All the news that's fit to print (and some that's probably not...)

I’m afraid I have been neglecting my blogging duties as of late and for that I am sorry….

College Hockey News:
-DU has named their new Assistant Coach as former Ferris State assistant coach Derek Lalonde. He will have many of the same responsiblilites that Seth Appert had. Read about it here
-Incoming DU recruit Rhett Rakhshani was invited to the 2006 National Junior Evaluation Camp for the USA. He spent last year with the NTDP Under-18 team that won the gold medal at the IIHF under-18 Championships. Read about it here
-Colorado College Sophmore Chad Rau and incoming recruit Bill Sweatt were also selected for the Evaluation Camp. To see the full list of those invited click here
-Matt Carle was named the USA Hockey College Player of the Year. I thought he had won every award possible, but I was wrong. Read about it here

Pro Hockey News:
-The Colorado Avalanche named their new GM, Francois Giguere, former assistant GM for the Dallas Stars, will follow in the footsteps of Pierre Lacroix. Read about it here
-The Avs have acquired the rights to Michael Vernance, a former teammate of Wojtek Wolski. I think he will be a good fit with the other prospects the Avs have coming through the pipeline, like Paul Stastny and TJ Hensick. Read about it here
-The Carolina Hurricanes lead the Stanley Cup Finals 3 games to 1 against the Edmonton Oilers. The series heads back to Raleigh on Wednesday June 14, for game 5 where the Canes will have the opportunity to win the Stanley Cup for the first time in franchise history.

Other News:
-I am just too excited that I can’t not write about this…today, I secured my 2006-2007 season tickets to the DU Pioneers!! I will have the same seats as last year, but I might upgrade if possible through the select-a-seat process. I am so happy that I was able to get season tickets for next season as I was worried I might not be able to afford them. I am looking for ward to the 23 home games.
-A very good friend of mine, known throughout the internet hockey world as PiosAvsFan, and I are thinking about traveling to a couple of away games. We would really like to go to (in order): North Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Any helpful hints in making these trips as fun and cost effective as possible would be greatly appreciated!