Denver goaltender Johnny Hicks capped off his historic freshman season by making 78 saves in the Frozen Four and carrying the Pioneers to an NCAA-best 11th national championship. Hicks' stellar debut season saw him post an undefeated 16-0-1 record and set a new NCAA single-season save percentage record at .957.
🏆 RECAP: Denver beats Wisconsin to win 11th national championship
Hicks allowed just 22 goals on 514 shots for an astronomical .957 SV%, breaking Jimmy Howard's single-season record set in 2004 with Maine (.956). His 1.20 goals against average finishes third all-time behind Howard (2004: 1.19) and Quinnipiac's Yaniv Perets (2022: 1.17).
Hicks made 128 saves and allowed just six goals in four NCAA tournament games in Denver's national championship run, including a 49-save game in the semifinal against Michigan.
Hicks' unorthodox journey to a national championship
The 20-year old Hicks was originally committed to Tennessee State, coming over from the CHL's Victoria Royals. But after TSU's Division I debut was delayed, Hicks found himself looking for a home, and he found it as the third-string for David Carle's Pioneers.
Denver started the season well, going 12-6-1 through the middle of December, but began to slide at the start of second semester, going 1-5-1 through Jan. 23. Fellow freshman goalie Quentin Miller made his 24th consecutive start on Jan. 24 against St. Cloud State but left the game with a lower body injury less than five minutes into the first period, leaving Hicks to finish the game in relief.
Jan. 24 was Hicks' first game with more than 30 minutes played, having made four partial appearances earlier in the season. He stopped all 19 shots he faced in a much-needed shutout* win to get Denver back on the right track. He got his first two starts of the season the next weekend vs. Minnesota Duluth, allowing just one goal on 49 shots across two games and recording his first official shutout in Game 2.
By February, Hicks had established himself as the bonafide starter for a middling Pios squad looking for a spark. He held onto the starting job for the rest of the regular season and into the NCHC tournament, going 12-0-1 and besting Minnesota Duluth for a third time in the NCHC championship game. Hicks' late-season stretch wasn't enough to earn him a Mike Richter Award nomination, but he took home some additional hardware as the Frozen Four Most Outstanding Performer, along with the national championship trophy.
Johnny Hicks full 2025-26 stats
| Date | Opponent | W/L | Score | Minutes | GA | GAA | Saves | SV% | SHO | W | L | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11/07/25 | at Western Michigan | W | 3-1 | 00:00 | 0 | .00 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12/06/25 | Miami (OH) | W | 5-2 | 01:28 | 0 | .00 | 1 | 1.000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12/12/25 | at St. Cloud St. | W | 5-1 | 02:29 | 0 | .00 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12/13/25 | at St. Cloud St. | L | 3-4 | 00:00 | 0 | .00 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1/10/26 | Western Mich. | L | 2-6 | 27:37 | 0 | .00 | 13 | 1.000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1/16/26 | at North Dakota | L | 0-5 | 20:00 | 1 | 3.00 | 15 | .938 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1/24/26 | St. Cloud State* | W | 6-0 | 55:11 | 0 | .00 | 22 | 1.000 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1/30/26 | Minn. Duluth | W | 4-3 | 50:34 | 1 | 1.20 | 29 | .967 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1/31/26 | Minnesota Duluth | W | 1-0 | 62:15 | 0 | .00 | 19 | 1.000 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2/06/26 | at Colorado Col. | T | 2-2 | 64:44 | 2 | 1.88 | 30 | .938 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2/07/26 | Colorado Col. | W | 4-1 | 60:00 | 1 | 1.00 | 17 | .944 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2/13/26 | at Omaha | W | 5-2 | 59:09 | 2 | 2.03 | 31 | .939 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2/14/26 | at Omaha | W | 3-1 | 60:00 | 1 | 1.00 | 26 | .963 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2/27/26 | Arizona State | W | 5-2 | 60:00 | 2 | 2.00 | 23 | .920 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2/28/26 | Arizona St. | W | 4-1 | 57:10 | 1 | 1.05 | 25 | .962 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 3/06/26 | Miami (OH) | W | 3-0 | 60:00 | 0 | .00 | 23 | 1.000 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 3/07/26 | Miami (OH) | W | 6-2 | 52:31 | 1 | 1.15 | 11 | .917 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 3/14/26 | Western Michigan | W | 2-1 | 65:21 | 1 | .92 | 38 | .974 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 3/21/26 | Minnesota Duluth | W | 4-3 | 81:54 | 3 | 2.22 | 41 | .932 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 3/27/26 | vs Cornell | W | 5-0 | 59:58 | 0 | .00 | 24 | 1.000 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 3/29/26 | vs Western Michigan | W | 6-2 | 60:00 | 2 | 2.00 | 26 | .929 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 4/09/26 | vs Michigan | W | 4-3 | 92:35 | 3 | 1.96 | 49 | .942 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 4/11/26 | vs Wisconsin | W | 2-1 | 60:00 | 1 | 1.00 | 29 | .967 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 84-43 | 1112:56 | 22 | 1.19 | 492 | .957 | 3 | 16 | 0 | 1 |
*Hicks not officially credited with a shutout because he came in relief
