LAS VEGAS — Five numbers to know from Saturday’s 2-1 national championship win by Denver over Wisconsin.
.957
Johnny Hicks wrapped his freshman season leading the country with a .957 save percentage. That should give Hicks the record, unofficially edging Jimmy Howard’s .956 for Maine in 2004. Hicks also led nationally with a 1.19 goals-against average, and finished the season with three shutouts. (It looks like Hicks’s 1.18605 goals against average beats Howard’s 2004 record of 1.18768 by our math, also unofficially.)
11
This number may be an obvious choice, but it is Denver’s 11th national championship and its third in the last five years. The other three teams in this year’s Frozen Four are next in line, with nine for Michigan, eight for North Dakota, and six for Wisconsin.
11 (again)
The NCAA championship win was also Denver’s 11th come-from-behind win of the season. The Pioneers trailed for the first 47:31 of Saturday’s game until Rieger Lorenz scored his 17th goal of the season. In Thursday’s semifinal, Denver gave up the lead to Michigan late in the first period and tied it on Clarke Caswell’s goal with just 2:46 left in regulation. Kent Anderson’s game-winning goal capped the comeback to advance to the Frozen Four.
17
At 13-11-2, Denver’s chances of an NCAA tournament weren’t looking great on Jan. 24 after losing to St. Cloud State the night before at home. Hicks relieved an injured Quentin Miller in net at 4:43 of the first period and shared a 6-0 shutout of the Huskies for his first collegiate win — and also notched an assist. That began a 17-game unbeaten streak for Denver, with the only blemish a tie against Colorado College on Feb. 6.
31
Denver blocked an unbelievable 31 Wisconsin shots in Saturday’s championship, topping their previous season best by 10. No official Frozen Four records are available for that stat, but that’s got to be right up there.