By Mark Pratt
The Associated Press

BOSTON - Denver won its first national championship since 1969 when Adam Berkhoel made 24 saves in a 1-0 victory over Maine on Saturday night.

University of Denver players and coaches celebrate with the Championship Trophy after Denver defeated the University of Maine 1-0. (AP photo)

Gabe Gauthier's first-period goal stood up, but it didn't come easy for the Pioneers (27-12-5). They had to withstand a 6-on-3 Maine advantage in the final moments.

Matt Laatsch was sent to the penalty box for hooking with 2:09 to play. Then Gauthier was called for a delay of game with 1:34 left after closing his hand on the puck.

When Jimmy Howard left the Maine net with 1:13 remaining, the Black Bears (33-8-3) had a three-man advantage for more than a minute.

Berkhoel, chosen the Frozen Four's MVP, came up with his two biggest saves, both on blistering slap shots by Maine's top scorer, Colin Shields.

Denver won five national titles in a 12-year span in the 1950s and '60s, but none since 1969. Maine won titles in '93 and '99.

Gauthier scored the only goal of the game on the power play at 12:26 of the first period.

Connor James won the puck in the corner and passed in front to an unmarked Gauthier, who one-timed a shot between Howard's pads.

The Black Bears thought they took the lead earlier in the period. Derek Damon put the puck in the net after Shields' shot from the point squirted to the right of the Denver goal. An uncovered Damon poked the puck past a lunging Berkhoel, but after a review the goal was disallowed because Mike Hamilton's skate was barely in the crease.

Denver played the game without third-leading scorer Lukas Dora. Dora, who had 14 goals and 21 assists, was suspended for what team officials called a violation of team rules.

The Black Bears, who had won eight straight one-goal games, had their best chances in the second period while on the power play. But Berkhoel made three saves within a minute to preserve the narrow lead.

Howard came into the game with the best goals-against average in the nation at 1.19, and made some tough stops Saturday.

It was another bitter ending for Maine, which was less than a minute from the title two years ago, then allowed Minnesota to tie it with 52 seconds to play and win it in overtime.

Notes

Presumptive Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry attended the game. ... The teams combined for 10 shots in the first period to tie the record for the second lowest in the first period of a championship game. The record eight in 1996 when Michigan and Colorado College played. ... The announced crowd of 18,597 was the largest to watch a hockey game at the FleetCenter, home of the NHL's Boston Bruins. It was also the third-largest crowd for an NCAA championship game. ... This was the fifth consecutive year a Hockey East school faced a Western Collegiate Hockey Association team in the championship game. ... The game was just the third shutout in championship game history. Boston University beat Cornell 4-0 in 1972 and Denver beat North Dakota 4-0 in 1968.