Former Cents goaltender backstops Denver to NCAA Title; named Most Outstanding Player

Former Merritt Centennials goaltender Johnny Hicks and his Denver Pioneers are NCAA Men’s Hockey Champions after  defeating the Wisconsin Badgers 2-1 in Saturday’s (April 11) final.

Denver was backstopped by Kamloops product Johnny Hicks, who made 29 saves in the victory. The 20-year-old netminder stopped 78 of 82 shots over two games – including a 49 save effort in double overtime Thursday – and was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.

The five foot ten, Hicks was also named to the all-tournament team, and went unbeaten in regulation in his NCAA freshman season with a 16-0-1 record. He played finished with a 1.19 goals against average and .957 save percentage in 21 games this season.

Hicks played for the Merritt Centennials from 2021-2022 and 2022-2023, going 8-26-10 during his tenure with the Cents before heading to the Brooks Bandits in 2023-2024 and posting a 26-3-0 record with seven shutouts.