| Wide: | yes |
| Denver–North Dakota men's ice hockey rivalry | |
| Team1logo: | Denver Pioneers Athletics logo.svg |
| Team2logo: | ND Fighting Hawks wordmark.png |
| Firstmeeting: | February 1, 1950 North Dakota 18, Denver 3 |
| Mostrecent: | November 16, 2024 Denver 3, North Dakota 2 |
| Nextmeeting: | February 14, 2024 |
| Total: | 312 |
| Series: | North Dakota, 160–136–16 |
| Largestvictory: | North Dakota, 18–3 (February 1, 1950) |
| Longeststreak: | North Dakota, 10 (November 21, 1997 – December 10, 1999) |
| Currentstreak: | Denver, 2 (November 15, 2024 – present) |
The Denver–North Dakota men's ice hockey rivalry is a college ice hockey rivalry between the Denver Pioneers men's ice hockey and North Dakota Fighting Hawks men's ice hockey programs. The first meeting between the two occurred on February 1, 1950. The series is North Dakota's most-played,[1] and for Denver is second only to their rivalry with Colorado College.[2] The two programs have met in the national championship game on four occasions with Denver holding 3–1 edge.
North Dakota founded their ice hockey team in the late 1920s. However, due to the Great Depression, the program was shuttered for most of the 1930s. The then-Fighting Sioux returned in full after World War II and were one of only a handful of teams west of the Appalachians.[3] In 1949, Denver joined in with a team of their own and the two became founding members of the MCHL two years later.[4] With the exception of 1959, the two have remained conference rivals since and are typically regarded as two of the top programs in college ice hockey. As of 2024, Denver has the most national titles (10), with Michigan (9) and North Dakota (8) not far behind. Additionally, the two have met in the final game on four separate occasions (1958, 1963, 1968, 2005) which is also tied for the most common championship rematch in NCAA history.[5]
Full game results for the rivalry, with rankings beginning in the 1998–99 season.[3] [4]