout of the second period, the game remained tied 2-2. The Wolverines outscored the Pioneers 19-15 in this game.
That means Michigan outscored Denver 14-5 after 4:50 left in the first period.
Michigan and Denver remain deadlocked at 2-2 with 11:50 left in the second period. The game is halted due to a media timeout as both teams look to take advantage of the rest of the game.
Cale Ashcroft tied the score at 2-2 early in the second period. Just 2:30 into the second period, Sam Harris and Clark Cashwell combined to assist on the tying goal.
The second half of the game between Michigan and Denver begins. The Wolverines led 2-1.
Michigan, which trailed for much of the first period, scored a two-goal spurt in just one minute and headed into the locker room with a 2-1 lead.
Josh Arnisse and TJ Hughes scored within a minute of each other to give the Wolverines the lead. Kyle Szyzowski scored for Denver.
Fifty-nine seconds after the first goal, Michigan took the lead on a goal by TJ Hughes with 2:43 left in the first period. Adam Bareteni and Michael Hage assisted on the goal.
Josh Arnisse scored with 3:40 left in the first half to tie the game at 1-1. Keenan Draper won the faceoff and assisted on the University of Michigan goal.
At the final media timeout with 4:11 left in the first period, Denver continued to lead Michigan 1-0. The Pioneers took the lead in the 11th minute with a goal from Kyle Sizowski. Denver doubled the Wolverines’ shooting total to 5-for-10.
The Pioneers are 19-3 when they first score this season.
Shortly after a missed power-play opportunity, Kyle Szyzowski scored with 9:29 left in the first period to give Denver a 1-0 lead.
Brendan McMorrow and Kieran Cebrian combined to assist on the goal. Turnovers on the Michigan defensive end open up scoring opportunities.
Michigan’s Tyler Duke was called for a penalty for a minor holding, giving Denver its first power play of the game. However, the Pioneers are unable to take advantage of their 5-on-4 opportunities.
At the first timeout of the first period, the University of Michigan and the University of Denver were tied 0-0 with 14:20 left in the first period. The Pioneers have already made seven shots, but the Wolverines have made four in the first 5:40 of the game.
The semifinal match between Denver and No. 1 Michigan is being held in Las Vegas. The University of Wisconsin defeated No. 2 North Dakota State in the first semifinal to advance to the national championship game.
Michigan men’s basketball won its first title since 1989 this season, winning the 2026 men’s national championship. The Wolverines have a chance to make even more history by winning Frozen 4 in 2026. No school has ever won a championship in boys basketball or boys hockey in the same grade.
Half of the Frozen 4 national championship match has been decided. The University of Wisconsin defeated second-seeded University of North Dakota 2-1 in the first semifinal game.
The matchup between No. 1 Michigan and Denver will take place in an hour.
What channel is today’s Frozen 4 Michigan vs. Denver hockey?
The Wolverines vs. Pioneers game will be broadcast live on ESPN2 and can be streamed on the ESPN app or on Fubo. Fubo has a free trial for new users.
Stream Michigan vs. Denver in Frozen 4 (Free Trial)
Today’s Michigan-Denver Frozen Four start time
- time: 8:30pm (EST)
- date: Thursday, April 9th
- position: T-Mobile Arena (Las Vegas)
Michigan and Denver are scheduled to face off on Thursday, April 9th at 8:30pm ET at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Michigan vs. Denver Frozen Four predictions, picks, odds
BetMGM odds as of Wednesday, April 8th
- Spread: Michigan (-1.5)
- Top/Bottom: 6.5 goals
- Money line: Michigan -135 | Denver +105
- prediction: Michigan 3, Denver 2 (OT)
Don’t be fooled by the seeds. These two teams are evenly matched. As good as Denver is, who ends up in net could be the difference. Jack Ivankovic is more than capable of handstands, and that’s what’s happening in this game as Michigan survives against Denver and advances to the finals against the winner of North Dakota-Wisconsin. — Kevin Skiver, USA TODAY Network
