Let the games begin…

So I’ve been busy what with school starting, the fall calling cycle starting, my boss quitting, etc. Hopefully things will slow down a little bit soon, so needless to say, this will be quick.

DU swept Maine this weekend in a big way. Friday night Senior Goaltender Peter Mannino posted his 10th career shutout in a 2-0 win over the Black Bears. Admittedly, I thought the Pioneers should have been better on Friday. Even though the Black Bears’ flight arrived at DIA at midnight of game day and they players didn’t arrive at their hotel until 2am, Maine was able to keep the Pioneers to only 2 goals. Ben Bishop was a huge in goal for Maine both literally, as he stands at 6’7” 210 lbs, and figuratively. He faced 48 shots over the course of the game, which should have been enough to garner him at least 3rd star recognition but wasn’t. Tyler Ruegsegger scored the first goal of the 2007-2008 season 5:46 into the second period, assisted by Chris Butler. At 19:42, Kyle Ostrow scored his first goal as a Pioneer, assisted by Ruegsegger and Butler. Both goals came on the Power Play.

Speaking of penalties, let me take a second to comment on the new two refs/two linesmen system the WCHA is trying out this year. Overall, I think it’s a great move for college hockey as it prepares an increasing number of young men to play in the NHL. It didn’t seem to me that there were more penalties called, but there was definitely better coverage and fewer true penalties fell through the cracks. That being said, I did think Adam swallowed his whistle a bit in favor of Maine towards the end of the game on Saturday night in an effort to “even things out.” Friday night Maine was called for 9 penalties for 18 minutes, while Denver was called for 5 penalties for 10 minutes. Saturday night Maine was called for 5 penalties for 10 minutes, while Denver was called for 7 penalties for 14 minutes. Something is definitely fishy here.

Back to the games, Saturday night saw DU sweep the series in a much better matched 3-1 win over Maine. There was a marked difference in how Maine played Saturday night; they were faster and stronger, however I thought DU matched them in intensity and acquitted themselves very well. Brock Trotter scored just 6 seconds into the game. At 3:49, Maine scored their only goal of the weekend on a 5-on-3 Power Play as Senior Captain Andrew Thomas and Assistant Captain Chris Butler sat in the box. This seemed to be a trend of the evening, as they would visit the box two more times each, which brought up questions of leadership on the USCHO Board. Jesse Martin and Anthony Maiani scored the other two goals for the Pioneers, Martin’s assisted by Ruegsegger and Patrick Mullen, Maiani’s unassisted.

My star of the weekend would be Tyler Ruegsegger. He ended the weekend 1-2—3 and was not assessed any penalties. He worked hard throughout and showed a maturity beyond his years.

That’s all I’ve got for now. With any luck, a discussion of the Colorado Avalanche’s new season will follow…