SAINT PAUL, Minn. – Behind a pair of second-period goals from senior captain McKade Webster, No. 3 and second-seeded Denver defeated No. 11 and fifth-seeded Omaha, 4-1, to win the 2024 NCHC Frozen Faceoff championship Saturday at Xcel Energy Center. The Pioneers (27-9-3) captured their third NCHC Tournament title in conference history and first since 2018.
 
With DU trailing 1-0, Webster scored twice in the first six minutes of the second stanza. He finished with three goals on the weekend en route to earning Frozen Faceoff Most Outstanding Player. Webster’s first of the night came off a lead pass from freshman Miko Matikka that sprung him on a mini breakaway. The captain converted five-hole past UNO sophomore goalie Simon Latkoczy to tie the game 1:33 into the second stanza. Only 3:21 later, Webster put the Pioneers in front for the first time, and for good, with a wrister from the left half-wall that beat Latkoczy top shelf on the blocker side.
 
As was the case with all three Frozen Faceoff games, the losing team tallied first as the Mavericks (23-12-4) opened the scoring with 6:04 left in the first frame. Senior Brock Bremer stretched his goal-scoring streak to a career-long four games with the game’s first tally. Grad student defenseman Kirby Proctor fired a shot from just inside the left corner of the blue line that Bremer first deflected off the post. He then buried his own rebound after the puck slid behind DU junior goalie Matt Davis to put Omaha up 1-0.
 
Entering the third period, the Pioneers held a 2-1 lead, with Latkoczy’s 21 saves through 40 minutes keeping Omaha within striking distance. Matikka, however, thwarted any hopes of a rally, striking with an extra attacker during a delayed penalty. NCHC Rookie of the Year Zeev Buium led a rush up ice, dropping the puck to junior Jack Devine after entering the zone, while Devine promptly back-handed a centering pass to Matikka, who ripped a one-timer with only 4:10 remaining to double the DU lead.
 
Sophomore Rieger Lorenz then sealed the Denver victory, finishing a centering feed from classmate Jared Wright in front of the net with two minutes left in regulation.
 
Matikka finished with a goal and an assist in the win and four points at the Frozen Faceoff (3g/1a) to earn All-Tournament Team honors along with Webster and freshman defenseman Zeev Buium. Buium finished with four points at Xcel Energy Center, as well, tallying two goals and two assists, including Friday’s overtime game-winner against St. Cloud State.
 
The Pioneers outshot Omaha, 35-16, in the game, with Latkoczy totaling 31 saves in defeat. He earned the nod on the All-Tournament Team after combining for 67 saves in the two games. Davis stopped 15 shots in Saturday’s title game to backstop Denver to the championship. The two teams combined to go 0-for-6 on the power play Saturday night.
 
Also earning Frozen Faceoff All-Tournament Team honors were Omaha junior forward Zach Urdahl, who tallied a hat trick in Friday’s semifinal win, and UNO sophomore blueliner Griffin Ludtke, who dished out a trio of assists in the win over North Dakota on Friday.
 
With its 2024 Frozen Faceoff championship, Denver joins Minnesota Duluth as the only three-time NCHC Tournament champions, also capturing the crown in 2014 (inaugural tournament) and 2018.
 
Denver and Omaha have both earned a bid to the 2024 NCAA Tournament, along with North Dakota and Western Michigan from the NCHC, and will find out their opponent and regional when the NCAA field is announced Sunday at 6:30 p.m. ET on ESPNU.
 
2024 Frozen Faceoff All-Tournament Team
F - McKade Webster, Denver
F - Zach Urdahl, Omaha
F - Miko Matikka, Denver
D - Zeev Buium, Denver
D - Griffin Ludtke, Omaha
G - Simon Latkoczy, Omaha
MOP: McKade Webster, Denver