What UNLV's Shootout Win Over Denver Means For College Hockey

"We're college hockey," is what the ACHA Instagram account commented under a post highlighting UNLV's shootout win over Denver.

Yes, you read that right.

The Rebels, a Division I club hockey team, took down the reigning and 10-time defending NCAA champion Pioneers.

Here's the caveat. Denver was without its head coach, David Carle, and defenseman Zeev Buium, who are both in Ottawa competing in the World Junior Ice Hockey Championships for the United States. Carle is serving as head coach, and Buium is the Stars and Stripes top blueliner. Those are two key pieces to the well-oiled machine that is the Pioneers.

But still — that isn't an excuse.

Denver still had forward Jack Devine, who leads college hockey in points with 27 (two goals, 25 assists); forward Aidan Thompson, who sits tied for third in the nation in points with 24 (11 goals, 13 assists); and netminder Matt Davis, who was named most outstanding player in April's national championship. Davis has a .918 save percentage this season.

That's just to name a few.

Devine recorded two assists against UNLV, and Thompson scored twice, but they were both -3 at Magness Arena in Denver. Davis stopped seven of 11 shots before being pulled on Saturday.

For the Rebels, forward Preston Brodziak, who played four seasons at Long Island before joining UNLV this year, scored twice. Brodziak totaled 23 points in 88 games for the Gulls at the Division I level.

Goaltender Jeremy Forman, who transferred in from New Hampshire, made 58 saves in the tie and shootout win. In four seasons for the Wildcats, Forman only appeared in four games.

Of the 27 players on the UNLV roster, Brodziak and Forman are the only two with Division I experience.

The Pioneers outshot the Rebels 67-20, but UNLV blocked 21 shots compared to Denver's 3.

What's yet to be mentioned is that this was an exhibition. The game doesn't count. Denver entered Saturday's contest 14-4-0 and it left 14-4-0.

This isn't the first time this season that UNLV played a Division I opponent. It played Lindenwood twice on Oct. 5 and 6, losing both exhibition matches 5-1 and 6-3.

That's the same team that just took down Denver, on the road, in a shootout.

Even though the tie and shootout loss don't affect their record, the outcome surely will make the college hockey world raise an eyebrow at the Pioneers.

After the exhibition concluded, Denver's X account, formerly known as Twitter, posted the result with the caption, "The good news, it doesn't count." But it followed that up with, "Though we'll probably drop in the polls because of it."

Whoever wrote that caption captured the moment perfectly. They should drop in the polls, but will they? It remains to be seen.

But this historic upset raises a larger question, raised by the ACHA's Instagram account. Is the ACHA college hockey?

Technically, yes, but the top level, as in Division I, no.

There are only 64 Division I hockey teams, and it's soon to be 63 when AIC drops down to Division II at the end of this season.

If the UNLV proved one thing Saturday night in Denver, it's that there are more Division I caliber players than Division I teams.

But, unfortunately, the current landscape of college hockey isn't too kind to the idea of more teams.

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