Denver Clinches Spot in NCAA Hockey Tournament

For a team used to playing in the NCAA tournament, a sixth-place regular season finish in a new eight-team conference could've sunk Denver's season.

Instead, the Pioneers are again playing their best in March.

Zac Larraza and Emil Romig scored third-period goals, lifting Denver to a 4-3 win Saturday over Miami of Ohio to complete an improbable run to by the Pioneers to a seventh straight berth in the NCAA tournament by winning the inaugural National Collegiate Hockey Conference tournament.

Throughout an up-and-down first season under head coach Jim Montgomery, players say they never lost faith they'd reach the NCHC semifinals after having to travel for the first round of the league's playoffs.

The Pioneers led 2-0 late in the second period before Anthony Louis and Sean Kuraly scored for Miami three minutes apart to tie the game. The RedHawks, who finished in last place in the NCHC, upset league champion St. Cloud State last weekend in two games and second-place North Dakota Friday in the semifinals. But they still needed to win this to extend their season.