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Denver and Minnesota-Duluth split two regular-season meetings. The National Collegiate Hockey Conference rivals will play the ultimate rubber match when the Pioneers and Bulldogs face off in Saturday night’s Frozen Four National Championship Game.

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CHICAGO — Denver and Minnesota-Duluth aren’t strangers to each other or the big stage. Both programs have a rich history and have faced each other as NCHC rivals.

That’s why Saturday night’s Frozen Four National Championship Game at the United Center in Chicago will be the ultimate rubber match, as the top-seeded Pioneers face off against the resilient Bulldogs.

Minnesota-Duluth defeated Harvard, 2-1, in Thursday’s first national semifinal on Alex Iafallo’s goal with 26.6 remaining, marking the fourth straight game the Bulldogs have won either in the final minute or overtime. Tight games are nothing new for UMD, though.

Thursday was its 19th one-goal game of the season and 14th victory in such contests.

“I think as the game wears on, we play a really good style that allows us to maintain our game, and we’re able to finish chances when we get them,” said Joey Anderson, who earned his 24th assist on the final goal. “And that’s been the way we’ve done it lately.”

One of the Bulldogs’ rare losses in tight games came against Denver on Dec. 9, as the Pioneers picked up a 4-3 victory. Minnesota-Duluth avenged that defeat the next night with a 3-1 win. Now they’ll meet with the stakes much higher.

Denver, the NCAA Tournament’s No. 1 overall seed, dominated Notre Dame in Thursday night’s 6-1 victory to set up the rematch for the national title. Dylan Gambrell scored twice, while Tariq Hammond added a goal and two assists.

The result was familiar for the Pioneers, who have won 14 games by at least three goals this season. However, they also went 8-3 in one-goal games, and coach Jim Montgomery knows his squad will have to put some distance between itself and Minnesota-Duluth early in Saturday night’s title game.

“Getting the first goal will be huge,” Montgomery said in the locker room after the victory over Notre Dame. “(Duluth is) a tough team that can battle all the way to the finish, so we’ll need to get a lead and keep building on it.”

When it comes to offense though, these two teams are about as evenly matched as they can get. Both squads averaged 3.40 goals per game this season, which was good for eighth in the nation. Denver, however, finished the season ranked No. 1 in goals-against average at 1.83, while Minnesota-Duluth ranked ninth with a 2.28 average.

So, what will it take for each team to get a win on Saturday?

Minnesota-Duluth must control the neutral zone. Denver is an extremely quick team that likes to out-skate their opponents. This was on full display in their win over Notre Dame, as the Bulldogs took away open ice between the blue lines. Doing so Saturday night will keep Denver from using its quickness going north-south.

UMD also will need netminder Hunter Miska to stay on top of his game. Miska turned in a 39-save performance against Harvard – which had the nation’s top-scoring offense – and with the speed of the Pioneers, he is sure to be faced with some strong chances against yet again.

Denver’s speed is its strongest asset, and it will need to fight off the strong Minnesota-Duluth forecheck that gave Harvard fits. If the Bulldogs try and clog them up at center ice, they’ll need to resort to a chip-and-chase style of play – chip the puck in from the neutral zone and use that speed to go retrieve it. If Denver can do this, they have the lateral quickness to create some defensive zone problems for Minnesota-Duluth.

Gambrell may have put it best when talking about Saturday night’s game.

“We’re going to expect their best,” Gambrell said. “We played them twice this year. We know they’re a hard-working team. They’re great in the D-zone and they’ve got some great offense. And they’re backed up by a good goalie. So we’re going to have to bring our best, and I think we’re going to be ready.”