Matt Davis Made His Mark in Net and in the DU Record Book

If Matt Davis could describe his collegiate career in three words, it would be “successful, relentless and fun.”
 
The University of Denver hockey senior—a two-time NCAA National Champion, the 2024 NCAA Frozen Four Most Outstanding Player and NCAA Frozen Four All-Tournament Team member—wrapped up his career with the Pioneers this past season.
 
He helped lead DU back to the NCAA Frozen Four after a historic 2023-24 season when he got his second national championship ring—but this time as the starting goaltender for Denver.
 
Across the four games in the 2024 NCAA Tournament, he recorded a 0.63 goals-against average, a .979 save percentage and one shutout in 283:32 of playing time. He posted a 35-save shutout to secure the big win in the national title game on April 13, 2024 versus Boston College, becoming the eighth goalie in NCAA history to mark a clean sheet in the title game and the third Pioneer to do it. 
 
His first ring was acquired as the backup goaltender behind Magnus Chrona as a freshman in 2022. When asked about his favorite memory at DU, he said, “Just pick and choose from which national championship. I’m not too picky.”
 
To get the team to the final in 2024, Davis recorded a 23-5-3 overall record, 2.34 goals-against average, .917 save percentage and two shutouts in 31 games. His 23 wins as a junior were the 14th-most in a season in school history and his .790 winning percentage was the best mark by a Pioneer keeper since Mike Richter Award-winner Tanner Jaillet in 2016-17 (.811). 
 
Even with Davis’ postseason accomplishments in 2024, there were still defining moments that made him develop as a player that didn’t get the spotlight.
 
“I mean it was no secret with the biggest question mark (that season) was probably in goal for us as a team, and there’s a couple games there toward the end of the year where I felt I learned a lot through the losses too,” he recalled.  “One (moment) would be when we won, but I played terribly. It was probably [Minnesota] Duluth last year. I think I let them get back into the game, and I learned a lot from that. After that I feel like we grew a lot in the goalie room and that was a pretty, pretty big defining moment for us—just learning through that adversity.”  
 
Academically, the Calgary, Alberta, native has been chosen as an ACHA National All-American Scholar three times and to the NCHC Academic All-Conference Team and as an NCHC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete all four years. He was also recognized with the 2024-25 NCHC Senior Scholar-Athlete Award.
 
In his sophomore campaign, he posted an 8-1-0 record and one shutout while making eight starts and appearing in 13 games while leading the team with a 1.77 goals-against average and a .925 save percentage. On Dec. 16-17, 2022, he made his first consecutive start for the Pioneers, recording his second career shutout on the Friday with a 5-0 win and then stopped 17 shots for the weekend sweep against Lindenwood. In his first career postseason contest, the Canadian saved 30-of-32 shotes versus Miami in Game 1 of the NCHC Quarterfinals on March 10, 2023.
 
To begin his career with Denver, Davis saw action in six games and made four starts as a freshman while backing up Chrona. He accomplished a 3-1-0 record and one shutout while leading the team with a 1.96 goals-against average and .923 save percentage. He recorded a shutout with a 25-save effort in his first NCAA start on Oct. 16, 2021 versus Air Force. 
 
Even as a first-year player, he was making his mark in Pioneer history. He made 24 saves on 26 shots in the regular-season finale versus Colorado College on March 5, 2022 to help Denver capture its second-ever Penrose Cup as NCHC regular-season champions.
 
Among the goaltending legends of Denver, he finished his career with a .921 save percentage, a 63-17-4 record, a 2.13 goals-against average and more than 5,000 minutes in the crease for the team that bleeds crimson and gold. He’s tied for fifth in both career wins and goals-against average in the DU record book and is ninth in career save percentage and 13th in shutouts (5).
 
He didn’t leave DU quietly, as he was named a Mike Richter Award Semifinalist and posted career bests in games played and wins as a senior last year. He started in 40 games, tying for the most in a single season in program history (fourth goalie) and his 29 victories led the NCAA and marked the second-most all-time at the school; only George Kirkwood has had more with 30 wins in 1960-61. He won a career-best 20 straight games across two seasons from March 9, 2024 versus Colorado College to Nov. 14, 2024 at North Dakota, registering three career-best shutout streaks during that time.  
 
For his last run with the Pioneers, he posted a 29-10-1 record, .924 save percentage, 2.07 goals-against average and one shutout in 2024-25 as they reached the national semifinals for the 20th time in the program annals. He also made 997 saves during the year while minding 2,374 minutes in the Pioneers’ net—the ninth-most stops in DU history.
 
Throughout his four years at the University of Denver, he didn’t only grow as a goaltender, but also as a person. 
 
“I learned a lot. I mean I learned how to take care of myself outside of the rink. That’s been a big one,” says Davis. “Just kind of how to navigate playing games and all that. It’s been a pretty special experience. I’ve felt like I’ve really matured as a person. I think that’s probably the most important thing that I’ve taken from my experience here and, of course, a lot of on-ice lessons and off-ice lessons.”