Down Goes Denver - What Really Happened?

Image Courtesy: Kayla Faasse/UNLV Hockey

The unlv rebels’ acha division I hockey team just upset the reigning NCAA di national champions. What happened?

WRITTEN BY JAMES BLENNAU

Saturday, December 28, 2024, will live in infamy for NCAA and club hockey fans and players alike. What seemed on the schedule to the Denver Pioneers as a simple exhibition game to get back into shape after their holiday break became so much more when the Rebels came to town. 

With about 6500 fans in attendance at Magness Arena, not one of them could’ve expected the onslaught that would lead to a 6-6 shootout defeat for their home Pioneers. A season-high goals allowed, lackadaisical defensive performances leading to goals that would keep any netminder up at night and a lack of preparation and hustle that would make Herb Brooks cry created the perfect storm for the most significant upset we've possibly ever seen in college hockey.

It all begs the question, "What happened?" Let's start with Denver. While their performance especially early in the game was inexcusable for a NCAA DI team, let alone the reigning national champions, they were missing a few key pieces. Head Coach David Carle and star sophomore defenseman Zeev Buium both headed North for the World Junior Championships in Ottowa.

This left the Pios missing their two-time national champion Head Coach on top of their third leading scorer, first for defensemen and their fourth-leading shot blocker for the games while Team USA is still defending their gold medal from last year in Sweden.

Director of Hockey Operations Travis Culhane was also poached by Carle as Video Coach for the Red White and Blue, but without the next-man-up mindset they needed, Denver struggled to find their footing against an unknown opponent. 

| Image Courtesy: USA Hockey | 2025 USA Junior National Team

Let's take a look at the other side and how UNLV went so overlooked by the NCAA Hockey community. Their roster consists of a motley crew of former ACHA, BCHL, NAHL, NCDC and even NCAA Division I and III players. This bunch, led by legendary club hockey coach Anthony Vignieri-Greener is no stranger to greatness. 

Not only did they come into the Denver game on a 14-game win streak, but they have also seen a 36-game win streak during Vignieri-Greener's tenure, whose number hangs in the rafters of Hylo Park Arena. 

Like their competition, the Rebels also have national championship pedigree making an ACHA championship game appearance in 2024 with many of their current players. Despite losing both games against NCAA bottom-feeders Lindenwood by multiple goals this season, the team still saw their opportunity to shock the world.

A program like this is no stranger to being overlooked in the broader hockey community, but embracing their status led them to the ultimate "rat poison" as Nick Saban would say, in beating the reigning NCAA champs.

The game itself reflected these narratives strongly as UNLV came out to a flying start in the first period. Denver's lack of hustle and physicality would set the tone for the Rebels' ability to leave it all out on the ice, and they never looked back. 

Justin Stathopolous, an AJHL alumnus and Montreal native scored the first for UNLV just five minutes in and the lead stayed with the Rebs finishing the period 3-1. 

The Rebels took every shot they had, and it certainly paid off as in the second period Preston Prodziak, a former LIU Sharks DI forward squeaked one past Matt Davis, one of his four allowed on the night before being pulled about halfway through. 

This period was more of the same finishing 5-1 to the visitors, but the third was when the game was truly decided despite its shootout finish. 

Three unanswered goals in the first 10 minutes from Cale Ashcroft, Aidan Thompson and Carter King cut the lead to one goal, and even with former EHL-er Heath Mensch's late goal, Rieger Lawrence and Thompson would tie the game at six showcasing the explosive offense a national champion can harness. Overtime wasn't enough and a shootout winner from Mattias Dal Monte, a former NCAA DIII forward at Utica, against Denver backup Freddie Halyk capped off just enough after Jeremy Forman's perfect record in goal for the Rebels in the penalty shots. Forman's performance came to no surprise for those who followed his career before, as he spent four years with the New Hampshire Wildcats' DI squad.

Image Courtesy: UNLV Hockey | The Rebels celebrating their shootout victory at Magness Arena

Barring an uninspiring defensive and goaltending performance, we may not be talking about this game. Despite many ACHA Division I teams losing their annual exhibitions to NCAA competition by multiple goals, this game showcases something greater. The talent gap in college hockey is closing, and it's doing so more rapidly than anyone anticipated. 

Players like Preston Prodziak, who headed to a new school for his MBA after finishing his NCAA career found a new life in the ACHA, bringing more prestige to the league than ever before. With the upcoming influx of talent to the US after the CHL eligibility ruling, club hockey will only get better and it begs the question, "How long will it be until we see mass expansion in NCAA Hockey?" Fans, creators, players and coaches alike would all love to see it, but money, facilities and leagues hold it back for now. As for the current landscape, the next move lies with USA Hockey. There is much more to discuss in Colorado Springs, and it's not just the World Junior Championship or UNLV's game against Colorado College.