How Matt Carle Was Recruited

So you're a young up-and-coming assistant coach and you want to land the greatest prospect in the history of your program.

Do you...

a). Hit the highway and build personal relationships with every top prospect in the country?
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b). Offer cash and cars to every kid you meet?
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c). Sit by your phone and wait for the kid's Juniors Coach to tell you to contact the parents?

According to today's Rocky Mountain News the correct answer is "c."
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Carle could bring something new to DU

A phone call. That's all Matt Carle wanted.
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Instead, the recruiting process slowly was turning from an exciting adventure to a dispiriting nuisance.

Carle had an opportunity to go to any school in the nation. Michigan State, Colorado College, Wisconsin, Minnesota - all schools with rich hockey traditions.

Carle's phone was ringing often enough, and the suitors held their share of promise. Yet none struck the kind of chord that tells anxious recruits they have found a home. Not until Carle took matters into his own hands and put the word out that he was interested in the University of Denver.

Now it is impossible to imagine the Pioneers' return to national hockey glory without Carle.

The junior defenseman and co-captain from Anchorage, Alaska, has not known what it is like to end a college hockey season without a national championship.

His landmark freshman season ended with DU's first title in 35 years. His sophomore season ended with a repeat title that was the seventh overall for DU, moving the Pioneers into a tie with North Dakota for the second most in college hockey history.

Along the way, Carle's individual accolades have piled up faster than ice shavings along the end boards. This season, though, he has taken his game to another level, and the buzz is swirling faster every week about Carle's chances of landing the one trophy no Pioneers player has hoisted - the Hobey Baker Award.

And to think there was a time the DU coaching staff assumed Carle, who had spent two years with the U.S. National Team Development Program, wanted no part of Denver. It took a phone call from Ken Martell of USA Hockey to DU's coaching office to resurrect the Pioneers' interest.

"To be honest, we didn't think we'd have a chance of getting Matt here," DU assistant and recruiting coordinator Steve Miller said. "(Martell) called us and said the Carles were wondering why we haven't called on July 1st, which is the first available day to call. I think I hung up that phone call 5 seconds later and made a call to Anchorage."

The rest, as they say, is history.

(Above) Notice how Gretzky has copied Gwoz's trademark Crossed-Arms Coaching Technique

TONIGHT: DU Alumni Night in Phoenix With Gwoz & the "Great One"


DU Night ● January 31, 2006
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Glendale Arena Phoenix, AZ

5:00 - 7:00 p.m. Pre-game buffet dinner
7:00 p.m. Game time
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Phoenix Coyotes
Vs.
Matt Carle's San Jose Sharks


University of Denver •Alumni& Friends Night
Join fellow DU alumni, families and friends for a great evening!

Order by phone: 623.463.8867 – Phoenix Coyotes Group Sales
Order by fax: 623.463.8810 – to the attention of Jason Uslan
Order by mail: Phoenix Coyotes Group Sales / Jason Uslan
5800 W. Glenn Drive, Suite 350
Glendale, AZ 85301
Upper Level Ticket Package ($45.00 per person) ________
Lower Level Ticket Package ($55.00 per person) ________
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Name: _______________________________________ Day Phone: ________________ Evening Phone: ________________
Address: ____________________________________________ City: _____________________ State: ____ Zip: __________
Payment: □ Check (payable to Phoenix Coyotes) □ AMEX □ Visa □ MasterCard □ Discover
Card # ________________________________________________ Exp. Date: ___________

Deadline to order is Monday, January 30th at 5:00 p.m. All orders are subject to availability.
Special DU Night packages – based on seat location:
$45.00 Upper level center ice seat, purple ($70 value)
$55.00 Lower level end seat, dark blue ($100 value)

For more seating options and pricing (upgrades) and
discounted overnight lodging, please contact:
Jason Uslan, Phoenix Coyotes Group Sales
623.463.8867, Jason.Uslan@PhoenixCoyotes.com

Special packages for DU Night at the Phoenix Coyotes include:
•Pre-game buffet dinner at the Coyotes Terrace Club ~ drinks included
•Seating options include LOWER level and upgrades to CLUB level
•Intermission recognition of DU’s Coach George Gwozdecky
•Wayne Gretzky appearance at private post-game reception
•Special appearance by "Ruckus" – DU’s mascot, throughout the night
•Back-to-back hockey National Championship trophies on display
•Scoreboard announcement of DU alumni, families and friends
•FREE "Coyotes Country" t-shirts
•FREE parking at the Glendale Arena at Westgate City Center

Back to Home: www.LetsGoDU.blogspot.com
DU's NCAA Playoff Chances

How the NCAA Playoff Teams are determined

Current Pairwise Ranking

This is the time of the year when college hockey players, coaches and fans start obsessing about "Pairwise Rankings" and "RPI" which are two formulas that determine which "At Large" teams get invited to the NCAA Tournament. Since the field was expanded to 16 teams, 10 "At Large" teams and 6 Conference Playoff Champions are invited. Even though Denver is currently in first place in the WCHA, DU is ranked 20th and wouldn't qualify for the NCAA's unless they won the WCHA playoffs.
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The good news for DU is that their RPI is going to get a huge boost over the next five weeks because they are playing some very highly ranked opponents. Currently DU has a winning percentage of 60.7%, an Opponents Winning Percentage of 50.4% and an Opponents-Opponent Percentage of 52.1%. With roughly 1/4 (22.3%) of the season remaining, the Opponents Winning Percentage should rise to around 55% and the Opponents-Opponent Percentage will rise to 53% based on the current numbers of MSU-Mankato, Minnesota, UND & CC.
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Assuming DU goes 5-3-0 in the remainder of the regular season, wins the first round playoff series, and at least splits in the Final Five they should get in. DU's RPI is currently .5299. I expect that it will rise to around .5600 by the end of the regular season.
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DU does have issues in PWR with teams under consideration and common opponents, but thats another topic for another day. Keep winning like they've been doing recently and it will all take care of itself.....I hope????
Hey WCHA Fan, Look Who's In First Place

(Left) Its a three team race in the WCHA for the MacNaughton. Guess which one of these guys is the Badgers?

Box Score

When DU was going through the motions at the Denver Cup, known hereabouts as the New Years Eve Massacre, I wonder if Gwoz was thinking, "This is just the wakeup call we need to win the MacNaughton again."
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With DU's 5-3 win over UAA last night DU is in a three-way tie with Minnesota and Wisconsin. The win extended DU's road winning streak to eight games, the most in school history since the 1959-60 team won nine consecutive contests. That was Murray's second championship team that rolled to a 27-4-3 record. I can't figure out how the 30-1-1 team the following season didn't win 8 straight on the road, but oh well.
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Five different players scored as the No. 13 Denver Pioneers completed their third consecutive road sweep with a 5-3 win over Alaska Anchorage in WCHA at Sullivan Arena. Andrew Thomas (Bow, N.H.), Paul Stastny (St. Louis, Mo.), Adrian Veideman (Sicamous, B.C.), Mike Handza (Glenshaw, Pa.) and Geoff Paukovich (Englewood, Colo.) scored goals for DU. Peter Mannino (Farmington Hills, Mich.) earned the win with 12 saves, while Gabe Gauthier (Buena Park, Calif.), Matt Carle (Anchorage, Alaska) and J.D. Corbin (Littleton, Colo.) added two assists each.

DU jumped out to a 2-0 lead after the first period. Thomas ripped home his first goal of the season from the high slot just 1 minute and 22 seconds into the contest and Stastny buried a beautiful feed from Carle from the low slot at 15:21. The Pioneers dominated the period by outshooting Alaska Anchorage 15-3. DU held the Seawolves without a shot for more than the first 11 minutes of the contest.
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UAA cut the DU lead to 2-1 when Ales Parez slid a goal through the five-hole of Mannino. Veideman quickly answered for DU with a great effort on a wrap-around goal on the right post at 7:14. Brent McMann's rebound goal at 17:57 made it 3-2 after two periods. The Pioneers owned an 18-8 shot advantage heading to the final stanza.
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Handza gave DU a two-goal cushion at 4:09, but Alaska Anchorage took advantage of a four-minute power play and scored at 7:59. Recent goal scoring sensation Geoff Paukovich iced the game with a re-direct on a Gauthier shot on the power play at 9:46. UAA went on a power play for the final 1 minute and 39 seconds and pulled goaltender John DeCaro for the final 1:20, but didn't score.
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Denver Lineup
Same as Friday Night except Mannino in Goal (see below)

Von Ryan Express Leads DU to Victory
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Mystery, Alaska - DU's new line of Ryan Dingle, Ryan Helgason and Mike Handza have scored a pair of goals in each of their two games together. Thanks to their efforts DU is finally scoring even strength goals and winning hard fought games at a critical point of the season.

DU had to know that Alaska-Anchorage's record when taking less than 25 shots in a game was 1-13-1. Credit the Pioneers to holding UAA to just 15 shots in the entire game and escaping with a 3-2 victory. Late in the game with DU clinging to a one goal lead, UAA had a 5 on 3 power play for 1:45 and only got one shot off. The Ryan's, Helgason and Dingle, contributed a goal and assist each and Matt Carle notched two assists back in his hometown.

The story of the game was UAA third string goaltender Mike Rosett who was called into duty when Nathan Lawson went down with a knee injury (photo above) at the eight minute mark of the First Period. He played a great game and held the Pioneers to three goals.

DU was able to use the same line combinations for the second game in a row for the first time in what seems like forever. Perhaps the continuity led to the great team defense.

With Minnesota's victory over Wisconsin the Pioneers are just two points out of first place in the WCHA.


Denver Lineup
LW Steven Cook - C Geoff Paukovich - RW J.D. Corbin
LW Patrick Mullen - C Gabe Gauthier - RW Paul Stastny
LW Ryan Dingle - C Michael Handza - RW Ryan Helgason
LW Tom May - C Ted O'Leary -RW Jon James

LD Matt Carle - RD T.J. Fast
LD Adrian Veideman - RD Andrew Thomas

LD Chris Butler - RD J.P. Testwuide

G Glenn Fisher

Denver @ UAA Seawolves

Drop the Puck has been suspended, but his Blog is in high gear and he has a good review of UAA's matchup with DU.

UAA has struggled traditionally on Friday nights so DU needs to jump on UAA's excellent goaltender Nathan Lawson early.
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According to Adam Woden of College Hockey News.com, "It's not been fun for UAA goalies this year. Nathan Lawson and John DeCaro have faced 961 shots this season, while teammates have taken 634. It means their save percentages aren't terrible considering all the goals allowed. Nobody on the roster has a positive plus-minus, and Justin Bourne is a minus-20."

With Minnesota playing Wisconsin twice this weekend DU has the opportunity to gain ground on one or both of them. Ideally DU would hope for a Minnesota sweep since DU would control its own destiny with a series in Minneapolis in a couple of weeks.
Coach's Comments About the Badger Series

From USCHO's "This Week In The WCHA"

"Up to this point for many of the series, we've been on the receiving end of some of our opponents' best games," Denver coach George Gwozdecky said. "I think that we have found ourselves in the position where we've been challenged and challenged, and now it's time to respond. I think that this weekend was an opportunity for us to make a statement, more primarily to ourselves than to anybody else as to the kind of team we want to be and the kind of team we can be."
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Denver had just broken a three-game losing streak before heading to Madison.

Friday night, the message came from goaltender Glenn Fisher, who earned a shutout. "Our message is look out because we're a team that's going to come on strong," he said.

A night later, Ryan Dingle provided the message after a two-goal outing. "We needed to do something this weekend, and I think that this was the weekend that showed a lot of character from our team," he said. "It was great to see our team come together like this."

Banned by CC Tiger Hockey Board

(Left) I fought the Law & the Law Won....
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Bad News for me guys & girls. I've been banned from CC Tiger Net. My third career post over there was grounds for my dismissal. The post that did the trick was:

"Q: Whats the difference between Colorado College and former Major League Baseballer Don Mincher?

A: Don Mincher won a championship in the '70's."

I received the following terse message...

"The administrator of this community has banned you from viewing and posting here. If you feel this is a mistake, please contact the administrator of the community you were trying to access. DO NOT contact ezboard support. This is between you and the community administrator(s).

Thank you."
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I have already received tons of support from my fellow DU posters through this very difficult and trying period. Thanks to all of them. This whole ugly episode is yet another reminder that its never easy to be a PIONEER.
Matt Carle 2nd in CSTV's Hobey Baker Watch
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CSTV Poll Results
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Dave Starman - "Still, by far, the best player in the country. That opinion is pretty popular in the WCHA."
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Adam Zucker - "Nothing like two wins over Wisconsin to boost the spirits of the two-time defending champs. Carle had assists on three of the Pioneers' four goals Saturday. It's still weird that this team has a better record in-conference than out."

Scott Pellerin - "He has been a workhorse all season long. He has found a way to get it done. Will need DU to make a move down the stretch and lead his team to stay in the top three."
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To vote in the Hobey Baker Fan Poll
Trouble In Paradise?

Things are not well in the "House Of Porn," otherwise known as World Arena. Several fans down the road in the Springs are suggesting that Ron Jeremy might not be the answer as coach. Another CC fan had the common sense to link poor performance with recruiting weaknesses.

Other CC fans got off track by talking about minor league baseball in the 1960's, presumably because its more interesting than talking about more Tiger losses. Then to cap it off Puck Swami and Randy May got into a purse fight (Swami won on a TKO).

It doesn't get any better than this, except that basically the whole team graduates at the end of the season and if they think this season is rough, wait until next year.

CC Tiger Hockey. Net

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DU Recruits That May Be Drafted

Three DU Recruits have been listed on CSS's Mid-Term Rankings of NHL Recruits from North America. This is a rough estimate where they will be drafted in the next NHL draft, but you have to drop them a round or two when you factor in the European draftees.

DU fans may remember that Paul Stastny was listed around where Rhett Rakishani is now and went in the 2nd Round to the Colorado Avalanche in the last draft.

The complete list of college bound players


Position Players
#66 Rhett Rakishani (DU 2006) - Perhaps 3rd to 4th Round
#174 Tyler Ruegsegger (DU 2007) - Perhaps 5th to 8th Round

Goalies
#30 Marc Cheverie (DU 2007) - Perhaps Late Round
Glenn Fisher Named WCHA co-Defensive Player of the Week

A pair of goaltenders who had outstanding performances over the weekend, Glenn Fisher of the University of Denver and Nathan Lawson of the University of Alaska Anchorage, have been named Red Baron WCHA co-Defensive Players of the Week for Jan. 23-29, 2006.

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Fisher, a 6-1, 190-pound junior from Edmonton, Alberta, recorded his first collegiate shutout in a 1-0 conference road victory over No. 1-ranked Wisconsin last Friday (Jan. 16) at the Kohl Center.
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Fisher stopped all 28 shots on goal against the league-leading Badgers, including 12 in the first period, and helped the two-time defending national champion Pioneers kill all five of their opponent's power-play chances.

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On the 2005-06 season, the Edmonton Oilers (NHL) draftee now sports a 10-7-3 record, a 2.47 goals-against average and a .910 saves percentage over 751:45 of action. Denver, 14-10-3 overall and tied for second in the WCHA with a 11-5-2 mark, hits the road later this week for a Jan. 27-28 league road series at Alaska Anchorage.

Robbie Earl (AJ Maclean/Badger Nation)
Above - The only known photograph of Robbie Earl actually upright on his skates

What The Badgers Are Saying About DU


"They (Denver) won races to the puck," Wisconsin Coach Mike Eaves said. "They won little intimate battles in the corner with their body position, with their sticks, and in the trenches. That's kind of where the difference was, I feel."

"This was a great weekend for us," Eaves said. "Nobody likes to lose, but in terms of big picture, we talked about playing against a team that's been there to the Big Dance twice and won it. In some areas we were schooled."

Asked what lesson from the series was the most profound, Adam Burish, the UW captain, focused on attitude -- "The way they handle themselves out there," he said of the Pioneers. "The way they move the puck. The way after the whistle they all stick up for each other. The way they trash talk you. They talk their trash and they come out and they back it up."

He added, "They're in your face the whole game. They don't back off for one second. They block shots like no one we’ve played against. They were all over the shooting lanes. They're tough. They're physical. They have skill. I can tell right now why that team's won two national championships."

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“Obviously it effects your team,” Robbie Earl said of Elliott’s absence. “But the big thing is we just got outplayed this weekend."

Hobey Baker Voting

Phase #2 of the fans voting has begun for the Hobey Baker Award. Several DU players have been nominated including Matt Carle, Ryan Dingle, Gabe Gauthier, Glenn Fisher, Danny King, Peter Mannino, Paul Stastny, Andrew Thomas and several others.
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Its free and all you have to do sign up and vote once per day for every email address you have registered.
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Holy Cow! DU Sweeps #1 Wisconsin
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America's Dairyland - A funny thing happened up in Madtown this weekend, DU got its NCAA playoff hopes off life support and played like National Champions. Tonight it was a dramatic 4-2 victory of the #1 ranked Wisconsin Badgers.
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Geoff Paukovich, who went off to "Boot Camp" with Team USA, has come back a new man and tallied his second game winning goal in two games. Ryan Dingle, who was serving a one game penalty for "Boarding" on Friday scored two goals and everyone's All American Gabe Gauthier chipped in with one more. Peter Mannino did his best Glenn Fisher impersonation and played a magnificent game in goal. Finally Hobey Baker Award candidate Matt Carle added three assists for DU, who scored three power-play goals in the win.
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"We had a very good weekend," head coach George Gwozdecky said. "Our goaltending was outstanding and it was nice to have Ryan Dingle back in the lineup. The game started the way Wisconsin wanted, but we persevered with our great character."
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Next up for the Pioneers is Alaska-Anchorage. Desperate times call for desperate measures so DU is sending two of its best fans up to Last Frontier to support the team.
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Denver Lineup
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LW Patrick Mullen - C Gabe Gauthier - RW Paul Stastny
LW Steven Cook - C Geoff Paukovich - RW J.D. Corbin
LW Ryan Dingle - C Michael Handza - RW Ryan Helgason
LW Tom May - C Ted O'Leary - RW Jon James
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LD Andrew Thomas - RD Matt Carle
LD TJ Fast - RD Adrian Veideman
LD Chris Butler -RD J.P. Testwuide
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G Peter Mannino
Denver 1 - Wisconsin 0
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(Left) Glenn Fisher with his first DU shutout. Geoff Paukovich also tallied his first goal of the season.
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Madtown, WI. - Denver brought the "A" game tonight as the Pioneers rolled to a huge victory over the #1 ranked the Wisconsin Badgers. Glenn Fisher made several spectacular saves and the Denver defense rallied behind Matt Carle to earn an impressive road victory.
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Junior Glenn Fisher (Edmonton, Alberta) stopped 28 shots for his first career shutout and Geoff Paukovich (Englewood, Colo.) scored the game-winning goal as No. 19 Denver upset No. 1 Wisconsin, 1-0, tonight.
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"Glenn Fisher was awesome tonight," head coach George Gwozdecky said. "In order to win big games, it starts with goaltending and Fisher was the difference tonight. We felt good about our team before the game and I thought we played pretty well."
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Paukovich buried his first goal of the season and second career game-winner from the low slot at 4:22 of the second period. He received a nifty centering pass from J.D. Corbin (Littleton, Colo.) and beat Shane Connelly (22 saves) high to the glove side. Freshman T.J. Fast (Calgary, Alberta) also assisted on the play.
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Ryan Dingle returns to DU's lineup tomorrow night.
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Denver Lineup
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LW Patrick Mullen - C Gabe Gauthier - RW Paul Stastny
LW Steven Cook - C Geoff Paukovich - RW J.D. Corbin
LW Ryan Helgason - C Michael Handza - RW Tom May
LW Ted O'Leary - C J.P. Testwuide - RW Jon James
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LD T.J. Fast - RD Matt Carle
LD Adrian Veideman - RD Andrew Thomas
LD Chris Butler -RD Julian Marcuzzi
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G Glenn Fisher
Connelly to Replace Injured Elliott in Net for Badgers
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Article From Badger Nation

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The injury to Brian Elliott is now official and Shane Connelly will get the nod for the Badgers. “This is obviously one of the biggest days of my life coming up,” Connelly said. “I’m just excited and ready to go.”

Certainly, the play of the defensemen and forwards has helped lead to Elliott’s sparkling numbers, but there is no escaping the fact that Elliott has been extraordinary in net—and that Connelly is exceptionally green.

“I think (Connelly’s) ready to jump into the deep end right now,” UW coach Mike Eaves said. “He’s continued to get better. It’s been tough to find him times to get in because of the fact that Brian has played so well. But things always happen for a reason and perhaps the purpose for right now is Shane’s going to jump into the deep end and show what he can do.”

Connelly’s teammates are confident in his ability.

“We know he’s going to do a really good job,” senior captain Adam Burish said. “You can’t say, ‘Oh boy we’re done now, Connelly’s in there.’ He’s going to do a great job for us. All the guys believe that.”

The entire team rallied around Connelly when he won the team’s Thursday ritual—a shootout competition. Defenseman Tom Gilbert and forward Jack Skille reached the finals, and Connelly stoned each of them three consecutive times to win the event. The Badgers immediately swarmed Connelly as if they had just won the McNaughton Cup.

“It was nice to kind of get more confidence, end (practice) on a good note,” Connelly said.

A reporter pointed out that a cynic might think the Disney-esque moment had been a staged confidence prop.

Connelly has played in one game this season—the Badgers’ 6-5 exhibition win over Team USA U-18. He struggled in that game; three of his five goals allowed skirted between his legs.

“I think the exhibition game wasn’t a fair test of him,” goaltending coach Bill Howard said. “He’s a lot better goalie than he played there. I think since that game he’s realized a few things, worked harder at a few things, got better at a few things.

Badger fans may be left scratching their heads and paging through their programs this weekend. Who is Shane Connelly? Generously listed at 5-foot-9, 177 pounds, Connelly was a highly rated prospect when he came to UW this fall, after two standout seasons with the Chicago Steel of the Tier I United States Hockey League. The adjustment from junior hockey to the NCAA, though, has taken time.

“There were more butterflies then,” Connelly said, referring to the exhibition game. “Now, it is more of an excitement. Like, ‘Denver.’ It doesn’t get really much bigger than this.
Butler to play against Wisconsin

On the radio this morning Gwoz said DU Freshman defenseman Chris Butler is not 100%, but will play tonight. Butler has had a sensational season for the Pioneers and was injured during the World Junior Championships in Vancouver while playing for Team USA.

No surprise that he's playing tonight. The options were to either chop of the arm at the shoulder or have him go at 90%. Either way he was going to be playing.

Brings back memories of Brett Skinner in the NC game against UND.
The Tale of the Tape: Brett Sterling vs. Danny King
Who Deserves The Hobey? You Decide...
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CC Senior forward Brett Sterling has had a great career for Colorado College. As he wraps up his Senior season there is even rumbling from Colorado Springs that he deserves the Hobey Baker award given anually to the best player in college hockey. He has 95 career goals and 66 assists. The fact that Colorado College collects Hobey Baker awards like DU wins National Championships is besides the point.
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The crack research staff at LetsGoDU decided to compare head-to-head All-American Sterling's offensive statistics to the offensive stats of DU's third-string goaltender and All-Round "great guy" Danny King, to see who really deserves the 2006 Hobey Baker award.
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Over the past four years Colorado College and Denver have played some of their most important games in the history of the 50 year rivalry. NCAA bids, MacNaughton Trophies, Broadmoor Trophies and two National Championships have been on the line. Since these games have been so important, the we compared Sterling & Kings offensive production against each other.

2002-03: CC swept DU in the four games they played against each other. Although Sterling had 0 points against DU, he wins the head-to-head with Danny King, who didn't play against CC.

Edge: Sterling

2003-04: DU & CC split the six games they played against each other. Sterling had one goal in six games (the "goal" was on a 5 on 3 Power Play with CC leading 5-1 in the Third Period). Although King didn't play against CC, he won a National Championship ring.

Edge: Tie

2004-05: DU won four of the six meetings and won the MacNaughton, Broadmoor & NC Trophies. Sterling chipped in 0 goals & 0 assists again. Although King didn't play against CC, he won another NC ring

Edge: King

2005-06: In the first two games of the series, Sterling had 0 goals & 0 assists. He gave Mannino a nice little cheap shot pushing his helmet into the ice. DU won both games. King didn't score.

Edge: King

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So there you have it. Sterling has played 18 important rivalry games against DU and has 1 goal and 0 assists. To vote for Danny King:

http://hobeybaker.com/vote/guest_welcome.php

UW Goaltender Injured

(Left) Brian Elliott a member of Coach Eaves "Putting All Your Eggs In One Basket Goalie Rotation" (aka PAY EIOB Rotation)

DU's showdown with #1 ranked Wisconsin became more intriguing when Wisconsin goaltender Brian Elliott was injured by a teammate during the teams practice on Wednesday. No word yet on which player caused the injury, but he is sure to be the most popular player in the WCHA this morning. Elliott, the nation's winningest goaltender this season at 18-2-2, appeared to injure his left leg when a teammate slid into him during a drill. Reports out of Dairyland is that it might be a knee injury and not an ankle as earlier reported.

Wisconsin coach Mike Eaves did not immediately have information on the extent of Elliott's injury after Wednesday's practice, but told The Capital Times of Madison Thursday morning that the goaltender would be out for three to four weeks. No word if the Coach will continue to run his famous "Charge The Goaltender Drill" in Thurday's practice.

Elliott, a candidate for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award, is the only goaltender who has seen time in NCAA games for the Badgers this season. Freshman Shane Connelly was a sieve letting in four goals against the High School All Star Team (aka USNDT) in Wisconsin's Dec. 16 exhibition game.
Denver's NCAA Tournament Chances

Here's a link to the USCHO article about the current pairwise situation and the grim news for DU....

http://www.uscho.com/news/id,11635/PairWiseSurprise.html


No. 27 (tie) Denver: The two-time defending national champions are in trouble. Denver has compiled a modest 12-10-2 record with the easier half of its WCHA schedule already behind it, and its TUC record of 4-7-1 (.3750) isn't doing it any favors. Remaining for the Pioneers are eight games against Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota and Colorado College — with the last three of those opponents coming in the last three weeks of the regular season. The good news for DU is that a schedule that tough gives it room to improve its RPI (currently .5072, 26th in the nation) and its PWR. The bad news for the Pioneers is that if Denver doesn't win most of those games, it'll need the WCHA tournament championship to have a chance to three-peat at the NCAAs.

DU vs. The WCHA Team Of The Century

Denver is going to have its hands full this weekend against the University of Wisconsin. The Badgers are rolling this season and are getting the job done on both ends of the ice.
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Denver will need to keep the odd man rushes to a minimum and DU's goaltenders are going to need to stand on their heads to keep the games close. Wisconsin is a very quick team that uses the large ice surface at the Kohl Center and the "trap" to create turnovers. The Badgers star forwards Robbie Earl and Joe Pavelski are both deadly on the counterattack rushes.

Coach Gwozdecky has done a great job in the past couple of years in getting DU ready for big games and especially in shutting down the opponents key lines in those big games. Obviously Denver's coaches will have the players undivided attention this week as they try to contain UW.

To be honest, DU doesn't have Wisconsin's depth and if Denver can't slow the games down and force UW into a battle of "special teams," it may be a long weekend. Denver will be counting heavily on the Mullen-Gauthier-Corbin line to shut down Pavelski-Earle-Burish combo. Wisconsin will also have the advantage of the final line change so they will be able to dictate matchups.

Defensively, a lot will be dependant on whether Chris Butler will be back from his shoulder seperation. Butler has really become a complete player in his Freshman season and has been missed over the past several weeks. My guess is ready or not, he goes for DU because of the importance of the series. As usual Matt Carle will need to impose his will offensively for Denver to compete.

When the Pioneers have won this season, the Power Play Unit has been clicking. DU hasn't done that well in 5 on 5 situtations, so that is one area that I would like to see improve starting this weekend. The Penalty Kill has shown improvement for DU as the season has gone on.

One thing I can guarantee this week is plenty of "Gwozspeak" buttering up his old buddies in Madison...

CC's Sertich To Join Online Hockey Chat

A pair of Hobey Baker Memorial Award winners will be the guests on CSTV.com’s“Tuesday@ the Rink” online chats tomorrow afternoon. At 1 p.m. ET, we will be joined by the 1984 winner, former Minnesota Duluth defenseman Tom Kurvers, now the Director of Player Personnel for the Phoenix Coyotes. At 2 p.m. ET, we willbe pleased to welcome the 2005 winner, Colorado College senior forward Marty Sertich. Both chat rooms are currently open, so fans can submit questions in advance.

Tom Kurvers Chat: http://www.cstv.com/sports/m-hockey/stories/011606aaa.html

Marty Sertich Chat: http://www.cstv.com/sports/m-hockey/stories/011606aab.html

DU Manages to Split Series With SCSU
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DENVER - After losing 5-1 on Friday night, the Pioneers bounced back on Saturday. Junior Matt Carle tallied two goals and an assist and goaltender Peter Mannino stopped 31 shots and added two assists as the No. 18 Denver Pioneers ended a three-game losing streak with a 5-2 win over St. Cloud State in front of 6,038 fans at Magness Arena. Carle tallied his 100th career point with a first-period goal as DU used two shorthanded goals, a 3-on-3 score and power-play goal to improve to 12-10-3 overall and 9-5-2 in the WCHA. DU is tied for second in league play with Minnesota at 20 points.
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"This was a big win for our team emotionally," said head coach George Gwozdecky. "You could really feel a regeneration of confidence in our guys in the locker room and on the bench. With the way things have been going lately, it's great that we were able to come out strong tonight move into a tie for second in the conference."
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DU jumped out to a 2-0 lead after the first period despite losing J.P. Testwuide (Vail, Colo.) and leading goal scorer Ryan Dingle (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) to game misconduct and game disqualification penalties for checking from behind. Carle put DU on the board first with a 3-on-3 goal at 15:43 and T.J. Fast (Calgary, Alberta) added his first career goal on a 5-on-3 disadvantage. Mannino set the tone early for DU by stopping all 13 shots in the period, including nine on six SCSU power-play opportunities.

In the second period, the momentum stayed in Denver's favor when J.D. Corbin (Littleton, Colo.) scored DU's second shorthanded goal of the evening at 5:08. Mannino added his second assist and stopped all four Husky shots in the period.
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SCSU's Justin Fletcher scored 57 seconds into the final period to make it a two-goal game. Paul Stastny's (St. Louis, Mo.) fifth goal on the power play made it 4-1 at 2:46. SCSU's Andrew Gordon scored less than one minute later to make it 4-2, but Carle iced the game with an empty-net goal at 18:42.
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Stastny added an assist for his 11th multi-point game of the season. DU finished 2-for-8 on the power play, while SCSU was 1-for-8.
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DU hits the road for a two-game series at top-ranked Wisconsin on Jan. 20-21. The Badgers swept No. 5 Colorado College this weekend in Colorado Springs.
OUCH! CC Loses 9-1 to Wisconsin

(Left) Colorado College backup goalie Chris Kawano reacted with dismay after Wisconsin’s Jack Skille scored the Badgers’ fifth goal.
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Coach Owens pulled the Human Sieve Matt Zaba after he allowed four goals in the first nine minutes of the game. All four goals were sored on one five minute power play.
Denver vs. St. Cloud State

Denver returns to action after almost a month without playing any hockey. Some impostors showed up in Denver uni's for the New Years Eve Massacre, but since they were wearing helmets and face-guards the perpetrators were never caught. The Denver Police Department is still investigating.

DU is in the unenviable position of needing to win almost every WCHA series remaining on the schedule. It all begins this weekend against a rejuvinated St. Cloud State program that features a new coach and more confident players.

New SCSU Coach Bob Motzko has his first head coaching meeting with Denver's George Gwozdecky, under whom he worked as an assistant coach at Miami from 1991 to 1993.

Denver will need more balanced production from all of its players in the second half of the season if they are going to Tripeat as National Champions. Hopefully it all begins tonight.

dg's best guess at the Denver Lineup
LW27.
Patrick Mullen


C9.Gabe Gauthier


RW21.J.D. Corbin

LW14.
Tom May


C26.
Paul Stastny


RW19.Ryan Dingle

LW10.
Ryan Helgason


C12.Geoff Paukovich


RW6.Michael Handza

LW18.
Ted O'Leary


C3.Steven Cook


RW8.Jon James

LD25.
Matt Carle


RD20.T.J. Fast


G28.Glenn Fisher (Friday)


LD11.

JP Testwuide


RD5.Andrew Thomas


G29.Peter Mannino (Saturday)


LD36.
Julian Marcuzzi


RD7.Adrian Veideman



LET'S GO DU
Two Yutz's From Denver Heading To Alaska

When 0ne of DU's more "enthusiasic" fans informed me that he was heading to Alaska to support DU in the UAA series in a couple of weeks I was shocked. Not because he was travelling several thousand miles, but because I'm not sure he can even tie a pair a shoe laces. The Last Great Frontier is no place for a "City Slicker."

This is your chance to support Dubbie31 on his epic adventure. Vote "YES" on the Toga Poll Question of the Week.
Doom's Day for Denver
By Jess Myers

We can think of a few recent Saturdays in April that will go down in Denver hockey history as memorable dates. By contrast, Friday, December 30, 2005, is a day that Pioneers coach George Gwozdecky and company should seek to have stricken from all future school media guides.
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The trouble started at Magness Arena, where the Denver Cup began with everyone anticipating a Denver-Boston College showdown in the tournament finale. Instead, the Pioneers fell victim to one of the bigger upsets of the season, as Princeton rallied with four unanswered goals to upend the host school, 4-1.
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“Princeton completely out-played us in many facets of the game,” said Gwozdecky of the upset. “That was as disappointing an effort and an outcome as I’ve been involved with in a very long time with this team.”
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As that was happening in Colorado, there was further trouble for the Pioneers brewing on the other side of the Rockies in Vancouver. During Team USA’s game that evening at the World Junior Championship – a 2-2 tie with Switzerland – USA/Denver defenseman Chris Butler was ridden hard into the boards and suffered a shoulder injury. Gwozdecky says Butler might be out of the lineup for all of January.
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Butler’s injury is the latest in a growing list of ailments that have the Pioneers bringing a third goaltender on the road with them just to fill out a full traveling roster. With rookie forward Brock Trotter out for the year and junior forward Adrian Veideman still not at full strength, Gwozdecky says he’s thankful the Pioneers have the coming weekend off before St. Cloud State comes to visit for a pair on Jan. 13-14.
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The good news to come out of Vancouver for Pioneer fans was Geoff Paukovich, who scored his first goal of 2005-06 in the Switzerland game. After scoring a dozen times as a freshman, the sophomore jinx has hit Paukovich hard, as he has just three assists in his first 20 games for Denver. Still, Gwozdecky says Paukovich is making an important contribution to the team even if he’s not putting pucks in the net, and they look forward to his return from Vancouver.
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“We really miss him for other things he brings to our lineup,” Gwozdecky said. “He’s tough, physical, really good on draws and so strong defensively. Teams aren’t as good in our zone when he’s on the ice.”

Boone Sightings

This week The Denver Boone was seen on some DU Residence Hall Literature and on Ebay. Bids Start at $5.00
Bulter Injury Update

The Denver Post is reporting that DU Freshman defenseman Chris Bulter suffered a seperated shoulder playing for the USA Under 21 Team in Canada this week. He will be out 2-4 weeks while the shoulder heals.

Two DU Recruits Shine in Canada's 2006 Viking Cup

(Left) Matt Glasser
The Viking Cup is an international hockey tournament held annually in Alberta, Canada. This year national teams from Finland, Switzerland, USA, Slovokia, Germany and two teams from Alberta participated. Camrose, Alberta played host for the 25th rendition of the tournament. Two DU recruits, Jesse Martin (DU-2007) and Matt Glasser (DU-2006) played together for the Alberta North squad.

Both players scored several goals throughout the tournament. Jesse Martin had 4 goals and 3 assists, while Matt Glasser had 2 goals. The good news is that Alberta North also won the Viking Cup. Both players are listed by Heisenberg's website as the top two prospects out of Alberta.
DU Basketball Defeats Wyoming, 69-64, In Front of Record-Breaking Crowd

PACK THE HOUSE game was the first basketball sellout in Magness Arena history
Jan. 2, 2006

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DENVER - Senior center Yemi Nicholson (Aurora, Colo.) tallied 22 points on 10-of-18 (.556) shooting and tallied 15 rebounds and four blocks as the University of Denver defeated Wyoming, 69-64 in front of a record-breaking crowd of 7,186 in Magness Arena, making the fourth annual PACK THE HOUSE game the first basketball sellout in Magness Arena history. Junior guard DaShawn Walker (Chicago, Ill.) went 4-of-7 (.571) from behind the arc and added 17 points. Senior guard Andrew Carpenter (Toronto, Ontario) had a career night dishing out 10 assists in the Pioneer victory.
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"This was a total team effort tonight," said head coach Terry Carroll. "Of course there are areas that we can improve, but we put together a good 40 minutes of basketball and showed great toughness and character when it really mattered."
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The Pioneers opened the half quickly on a 7-0 run behind two dunks from Nicholson and a trey by Carpenter. The Cowboys were patient and rattled off four consecutive points to cut the DU lead to 9-6 at 16:93. The Cowboys took a quick one point lead but two quick buckets by Nicholson put the Pioneers on top 10-13 with just under six minutes gone in the first stanza.
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Wyoming began to pick up some offensive momentum but junior forward Antonio Porch (Denver, Colo.) silenced the Cowboys by draining a 3-pointer to push the Pioneer lead to 16-12 midway through the half. Wyoming made an offensive push when guard Steve Leavens scored five unanswered points to give the Cowboys a one-point lead with 8:24 remaining in the half.
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The Cowboys rode their momentum to a 29-20 lead, forcing the Pioneers into a four minute scoring drought before sophomore forward David Kummer (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) converted a bucket to cut the lead to 29-22. Wyoming continued to pressure on both ends of the floor forcing the Pioneers into several hurried shots and missed defensive assignments. Senior guard Brett Seger (Omaha, Neb.) and Kummer helped the Pioneers rally in the final minutes with Seager draining a 3-point bucket and Kummer converting from both outside the arc and inside the paint to cut the Cowboy lead to three points with nearly a minute remaining in the half. Seager brought the Pioneers within one draining a bucket as he was falling, to cut the Cowboys lead to 35-34 at halftime.
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The Cowboys shot 53.6 percent from the field on 15-of-28 shooting compared to the Pioneers 48.3 percent on 14-of-29 shooting. The Cowboys won the battle of the glass gathering 18 rebounds to DU's 13. Denver forced seven Wyoming turnovers and Nicholson had 12 points and picked up three blocks in the first stanza.
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The Pioneers took a one-point lead on their first possession of the second half on a floater by Walker but the Cowboys answered with a bucket in the paint by Derek Wabbington. Kummer kept the Pioneers ahead hitting a quick jumper to give DU the 38-37 lead. The Cowboys capitalized on several DU miscues and jumped to a four-point lead, but Walker had the hot hand from behind the arc, hitting two back-to-back treys to give the Pioneers a one-point lead at the 14:15 mark of the second stanza. The teams traded buckets and a quick bucket by Seger kept the Pioneers close with a score of 47-46. Walker continued to have the shooters touch from outside arc, hitting his third consecutive 3-pointer to tie the game at 49-49 at 11:54. Nicholson keyed a Pioneer rally and broke the tie to give the Pioneers a 50-59 lead after hitting one from the charity stripe.
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Kummer pushed the lead to 52-49 converting a pair at the free-throw line. Nicholson showed Denver fans his range hitting a mid-range jumper and converting in the paint to extend the DU lead to 56-51. The Cowboys put a little pressure on converting at the line and getting a bucket from Brandon Ewing to cut the lead to 56-54 with six minutes remaining. The Cowboys pulled within one point, but Walker had the answer hitting a running jumper as the shot clock winded down with less than two minutes left. Wyoming made some key shots down the stretch but the Pioneers pulled out the 69-64 win on a big block by Nicholson and a free throw from the stripe.
The Pioneers continue their three game homestand and open Sun Belt Conference play Jan. 5 when they host New Orleans at 7 p.m. in Magness Arena.
Collins lifts Boston College to Denver Cup

Chris Collins had two goals and an assist to lead fourth-ranked Boston College to a 5-1 win over Princeton in the championship game of the Wells Fargo Denver Cup tournament last night.

Brian O'Hanley, Stephen Gionta, and Tim Kunes also scored for the Eagles (10-4-2).
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Keith Shattenkirk scored the only goal for the Tigers (5-11-0) with less than two minutes to play.

Ferris State beat host Denver, 3-2, in the third-place game.