The University of Denver men’s hockey team is headed back to the Frozen Four — and they did it by rewriting a bit of NCAA Tournament history.

Entering Sunday night’s regional final, no reigning national champion had ever won a title game rematch in the following NCAA Tournament, with previous teams going 0-7. Make that 1-7 now. Third-seeded Denver flipped the script, knocking off No. 1 overall seed Boston College, 3-1, in the Manchester Regional final — a rematch of last year’s national championship game.

Once again, it was junior goaltender Matt Davis who proved to be the difference. Davis turned away 35 shots, matching the total he posted in last year’s shutout of the Eagles. His calm presence and clutch saves, especially under a relentless second-period attack from BC, gave the Pioneers the edge they needed.

“He’s been our backbone,” head coach David Carle said postgame. “He has a way of rising in the biggest moments, and he did it again tonight.”

This marks Denver’s third Frozen Four appearance in the past four seasons and their sixth in the last nine — all under the leadership of Carle. The Pioneers are now two wins away from what would be a historic 11th national title, which would make them the winningest program in college hockey history. They’re also looking to become the first team to repeat as national champions since Minnesota Duluth in 2019.

While the goaltending stole the spotlight, it was a pair of newcomers who got the offense rolling. Sophomore defenseman Eric Pohlkamp, a transfer from Bemidji State, opened the scoring in the first period with his 11th goal of the season. Freshman forward James Reeder added the eventual game-winner in the second, finishing a beautiful feed in tight to put DU up 2-0.

Boston College pulled one back late in the second on a breakaway goal by Teddy Stiga, cutting the lead to 2-1 and setting up a tense final period. But the Pioneers weathered the storm, and Zeev Buium’s empty-net goal in the final seconds iced the game and punched DU’s ticket to St. Louis.

Denver will face conference rival Western Michigan in the Frozen Four semifinal on Thursday, April 10, with puck drop scheduled for 3 p.m. MT on ESPN2 at the Enterprise Center. The other semifinal will feature Boston University against Penn State.

For Carle and the Pioneers, it’s another chance at glory — and another reminder that champions don’t back down from the biggest moments. They show up and make history. Again.