Welcome....again.....

Since she bitched and moaned so much (jk Poppet we love you!), I've added PiosAvsFan as a contributor to this blog. She brings immense knowledge of all things hockey...and she can kick your ass should you anger her....Everybody please welcome PiosAvsFan....

Hello

Thank you, thank you... really, I would like to thank .... Just kidding! So I'm here to stay! Ha you are in for quite a treat. A little bit about me, I love hockey, I work at DU and went to school there, therefore I love DU hockey. All articles I write will talk about Glenn Fisher and his awesomeness! I love to give nicknames, get ready. Glenn Fisher is amazing. When he leaves my full love and admiration will turn to Rhett Rhakshani ... who is also amazing and will have an entire article devoted to his awesomeness and inability to stay on his skates in the near future.

DU vs. St. Cloud State

This past weekend, the Denver Pioneers split with the St. Cloud State Huskies. After coming out flat in the first period of Friday night’s game and going into the second period down by 2 goals, DU came out strong and held the Huskies to just 1 goal for the next 4 and one-half periods. The scoring began when Andrew Gordon of SCSU buried a centering pass from freshman phenom Andreas Nodl, who went on to score two goals in the Friday game. DU finally got on the scoreboard at the 7:28 mark of the second period, when Tyler Ruegsegger followed up his own rebound past Bobby Goepfert. Ryan Helgason also scored for DU in the 3-2 loss. DU out shot SCSU 32-19. Glenn Fisher turned in a mediocre performance in the loss after starting 5 consecutive games due to the groin strain of Peter Mannino.

In the second game of the series, my friends and I decided to throw Bobby G (who by the way is the most underrated goalie in the WCHA and I love him) off his game. We waved and made lewd gestures in his general direction. Then for the third period, we made a sign that said “Bobby G wears Pink Panties!” It was a hit!! We had some hilarious reactions, including Bobby Goepfert’s. On first sight of the sign, he had to look at it twice to get the full meaning. Then he pointedly ignored us. Soon, his teammates began joking around with him and laughing. Soon it was obvious that the entire team had seen it and found it quite amusing. Needless to say, Bobby allowed 2 goals on 35 shots, while Peter Mannino allowed no goals on 24 SCSU shots. DU played with much more intensity and heart, pulling out the win over a very tough SCSU squad.

This week, DU faces the University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs at Magness Arena. Considering the recent past of the DU/UMD series, these games should be amazing. UMD always seems to put their best foot forward when they play DU as evidenced by the split earlier in the season when DU visited Duluth.

Lastly, I'd like to welcome a new contributor to the blog. My best friend Megan has contributed several articles since I started Hockey in Colorado. Her posts have been received quite well and so I asked her to be a more permanent contributor. So WELCOME!

Special to Hockey in Colorado

I'd like to continue the Special to Hockey in Colorado with a piece on the "goaltending controversy" of the Colorado Avalanche by my partner in crime, Megan.

His Hair is Full of Secrets.. No.. Talent by MeganDU


Lets start this article with a bang, 5.5 million dollars. That’s how much money Jose Theodore (or as we fondly refer to him, Propecia Joe) makes for planting his ass on the bench game after game for the Colorado Avalanche. Fair, I THINK NOT! Lets just make a few comparisons. Luongo a 2007 ALL STAR, who actually has talent ...cringe..That was painful to say, makes a cool six million dollars, Fat Ass Marty Turco (seriously his ass is huge, it should have its own area code) makes the same 6 million dollars. Here is the real kicker Brodeur, a very talented goalie makes only 5.2 million dollars, and the best hockey player that the world has ever seen Glenn Fisher makes nothing.

All of these players come to work every game, have the talent and are not making what Propecia Joe (henceforth referred to as PJ) does FOR DOING NOTHING. Correction he does do a few invaluable things for the team. He graciously gives water to Budaj when he is feeling a little parched, operates as a very generous towel boy, participates in the 'between period festivities' including skating around the arena in his cheerleading uniform to hype up the crowd, and is the best damn beer guy this hockey fan has ever seen, but seriously 5.5 million dollars.

Take a moment to think about what you could do with 5.5 million dollars ... go ahead I'll wait. Done?? Lets continue ...
Lets be honest, the trade for PJ that sent away the beautiful but bumbling Aebischer did not pan out the way the Colorado Avalanche had hoped, and the franchise is still reeling from that decision. In the beginning it seemed that we had a quality goal tending system in place, PJ running the show and Budaj backing him up, and looking hot doing it!

Towards the beginning of the season PJ was right in line with Brodeur and Luongo when it comes to stats and was looking pretty good, this is where it all fell apart ... PJ started letting everything past him and I found myself more than once yelling at the television screen "I could have stopped that, if I was blind, and only had one leg..." Not to mention he was spotted with Paris Hilton. On a side note.... seriously Pj, Paris Hilton ...I bet he got diseases from her that haven't even been named yet. 
Then JQ, who I personally consider the worst coach for a goalie, took him out of net and began the 'era of Budaj.' Budaj has actually been playing pretty well in net. He is not as solid of a goaltender as I would hope, but not everyone is Glenn Fisher, and I think we as Coloradoans were a little spoiled with the stellar play of Patrick Roy. Budaj works hard and the team seems to just be playing better in front of him than they did PJ.

I have been hearing many different excuses as to why PJ is not performing to his top ability, lets address a few of them now. Eham .. let me get out my best whiney voice ..."Theodore was never really given a chance." Not true, he didn't cut in Montreal so he came here, he isn't cutting it here so he is not playing right now. Professional hockey is a cutthroat business and you have to work hard to play, right now Budaj is the man doing that. Another excuse I am hearing is that he has had a few good seasons and that goalies get better with age, in 2002 he won the MVP, and has taken his team to the finals more than once. That’s great but until he is playing better he needs to not be in the net making my Avs lose.

Here is my personal explanation as to why he is not performing at the same level that he was just a few months ago. His hair. That’s right his hair, it holds his talent, and lets face it lately his hair just has not been as pretty of a man mane as it was when he first came here. PJ let the hair grow out and give it another try next year, till then I am excited to see Budaj grow and lead the team. He seems to still be finding his groove and place but I don't doubt that he will do a good job for us, he is not consistent but the talent is there. My solution, do anything and everything we have to do to get Glenn Fisher to remain in Colorado and lead the team next year to a Stanley Cup!!! Too far?

For Your Enjoyment

I found some videos on YouTube from last weekend. I enjoyed them and through you might too!

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Wow it’s been a while…I went on vacation for two weeks and started a new job at my favorite place, the University of Denver. I didn’t just start a new job, I got a BIG promotion and that last couple of days (weeks really) have been super busy…

*Warning, I started this post about two weeks ago, therefore the following anecdote took place about that long ago* While I was in a meeting this morning, I had a truly amazing experience. The specifics of my job don’t matter, just that I work with Alumni on giving to the University. This morning, in a meeting one of my colleagues excitedly pulled out a gift he had received earlier this week. Several years ago, when the Old DU arena was torn down, most of the things inside were sold at auction. My colleague had spoken with an alum who actually bought the 1961 Hockey National Championship Banner (complete with Boone!) signed by Murray Armstrong! He decided it was better to give the banner back to DU rather than keep it in storage. It was a beautiful sight to behold; the yellow banner looked resplendent with its crimson lettering and Denver Boone. My colleague said the athletics department was ecstatic about the donation. I now wonder what they plan on doing with it, hopefully something to do with a more public display of the 7 national championship trophies held by the University…

Here’s a wrap up of what’s been going on with the DU hockey team (All headlines and links courtesy of the DU athletics website):
-DU Hockey Signs Two Student-Athletes
-Pioneers Earn 4-2 Win at Alaska Anchorage
-Mannino Leads DU Sweep at Anchorage
-Mannino Named Red Baron WCHA Co-Defensive Player of the Week
-Trotter and Mannino Power DU Past Mercyhurst
-Pioneers Capture 12th Wells Fargo Denver Cup Championship
-Rakhshani Named Red Baron WCHA co-Rookie of the Week
-DU drops UW, 3-1, in WCHA action
-UW Blanks DU, 4-0, in WCHA action
-T.J. Fast Leaves Pioneer Hockey Program
-Ruegsegger's OT Heroics Push Pioneers Past Niagara
-No. 7 DU Completes Sweep of Niagara
-Ruegsegger Named Red Baron WCHA Rookie of the Week
-DU Ends No. 1 Minnesota's 21-Game Home Unbeaten Streak
-DU's Rally Falls Short in 5-4 Loss to No. 1 Minnesota

Wow, that was a lot of stuff that happened…some thoughts? The Denver Cup was a blast! At first glance, I did not enjoy seeing the team in the very plain Nike Swift jerseys, however, I have to say they have grown on me…Mercyhurst was a great team to watch, especially Cullen Eddy, who we haggled relentless soley based on the fact that his last name is Eddy…While I haven’t had a chance to watch the Minnesota series yet (I was in Las Vegas at a conference all week long…) I heard it was quite a series! I’m looking forward to watching it and seeing all the scuffles and Fisher’s theatrics…

I’m very much looking forward to this weekend as the St. Cloud State Huskies roll into town. This series has some fun implications and has all the makings of a playoff type as DU and St. Cloud are currently tied for second in the WCHA. Bobby Goepfert is such a fun goalie to watch…more to come on some notes on the upcoming series

Okay, on to the Avalanche. Considering that they play many more games than DU, I’m gonna make this short and sweet…

The Avs are 4th in the Northwestern division but are only 5 points behind the leader, Calgary. They stand at 9th in the Western Conference, 3 points out of a playoff spot behind the Minnesota Wild.

John-Michael Liles is out for 3-4 weeks with a broken foot, Ben Guite and Kyle Cumiskey were both recalled from Albany for stints with the Avs but have since been reassigned, Peter Budaj has started 11 straight games since December…goaltender controversy anyone??

Long story short, the All-Star Break has begun as All-Star Game Festivities are scheduled for next week…