UNLV hockey takes down defending champion Denver – Las Vegas Sun News

The UNLV hockey team made history on Saturday against the University of Denver.

In the exhibition game, the Rebels shocked the world by defeating the defending national champions 7-6 in a shootout on the Pioneers' home ice. Denver is ranked No. 5 nationally.

It is believed to be the first time an American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) team has defeated an NCAA Division I team. The last time UNLV played Denver was Oct. 1, 2022, and the Rebels lost 10-0.

We found a way to win. With this being our program's first Division win against the team of the defending national champions, who previously defeated us 10-0 the last time we played here, we were ecstatic, said UNLV coach Anthony Vignieri- Greener.

I told them (the team) that apart from getting married and having children, this is probably one of the proudest moments of my life.

The Skatin Rebels took a 3-1 lead in the first period after goals from Justin Stathopoulos, Preston Brodziak and Hayden Siegel.

Mason Kelly and Brodziak scored in the second period to increase the lead to 5-1. From there, Vignieri-Greener realized UNLV could ease the unrest.

“We went to the locker room and just went over what we needed to do in the D-zone, continue to do the right things in our forecheck and get pucks behind their defense,” Vignieri-Greener said after taking a 5-1 lead. . We wanted to play with some lock-in and swag, and we shocked the world.

Denver made a push in the final twenty minutes by scoring five goals. Heath Mensch scored UNLV's lone goal in the third period to force overtime.

After a scoreless overtime, the match went to a shootout where captain Mattias Dal Monte scored the game winner and Jeremy Forman made the game-winning save. Forman had an elite performance, making 58 saves on 64 shots.

They (Denver) shot the puck from every area… and as accurate as their passing was, he (Forman) really had to stand on his head, and he did, Vignieri-Greener said. He (Forman) made some incredible saves.

The win is a major stepping stone in UNLV's bid to become an NCAA Division I program. The team put together an advisory committee, scouted land for a larger arena and financially analyzed what it would take for UNLV hockey to make the leap.

Vignieri-Greene said the team's fans took to social media after the win with messages asking UNLV athletic department officials to help them petition for Division I status. The team is a club program independent of the department, meaning it receives no funding from the university and cannot award scholarships.

We are taking the right steps in every direction, Vignieri-Greener said. I would love for people to hear this story and know that we have something special here at UNLV hockey. We've been working on it for a long time.

It's a quick turnaround for the Rebels as they will meet another NCAA Division I opponent, Colorado College, on Sunday. Vignieri-Greene said as soon as the team returned to the hotel, the coaches began scouting the Tigers.

It's another great opportunity for the Rebels to continue to show they deserve to be the fourth ACHA program to make the jump to Division I.

They (the players) just had to rest and recover and be ready to go tomorrow, Vignieri-Greener said. They need to get the mental mindset to know that they can compete and win in any game.

After the game, Vignieri-Greene told the team that this moment would stay with them forever.

“I told them, no matter what happens the rest of the year, this moment will always stay with you,” Vignieri-Greener said. Twenty years from now you'll be able to look back and call these 25 guys and say, Hey, we did something special that no one thought we could do.