DENVER — While Johnny Hicks has heard it's a bad habit to check your phone first thing when you wake up, he said he just couldn't help himself the morning after the Denver University (DU) hockey team won their 11th national championship.
“There was a lot," said Hicks — Denver's freshman netminder who was also named the Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Frozen Four. "Especially seeing the community back at DU on the streets celebrating us and supporting us, it’s a really special feeling. I know the guys really appreciate it, and we can’t wait to get back to campus.”
The DU hockey team returned to Colorado on Sunday after beating Wisconsin 2-1 in the national title game. Senior Samu Salminen hoisted their third trophy in the last five years high above his head.
Despite being 750 (or so) miles away in Las Vegas, the Pioneers could feel the love from Buchtel Boulevard to Ball Arena — where the Colorado Avalanche played the closing moments of DU's championship victory on the jumbotron before their game against the Golden Knights.
“[Denver is] a great sports town," DU head coach David Carle said. "We’ve been on a great run, the crowds we’ve had in Magness Arena, it’s amazing to see the brand of our university and our hockey program continue to grow. We’re proud to fly the flag of our institution and also of our great city and state.”
Winning the title this year wasn't exactly easy skating alone. DU was out-shot by Wisconsin 30-15.
But as Ted Lasso said, belief is a powerful thing.
"We had so much belief in our team throughout our lineup," defenseman Boston Buckberger. said "In January we lost six games in a row and we were in a pretty dark place at that point. We just knew we have so much talent and so many good players in here we didn’t want to waste it. I think that’s what we prided our team around, the belief we have and just knowing that we’re never out of a game.”
In a postgame interview with ESPN, Hicks let the emotions flow — the weight of what his group just accomplished finally becoming too much to bear.
“It was a mix of a lot of things," Hicks said. "I hadn’t really had a chance to let anything out, so once we accomplished our goal I felt like I could take a breath of relief and it just all came out. It hasn’t really stopped since then. Just to be with this group it’s been the tightest group of guys I’ve ever played with and we’re a family so I’m very happy we got to experience this together and it was just a very nice thing to experience.”
