David Carle understands better than anyone what his Denver team is getting set to face on Sunday afternoon.

A year after a very disappointing 13-21-3 season, Wisconsin is back on college hockey’s biggest stage, seeking its first national championship since 2006 in its first Frozen Four appearance since 2010, as the Badgers and Pioneers will battle it out (3:30 p.m. ESPN) for the sport’s biggest prize at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Wisconsin has played the underdog role to perfection in the NCAA Tournament, knocking off Dartmouth, Michigan State and North Dakota as the lower seed in each game on the way to the title game.

It’s a one-year turnaround that makes you think of one DU had earlier this decade.

After having a losing record in the COVID-19-affected 2020-21 season, the Pios returned the next season with a large freshman class ready to make an impact, as well as a key leader in Bobby Brink, who turned down an NHL opportunity to do what he came to the Mile High City to do: win a national title.

“I think that was a big part of our ability to turn that losing season, which was really challenging in a lot of different ways, many of it outside of our control because of what was going on in the world, but to flip it and to have the year that we did (was great),” Carle said Friday.

“We had a great freshman class that came in and infused a lot of life into our program. They weren’t there for the losing year. Wasn’t anything different to them. They came in and kind of just did their thing.”

That run to the national championship feels eerily similar to this one for DU.

After suffering heartbreak against Western Michigan in last year’s Frozen Four, the Pios have a talented, 10-person freshman class that has contributed all season long, most notably with standout goaltender Johnny Hicks, supplemented by a few key veterans eager to cap their careers with a win. 

Just like in 2022, DU faced a loaded Michigan squad in the national semifinals before meeting a team led by Mike Hastings, who was in charge of Minnesota State four years ago — in the championship game.

“Certainly (I) have a lot of respect for Mike, how he prepares his teams,” Carle said. “I mean, they went through a lull this year results-wise, similar to us. They found their way through it. Probably are much better off for it. They’ve gone through a lot of adversity.”

So has DU, although that January lull feels like ages ago for a team that has won 12 straight games and is unbeaten in its last 16 games overall.

Thursday’s double-overtime win over Michigan was the longest and arguably the toughest of them all, with Hicks stopping a career-high 49 shots, over half of which came after regulation, until senior captain Kent Anderson scored just his second goal of the season to lift DU past the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.

While that game (and his goal) is probably something Anderson will be telling his grandkids about, it’s in the rearview mirror, for now.

Because like Brink and the veterans of the 2022 DU squad, just getting to the Frozen Four and playing for a national title isn’t good enough.

“We knew that this was just step one,” junior defenseman Cale Ashcroft said. “Yeah, we’re excited to go tomorrow. That was the goal coming into this.”

The Pios aren’t content with simply maintaining their lead atop the all-time national titles leaderboard. They came to Vegas for championship No. 11 — and even more bragging rights in the college hockey world.

“I think as players, we see the whole program, what’s been built, all the alumni before us,” junior forward and Denver native Kieran Cebrian said. “I know all of us take a lot of pride in defending that. We’re happy that we won (Thursday), but as we’ve said, we need to win (Saturday).”

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The matchup

Denver vs. Wisconsin

All-time series: Badgers lead 76-66-13

Last 10 matchups: DU leads 7-1-2

Last meeting: DU won 6-1 on Oct. 26, 2024, at Magness Arena

NCAA Tournament history: Wisconsin leads 3-0

Last NCAA Tournament meeting: Wisconsin won 6-2 at Midwest Regional in Madison

National championship history: Wisconsin won 4-2 in 1973 NCAA title game in Boston

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King’s Prediction

Denver 4, Wisconsin 2
How can you pick against these Pios at this point? For over two months, Carle’s group has been a runaway train that many have dared to try and stop, but none have succeeded yet. DU lost to Western Michigan last season in what felt like the de facto national title game in a Frozen Four semifinal. This year, the Pios are riding high after an upset over No. 1 Michigan and will carry that to the program’s 11th national championship on Saturday night, with freshman Johnny Hicks leading the way in net again and earning Most Outstanding Player honors.