Kent Anderson's 2-OT winner lifts Denver past Michigan 4-3 in Frozen Four thriller

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Kent Anderson scored from the slot at 7:25 of the second overtime to back up Johnny Hicks' 49 saves and lift Denver to a 4-3 victory over Michigan on Thursday night in a Frozen Four semifinal and keep alive the Pioneers' hoping of winning their third national title in five years.

The Pioneers (28-11-3), a No. 2 regional seed, play Wisconsin (24-12-2) in Saturday’s championship. They will try to extend their record to 11 titles.

“I don't score many goals, so this is ranking up top so far,” Anderson said. “That means everything to play in this national championship game.”

Michigan (31-8-1) had hoped to make its first championship appearance since 2011 and win its first championship since 1998. The Wolverines — who outshot the Pioneers 52-26 — also were trying to tie Denver for most overall championships.

They had hoped to take the next step this weekend, having reached the Frozen Four for the fourth time in five years.

“It's hard to have it be over,” Michigan coach Brandon Naurato said. “What these seniors have done for this program, it's really special. You can tell a little bit from the outside, but if you're in that room and all the conversations we had with these guys, they changed the program.”

Denver’s Clarke Caswell sent the game into overtime with a goal and also had an assist. Kyle Chyzowski and Cale Ashcroft also scored, and Hicks — a freshman — set a personal high in saves.

Hicks, who entered this game leading the nation with a 1.12 goals-against average and .958 save percentage, stayed in the game after taking a nasty hit early in the third period when teammate Eric Jamieson made contact with Michigan’s Malcolm Spence on a rush to the net.

“He’s a battler, he’s unfazed — he was our best player tonight,” Pioneers coach David Carle said.

Josh Eernisse, Jayden Perron and T.J. Hughes each scored for Michigan, with Hughes' goal giving the Hobey Baker finalist 179 career points, tops among active players. Jack Ivankovic saved 22 shots.

The Wolverines were on the verge of advancing to the final when Perron scored from the right point with 8:58 left in regulation. That goal came on the power play, the nation's top-ranked unit that entered the game by converting 31.6% of its chances.

Denver, however, kept alive its season when Caswell redirected a shot from Garrett Brown from the goal line with 2:46 remaining in regulation.

Neither team scored in the first overtime, though Pioneers winger Rieger Lorenz hit the crossbar. Teammate Boston Buckberger later had his left hand badly bloodied when it was stepped on, but he played through it.

Michigan outplayed Denver through the extra sessions, outshoooting the Pioneers 21-8, including 13-3 in the second OT.

“We stuck with it throughout the whole game,” Anderson said. “Our belief didn't change when we were down one in the third.”

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