2022 Pioneers Live Up To the Denver Hockey Legacy As National Champions & Have Fun While Doing It

DENVER (CBS4) - In their hardest fought battle of the season, the Denver Pioneers showed why they are the best team in the nation. After struggling through the first two periods, the squad put together a third period comeback for the ages, scoring five unanswered goals and clinching a record-tying ninth National Championship.

"It's unbelievable. I'm so proud of everyone in the locker room how we rallied together, being down one. We stuck together and there's a reason we came out on top," senior Cole Guttman said.

This marks the first championship win for the entire squad. It's especially significant for a senior class and a leadership group that pushed the team through the pandemic and found a way to reach the mountain time before their time at Denver comes to an end.

"It's music to my ears. You come to Denver to win national championships. They won one the year before I got here. To have ours now is just an unbelievable feeling," senior Ryan Barrow said.

"They led the right way all year. This team was led from within. Championship teams are. Cole Guttman, Ryan Barrow, Bobby Brink, Justin Lee – our leadership group – did an excellent job all year to keep our guys on task and keep us getting better and make us team. So proud of them and their efforts. It's why we won," head coach David Carle said.

Playing hockey at the University of Denver comes with tremendous responsibility. The expectation is to win National Championships. Anything less is hard to stomach, but that pressure makes reaching the pinnacle that much sweeter.

"It means everything. It's our standard to win National Championships here at Denver, and we've come up short the last couple years. To do it for our alumni and everyone that's come before us, it's awesome. This program is unbelievable and I love it," junior Bobby Brink said.

The pressure is high on the players at Denver, but it's even higher for head coach, David Carle. When Carle was hired in 2018, he was the youngest coach in Division 1 hockey and was charged with upholding the legacy of one of the most prestigious programs in the nation. Carle quickly proved his worth and is now on track to bring the program to even greater heights and chase an unprecedented 10th title.

"None of the history is lost on me. I know the history of Denver hockey very well. It means everything to be a part of it. It's great to be a part of it, but it's even better to contribute to the lore of it. Our team is now considered legends in Denver Hockey, and we are so proud of that," Carle said.

The talent on this year's squad is off the charts, with 12 NHL draft picks on the roster, but their X-factor has nothing to do with speed, skill or scoring goals. Rather, it's that this group, even with tremendous pressure on their shoulders, always remembered to have fun – and that proved to be the most powerful asset of all.

"I've never had so much fun playing hockey. As a 25 year old, sometimes I worried we were too loose before games earlier in the year. Then, I just realized that was our jam, that was our swagger," Barrow said. "We just said in the second, we've had way too much fun this year for us to go out like this. So to be able turn on the jets in the third and get it done is spectacular."

"This is closest bunch of guys I've ever been with. Everyone loves each other. We've had fun all year. The journey is almost better than this because we've had so much fun," Brink said.