Owen Michaels scored his second goal 26 seconds into the second overtime and Western Michigan beat defending champion Denver 3-2 on Thursday night to advance to its first Frozen Four title game. Brian Kramer also scored and freshman Hampton Slukynsky stopped 20 shots for a veteran-laden Western Michigan team making its Frozen Four debut in its 10th NCAA tournament appearance.

Owen Michaels scored the game winner and Western Michigan beat defending champion Denver 3-2 to advance to its first Frozen Four title game.

On Saturday night, Boston University will face Frozen Four first-timers, top-seeded Western Michigan. The Broncos have won nine straight and advanced with a 3-2 2OT win over defending champion Denver in the first semifinal.

WMU hockey faces Denver for berth in title game at Enterprise Center in St. Louis on Thursday, April 10, 2025.

The Hockey News team members predicted who wins the Frozen Four and the Hobey Baker Award. There was quite a bit of alignment in the Hobey discussion, splitting the votes between two players, but the Frozen Four had some more diverse and interesting answers,

The Chicago Blackhawks had seven prospects make the NCAA Tournament in 2024-25. They have a lot of young talent in the pipeline and a fair number of them are playing college hockey.