From Las Vegas Sun
By Jack Williams
UNLV’s hockey team made history against the University of Denver on Saturday.
In the exhibition matchup, 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 that an American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) team has defeated an NCAA Division I team. The last time UNLV played Denver was on Oct. 1, 2022, and the Rebels lost, 10-0.
“We found a way to win. For this to be our program’s first Division I win against the defending national champions team, who previously beat us 10-0 the last time we played here, we’re ecstatic,” UNLV coach Anthony Vignieri-Greener said.
“I told them (the team) beyond getting married and having kids, this is probably one of the proudest moments of my life.”
The “Skatin Rebels” jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the first period off 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 that UNLV could pull off the upset.
“We went in the locker room, and kind of just went through what we needed to do to D-zone, continue to do the right things in our forecheck and getting 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 20 minutes by scoring five goals. Heath Mensch scored UNLV’s lone goal in the third period to force overtime.
After a scoreless overtime, the game 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 just how precise their passing was, he (Forman) really had to stand on his head, and he did,” Vignieri-Greener said. “He (Forman) made some unbelievable saves.”
The victory is a significant stepping stone in UNLV’s effort to become an NCAA Division I program. The team has put together an advisory committee, scouted land for a larger arena and financially analyzed what it would take for UNLV hockey to make the jump.
Vignieri-Greene said the team’s fans took to social media after the win with posts asking UNLV athletic department officials to considering helping 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 can’t award scholarships.
“We are taking the right steps in every direction,” Vignieri-Greener said. “I would love for people just to catch wind of this story and know that we have something special here at UNLV hockey. We’ve been building it for a long time.”
It’s a quick turnaround for the Rebels as they will face another NCAA Division I opponent on Sunday, Colorado College. Vignieri-Greene said that as soon as the team got back to the hotel, the coaches began scouting the Tigers.
It’s another major 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) got to just 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 in every single game and win.”
After the game, Vignieri-Greene told the team that this moment would stay with them forever.
“I told them no matter what else happens for the rest of the year, you do in life, this moment will always be with you,” Vignieri-Greener said. “In 20 years, you can look back and call these 25 guys and say, ‘Hey, we did something special that no one thought we could do.’”
(Originally published at https://lasvegassun.com/news/2024/dec/28/upset-special-unlv-hockey-takes-down-defending-nat/)
