LetsGoDU

DU Signs Norwegian Goaltender
Lars Paulgaard Will Arrive This Fall

From: Owatonna People's Press
By IAN STAUFFER


LetsGoDU Update: It appears that Lars Paulgaard will enroll at DU but may not play for the Pioneers until sometime in 2008. - 9/3/2008


(left) Lars Paulgaard was on fire in the NAHL playoffs last season

OWATONNA - No one at the Southern Minnesota Express tryout camp had anything bad to say about former goalie Lars Paulgaard. Well, except that they didn't want him to leave.

Paulgaard, who is from Oslo, Norway, was eligible to play one more season of junior hockey. But the goalie will not be in Owatonna this winter. Southern Minnesota head coach Pat Cullen said Paulgaard signed a letter of intent last week to play at the University of Denver.

Paulgaard is the 14th player and third goalie in team history to sign a Division I letter of intent. Earlier this spring, Dusty Jackson became the first Express player to sign with Denver.

"It will be a lot different around here without (Paulgaard), not having that accent in the locker room" said Faribault native Matt Lapinski, who forged a strong friendship with Paulgaard last season. "We hung out all the time last year.

"We liked to watch TV. His favorite show was Cops. He always got a kick out of watching the stupid Americans."

Paulgaard will be in a similar situation in Denver this season that he faced in Owatonna last season. When the first puck dropped last year, he sat on the bench waiting for an opportunity to play.

That chance finally came less than 10 games into the season when starting goalie Blake Bashor chose to leave the team, putting Paulgaard at the top of the depth chart.

"What I really liked about him is that he just accepted his role as the second goalie and never complained," forward Andy Inderieden said. "When his time came, he just played hard and stood on his head all season."

Paulgaard ended up playing in 51 games and spent nearly 90 percent of the season's minutes in the crease.

He finished with a 30-18 record, including a North American Hockey League-leading eight shutouts, and compiled a 91.6 save percentage.

Lapinski compared last season's experience to what Paulgaard will see this season.

"When he first came here, he thought he'd just ride the year out," Lapinski said. "But then he picked it up and he was the starting goalie. I told him that's the way he's got to go into Denver.

"He's still got a shot. He'll be ready to play if he gets an opportunity."

Paulgaard will start this season as the backup to Peter Mannino, who compiled an 8-6-2 record last season with three shutouts in the tough Western Collegiate Hockey Association.

"Denver is one of the premier Division I college programs in the country," Express coach Pat Cullen said. "He's probably not going to get a lot of minutes right away because they've got Mannino, who is one of the better goalies in the country."

Even so, if Paulgaard brings anywhere near the same attitude to the Pioneers that he brought to the Express, Denver is getting its money's worth.

"He worked tirelessly in practice and in games," Cullen said. "He was a great goalie, but he was an even better person. His teammates loved him, and guys played hard in front of him because they liked him so much.

"We're sad that he's leaving because he was such a good goalie and person, but we're excited that he's going off to college."