LetsGoDU

(above) Why our gender neutral "bird" was prostituting itself with the Chick-Fil-A Cow during the first intermission wasn't exactly clear, but I can assure you that the Denver Boone would have taken the Heffer down.


CSTV Bloggers Outakes & Notes From Last Night's Game

Elliot Olshansky from CSTV.com joined us before the game and had some comments about Spanky's, The Crimson Creatures (DU's Student Section) & the game. Here are some of the highlights:

• My pal DG Goddard of Let's Go DU fame invited me to drop by Spanky's Roadhouse before the game to hang out with some Denver and Minnesota Duluth fans, and I'm very glad I took him up on the offer (of course, after he advertised my appearance on his blog, I didn't have much of a choice).

• Two words about the Pioneers in the first period: Brock Trotter. The redshirt freshman was everywhere in the first period: scoring the power play goal to put DU up 1-0, nearly making it 2-0 on a shorthanded breakaway (he had Stalock beat, but his angle was off on the backhand shot, sending the puck back through the crease into the goal)...even when he got in trouble, he made it look good: he was knocked for a loop by the Bulldogs' Mason Raymond, drawing an interference penalty, and he scored a 9.5 (personally, I think the German judge was a bit rough on him). He was easily the most impressive player in the first period.

• The Pioneer student section - the "Crimson Creatures" are a little weaker in numbers than I might have expected, given last year's playoff history, but they're certainly a humorous bunch! Dig that penalty kill chant, guys!

• One more Pioneer who's impressed me tonight has been Chris Butler. He's maturing nicely into a top rearguard for this team and in the WCHA. He makes smart passes, controls the blueline well, and does an excellent job keeping the puck in.

• Finally, I withdraw my previous comment about the Crimson Creatures. They've filled up the student section nicely, and I was quite impressed when I made my way down there to shoot some photos in the second. One gentleman in particular impressed with his bathrobe. He wears it to every single game, because the one game he didn't wear it to was one he was thrown out of. The things people do for college hockey...I love it!

• With just over a minute left, Denver head coach George Gwozdecky made a lot of DU diehards happy when he gave senior goaltender and "Hobey Baker candidate" Danny King the first game action of his collegiate career. When the final buzzer sounded, the Pioneers skated off the bench and embraced King as if he'd been playing the entire game. Well, one thing's for certain: I definitely picked the right night to visit Magness Arena.

• All in all, I liked what I saw from the Pioneers. Their power play executed well, they won 50-50 battles, and did all the things that good teams do to win hockey games. There are some dynamic talents on this roster, including Brock Trotter (note to NHL scouts, he's still draft eligible), Rhett Rakhshani (that was one hell of a slap shot), Ryan Dingle (the cold streak belies the skills) and Chris Butler (an extremely solid No. 1 defenseman).