Matt Davis cemented his status as a University of Denver hockey legend last season with one of the most remarkable runs by a goaltender in NCAA hockey history.
Then he returned for his senior season. What could he do for an encore? And maybe more importantly, was his incredible late-season success repeatable?
“I think that was everyone’s question,” DU coach David Carle said. “That was his question. That was our question.”
The early returns say the answer is yes. Davis has been a key figure in the Pioneers’ 10-0 start to the 2024-25 season. The defending champions have steamrolled through the nonconference portion of the schedule, and remain firmly at No. 1 in the country in every poll.
Davis is 9-0 with a .942 save percentage. He’s allowed 12 goals in nine games.
“The start he’s off to has been really good,” Carle said. “I think a lot of it’s just his confidence in his process. You see day to day, week to week, nothing’s changing. He’s taking care of his body here at the rink. You can tell he’s doing it away from the rink. I just think when you’re doing all the right things, you expect success. You deserve success. And I think he’s doing all those things.”
At this time a year ago, Davis was a first-year starter for the Pios. Even deep into the regular season, his results were mixed and goaltending was a bit of a question mark for a team with championship aspirations.
Then Davis put together a postseason run for the ages. He won nine straight, including all six postseason games. Davis allowed three goals in four games during the program’s NCAA run to a record-breaking 10th championship. He turned aside 68 of 69 shots against a pair of powerhouse offenses to easily win Most Valuable Player at the Frozen Four.
Now, he’s established as one of the best goalies in college hockey, and his early-season run has backed that up.
“I know I’m not expected to play that well every night,” Davis said, referencing his highlight-reel play in April. “What I’ve been focusing on this year is just raising my floor. So it’s not about my highest highs — it’s how low is my lowest low? I think we’ve done a good job this year, and it gave me a ton of confidence going into this year too, what we’d be able to do as a group.”
When Davis wasn’t celebrating the second national title in his first three years at DU, he went camping with the Colorado Avalanche. The Avs invited him to their summer development camp, which may be a precursor to what comes next for Davis after this season.
“I just tried to be a sponge whenever (Pavel) Francouz was talking there,” Davis said. “He’s so fresh out of (playing) pro, a Stanley Cup champion — it was just fun to be around him a lot. He’s super, super helpful. It just kind of gave me a glimpse into what a day in the life of a pro hockey player looks like, how to manage my mental game and certain little things that would help me improve my game.”
The Pios have outscored foes 49-13 to start the season. There were a couple of potential NCAA teams in there, but the competition level goes up a notch this weekend when DU travels to North Dakota, a top-10 club in both national polls.
Davis showed the highest of highs during the NCAA run, but Carle also praised his ability to shake off a bad goal allowed or an off day at practice. With Jack Devine up front, Zeev Buium on the back end and Davis in net, the Pios have three of the best players in college hockey. They also have a deep roster, which has been a staple in recent program history.
Before the last couple months of last season, Davis likely had some work to do before NHL teams might be interested in signing the undrafted free agent. Now? He’s a favorite for the Mike Richter Award, which goes to college hockey’s top goalie.
And the Avs are likely to have plenty of competition when his senior season is over if they want him to be part of the organization moving forward.
“It’s definitely changed,” Davis said of his post-Pios career prospects. “It’s been pretty cool, and it’s a pretty special path that we get to walk at this program. So yeah, you just make the most of your opportunities, and you know that if you focus on your time here and focus on winning, you know it’ll pan out just the way it should.”
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