The defending national champion Western Michigan Broncos (27-10-1) face off against their National Collegiate Hockey Conference rivals, the Denver Pioneers (26-11-3), for a spot in the Frozen Four when they clash on Sunday in a regional final at Blue Arena in Loveland, Colorado.
How to Watch Denver vs Western Michigan
- When: Sunday, March 29, 2026
- Time: 3:00 PM ET
- TV Channel: ESPN2
- Live Stream: Fubo (try for free)
Western Michigan, the No. 4 national seed in the NCAA tournament, beat Minnesota State 3-1 in a regional semifinal on Friday, riding two second-period goals to the win. Zaccharya Wisdom lit the lamp 2:12 into the second period and Zach Bookman made it a 2-0 game at the 8:22 mark. After Minnesota State got on the board 47 seconds into the third period, the Broncos sealed the win on Owen Michaels’ empty-net market with 6.7 seconds remaining. Samuel Sjolund picked up two assists while Wisdom and Bookman each finished with a goal and a helper.
Denver, seeded second in the regional, cruised to a 5-0 regional semifinal victory over Cornell on Friday, with Johnny Hicks making 24 saves to record the shutout. Sam Harris and Clarke Caswell each logged a goal and an assist while Cale Ashcroft assisted on a pair of scores. Jake Fisher, Kieran Cebrian and Rieger Lorenz also notched goals in the win.
The Broncos and Pioneers meet for the sixth time this season. Denver swept two games at Western Michigan in November and the Broncos took a pair in Denver in January before the Pioneers eliminated WMU in a 2-1 overtime decision in the NCHC tournament semifinal on March 14.
Liam Valente leads Western Michigan with 20 goals and William Whitelaw follows with 19 while Grant Slykynsky tops the team with 40 points. Hampton Slukynsky comes in 27-10-4 with four shutouts to go with a .917 save percentage and 2.22 goals against average. Eric Pohlkamp is Denver’s leading scorer with 17 goals and 37 points, with Lorenz netting 16 goals this season. Hicks replaced injured Quentin Miller in the Pioneer net in late January and is 13-0-1 with three shutouts, a .960 save percentage and 1.07 GAA.
The winner advances to the Frozen Four in Las Vegas on April 9 to take on the winner of Sunday’s regional final in Albany, New York, between Minnesota Duluth and top overall seed Michigan.
This is a great college hockey matchup that you will not want to miss; make sure to tune in and catch all the action.
Live stream Denver vs Western Michigan on Fubo: Try for free!
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