LetsGoDU

DU vs. CC in the Pepsi Center?

From: Denver Post
by Terry Frei

Editors Note: We posed this question to Coach Gwozdecky last season

The State of Colorado hockey has gotten to this point: We need a Boston Beanpot-style college tournament at the Pepsi Center, showcasing the University of Denver-Colorado College rivalry.

"I think our rivalry right now with CC is one of the most terrific and unknown in the country," DU junior defenseman and alternate captain Andrew Thomas said after CC completed a weekend sweep of the Pioneers with a 3-2 victory Saturday at Magness Arena.

"If you look at the passion and the emotion in these two games for both teams, it's pretty much incomparable.

"I'm from New Hampshire; it was kind of hard for me to understand, because I had never been to a game. I remember coming onto the ice for warm-ups for my first game against them and immediately understood. Looking at the jerseys. Looking at the banners. Listening to the crowd and the hostility. Feeling the sheer emotion."

DU and CC have deep-rooted and successful programs. CC's small Colorado Springs campus has a low-key atmosphere, and the school's "block" system of immersion in one course at a time isn't for everyone. DU is more bustling, more urban, and dripping in affluence. As different as they are, they are two private institutions often competing for the same players, and the on-ice enmity isn't faked.

Colorado's hockey scene has changed considerably since 1999, the last time CC played in DU's Denver Cup, the holiday tournament that gets lost in the shopping and celebratory shuffle. Youth hockey has exploded, a rink-construction boom has continued, and two Central Hockey League teams are playing within reasonable drives of downtown Denver.

DU's leading scorer, Ryan Dingle, was raised in Denver and Steamboat Springs, and his family had season tickets for Pioneers games in the old DU Arena.

"The history between the two teams is so immense," Dingle said, "and it's incredible to be a part of a game like this."

The time is right for another try to take the rivalry to the next level. And the way to do it is by starting the Gold Pan tournament in February, away from the holiday rush and past the football season, and hoping it becomes something close to the Beanpot.

For 54 years at the Boston Garden and the TD Banknorth Garden, the Beanpot has been February's marquee New England sports event. Played on consecutive Monday nights, the Beanpot always features Boston College, Boston University, Northeastern and Harvard.

It usually comes down to BU vs. BC for the championship. The teams regularly meet in Hockey East conference play, but the Beanpot often leads to the meeting that matters. BU-BC isn't a rivalry, it's a cultural feud. I once made the mistake of saying something to Avalanche forward Chris Drury about his days at "Boston College," and the former BU star wouldn't talk to me for a week.

When Harvard won the NCAA championship in 1989, a reporter asked Crimson goalie Chuckie Hughes if it was his biggest thrill in sports. Hughes said winning the Beanpot earlier that season was bigger.

The Gold Pan at the Pepsi Center could have DU, CC and Air Force's improving program, plus a fourth team. If the tournament is on consecutive Mondays, the fourth team's travel becomes a problem, so maybe it could be Nebraska-Omaha, which has a decent Central Collegiate Hockey Association program. Or if that seems to be impossible to pull off, have the tournament on consecutive nights, shooting to land as the fourth team one of the non-Western Collegiate Hockey Association universities with large followings in Denver, such as Michigan, Michigan State or Ohio State.

After Wisconsin met Ohio State in an outdoor hockey game at Lambeau Field last season, there was some talk - including from me - about staging a game at Invesco Field at Mile High. One of the proposals floated was a doubleheader of Avalanche and DU games. DU coach George Gwozdecky conceded that might be "a little unrealistic," but added he is intrigued, both by that and a Beanpot-style tournament anchored by DU and CC.

"I really believe that with the following that both these teams have, and the success these teams have had in creating more interest over these past few years, it could be a viable idea," Gwozdecky said.

Tonight at one of the many new rinks in the Rocky Mountain region, thousands of kids will be playing hockey. A few years from now, some of them should be able to play in a Gold Pan tournament. If it's anything close to the Beanpot, it could remain one of the biggest thrills of their lives.