While many programs may have been happy with the results Denver achieved in '66 and '67 the Pioneers were decidedly nonplussed. When the team began 1968 season slowly, losing three out of their first five games, they were taken to task and responded by winning every remaining game except for a stretch in late December when they played four Olympic squads. Denver finished the season atop the WCHA and with the regional restrictions abolished they were able to take full advantage of their top seed and demolish their competition 27–7 in the three games. In the NCAA tournament Denver faced Boston College for the first time and swatted the Eagles away with a 4–1 victory despite sloppy play. The final brought North Dakota and DU together for a rubber match and the two teams fought a tough defensive battle through two periods before the floodgates opened and Denver scored four times in the final frame while Gerry Powers earned the first shutout in a championship game. The next season was much the same; after a slow start the Pioneers ran through most of their competition, finishing second in the WCHA and taking down much weaker opponents in the conference tournament to return to the NCAA playoff. For this 1969 championship they dissected Harvard 9–2 in the opening match before facing Ken Dryden-led Cornell. The Pioneers did not have any problems scoring against the seemingly impregnable Big Red defense, building leads three times while the final one stuck and Denver won its fifth NCAA national title, 4–3.