MANCHESTER, N.H. – The No. 3-seed University of Denver hockey team defeated the No. 2-seed Providence Friars 5-1 on Friday night at SNHU Arena in the NCAA Northeast Regional Semifinals.
Denver (30-11-1, 15-8-1 NCHC) will play No. 1 overall seed Boston College in a rematch of last year’s national championship game on Sunday at 5 p.m. MT in the regional final. The game will be nationally televised on ESPN2 and the winner advances to this year’s Frozen Four in St. Louis, Missouri.
“Congrats to Providence on a great year, a very tough opponent to prepare for, and really hard to end the team’s season,” said DU Richard and Kitzia Goodman Hockey Head Coach David Carle. “A lot of credit to them for the season they had and how they pushed tonight. It really never went away in the game. Obviously, I think special teams are a huge factor, especially in that second period, to be able to get the lead and then kill off those three minor penalties. Proud of our guys to be moving on and looking forward to Sunday.”
Sophomore defenseman and Hobey Baker top-10 finalist Zeev Buium and senior captain Carter King had a goal and two assists each, while junior forward Aidan Thompson tallied and had a helper. Graduate student Connor Caponi opened the scoring and sophomore forward Sam Harris also found the back of the net.
Pioneers goaltender Matt Davis made 30 saves on 31 shots, with the only one to get by him coming off a faceoff and three seconds into a major power play with 8:21 left in the third period.
Denver led 1-0 after the first period as Caponi took advantage of a turnover by Providence netminder Philip Svedback and scored into an open net just 2:25 into the contest.
The Pioneers added two markers in the second with Buium burying a wrister at 3:17 and Harris connecting off a pass by Buium during a power play less than three minutes later. DU went 1-for-3 on the power play, while PC finished 1-for-5 with the extra man.
Thompson registered his 20th goal of the season on a one-timer off a feed by Buium, and King sealed the game into an empty net with less than five minutes to play. King’s marker came during a major penalty by Garrett Brown and was his seventh career short-handed goal.
Providence (21-11-5, 11-8-5 HEA) finished with the 31-20 edge in shots on goal, with Svedeback making 15 saves.
DU’s victory was its 30th of the season, marking the fourth-straight campaign that the Pioneers have reached that threshold in victories and extending the longest such stretch in program history.
Sunday’s Regional Final against Boston College will mark the teams’ third meeting in the last two years and fourth time in the last four seasons. DU is 2-1-0 in those previous matchups, including winning 2-0 in last year’s NCAA Championship Game on April 13, 2024 in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Boston College won 3-1 in the first semifinal of the day from Manchester after breaking a 1-1 tie in the final minutes of play.
UP NEXT: The Pioneers will look to secure a spot in their second-straight Frozen Four on Sunday at 5 p.m. MT against No. 1 Boston College in the Northeast Regional Final at SNHU Arena in Manchester, New Hampshire.
POSTGAME NOTES
- DU is now 45-25 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and is 16-3 in the last 19 tournament games.
- The Pioneers earned their first-ever victory in Manchester. DU lost in 2013 to host-New Hampshire and 2023 against Cornell in its previous visits to the Regional Semifinals at SNHU Arena.
- Denver became the second team in the NCAA to reach the 30-win mark this season (Western Michigan, 31), extending its program-record streak to four straight seasons.
- Aidan Thompson became DU’s third 20-goal scorer of the season, the team’s most since also having three in 2004-95.
- Carter King had his second short-handed goal of the season and the seventh of his career, moving into a tie with Dwight Mathiasen for second place on the school’s all-time shorthanded list.
- King’s scored his 50th career goal, becoming the 62nd Pioneer to reach the threshold. He is the second Pioneer to reach the mark, joining Jack Devine.
GOAL SUMMARY
1st Period
2:25 DU (1-0) – The Friars goaltender misplayed the puck behind his own net and Connor Caponi intercepted the pass and buried it into the gaping net.
OH NO WE GOT A GOAL @ccaponi22 🫣 Denver on the board! #NCAAHockey x 🎥 ESPN+ / @DU_Hockey pic.twitter.com/hbcMLVbE18
— NCAA Ice Hockey (@NCAAIceHockey) March 28, 2025
2nd Period
3:17 DU (2-0) – Zeev Buium skated around a Providence player and hit the back of the net with a wrist shot from the slot.
Add this to Zeev Buium‘s @HobeyBakerAward resume. 🤯
📺 : @ESPNPlus #GoPios pic.twitter.com/DNomfXdPOe
— Denver Hockey (@DU_Hockey) March 28, 2025
6:01 DU (3-0) – PPG, Sam Harris took a centering pass by Zeev Buium and knocked the puck into the net while stationed at the front of the crease.
The passing by @HobeyBakerAward finalist Zeev Buium and finish by Sam Harris makes this marker today’s @Safeway Goal of the Game.
📺 : @ESPNPlus #GoPios pic.twitter.com/gXSbTZWgGk
— Denver Hockey (@DU_Hockey) March 28, 2025
3rd Period
3:53 DU (4-0) – Adian Thompson buried a one-time from the right circle off a pass from Zeev Buium.
Aidan Thompson buries his 20th of the season – the 3rd Pioneer to reach the 20-goal mark this season.
First time since 2004-05 that DU has had three 20-goal scorers.
📺 : @ESPNPlus #GoPios pic.twitter.com/PyoYRVNuZO
— Denver Hockey (@DU_Hockey) March 28, 2025
11:39 PC (4-1) – PPG, Austen May tallied off a faceoff win and just three seconds into a major power play.
15:09 DU (5-1) – SHG, ENG, Carter King skated around a PC defender and fired a far shot that went off the pipe and just inside the open net.
QUOTABLES
Senior Forward Carter King:
On drama free start to the tournament: “I mean some of those drama games are a little more fun, but I was really proud of the effort tonight. You can call it easy from the score, but it’s never easy playing tournament games. They’re a big, physical team, they play hard and we came and played a full 60 tonight. I think that showed up on the scoreboard, so we got to keep that rolling.”
On Providence’s mistakes and DU preparation: “Yeah I probably haven’t seen all their games, so it’s hard to comment on how many mistakes they made, but I think it’s just trying to overwhelm teams. I think it’s the way we play our puck pressure, how well we skate and just reload and getting on their D and putting pressure on them. With that pressure comes turnovers and we were able to capitalize on that tonight, so definitely a key piece to our game that we’re going to try and keep on.”
Junior Forward Aidan Thompson
On getting the first goal on a fortunate bounce: “It was huge. Providence talked a lot about their start. From what we heard they’re a good team, really fast, physical, so to get one early, I think really just gave us confidence. We’ve got a lot of young guys that helped us well and take a breath and then roll from there. So it was huge.
Sophomore Defenseman Zeev Buium
On national championship rematch vs. Boston College: “Obviously they’re a really good hockey team and it’s super exciting. We’ll play anybody, anywhere. We’re super excited for Sunday and for the opportunity to do it again.”
