Miscellanea

Yes, indeed Miscellanea is a word!

So the trade deadline has come and gone (yesterday to be exact). Of note: the Avs signed Peter Forsberg; they received Adam Foote for a conditional first-round draft pick in 2008 or 2009 and a conditional fourth-round pick in 2009; and finally, traded Karlis Skrastins for Ruslan Salei of the Florida Panthers.

Admittedly, I'm not overly excited about any of these acquisitions. Peter Forsberg *could* (and that's a pretty big could) be a great asset to the Avalanche in the stretch run to the playoffs. However, $5 million for a *could* is a pretty big risk to take. I sincerely hope that in June I have to eat my words and bow down to the greatness of Forsberg, but I fear it's all just a publicity stunt to get butts in the seats at the Pepsi Center.

I think Foote is a great addition, but at 36 I think it's safe to say Foote may be past his prime and just looking to end his career with the franchise that started it all (same goes for Forsberg if his injury problems continue).

As for Salei, I'm not familiar with him at all. He looks to be a "defensive defenseman," which, lord knows, the Avalanche are in sore need of.

CC is doing disgustingly well, even though they finally lost at home to St. Cloud State earlier this month. I've heard talk of Bachman for Hobey. While he's certainly got the credentials on the ice, I think Kevin Porter from Michigan is a shoe-in for the win, followed closely by Nate Gerbe of BC. I think the sleeper candidate is Chad Rau from CC. He's quietly having a career year with 22 goals and 12 assists for 34 points, with only 3 penalties for 6 minutes!

There's a new site for Pioneer fans that is (quite conveniently) called PioneerFans.com. They have a great idea and it seems to be going well so far, so check it out!

Swept/Sweep same diff...

February 15th and 16th, the Pioneers visited the Taj MaHockey (aka Ralph Englestad Arena). All I can say is what an embarrassment. There is really no good that came from that weekend of hockey. On Friday, the Pioneers were up 4-1 on the Sioux and blew that lead to lose 5-4. What happened, you may be wondering, the answer to which is the Pioneers just stopped playing. They grew too comfortable with their lead and started making mistakes. Absolutely embarrassing...

Saturday wasn't much better as the Sioux completed the sweep and kicked the Pioneers' collective (and individual) ass. It all started at the 6:38 mark of the second period when JP Testwuide and Kyle Radke literally dropped the gloves for a small skirmish. This was definitely not a full fledged fight, but in my opinion, both players should have been assessed game disqualifications for fighting rather than the 2 minutes for roughing they received (In case you're curious that mistake was rectified by the WCHA after the game). From there, all hell broke loose. I'll let you watch it rather than trying to explain it all...





It's been reported that the fight broke out when Joe Finley knocked into Rhett Rakhshani while the players were exiting the ice, this caused Peter Mannino to hit Finley. Long story short, both teams look ridiculous. The Pioneers were ganging up on the few Sioux players still on the ice, while Vossberg claims he didn't want to get suspended for fighting so he let Radke beat the $hit out of him...

Last weekend, the Pioneers (minus Testwuide and Vossberg on Friday due to Game DQs) swept (Friday 4-2, Saturday 3-1) the Seawolves of Alaska-Anchorage. No offense to UAA and its fine fans, but I just couldn't get excited about this series. I ended up skipping the Friday night game in favor of Happy Hour and was bored out of my mind on Saturday. I'm glad the Seawolves put up a fight (kinda) and I'm grateful that Denver was able to get 4 valuable league points.

The Pioneers traveled to Houghton, MI today to face the Huskies of Michigan Tech. Last year the Pioneers fared less than well against an always difficult Husky team. I hope they can pull out another sweep to keep themselves in 3rd place in the WCHA.

Ease on down the road...

According to a press release from DenverPioneers.com, Redshirt Sophomore Brock Trotter has signed a professional contract with the Montreal Canadiens. He was then assigned to the team's AHL affiliate, the Hamilton Bulldogs. While he has been added to Hamilton's roster, he has yet to play a game. Best wishes to Trotter in his future hockey career.

This weekend, the much hated (and struggling) Golden Gophers of Minnesota visited Magness Arena. On Friday night, the Pioneers had a much better effort than in recent games and were able to end the evening with a 1-1 tie. Freshman phenom Tyler Bozak scored the lone goal for the Pioneers on a beautiful short-handed play.

Saturday night saw the Pioneers trounce the Gophers in a hard fought 4-1 win. The Pioneers got goals from 4 different players (Glasser, Bozak, Rakhshani, and Gifford).

Tyler Bozak has definitely solved the Gophers this year as he has 8 points (6 goals, three of which were shorthanded, and 2 assists) in the 4 games he's played against the Gophers.

Up next for the Pioneers is a visit to Ralph Englestad Arena. The Fighting Sioux stand just 2 points ahead of the Pioneers in the WCHA, with DU having 2 games in hand. This weekend will be a great test for DU that will show whether this young team has the mental and physical fortitude to make a splash come March and April.

What the French, Toast?!?

I had hoped that by the time I was able to sit down and write a post there would be some good news. However, the hockey scene in Denver is as bleak as the weather's been as of late.

University of Denver
The Pioneers hosted the Badgers in the second weekend of January. I was unable to attend the Friday Night due to a prior work engagement, but I did DVR it so to watch it later. The Badgers battled back from a 3-0 deficit to seemly tie the game in the final 4 seconds of the game. However Referee Randy Schmidt ruled that it was a no goal. Turns out rather than looking at the entire replay (which showed the puck entering and exiting the net before the end of the period), he saw only a screen shot at the 0:00 mark of the 3rd period, granting the Pioneers a 3-2 win over the Badgers. Amid the outcry of fans and Mike Eaves, the WCHA issued an apology admitting that Schmidt made an error and the goal should have counted, however they are unable, due to NCAA rules, to change the outcome of the game. You may remember that Randy Schmidt is the same ref that allowed Jesse Martin's controversial goal in the favor of the Pioneers when they visited St. Cloud State. Much to the chagrin of all parties involved, Schmidt was allowed to officiate the Saturday night game of the series. In my opinion, this was a HUGE mistake by the league as, from my view, Schmidt spent the entire evening trying to make up for mistake the previous night, including allowing a Badger goal that changed the flow of the game, leading the Badgers to a 7-2 win over the Pioneers. After allowing 5 goals, Senior Goaltender Peter Mannino was replaced by Freshman Marc Cheverie.

The following weekend saw the Pioneers play at Air Force and host Bemidji State. As is to be expected, the Air Force Falcons worked hard the entire 60 minutes of the game, to a well deserved 5-2 win over the Pioneers. Once again, the Pioneer defense left goalie Peter Mannino out to dry, and he was pulled in favor of Marc Cheverie after allowing 4 goals. The Pioneers hosted the Bemidji State Beavers the next night. Marc Cheverie's play earned him the starting job for the Saturday night tilt. Four different Pioneers scored in the 4-2 win over the Beavers, included Matt Glasser who scored his first goal in his collegiate career.

After a long bye-week, the Pioneers traveled to Mankato, Minnesota for its first WCHA road series of the New Year. If you're any kind of DU fan, you'll remember the 8-7 loss to the Mavericks in the 2003-2004 season. It seems that DU can never play "their" game when visiting Mankato and this trip was no different. The Mavericks pounded the Pioneers in a 5-1 loss for DU. For the third consecutive game, Peter Mannino allowed 4 or more goals. The one bright spot was perhaps that Rhett Rakhshani scored in his second consecutive game and seems to be coming out of his WJC haze. The next night the Pioneers lost by a hair in a 3-2 loss as the Mavericks completed the sweep. It's a bit ironic that the same team DU swept at home for its first WCHA home sweep in a year and half, ended up sweeping them when they visited...

The biggest (and most likely most tragic, but nothing appears to be certain yet) news of late is that Brock Trotter did not make the trip to Mankato with the team. When it was first reported (see:Crucial Stretch starts with Trotter Missing), it appeared (at least in my reading of this quote: "I can't tell a lot about why he is not with us," Gwozdecky said. "All I can say is that each guy on our team has a private life and at this point in time, we have to respect his privacy. This was an internal decision to not have him on the trip.") that there was some sort of personal issue that Trotter was dealing with. However as days have passed and news has been deferred repeatedly (see: the mention of TrotterWatch in the USCHO Fan Forum All Things DU XVIII Thread), speculation has run rampant through the hockey community. Chris at the Western College Hockey blog has a great summary of the events of the last day or so. Check it out: Where in the World is Brock Trotter?

While I have several theories, I'm not going to commit them to writing as there is every chance that this is an extremely personal situation for Trotter and there's no reason to besmirch him based on rumor and innuendo. I can only say that I sincerely hope that when all the smoke has cleared the integrity of both player and program remain intact.

That's really all I have the energy for now...

Two Weeks in Colorado Hockey

University of Denver
After the Christmas break, the Denver Pioneers hosted the Wells Fargo Denver Cup at Magness Arena. Peter Mannino recorded his 13th career shutout (tying him with Gerry Powers for first place on DU’s career shutout list) in Friday's game to lead the Pioneers in a 5-0 victory over the Sacred Heart Pioneers. , allowing DU to advance to the Championship game. On Saturday they faced the Big Green from Dartmouth, winning by a score of 5-3 to capture the Wells Fargo Denver Cup. Tyler Bozak and Brock Trotter were once again honored by the WCHA, earning back-to-back honors, Bozak as the Rookie of the Week, Trotter as the Offensive Player of the Week.

The Pioneers will face the Wisconsin Badgers this weekend at Magness. The Badgers are coming off a weekend of being swept at home by the Colorado College Tigers. Having watched the Saturday night match, I think it's safe to say this will not be an easy weekend for the Pioneers. The Badgers played a very solid 50 minutes, but allowed the Tigers to capitalize on some Badger mistakes. Not to mention, the Badgers will benefit from the return of Kyle Turris, Blake Geoffrion and Jamie McBain, who were participating in the World Junior Championships last weekend. DU will also regain WJC Team USA participants Rhett Rakhshani and Tyler Ruegsegger.

Colorado College
Our neighbors to the South have found themselves in a bit of trouble. Two players were recently suspended from school (one was suspended from playing) for varrying lengths (Cody Lampl, until January 2009; Derek Patrosso, until March 12, 2008; Chad Rau, one game) in an incident which CC's President, Richard Celeste, has declined to comment on. There's been some amazingly entertaining speculation going on regarding what exactly the players did to be suspended. Let's Go DU has offered a $50 bounty for the first person who correctly guesses what the players did to receive the suspensions. Trust me when I say that reading the comments section of that post is WELL WORTH IT.

On the ice, the Tigers have faired well. Beating RPI 3-2 in the opening round of the Lightning College Hockey Classic in Tampa, FL. However, in the Championship game on Sunday, the Tigers fell to UMass in overtime by a score of 5-4. Last weekend, the Tigers visited the Wisconsin Badgers. They earned two wins (2-0 on Friday, 3-1 on Saturday) in their first league play of the year. Chad Rau scored two shorthanded goals (one in each match), for a league leading total of 5 this year, 4 of which have come agains the Badgers...

Colorado Avalanche
The Avs received some terrible news when they heard Captain Joe Sakic is expected to miss 8-12 weeks after undergoing Hernia surgery. But the bad news didn't stop there, as the Avs will be missing Ryan Smyth for approximately 8 weeks due to a fractured ankle. In the last three weeks, the Avs have recalled Cody McLeod, David Jones (who was later reassigned), TJ Hensick, and Johnny Boychuk.

Through their last 9 games, the Avs are 4-3-2. Currently they are 8th in the Western Conference and 4th in the Northwest Division.

One bright spot in all this has been the play of Marek Svatos, who has finally stepped up his game and shown what he's truly capable of.

Too Little, Too Late...

For the last month of my life, hockey has not been my top priority and for that I am truly sorry. This post is going to be pretty big as I try to hit all key points for the last month. And off we go!

It was rivalry weekend on the Front Range as the No. 3 Pioneers faced off against the No. 4 Tigers of Colorado College. In the first match-up of the home and home series, the Tigers walked all over the Pioneers with a 5-1 win at the Colorado Springs World Arena. Junior Chad Rau scored his first career hat trick to lead the Tigers to victory. On a personal note, I cannot say with enough fervor how much I HATE going to World Arena. I have yet to have a good experience in that venue. This time around it was a completely wasted CC “fan” that made my evening even worse by continually yelling obscenities towards my friends and me. Meanwhile, the true CC fans around us did nothing but laugh at the drunken man’s farce.

The tables turned when the Tigers visited the Pioneers at Magness Arena on Saturday night. Tyler Ruegsegger, Rhett Rakhshani, and Tom May each scored in a 3-2 win over the Tigers.

A word on this edition of the Colorado College Tigers, they have incredible speed, are excellent on capitalizing on opponent’s mistakes, and have one of the premiere goal tenders in the WCHA. Richard Bachman, the freshman from Highlands Ranch, CO was truly amazing both nights in net. I can only hope that Bachman, drafted in the 4th round by the Dallas Stars in 2006, will bolt early for the pros!

The following weekend saw our Pioneers host the North Dakota Fighting Sioux. Friday night saw Peter Mannino earning his 12th shutout as a Pioneer in a 1-0 victory for Denver. Mannino’s 27-save effort tied him with Adam Berkhoel for second place on DU’s career shutout list. He now sits one behind Gerry Powers (13) for first place.

Saturday night was a different story as the Pioneers lost by a score of 3-1. However, much like Friday night, Freshman Tyler Bozak scored the lone goal for DU. The Pioneers came out flat and showed little to no effort through the first two periods of the game, only coming to life in the third...too little, too late!

On December 4, standout sophomores Rhett Rakhshani and Tyler Ruegsegger were named to the 2008 U.S. Nationl Junior Team that will compete at the World Junior Championshops in the Czech Republic after Christmas. What an amazing honor and opportunity for these two amazing young men! While we'll miss them for the Denver Cup, we truly wish them all the best of luck in the Tournament!!

With the University of Denver campus emptied of students during our 6 week winter break, the Pioneer hockey team travelled to St. Cloud, Minnesota after their split with North Dakota. In the Friday night match, DU edged St. Cloud State 3-2. This win however did not come easily as the Huskies, who at the time were trying to snap a 4 game losing streak, fought hard throughout. Also, a questionable call really helped the Pioneers in this win. Jesse Martin's goal at 3:54 of the second period, the first of the night for the Pioneers, should not have been counted as a goal. See the YouTube video below. After the game, WCHA commisioner Bruce McLeod issued a formal apology to St. Cloud State.



On Saturday, the Huskies again came out hard. They outplayed DU throughout the first two periods, coming into the third the a 2-0 lead. With 6 minutes left on the game, the Huskies were looking forward to finally ending their long winning drought. Rhett Rakhshani had a different idea however and went on to score a hat trick in the final 5 minutes and 49 seconds of the game to lead Denver to another 3-2 win over St. Cloud. I let the play speak for itself, for surely there are not words to describe this truly amazing comeback...


Rakhshani was named as the INCH Player of the Week for his heroics in the game. I must thank him for reminding me why it is I love this sport so much. ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!

After a rather stunning sweep over St. Cloud, the boys headed up to Anchorage, Alaska for their final WCHA series before the Christmas break. The Pioneers beat the Seawolves 4-3 on Friday for their third win in a row, with goals from 4 different Pioneers (Testwuide, May, Martin, and Mullen).

Saturday night, again down by two goals, the Pioneers showed what they're made of, scoring 6 unanswered goals in a 6-2 win over the Alaska-Anchorage Seawolves, completing their second WCHA road sweep in a row.

The Pioneers concluded the first half of their season with a 14-4 record and 11-3 mark in the WCHA. They are now tied for 1st place in the WCHA with the Colorado College Tigers, both having 22 league points in 14 games played.

“Let everyone sweep in front of his own door, and the whole world will be clean.”

Saturday, February 11, 2006 9:25 PM MST. That was the last time the Denver Pioneers swept a WCHA opponent in Magness Arena. That night, DU (oddly enough) earned a 5-1 win over the Minnesota State Mavericks. This weekend saw our Pioneers complete their first home sweep of a WCHA team since that night against the Minnesota State Mavericks. Here are some pertinent links to last weekend’s sweep:
-DU Tops Minnesota State, 2-1
-Pioneers Run Winning Streak to Four Games
-Mannino Named Co-Defensive Player of the Week

And the best of all, Tyler Ruegsegger's Short Handing Goal at the 13:07 mark of the 1st period from Saturday's game. Having been in attendance at the game, it was like all the air left the arena as 6,037 fans gasped at his amazing skill.


Last, please visit a new(ish) blog on the Denver scene. Coming from the Denver Post, Mike Chambers regularly writes about the DU hockey team.

There's Beauty in the Breakdown...

As we head into the bye-week before facing Minnesota State, here’s a quick breakdown of what’s been going on in my neck of the woods.

- DU Skates Past Minnesota Duluth, 5-1
- DU Drops 3-0 Decision to Minnesota Duluth
- DU Gains 5-1 Road Win at Minnesota
- Pioneers Sweep Golden Gophers
- Mannino and Bozak Honored by WCHA

Enjoy the week off!

Addition to Previous Post

The Bleacher Coach
This guy will spend the entire game coaching the team on what they are doing wrong and how they should improve (now I do tend to point at the puck and yell at the team but I am no Bleacher Coach....just to be clear).The Bleacher Coach will give criticism that makes no sense and would in no way help the team to the win. This moron always manages to sit behind letsgomavs but manages to annoy anyone who knows anything about hockey and always seems to be at the game alone....

thanks for the addition letsgomavs!

Hockey Fans!

Here is a list of the kind of people you will find at a hockey gaem. Most of them I want to hit....if I missed a group feel free to let me know.

Confused Girl
She is usually blond, wears, some kind of Gap sweater, a trendy scarf and heels (but as much as you pray she eats shit, she never does). She asks multiple questions about rules and "why that guy is headed to time out" but is generally not in any way interested in the game. Her favorite part of the night is either when the cheerleaders came out with free shirts, or when the arena played "Sweet Caroline" and she sang along. Rarely seen without 'Mr. Loafers.'

Mr. Loafers
This guy would much rather be somewhere getting a manicure but attends hockey, or any sporting event only to look manly. He brings with him 'Confused Girl' and spends the majority of the game explaining his version of the rules of the game. Easily spotted because this guy is usually waring a visor with his hair spiked around it and loafers with no socks. When 'Confused Girl" asks questions he says things like "Oh he got a pushing penalty, or refers to the periods as quarters" A personal favorite of mine was when the goalie was pounding his stick on the ice to let his team know that someone was coming out of the penalty box, a girl asked her Mr. Loafers "why is he hitting the ice like that, he looks mean" to which he said, and I am not kidding you in the least, "Well Buffy (not really her name but its fits and makes me laugh) he is doing that to get his team the increase their intensity, he is getting them excited and pepped up." So in essence Mannino was a cheerleader in pads, try to get that picture out of your head....

Ms. My Children are "gifted"....aka special
This lady coddles her children stopping only short of having them on a 'kid leash'. They are rotten spoiled brats that will only hear the word no when they enter the real word and cut the cord. This lady pushes her kids to the front of everything and will actually cover her children's ears when the word "suck" is used. To which I say if your child is so special....stop eating the paste, put your helmet back on special...then don't bring them to a hockey game, take them to see ice dancing, surely there is no booing or yelling at something like that. My inspiration for this title actually sits directly in front of me...and rest assured that I fit the word 'suck' in to every sentence, and she covers her children (who look like they are nearing their teens by the way) ears for the majority of the game.

The Losers
Pretty self-explanatory....the other team. Seated on the bench, wearing helmets, easily spotted because they are crying in the corner and looking around dumbfounded while getting pummeled on the ice. This person has recently moved out of mom's house who is...you guessed it...Ms. My Children are "gifted"....aka special.

Desperate Girl
She attends sporting events looking for the future Mr. Desperate Girl, hoping a player will somehow look in to the stands and decide he is deeply in love with her. She spends an eternity on her hair and wardrobe which usually consists of little to no clothing and in most cases involves some kind of unfortunate use of spandex. Generally seems to be a nice person and spends a great deal of the game sipping on some kind of mixed drink. Unfortunately the only person she goes home with is the middle aged hockey addict that is too drunk to notice the spandex.

The Fun Group
This group of people is always fun, they laugh, joke and actually watch the game. In college this is the student section and at the Pepsi Center its the section I am in! This group is always pulling out fun cheers, which usually in some way involve the word suck, and they are always wearing some crazy clothing disaster. These people come to the game in a in a banana outfit or in a barrel (a la barrel man). These are my people!

Talk the Whole Time
This either two women out for a girls night or two men whose innermost desires are to wear Manolo Blahnik heels. Why they are even at the game is beyond me because they watch little to none of the game. Instead they discuss current events, the weather, work problems, or their children....and they do so loud enough that I can hear them over my co-conspirator yelling 'suck' just to piss off the Ms. My Children are "gifted"....aka special. Which in case you were wondering....is loud. You can give them the evil stare, which means "shut it" all night but they are completely oblivious and continue chatting, only stopping to rest during the pee wee team playing during intermission or "Saturday Night Sumo." Which is understandable..how funny is that shit...people flailing all over the ice in giant suits who can't get up when they fall....I digress.

The Boys Night Clan
This is a group of, often times recent alumni who just come to watch a game of hockey and drink copious amounts of ridiculously priced beer. During the first period they will yell things that will make their entire section laugh talk about the game and players with their friends and look for the 'desperate girl'. Towards the middle of the second period they are a little too intoxicated to come up with anything funny but still yell something that has 'suck' in it and are still generally pretty entertaining. The third period is when this group really shines! At this point they are too intoxicated to form complete sentences but still yell things and will stand up, link arms and sing and dance along to "Cotton-Eyed Joe." Mostly harmless, but I'm still waiting for the time that one of them falls forward in to the crowd taking two rows with them.

The Die-Hard Fan
No matter the elements this person is always in their seat ready for the game. It seems that this fan is often times more invested in the game than the majority of the players. They know all the stats and can recite them at the drop of a hat.....(I don't actually get this phrase....why are you dropping a hat....anywho) will recite them verbatim. I love these people, but sometimes they pull out info that I didn't know could even exist and is even more useless than Mr. Loafers, but they still know it for some reason.

Family Night
Its always fun to sit near a family that is at a game for the first time. The kids get hockey clothes, foam fingers and a bucket of popcorn while plastered to the glass. Dad explains the actual rules while mom hold the puck the kids caught and freezes.

Mr. I Will Stop at Nothing to Get on the Jumbo-Tron
Forget wearing a banana outfit or painting your face, this guy will stop at nothing to be seen. Whether its some terrible dancing, taking off articles of clothing or finding a cute kid to stand behind he will get on the big screen.

Live in South Bend (Trois)

Notre Dame is a truly amazing place. The campus of the University of Notre Dame is enormous (when comparing it to the size of the University of Denver's campus that is). I had to opportunity to visit the bookstore on campus. It is mind boggling...Two floors full of Notre Dame apparrel, text books, and souvenirs. We spent two and half hours (and countless dollars) in that store. Afterwords we ate on campus at the Legends of Notre Dame restaurant. A marked difference I've noticed at Notre Dame is that there's an amazing sense of tradition and preserving those traditions. Everywhere you go, you're faced with something uniquely Irish. The Legends of Notre Dame restaurant is an example of the preservation of tradition. You are surrounded by the greatest moments in Notre Dame sports history, including a video that shows those great moments. The food was superb and service was good. I would HIGHLY recommend it to anyone visiting Notre Dame.

To cap off my weekend, I had the great pleasure of attending the Notre Dame/USC game. Although Notre Dame lost (38-0), I enjoyed the experience tremendously. I say experience because, when you're in Notre Dame stadium, it's not just about the game, it's about the whole package. We sat directly behind the Notre Dame band, close to the student section, 6 rows from the field. There just aren't words to explain what it was like to sit (or rather I should say stand, as we stood for most of the game, like all the rest of the fans) with 80,000 screaming fans. The student section alone was louder than all of Magness Arena on a good night. The best I can do to share this experience with you is to share my pictures. Please enjoy a slideshow of my trip to South Bend. It was truly a once in a lifetime experience that I will always remember fondly. I want to thank the people of South Bend, who were the most gracious, kind people I’ve ever met, and who made my trip truly remarkable.

Live in South Bend (Deux)

Tonight the #5 Pioneers did what they should have done last night! They beat the #11 Notre Dame Fighting Irish 3-1 for a split of the weekend series. Overall, DU looked much better, especially in the second period. There appeared to be no lapse in focus tonight as the Pioneers put together a great game. Freshman defenseman Chris Nutini scored his first goal as a Pioneer with a wicked shot from the point at 15:55 of the first period. The Irish tied up the game at 10:55 of the second as Jesse Martin sat in the penalty box for instigating. It should be noted Tyler Ruegsegger was also in the box however; Notre Dame received a coincidental minor, as there was a scrum around the Notre Dame goal. Anthony Maiani scored the game winner at 12:24 of the second. Finally Tom May rounded out the scoring with an empty netter at 19:43, scoring his first of the season.

A change in tonight’s game atmosphere was the addition of the Notre Dame (or at least a small part of it) Band. Please enjoy the clips below!


Notre Dame Band and Student Section


Notre Dame Fight Song


Notre Dame Band Marches to the Football Pep Rally

On a completely personal side note, this post is the 100th post on Hockey in Colorado!! Thanks to MeganDU and PiosAvsFan for helping me reach this milestone. I look forward to the many posts come.

Live in South Bend

That’s right folks, I’m in South Bend, Indiana, home of the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. Briefly, let’s talk about the Denver Pioneers 4-3 loss to the Fighting Irish. I thought DU came out very strong in the first period, as evidenced by the early goal (1:42 of the first period) from Freshman Kyle Ostrow. As the game wore on however, it seemed the Pioneers lost a little of that intensity. Notre Dame’s Garrett Regan evened up the score on the Power Play at 18:10. Then Tyler Bozak puts the Pios up again at 19:15, though from my vantage point that goal was deflected by an Irish defenseman.

What was a poor ending to the first period became an almost disastrous second period. Once again the Pioneers seemed to lose all focus on drive in the second period (something that I’m sure many of you will remember plagued the Pios last season). Notre Dame led the play almost entirely through the second scoring two goals, taking a 3-2 lead into the final period.

Directly after the end of the second, it was announced that all spectators needed to evacuate the arena as a Tornado warning had been issued for the South Bend area. After a short sojourn into a more protected area of the arena, the fans were allowed back to their seats with no delay in the game.

The final period saw Notre Dame score a final time, in what can best be described as a dirty manner. There was quite clearly goalie interference as Peter Mannino had a stick to his neck, but after replay, the refs sided with Notre Dame. Brock Trotter scored the final goal for DU, just 32 seconds after the questionable Notre Dame goal. Despite several late period Power Plays, the Pioneers were unable to even the score, leaving the ice after a scrum in the corner involving Captain Andrew Thomas.

Overall, I think a key issue is that the Pioneers need to work hard for a full 60 minutes. They possesses great strength and speed, but they have been unsuccessful at keeping up their intensity throughout a game. Also, the penalty kill MUST improve. Notre Dame converted on 3 of their 4 Power Plays. Not to mention this was seen last weekend briefly as the only goal Mannino allowed versus Maine came on a Power Play. I think Mannino has been making great first efforts but the support of his team has been lacking on clearing the rebounds and ensuring he doesn’t have to make second and third saves.

I think if DU can play a full 60 minutes the way they played the first 10 minutes of tonight’s game, Notre Dame is a beatable team. If they continue to struggle in the second period and become lazy, we could see a similar result as tonight.

It's Avalanche Season!

These days I’m working nights Sunday through Thursday. Needless to say in the two weeks since the Avalanche season has started, I have watched ZERO games lives. I have however, been diligently taping them for my viewing pleasure and so have seen ALL five games the Avalanche have played. Here’s a short review of the beginning of their season.

Game One: vs. Dallas 10/3/2007
-Paul Stastny scored his first career Hat trick leading the Avalanche in a 4-3 win over the Stars.
-The Avs showed their rust, allowing 2 power play goals by the Stars in the third period. I’m still not convinced Peter Budaj should be the man in the net; however Jose Theodore was busy rehabbing his knee.
-Jaroslav Hlinka…welcome to the show. He finished the night with two assists while playing on a line with Stastny and Andrew Brunette.

Game Two: at Nashville 10/4/2007
-One word, Painful. As in, it was painful to watch this game.
-The Avalanche outshot the Predators 35 to 32 in the 0-4 loss.
-Tyler Weiman replaced Budaj at the 4:14 mark of the third period after the 4th Nashville goal. He saved all 10 shots he faced. Congratulations to Tyler for his first NHL game.

Game Three: vs. San Jose 10/7/2007
-The Avalanche scored 4 third period goals to beat the Sharks 6-2.
-Stastny scored 1 goal (the game winner) and tallied 4 assists.
-Joe Sakic, Milan Hejduk, Marek Svatos, and Ryan Smyth all scored their first goals of the season.

Game Four: at St. Louis 10/12/2007
-Jose Theodore made his first start of the season in the 1-4 loss to the Blues. He saved 19 of the 23 shots he faced. Overall I thought he looked solid, though he still seems to be having the problem of letting shots leak through him. While he’s excellent at making the first save, he needs work on his rebound control as he still cannot seem to make the second and third saves.
-Stastny scored the only goal for the Avalanche. Proving there’s no such thing as a Sophomore Slump as far as he’s concerned.
-Manny Legace’s insane record against the Avalanche continues as he is now 12-1 all time against the Avs. I think it’s safe to say (much to my chagrin), he pwns the Avs...

Game Five: vs. Columbus 10/13/2007
-“Super” Joe Sakic led the Avs with a Hat trick in the 5-1 win over the Blue Jackets.
-Scott Hannan garnered his first assist in an Avalanche uniform.
-Overall, the Avs played well, especially considering Pascal Leclaire, Columbus’ goalie was coming in with a two game shutout streak.

In conclusion, what the heck is going on with road games?!? The Avalanche have scored just one goal in 6 periods of road play. Meanwhile, they have scored 15 goals at home. There’s definitely a disconnect somewhere and I fervently hope they figure out what’s going on soon as they begin a four game road trip on 10/19 after they face Calgary at the Pepsi Center this Tuesday. Paul Stastny is leading the Avalanche with 10 points. He is tied for second in the league for points and goals (5), and tied for 10th in assists (5). According to the Hockey News, he’s on track for an 82 goal, 82 assist, 164 point season!! In comparison, Sidney Crosby is on track for a 41 goal, 41 assist, 82 point season…not that that really means anything, it just makes me feel good…Overall, I think the Avs have been looking pretty good. They seem to be gelling as a team and fitting into their systems well. The key is winning on the road and continuing to win at home, but I think they’re in good position to make a substantial playoff run.

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…

Videos from Avalanche Training Camp

Courtesy of PiosAvsFan, please see the videos to follow.


This video shows Paul Stastny (#26 in Gray) neatly tucking away a nice goal against Peter Budaj.


This clip shows a bit of one of the scrimmages. Enjoy!

I'm so excited and I just can't hide it!

With a little of one month until the first game of the DU Pioneer 2007-2008 season, I thought I’d take some time on this beautiful Labor Day weekend to ponder the fast approaching season.

At the end of last season, there were some huge questions left by the 2006-2007 squad. Can the struggling defense learn some discipline over the summer? Will the ever more prominent ego issues resolve themselves? Can Mannino regain his Freshman year/National Championship winning form? Will Rakhshani spend more time on his feet next season (I kid, I kid….)? It seemed that the 07-08 edition of the Pioneers were poised to become a much stronger, more disciplined team, especially with the announcement of Andrew Thomas as its captain. Then Ryan Dingle left to pursue his pro career. He was given an Amateur Try Out with the Portland Pirates, where he played 4 games with only 1 assist overall and was released.

Then, on July 30, one of the worst things possible occurred. While it had been rumored for about week, it was finally announced that would be Sophomore Keith Seabrook was leaving DU to join the Calgary Hitmen of the WHL. As you might remember in the middle of the 06-07 season, Sophomore defenseman TJ Fast departed for the WHL. The announcement sent shockwaves through the DU fan community. From reserved resignations of the apparent downfall of the defensive corps to the downright icy comments from Coach Gwozdecky, it was certain the Pioneers had taken quite a hit. As it stood, DU had 4 WCHA caliber defensemen, however with the defection of Seabrook, it appeared almost impossible that the DU defense would be able to withstand the offensive onslaught of the coming season.

Shortly after the announcement of Seabrook’s departure, it was announced that Geoff Paukovich had come to terms with the Edmonton Oilers. The reaction by fans was completely different. It was widely acknowledged that this was the best move for Paukovich whose play had sadly been severely hampered since the Bina incident.

Meanwhile, on the USCHO board, rumors abounded of the last minute recruits being brought in by the Pioneer coaching staff until at long last an official announcement came from DU. The 2007-2008 recruiting class will be as follows:

Name, S/C, Pos., Ht., Wt., Yr., DOB, Hometown (Last Team, League)
Tyler Bozak, R, F, 6-0, 165, Fr., 03/19/86, Regina, Saskatchewan (Victoria, BCHL)
Joey Brehm, L, D, 6-2, 180, Fr., 08/05/88, Edina, Minn. (Edina H.S.)
Marc Cheverie, L, G, 6-2, 185, Fr., 02/22/87, Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia (Nanaimo, BCHL)
Jon Cook, R, D, 6-1, 195, Fr., 04/08/86, Denver, Colo. (Camrose, AJHL)
Stephen Cunningham, L, F, 6-1, 195, Fr., 03/28/86, Boulder, Colo. (Burnaby, BCHL)
Eddie Guinn, L, G, 6-1, 185, Fr., 07/11/87, South Burlington, Vt. (Cleveland, CSHL)
Dustin Jackson, R, F, 6-3, 200, Fr., 06/20/86, Omaha, Neb. (Southern Minnesota, NAHL)
Anthony Maiani, L, F, 5-8, 165, Fr., 02/24/89, Shelby Township, Mich. (Sioux City, USHL)
Jesse Martin, R, F, 6-0, 180 Fr., 09/07/88, Edmonton, Alberta (Tri-City, USHL)
Chris Nutini, R, D, 6-0, 185, Fr., 09/12/87, Centennial, Colo. (Wichita Falls, NAHL)
Kyle Ostrow, L, F, 5-10, 175, Fr., 09/05/87, Calgary, Alberta (Nanaimo, BCHL)
John Ryder, L, D, 6-1, 190, Fr., 03/06/89, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Ohio, USHL)

I am of the opinion that the 2007-2008 edition of the University of Denver Pioneers could go one of two ways, with no middle ground. This team will either knock everyone’s socks off or be so terrible we’ll want to wipe this season from our memories. As the ever-optimistic person I am, I firmly believe this team has the potential to be a major contender this year; they are led by a captain who knows what it takes to win, have a goalie who has proven his ability to be the man, and have a coach with the experience and expertise to mold them into a national title contender. There’s also the small fact that the Frozen Four is being held in their back yard. What more motivation do they need??

I’ll leave you now with a few pictures of the new ice in Magness Arena.

Memories...

As I was driving around my beautiful city during my lunch break, I happened across W. Ellsworth Ave. There in my car I was reminded of my first season as a DU hockey fan. If you’re any kind of college hockey fan, I’m sure you’ll understand why I was thrown back into the days of drunken frat boys yelling obscenities, dirty chants that turn out to be hockey related, and the smell of freshly spilled beer. That’s right, every time I cross paths with W. Ellsworth Ave., I am reminded of former Michigan Tech goalie Cam Ellsworth.

It was a cold February day. I’d been invited to the game by several friends who were only casual hockey fans. As was usually the case in those years before DU’s back-to-back national championships, we bought tickets 5 minutes before the game started and raced to the student section for the best seats available. Those happened to be three rows up from the ice directly behind the opposing team’s goalie. As we settled in, the SAE’s (that’s Sigma Alpha Epsilon) were commenting on the easy pronunciation of this goalie’s last name (this in the time of goalies such as McElhinney, Dubielewicz, Reichmuth, and Bruckler).

About 7 minutes into the first period Jeff Drummond (later to be known as Mr. Saturday Night) scored the first goal of the game against Ellsworth, assisted by Kevin Ulanski, and Scott Drewicki. After we all cheered and danced (yes, there was dancing) in celebration, the SAE’s began the ritualistic goalie cheer, with all the students joining in. “Ellsworth, Ellsworth, Ellsworth, YOU SUCK!” 7 minutes later Kevin Doell scored. Once again the cheer began “Ellsworth, Ellsworth, Ellsworth, YOU SUCK!”

Seven times during that evening I heard the glorious cheer. Luckily for Cam Ellsworth, DU was unable to score during the second period, when he was on the opposite side of the rink. However, during the third he was scored on 5 times and in return he heard the gleeful cheer of the student section “Ellsworth, Ellsworth, Ellsworth, YOU SUCK!” Kevin Doell scored 4 times that night, earning the admiration (and hats) of the 5,000+ fans in attendance.


So as I drive across W. Ellsworth Ave. I think of that night and the cheers of the student section. I also wonder whatever happened to Cam Ellsworth. Courtesy of The Internet Hockey Database Cam spent his remaining two years at Michigan Tech, never winning more than 10 games in each of his four seasons. In the 2005-2006 season he signed with the Augusta Lynx of the ECHL only to be traded, after playing one game (a tie in which he allowed 4 goals), to the Greenville Grrrowl of the ECHL. He played 34 games with the Grrrowl winning 22, losing 10 and tying 1. He then moved on to the Stockton Thunder of the ECHL, playing 33 games last season (14-13-3).

I hope you enjoyed my sojourn in the past…but let me leave you with one last thought: “Ellsworth, Ellsworth, Ellsworth, YOU SUCK!”

Where there’s a Mullet, there’s a Way

I am ecstatic, overjoyed, delighted, thrilled, elated, blissful, rapturous, euphoric, and any other word you can think of for really overly happy. After three long years of mediocrity, the Colorado Avalanche has taken a BIG step in the direction of greatness. On July 1st, Francois Giguere did the first really amazing thing since he’s been GM. The Avalanche has signed defenseman Scott Hannan and Captain Canada himself, the greatest of all mullets, Ryan Smyth.

Avs Sign Defenseman Scott Hannan

Avalanche Signs Ryan Smyth

I'd like to take a second to examine the Hair Choices of our new Avs.

I'll start with Hannan. It's kind of fluffy if you will, almost mullet like. Probably if he didn't tuck his man locks behind his ears it would look less mullet-ish. Also, does he dye it? It seems to be multi colored, a bit lustrous...Overall, I would give it a 8 out of 10 for sweet hair. Plus I dig the way it looks when he plays, it's all wet and stringy...so hot....


Next, let's tackle the uber mullet of Ryan Smyth...According to Mullets Galore the glorious Mullet of Destiny could be classified as a CamaroMullet. Whatever it is, it's awesomely awesome! As was previously mentioned (in fact too many times for me to link to the posts...oops!) I really heart this mullet. It's just so full and wavy, you really can't go wrong.

Seriously though, the Avs have filled some holes with these signings. Hannan is a physical defensive defenseman, which the Avs sorely need. Sure, he won't put up big numbers (in 508 regular season NHL games he has 25 goals) but that's what we have forwards for. Which brings me to Ryan "The Mullet of Destiny" Smyth. He's the kind of player that likes to get in the crease and use his size to pressure d-men and goalies alike until he scores.

More Fun Stuff:
-Smyth, Hannan Arrive in Denver. The Colorado Avalanche held a press conference yesterday evening to welcome Ryan and Scott to Colorado. There is a transcript as well as video.
-Adam Proteau of The Hockey News has a blog. His Wacky Weekend post deserves a read. In it, he briefly looks at the first two days of Free Agent open season. Here's what he had to say about the Avs:
Colorado Avalanche
Signed Up: Scott Hannan (SJ), Ryan Smyth (Edm)
Signed Out: Brett McLean (Fla), Ken Klee (Atl)
My 10 cents, in 10 words or less: Superior UFA signings, but Avs still have holes to fill.
Free Agent/Trade Grade: A+
-Other signings of note: Drury and Gomez to the Rangers; Briere, Jason Smith, and Joffrey Lupul to the Flyers; Jason Blake to Toronto; Brian Rafalski to Detroit; Paul Kariya to St. Louis; Handzus, Preissing, Nagy, and Calder to Los Angeles; Bertuzzi to Anaheim.
-Cory Schneider of BC has signed with the Vancouver Canucks. I find this a little odd. It's clear that Vancouver has chosen Luongo to be the man in the net for a while. This seems like a waste of time for Schneider. I don't see why he didn't choose to stay at BC for his senior season then see which team would pick him up after that. Sure, it would look like he had a bit of an ego, but seriously, while he may not be NHL ready this minute, his talent is wasted warming the bench...
-Also, Brian Lee has jumped the Fighting Sioux ship and signed with the Ottawa Senators. I hope he enjoys Binghamton, New York and wish him the best. Oh and tell his brother to hurry up and get to DU already!

Last I'd like to tackle the subject of site redesigns. Perhaps you have noticed, but all NHL sites are transitioning to new servers and new templates. The Colorado Avalanche can now be found at http://avalanche.nhl.com. Please check it out, I think they've done a great job adapting the former Avalanche site to fit the NHL's new template. There are pros and cons to this new formalized web design scheme. First, I think it makes it easier for casual fans to explore the NHL. Since all the sites are basically the same, once you're familiar with one site, you are familiar with them all. However, I will miss some of the really cool individualized sites like the Ottawa Senators and Anaheim Ducks.

Also, it appears that the University of Denver Pioneer's are redesigning their site. Personally, I'm all for it. I think the partnership with CSTV has not served DU well considering all of the features are NOT Mac compatible. All season long, I was unable to listen to road games or watch the live video from my home computer. Not to mention, I'll certainly not miss the annoying pop-ups that even though you clicked the close icon didn't close....good riddance denverpioneers.cstv.com! Welcome the new (well almost launched)DenverPioneers.com

Catching Up...

So it's been awhile. I've been busy...For the first time in University of Denver history, a non-academic department has been moved off of the University of Denver campus. I am lucky enough to be part of that department, therefore, I had the extreme pleasure of packing up my office and being moved 2.7 miles away from campus. All the while, my team was readying itself for our biggest event of the year: Reunion Weekend. I'm talking 13 events in 3 days big. So I've been busy...

Here's what's going on in my neck of the woods (thanks Al Rocher!):
-Rakhshani and Ruegsegger Invited to 2007 U.S. National Junior Evaluation Camp
-DU Hockey Announces 2007-08 Schedule A side note here, there are some VERY interesting scheduling decisions here. First, DU will visit Notre Dame for their first away series. Interestingly, these games will take place on Thursday and Friday, undoubtedly due to the fact that Notre Dame will be hosting USC on the Football field that Saturday. Second, two weekends later, DU will visit Minnesota where they will play on Friday and Sunday. Once again, the hockey game appears to be bumped as the Gopher Football team will be playing Illinois at the Metrodome. Last, DU will play its first series against much hated rival CC the weekend after Thanks giving rather than the first week in December. My best guess for this change is that DU is hoping to fill more seats as most students will still be in town before the six week Winter Break begins.
-Thomas to Lead 07-08 DU Hockey Pioneers Another side note, I think it's safe to say that ALL DU fans saw this one coming a mile away. Andrew Thomas follows a long line of Defensemen to lead the Pioneers, but much more than that, he has proven that he has the ability to lead the team (hopefully to the Frozen Four right here in Denver!) throughout his college career. A hearty congratulations go out to an outstanding Pioneer.
-DU's Fisher Signs with Edmonton

And in the hockey world in general:
-The Anaheim (they'll always be Mighty to me!) Ducks won the Stanley Cup in case you've been under a rock...I would have preferred the Ottawa Senators would have won, but really I wasn't very invested in watching the finals.
-This Thursday June 14th, the NHL will hold it's annual Awards ceremony, recognizing those outstanding players in the League. The Colorado Avalanche's Paul Stastny is up for the Calder. He's been pitted against Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal, both of the Pittsburgh Penguins. I can only hope that Paul's amazing 20 game point streak will make him stand out against the Rookie leading 85 point-scoring Malkin. Also Joe Sakic was nominated for the Lady Byng, as was Pavel Datsyuk and Martin St. Louis. The Awards Show can be seen on Versus at 5:00pm MT
-Avalanche Signs Leopold, Sauer, Finger and Jones
-Stastny Shines At World Championship

Last I want to tell you about a new blog. The College Hockey (& Other Stuff) Blog is fairly new and has GREAT content. They've been kind enough to link to me and I have now added a link to them. I highly recommend this blog to anyone looking for a quick and easy fix on the world of College Hockey.

That'll do it for me today, so until next time...