National Champs!

It doesn't get any better than winning the Frozen Four. It does help to have a history of reaching the Frozen Four in years prior, ask North Dakota.

This wasn't a typical game for Denver, they didn't control all aspects of the game. The "proscess" was falling apart. If you were watching the game, you could see the Duluth was gaining momentum and fast. For the first time all season, Denver was truly out matched. They did the only thing an outmatched team can do: pin the game on the goaltender and hope for the best. Jailett held strong and Denver has 8 national championships.

So where does Denver go from here? Well the first question is the bench boss. In 4 years, Jim Montgomery has established himself as a very good coach. He may be even, dare I say, overqualified. That last part is interesting. Many openings exist in the NHL, and it could be time to jump ship. So for the sake of the Pioneers I'm hoping he stays.

Next are the seniors. Two of which will really hurt: Will Butcher and Evan Cowley. Butcher was an every game performer. He played and worked extremely hard. It's why he won the Hobey Baker. Cowley was a clutch backup goalie. He provided the step needed to get the team back to even.

The next weeks will decide if one or both of our two prized forwards will depart: Troy Terry and Henrik Borgstrom. Both are reliable forwards, but Borgstrom showed his inexperience in the Frozen Four. He nearly disappeared from the stat sheet. He was not the go to forward that we expected.

So going forward Denver has quite a few questions. Next season will be tough no matter what. Denver has a target on their back, just and North Dakota did all this season.