There’s a new No. 1 team in the country as Michigan sweeps the series in Denver! Perron stays red hot, scoring in each game, adding to his NCAA-leading point totals. Star freshman DuPont missed game one of the series, but Michigan managed just fine without him. All but one of Denver’s goals this weekend came on the power play. Michigan’s penalty kill was still pretty effective, killing off nine of twelve penalties. The issue is they’re taking too many penalties. The Wolverines will need to be more disciplined going forward.
Game 1 Recap
- Friday, 10/16/26
- Magness Arena
- Final Score: 1-4
- Box Score
This game started with a banner raising for Denver, but ended with a Michigan celebration. The Wolverines scored in each period, while Ivankovic nearly shut out the Pioneers until they scored on the power play late in the third period.
Jayden Perron scored the first goal of the game, picking up a juicy rebound left by Denver goaltender Krivtsov. In the second period, Malcolm Spence finished off a great give-and-go play with Mews to give Michigan a 2-0 lead. Spence spun past a defender to pass to Mews, then Mews found him backdoor with a perfect pass for a tap-in goal.
Cole McKinney put the Wolverines up by three in the third period. Pioneer goalie Krivtsov let out another big rebound that McKinney was able to score off of. Denver scored a late-game power-play goal from Chyzowski before Spence scored an empty-net goal for his second of the game.
Game 2 Recap
- Saturday, 10/17/26
- Magness Arena
- Final Score: 3-4
- Box Score
The Pioneers got on the board first in this one with a power-play goal from Epperson. That lead was short-lived as only two minutes later Michigan captain Schifsky would tie the game up. Once again, poor rebound control by Denver goaltender Krivtsov played a part in this goal being scored.
Later in the first period, Valentini scored his first of the season to give Michigan the lead. It came on the power play, in which the Wolverines needed only six seconds to convert. They won the faceoff and made quick work of setting up Valentini at the top of the circle.
In the second period, Michigan extended their lead thanks to Perron’s NCAA-leading ninth goal. He attacked the zone wide and absolutely sniped it short-side. Perron has a nice streak going, having scored in every game this season.
The rest of the period Michigan got themselves into penalty trouble. They took five minor penalties in the period, and managed to keep Denver from scoring on all but one of those power plays. On that goal, we got a bit of a scare as Ivankovic appeared to take a stick to the back of his head, keeping him down on the ice for a while.
The penalty kill bailed them out, but the Wolverines cannot keep taking penalties like this. They’ll need to stay out of the box.
Denver tied the game in the third period with a goal from Cebrian. With just under five minutes left in the game, Michigan took the lead back thanks to Barnett’s first goal of the season. It was a flukey one, but we’ll take them however we can get them. Barnett’s shot went over the net, bounced off the glass back in front of the net, and hit a Pioneer defender before going in. The goal was reviewed before being upheld.
Michigan held off a late push from Denver to seal the victory and series sweep. There is no love lost between these two teams as things did get heated at times in the series.
WHH 3 Stars of the Series
Perron has been very impressive so far this season. He’ll be looking to push his goal streak to seven games next weekend. Spence is up to seven points this season and has a whopping .500 shooting percentage. That won’t be sustainable all season, but good to see him make the most of his opportunities now. Ivankovic was great this series, making big saves when called upon. He showed this series that he can shut down top-tier talent.
Michigan got the last laugh this time and revenge for the Frozen Four last year. Though I’m sure Denver is probably still happy to have their banner. These teams won’t meet again this year unless we get another battle in the NCAA tournament.