DU News, Notes & Quotes

(left) Gwoz doesn't think that Enrico was much of a catch for Mrs. Blasi

Miami, Ohio took RPI to the woodshed on Saturday night 7-3 in a battle of former DU assistants Enrico Blasi & Seth Appert.

Apparently Coach Gwozdecky had some thoughts on Blasi & Appert's spouses in the Rink Rat Blog.

First of all, there was this gem from Gwozdecky, after speaking about the knack for overachieving that Blasi and Appert share: "That overachieving has helped in many ways, including, somehow, getting their better halves to marry them."

Seth Appert had this to say about his experience in Denver in another article in the Rink Rat Blog.

"We all had fun together as a staff," Appert said, "including Steve Miller, who is a longtime assistant both at Miami and Denver. I feel fortunate to have worked with those guys and have shared so many great times, not only on the ice, but off the ice as good friends as well."

Gwozdecky had this to say about Appert & Blasi in the same article.

"They're very positive guys," Gwozdecky said, "great relationship-builders with terrific work ethic and tremendous passion for the game. Both of them were good college players, but not great college players. They had to work extremely hard in their role, and in many ways, they were probably looked upon as supplemental players, even though they were great leaders on their teams. It's a great compliment to them, because there is no doubt that being a supplemental player is so much more challenging if you're also required to be a leader. I think both Rico and Seth ooze with character and personality, and all that's good with college hockey."

Peter Mannino has moved up to #2 in Inside College Hockey's Hobey Tracker.

To Date: 12-4-0, 1.70 GAA, .934 sv%, 3 SHO
The Buzz: There are other goalies with better numbers, but it's unlikely anyone in the nation has made as many big saves as Mannino. The only goalie the Pioneers have used this season, he's allowed two or fewer goals in 12 of his 16 starts. He really hasn't been called upon to steal a game this season, though he had notable outings against Maine, Minnesota, and North Dakota. Perhaps the biggest question regarding Mannino's candidacy is his stamina: he hasn't played in more than 23 games in any of his three previous seasons at Denver.