From: Rocky Mountain Newsby Pat Rooney
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That 1986 Spartans team featured an assistant coach named George Gwozdecky, now the head coach at the University of Denver.
Once this year's Spartans victory was complete in St. Louis, the eyes of the college hockey world turned to Denver, which will host the 2008 Frozen Four on April 10 and 12 at the Pepsi Center.
Preparations already are well under way to get the venue and the city ready for college hockey's annual championship festivities, which not only brings together the top teams in the nation but also features such events as the skills challenge and the Hobey Baker Award ceremony.
Jon Schmieder, the executive director of the Metro Denver Sports Commission, led a contingent representing that group to St. Louis over the weekend to take notes and examine how the event was organized.
The excursion was nothing new for Schmieder and the commission, which also visited the previous three Frozen Fours. The Metro Denver Sports Commission and DU, the host school for the Frozen Four, enjoyed a sort of test run two weeks ago by hosting the West Regional at the Pepsi Center. This weekend's trip to the Frozen Four was more about fine-tuning and testing the many volunteers who make such events run smoothly.
"We'll go right up and test the volunteers," Schmieder said. "We'll see if people know where to get transportation. We want to see if the right signage is up. We have captured at least 10 to 15 things from the past three that I know we wouldn't have thought of otherwise. We really have put together a list of the best things from Boston (in 2004), Columbus (2005) and Milwaukee (2006)."
Despite not having either DU or Colorado College at the West Regional this year, the event's organizers were thrilled by the turnout for a field that included Air Force and three of the nation's most respected programs - Minnesota, Michigan and regional winner North Dakota.
The event drew a three-game regional record crowd of 33,549, reassuring organizers that local college hockey fans will show up whether their favorite teams are in the field or not.
"I kept asking Tom Jacobs, the director of hockey for NCAA hockey, what we were missing," Schmieder said. "But he said everything was perfect. Our field was great even without CC or DU.
"As for tweaks for next year, that is tough to do immediately after. We'll keep taking out notes at events, and over the next month of so we'll get together and go over things. But we had a huge advantage being able to do a regional first."
Schmieder also said the Metro Denver Sports Commission will submit bids this summer in hopes of bringing the NCAA women's basketball Final Four to Denver in 2012, 2013 or, potentially, 2011.
The 2011 date has been awarded to Indianapolis, but it could be moved if that city wins the right to host the Super Bowl.
2008 Division I men's hockey tournament
East Regional
• Dates: March 28-29.
• Site: Times Union Center, Albany, N.Y.
Midwest Regional
• Dates: March 29-30.
• Site: Kohl Center, Madison, Wis.
Northeast Regional
• Dates: March 29-30.
• Site: DCU Center, Worcester, Mass.
West Regional
• Dates: March 28-29.
• Site: World Arena, Colorado Springs.
2008 Frozen Four
• Dates: April 10 and 12.
• Site: Pepsi Center, Denver.
• Hosts: University of Denver and the Metro Denver Sports Commission.
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