After surviving a three-man advantage in the final minute of play, the Denver Pioneers (27-12-5) defeated Maine (33-8-3) 1-0 to win their first NCAA hockey championship since 1969.

Clinging to a one-goal lead, Denver committed a pair of late penalties, as Matt Laatsch was whistled for hooking with 2:09 remaining and Gabe Gauthier, who scored the game’s only goal, was sent to the penalty box after closing his hand on the puck at the 1:34 mark. Already holding a two-man advantage, Maine pulled goalkeeper Jimmy Howard with 1:13 to play, setting up a 6-on-3 advantage in the game’s final minute.

“I can’t ever remember having to defend a 6-on-3,” Denver coach George Gwozdecky said. “You’re just trying to get in the shooting lanes, and in that last minute, anything goes.”

In a furious push to tie the score, the Black Bears knocked two shots off the post and one off the crossbar, and Denver goaltender Adam Berkhoel stopped a pair of point-blank slap shots from Maine’s leading scorer, Colin Shields.

Aided by his goalposts, Berkhoel held on in a wild final minute to preserve the shutout. The senior finished with 24 saves and was named Frozen Four MVP.

“Berkhoel was phenomenal in that last minute,” said Howard, who entered the game with the best goals against average in the nation (1.19).

In addition to Berkhoel’s strong performance, the Pioneer defenders came up huge, blocking 27 of Maine’s 67 shot attempts.

“That’s the statistic that jumps out at me,” Maine coach Tim Whitehead said.

The game’s only goal came at the 12:26 mark of the first period, when Denver forward Connor James found Gauthier in the high slot for a one-timer that beat Howard on the stick side.

Earlier in the opening period, Maine’s Derek Damon slipped the puck past Berkhoel on a rebound shot after a blast from Shields ricocheted to the right of the Denver net. However, officials reviewed the play and disallowed the goal because freshman Mike Hamilton’s skate was in the crease.

The Black Bears had another quality scoring opportunity in a second-period power play, but Berkhoel came up with three saves in one minute to hold off the Maine attack.

Coming into the loss, Maine had won eight consecutive one-goal games. However, the game ended as another heartbreaker for the Black Bears, who held a one-goal lead in the final minute of the 2002 NCAA championship before surrendering the tying goal with 52 seconds remaining and falling in overtime.

“Obviously our goal was to win a national championship,” said forward Todd Jackson, one of six members of Maine’s current roster who played in the 2002 title game. “It is disappointing. We did a lot of good things this season, but this one stings a lot right now.”