UCO hockey has stunned the nation thus far at the 2010 ACHA Men’s Division I National Championship Tournament in Chicago, Ill.

On Saturday night, the underdog Bronchos downed their in-state rivals, the Oklahoma Sooners, in a thrilling double-overtime 5-4 victory.

On Saturday, UCO upset the No. 2 team in the nation in another thrilling game that also went to extra periods.

The Bronchos came back late in the game to beat Penn State 2-1 in overtime.

Friday night's win over OU was like playing in a home game for UCO. There are 14 players on the Bronchos’ roster from the state of Illinois, and their families and friends came out in full force.

"The crowd was nuts," Illinois native and UCO defenseman, Casey Lehmann, said. "They were loud, and they had our back. I think we have the biggest crowd out of anyone at this tournament. It’s a big factor to know that they’re behind us."

UCO got the crowd behind them early. Brian Thompson scored with 1:50 left in the first period.

In the second period, the Sooners would get on the board.

Nicholas Power put the puck past UCO goaltender Justin Sgro with 13:19 remaining in the second.

It was give and take for the rest of the period.

Patrick Biron scored for UCO with a one timer from the point on the power play.

OU answered back with 8:31 remaining in the second. Then UCO finally took the first multi-goal lead of the game.

Mike Haszto scored, followed by Derek Szecsodi. The period would end with the Bronchos owning a 4-2 lead.

The third period belonged to the Sooners, and they scored two unanswered goals to pull even with UCO. This brought the game to overtime.

Once again the Sooners dominated the ice, yet Sgro was the difference. Sgro turned OU away time and time again, and with every big save, the ice seemed to turn in UCO’s favor. The Bronchos held off OU, and the game went to double overtime.

It didn’t take long for UCO to give the fans what they were holding their breath for.

Alex Jackson got the puck in the net just 2:38 into double overtime.

"AJ [Alfrey] shot it. It got blocked, and then [Michael] Haszto came up with the puck, and he shot it. It got through somehow, and I just jabbed the goalie because it went under him, and fortunately it squeaked through."

When the referees signaled the goal, the crowd went wild, and the celebration on ice seemed to last an eternity.

UCO beat OU when it mattered most, and Justin Sgro had to stop 45 shots to do it.

"[Sgro] wouldn’t be denied," UCO head coach, Craig McAlister, said. "He stepped it up in overtime, and if we didn’t have Sgro in that overtime, the puck would be in the net."

The senior goaltender was humble, shrugging off his 45 saves and crediting his teammates with making the win possible.

"I have to bring my best," Sgro said. "My defense and the forwards themselves helped immensely. [OU] may have had 49 shots in the game, but I can tell you for sure that my defense and forwards blocked at least 30."

The win then pit No. 10 UCO against No. 2 Penn State in the quarterfinals that took place 1 p.m. Sunday. Once again the Bronchos were the underdogs.

No. 2 Penn State scored early, taking a 1-0 lead on a goal by Taylor Cera with 17:48 remaining in the first.

The game stayed at a slow pace for much of the first period. Both teams exchanged offensive pressure, and both goaltenders shut down the scoring.

The second period went scoreless but had its fair share of action.

Sgro began to get into the heads of the Penn State players by robbing them of some pretty goals and kicking the net off at exactly the right times.

Penn State began to lose their composure, and UCO applied their first consistent pressure of the game.

Heading in to the third, UCO was still down by one, and Penn State was still playing solid hockey.

It wasn't until there was just 1:29 left on the clock that the Bronchos got on the board.

The huge crowd of rowdy and win-thirsty UCO fans erupted into pure euphoria when senior Shawn Steggles sent a pass to Nick Novak, and the sophomore out of Green Bay, Wis., rocketed the puck past the Penn State goaltender.

The Bronchos controlled the puck for the rest of the period, and regulation ended in a 1-1 tie, sending the game to overtime.

Just 1:42 into the extra period, Jonathan Cannizzo led a two-on-one down the ice and took a shot that blasted top shelf and gave UCO the win.

"The puck just got wrapped around to me on the boards,” Cannizzo said. "I turned around and saw the defenseman just standing there at the blue line, and I figured it was a 50-50 puck. If I could just poke it by him or around him it would be a two-on-one. I knew I had [Erik Jansen] going to the net hard there."

"All I thought was, get the puck to the net and hope for the best."

Once again, UCO’s senior goaltender came up big. Sgro stopped 39 shots on the night.

"Against Penn State, there's nobody like him," McAlister said. "There is nobody out there. The Penn State coach came up to me after the game and said, 'That's how a goaltender steals games, and that’s how a goaltender makes the big difference. Your goaltender stepped up and played a hell of a game, and our goaltender couldn’t quite match'."

This is the first time in history a collegiate hockey team from the state of Oklahoma has made it past the quarter finals of the national tournament.

There is talk of destiny amongst some of the players and fans, with what happened this season, from this being UCO’s first real senior class, to having to fight for a playoff spot, to losing to OU four times in the regular season then being scheduled OU in the first round, to having 14 players on roster from Illinois, and having the playoffs be held in Illinois.

Now with the first two rounds in the books, and UCO getting two amazing playoff wins, there’s that word again.

"Anything is possible," McAlister said. "Anything is definitely possible. If destiny is there, then we’re going to play a very close-knit, hard-fought game again on Tuesday. If fate is on our side, then it will come down to a one-goal game again, and we can still one away from them."

The Bronchos are now one of only four teams remaining in the race for the national championship.

UCO will play the defending national champion Lindenwood, and Ohio will play Iowa State in their respective semi-final games tonight. The championship will be decided tomorrow night.

"Bring on the champs," Lehmann said. "Bring them on."