2001 Littleton Hawks AA Peewee "Dream Team"

Mike Chambers Blog this week contains an article about the 2001 Littleton Hawks AA Peewee team that won the first youth hockey national title in Colorado history. Five players from that team ended up playing Division I college hockey.

We’ve had several items in the paper and in my blog about the connection with DU sophomore center Tyler Ruegsegger and CC freshman goalie Richard Bachman.

Turns out that DU freshman defenseman Chris Nutini, Minnesota State forward Zach Harrison, and Air Force freshman defenseman Brad Sellers also were on the 2001 Littleton Hawks team that won a national championship.

Nutini has played in four of six games for DU, and has scored a goal. Harrison and Sellers are scoreless on the season but have each played in their teams’ two games.

Another kid from the Kent Murphy-coached ‘01 Hawks team, Justin Brossman, is in the USHL and reportedly wants to play at DU and CC.

“It is interesting how so many players from that team are playing Division I hockey,” Nutini said. “At the time I was young and didn’t know much about college hockey, so I didn’t look that far ahead.”

Nutini does not come from a hockey family and said the Avs arrival in 1996 wasn’t his primary motivation to take up the sport.

“Mighty Ducks,” he said. “I used to love that movie.”

Odds & Ends For DU vs. Gophers Weekend

Last season the DU-Minnesota series was the most intense, action packed weekend of the year. This YouTube video gives a glimpse of what transpired.

The University Of Minnesota "Game Notes" are always a good read.

Not to be outdone the University of Denver's Game Notes.

Chris Butler Featured In Hockey Chatroom

(photo) Chris Butler #4

University of Denver defenseman Chris Butler was the featured guest for this week’s “Tuesday @ the Rink” chats, presented by CSTV.com and USCHO.

Butler, whose Pioneers travel to Minnesota this weekend for a WCHA series, talked about the younger players on the team, goaltender Peter Mannino and his NHL summer camp with the Sabres.

Chris Butler chat: http://www.cstv.com/chat/102507aaa.html

Best Quote

John (Ohio): Chris, we know that Coach Gwozdecky is famous for saying things that you don't often hear from other coaches...is there anything particularly funny that sticks in your mind as a classic Gwoz story or saying?

Chris Butler: Well before I put my foot in my mouth let me just say that he is a great coach and teacher. But, a few weeks ago he was talking about how he can not read our minds and instead of saying, "We don't have ESP," he ended up saying, "We don't have ESPN," so we all got a good laugh out of that one. I just hope he doesn't bench me for this.

Denver Post College Hockey Article

In today's Denver Post, writer Mike Chambers takes a look at former Pioneer assistant coach Enrico Blasi and his success at Miami-Ohio.

He also mentions Colorado College's freefall in the Polls this week dropping six spots. Ouch.

Clarion Photos From Homecoming Weekend

See more photos & articles about Homecoming from the DU Clarion



Vermont Hockey Player Joins Bad Boyz Team

Attorney: Higgins was bystander to 'non-crime'

(left) One of these two Johnathan Higgens is a chicken for
alledgedly stealing a bicycle while the other is a turkey for pretending to be an Englishman




Published: Sunday, October 28, 2007
By Ted Ryan
Free Press Staff Writer

Richard Goldsborough, the attorney for suspended University of Vermont hockey player Jonathan Higgins (pictured above), said Saturday that his client was a bystander to a "non-crime" that resulted in Higgins being charged with being in possession of stolen property.

"I am seeking to clear Jonathan's name from the charges brought," said Goldsborough on Saturday. "He's a really good kid and deserves to be exonerated and I believe that will happen."

Higgins was charged in Vermont District Court in Burlington on Tuesday with being in possession of stolen property; in particular, a bicycle. Goldsborough said Higgins was not riding the bicycle but was a bystander.

"I'm convinced that nobody tried to steal a bicycle," Goldsborough said. "I believe this to be a non-crime."

According to the affidavit filed with the court by Burlington police corporal David Clements, at about 2 a.m. Monday, Clements and another officer saw "four to five male subjects" chasing after two other subjects. The pursuers were yelling, "They stole my bike," according to the affidavit.

Clements stated that he pursued one suspect he recognized as one of the two suspects on the alleged stolen bicycle and subsequently placed Higgins in custody.

Friday, UVM athletic director Bob Corran said that Higgins had been suspended for six games for violation of the university's student-athlete code of conduct as it related to the incident.

"The university suspended Higgins, as is their right to do," said Goldsborough. "I was not part of that process."

Corran also said that defenseman Patrick Cullity had been suspended for one game for an unspecified violation of the student-athlete code of conduct. Both players will miss today's game against Dartmouth College at Gutterson Fieldhouse.

LetsGoDU Kicks Off "Sweep The Gophers Week"

Gopher Broke

(Left) Gopher Broke tells the tale of a cocky Gopher's smashing encounter with a produce truck on a lonely country road
.
Whoever created this YouTube cartoon must have been a college hockey fan or a psychic, because it sure sums up the Minnesota Gophers recent weekend in the Springs. The video doesn't mention whether or not the Gopher got fat off of cupcakes. Enjoy.

Updated Polls

DU falls two spots to #7 on Inside College Hockey's Power Rankings

DU fell one spot to #7 in the USCHO.com Coaches Poll

DU remains #7 in the USA Today Poll


LetsGoDU Top 10 SuperPoll®

1. Denver - Despite a split with UMD, DU as always is #1
2. New Hampshire - Any team that sweeps CC comes in at #2
3. Miami - Undefeated & coached by a former Gwoz assistant
4. Boston College - Red Sox, Patriots, BC football team...Tough town
5. North Dakota - What in the world happened against Tech on Friday?
6. Michigan State - Defending Champs
7. Robert Morris - Our "Affirmative Action" CHA pick
8. Minnesota - DU's Off-Season Boxing Program should come in handy this weekend
9. Michigan - Demoted 6 spots for refusing to play Wayne State
Last. Colorado College - Nice weekend against New Hampshire

Weekend Media Coverage Of DU Hockey

Friday's Game Recaps

Denver Post article on Friday's 5-1 victory

Candace Horgan's article on the game for USCHO.com

Rocky Mountian News covers DU's fast start

Friday Night Lineup vs. UMD

Rakhshani - Ruegsegger - Maiani
Trotter - Bozak - Ostrow
Gifford - Martin - May
Glasser - Vossberg - Jackson

Butler - Mullen
Ryder - Thomas
Testwuide - Brookwell

Mannino
Cheverie

Saturday's Game Recaps

Denver Post's coverage of Saturday's 3-0 loss

USCHO's game recap

Rocky Mountain News used the AP wire coverage

Saturday Night Lineup vs. UMD

Rakhshani - Ruegsegger - Maiani
Trotter - Bozak - Ostrow
Gifford - Martin - May
Glasser - Vossberg - Jackson

Butler - Mullen
Thomas - Nutini
Testwuide - Brookwell

Mannino
Cheverie

Stalock Stones DU


From DU Website
DENVER – The No. 6/7 Denver Pioneers dropped a 3-0 decision to No. 17 University of Minnesota Duluth tonight before 6,039 fans at Magness Arena. Alex Stalock recorded a 43-save shutout for the Bulldogs.

“I thought we played better tonight than we did last night,” Denver head coach George Gwozdecky said. “We had a couple of miscues in the second period that gave them the lead, but the last 30 minutes of the game we played very well. Stalock was the difference for them tonight.”

For the second night in a row, the teams battled to a stalemate in the first period, with DU outshooting UMD by a 10-6 margin.

UMD jumped out to a 2-0 lead after two periods on goals by MacGregor Sharp at 7:32 and Rob Bordson at the 9:47 mark.

Matt Greer closed out the scoring for the Bulldogs at the 9:10 mark of the third period.

Peter Mannino (Farmington Hills, Mich.) stopped 10 shots for the Pioneers. Both teams were held scoreless on the power play, with DU going 0-for-7 and UMD being held in check on four opportunities.

The Pioneers travel to Minneapolis next weekend for a series against the University of Minnesota Gophers. Puck drop is scheduled for 6:07 p.m. MT on Friday and 1:07 p.m. on Sunday.

Nate Dewhurst Arriving At DU In 2008

Mike Chambers has written in his Denver Post blog that Nate Dewhurst will be coming to DU in the Fall of 2008, not 2009.

I confirmed that U.S. under-17 defenseman William Wrenn has committed to Denver for the 2009 class, joining three others that will play next season in junior-A or the USNDT before joining the Pios.

I also learned forward Nate Dewhurst, who plays for Des Moines of the USHL, is tabbed to join DU NEXT FALL, not in 2009.

I can’t disclose my sources at this time, but trust me, they’re rock solid.

Here’s how the next two full-scholarship classes are shaping up:

2008
F Nate Dewhurst (Des Moines, USHL)
F Joe Colborne (Camrose, AJHL)
D John Lee (Waterloo, USHL) (SIGNED)

2009
D William Wrenn (U.S. under-17)
D Matt Donovan (Cedar Rapids, USHL)
D Paul Phillips (Cedar Rapids, USHL)
G Adam Murray (U.S. under-17)
Added today: F Drew Shore (U.S. Under-17)

He did not include forward Drew Shore, also from the U.S. Under-17 team, who made a verbal commitment earlier this week for 2009.

Great stuff by Mike in finding this out.

DU Takes Bite Out Of The Bulldogs 5-1


From DU Website

DENVER – Kyle Ostrow (Calgary, Alberta) and Tyler Ruegsegger (Lakewood, Colo.) each recorded a goal and an assist to lead the No. 6/7 Denver Pioneers to a 5-1 victory over No. 17 University of Minnesota Duluth tonight before 6,048 fans at Magness Arena. Brock Trotter (Brandon, Manitoba), Anthony Maiani (Shelby Township, Mich.) and Brandon Vossberg (St. Paul, Minn.) also scored for the Pioneers, while senior goaltender Peter Mannino (Farmington Hills, Mich.) recorded 22 saves to earn the victory in net.

DU improves to 4-1-0 with the win, while UMD falls to 3-1-1.

“The score tonight was pretty misleading. It probably indicates that one team was more dominant than the other, which wasn’t true at all,” Denver head coach George Gwozdecky said. “We were very fortunate to get some outstanding goaltending from Peter Mannino.”

The Pioneers outshot the Bulldogs by a 9-4 margin during a scoreless first period.

Trotter opened the scoring after taking a cross-ice feed from Ostrow and burying a shot to UMD netminder Alex Stalock’s (25 saves) stick side at the 1:59 mark of the second period. UMD’s Jordan Fulton evened the game 42 seconds later.

Maiani then gave DU a 2-1 advantage at the 6:40 mark of the middle frame when he one-timed a Ruegsegger feed into the upper-right corner of the UMD goal. The Pioneers took a two-goal lead when an Ostrow shot was stopped by Stalock, but redirected off a UMD defender’s skate and trickled into the net at 11:39.

Vossberg and Ruegsegger added late third-period tallies at 17:58 and 18:47, respectively, to round out the scoring.

DU outshot UMD by a 30-23 margin. The Pioneers finished 1-for-6 on the power play, while the Bulldogs were held scoreless in five attempts.

The teams will meet again on Saturday at Magness Arena to finish off the weekend series. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:07 p.m. MT.

Notes: Tonight marked the 60th consecutive regular-season sellout at Magness Arena...The Pioneers have outscored their opponents 16-7 this season, while scoring the first goal in all five games...DU is 4-0 when holding opponents to one goal or less...The Pioneers held UMD without a power-play goal tonight, marking the first time since the season opener against Maine that DU has kept its opposition off the scoreboard with a man advantage.

DU Gets Commitment From Drew Shore

USHR and Heisenberg have reported that Drew Shore has commited to DU for 2009. Shore is playing this season with the USNDP. He's a 6' 2, 190 lb. forward born on 1/29/91 and is from Englewood, Colorado. Before the national team, he was with Honeybaked Minor Midget in Detriot.

He was the first American drafted in the WHL draft this year by Chilliwack. He was selected in the 2nd round #22 overall.

USHR reported that he took visits to Harvard, BC and Wisconsin, plus took a look at Notre Dame. Also stated that both his parents are DU Law School grads and he and his 3 brothers have attended hockey camps at DU.

He is the 2nd leading scorer on the U-17 team with 3 goals and 3 assists after 5 games. He is the 3rd player from this team to commit to DU along with Wrenn and Murray. He is still 16 and will turn 17 in January. Looks like another great pick-up by DU for 2009.

2008
F Nate Dewhurst (Des Moines, USHL)
F Joe Colborne (Camrose, AJHL)
D John Lee (Waterloo, USHL) (SIGNED)

2009
D William Wrenn (U.S. Under-17)
D Matt Donovan (Cedar Rapids, USHL)
D Paul Phillips (Cedar Rapids, USHL)
G Adam Murray (U.S. under-17)
F Drew Shore (U.S. Under-17)

Gwozdecky & Rockies Manager Share Success

While Colorado Rockies fans may be licking their wounds today after the "Boston Massacre" last night, College Hockey News has a story about the friendship between DU Coach George Gwozdecky and Rockies Manager Clint Hurdle. Its a good read.

Hit The Tailgate Party Pre-Game on Friday Night

A tailgate party will pep up fans for Friday’s hockey game; it will begin at 4:30 p.m. in Lot W. Sophomore student Antoine Perretta, DU Programs Board (DUPB) Homecoming Director, said the aim of the Taigate Party is to "unite students with parents, alums and community members."

Where is Lot W? Its on East Jewell Ave. & South University Blvd. near Magness Arena (map link).

Lets have a great turnout at this event and create some energy that will carry over into Magness Arena of Friday Night. The DU Grilling Society will be manning the coals. (See Comments on this post).

DU Grilling Society Event Photos

Let's Go Tailgating

DU Recruit Selected For USA Junior Select Team

DU recruit John Lee, who will arrive at DU next season, was selected yesterday to the 21-player roster for the 2007 U.S. Junior Select Team. The squad will compete at the 2007 World Junior A Challenge from Nov. 5-11 in Trail and Nelson, B. C.

John Lee is currently playing for the Waterloo Black Hawks in the USHL.

P.K. O’Handley will serve as the head coach of the U.S. Junior Select Team, while Regg Simon has been tabbed as assistant coach.

“We have a great blend of skill and size and should be a fun team to watch,” said O’Handley. “We’ll be going against some great competition and our expectations are high.”

The U.S. Junior Select Team will open competition at the World Junior A Challenge on Tuesday, Nov. 6, when it takes on Belarus.

NOTES: This is Team USA’s first appearance in the two-year-old World Junior A Challenge … The 2007 World Junior A Challenge will include teams from Belarus, Germany, Russia, the United States and two teams from Canada (East and West).

2008 Recruiting Class
Joe Colborne - F Camrose (AJHL) - Selected as an "A Grade Player" by NHL Central Scouting
John Lee - D Waterloo (USHL) - Named to 2007 USA Junior Select Team

2009 Recruiting Class
Nate Dewhurst - F Des Moines (USHL) - Played for 2007 USA Under 18 Select Team
Matt Donovan - D Cedar Rapids (USHL) - USA Under 18 Select Team & projected 2008 NHL draftee
Paul Phillips - D Cedar Rapids (USHL) - Top prospect is a 16 year old d-man playing in USHL
Adam Murray - G USNDP Under 17 (USNDP) - Considered to be top goaltending recruit of 2009
William Wrenn -D USNDP Under 17 (USNDP) - 16 year old defenseman plays for USNDP

NHL Scouting Rates Two DU Recruits

(left) 2009 DU recruit Matt Donovan was graded highly by the NHL's Central Scouting Service

Western College Hockey Blog has published a list of the NHL's Central Scouting Service's "Players To Watch" today. This list has proven to be very accurate in the past in predicting the "draftability" of the top amateur hockey players in North America.
The Grading System

A Rating
- A must see player who is predicted to be a potential First or Second Round Draft selection in the upcoming NHL Entry Draft.

B Rating - A player to note if you are in the area, a potential selection in the Third to Fifth Round Draft Selection in the upcoming NHL Entry Draft.

C Rating - A player that Central Scouting is tracking, a potential late round selection in the upcoming NHL Entry Draft.

2008 DU recruit Joe Colborne is listed as one of only dozen or so North American players to receive an "A" grade by the NHL's Central Scouting Service. There will be changes in the rankings in the coming months leading up to the draft, but Colborne is well on his way to becoming a first round draft choice. So far this season he has 13 goals and 21 assists in 15 games for the Camrose Kodiaks (AJHL).

Matt Donovan was the only other DU recruit graded by the NHL CSS. He was given a "B" grade, which is outstanding for a player from Oklahoma. Depending how be plays this season in the USHL, Donovan could expect to go anywhere from the 3rd to 7th round in the NHL draft based on his current grade.

Defenseman Patrick Wiercioch who has been linked to DU and four other schools is also listed as an "A" player.

David Carle, as in younger brother of DU Alum Matt Carle, was also rated an "A Player" and is currently atending Shattuck High School in Minnesota. David has not made his college choices known but Minnesota, Wisconsin, DU & RPI were rumored to be in the mix at one time or another.

Keep in mind that the NHL CSS List is not an indicator of the ability or potential of a player in college, but is heavily weighted towards larger players, who might one day become NHL players. Most of the DU recruits listed below will be eligible for the 2009 NHL draft and will be graded next year.

2008 Recruiting Class
Joe Colborne - F Camrose (AJHL)
John Lee - D Waterloo (USHL)

2009 Recruiting Class
Nate Dewhurst - F Des Moines (USHL)
Matt Donovan - D Cedar Rapids (USHL)
Paul Phillips - D Cedar Rapids (USHL)
Adam Murray - G USNDP Under 17 (USNDP)
William Wrenn -D USNDP Under 17 (USNDP)

CC Bounces Back From "Blackface Incident"

A week after garnering national publicity for the suspension of four hockey players for wearing blackface during a team golf outing in September, Colorado College was named College Hockey News' Team Of The Week.

Senior captain Scott Thauwald, sophomores Andreas Vlassopoulos and Brian Connelly, and freshman Brett Wysopal were forced by the administration to apologize to the campus community, and meet with the local branch of the NAACP and Urban League. The players also must take diversity training courses at some point in the future (we're guessing the "classes" won't interfere with any major WCHA tilts this season).

Turns out that CC Hockey Coach Scotty Owens knew what he was doing, because after resting/suspending the players during some meaningless exhibition games, the Tigers swept the Gophers last weekend at home.

Obviously the staff at CHN didn't factor in team intolerance when passing out their awards.

DU Continues To Video Stream Games Live

For out of town hockey fans this weekend's games will not be on TV, but will be available on the internet. The cost is around $8 for a month or $60 for a year subscription.

You can see the list of some of the upcoming games here


We have been told that there will likely be more hockey games added as they become available later in the season.

Offense Tweaked In 2nd Game Against Notre Dame

In Friday Night's 3-1 win over Notre Dame, DU switched up the offensive lineup and seemed to cut down on the defensive miscues that plagued their Penalty Kill unit on Thursday night. Rhett Rakhshani was moved onto the first line with Tyler Ruegsegger and Anthony Maiani. All three players ended up +2 for the evening.

Kyle Ostrow saw his first action on one of the top two lines, teaming up fellow Canadians Tyler Bozak and Brock Trotter. Tom May appeared to have another strong game playing alongside Jesse Martin and Brian Gifford.

The defense was largely unchanged except that Chris Nutini saw action in place of Julian Marcuzzi. Nutini responded with a huge goal 15 minutes into the first period. Chris Butler was steady as always and was the only defenseman +2 for the evening.

Peter Mannino was strong as always in the net.

DU Lineup vs. Notre Dame (Friday)


Rakhshani - Ruegsegger - Maiani
Ostrow - Bozak - Trotter
Gifford - Martin - May
Glasser & Vossberg (subbing in)

Butler - Mullen
Ryder - Thomas
Testwuide - Brookwell
Nutini (subbing in)

Mannino
Cheverie

Hockey & Parade Highlight DU Homecoming


From: DU Today Blog
by Katheryn Mayer

Editors Note: HOMECOMING PARADE ALERT! - Due to the MLB World Series being played in Denver on Saturday October 27th the City of Denver can not guarantee protection for Ruckus the Mascot from irate alums during the Parade at the current scheduled time - therefore the time of the parade will likely change. DU will have updates at www.du.edu/homecoming when they know more.


Hockey games and a parade will highlight the University’s Homecoming and Parents Weekend, taking place Oct. 25–28.

Both hockey match-ups against Minnesota-Duluth — Friday at 7:35 p.m. and Saturday at 7:05 p.m. — are sold out.

The weekend will kick off Thursday night with an Athletic Hall of Fame banquet and a recent graduates reception.

This year’s celebration will begin a move to make Homecoming weekend more cohesive as a student and alumni celebration rather than purely a parents’ weekend visit, says Natalie Ryan, University Events director of sales and marketing.

“We want to create an event that will bring people back to campus,” Ryan says.

Sophomore Antoine Perretta, DU Programs Board (DUPB) Homecoming director, says the first step was to “take a heavy look at the parade.” The parade is an opportunity to celebrate all the activities and students on campus, Perretta says. This year, DUPB provided $100 to 20 clubs' building floats. The parade also will feature 30 student athletes, a high school marching band and a bagpipe band. English Professor Margaret Whitt will serve as grand marshal.

Two other events, Perretta says, aim to unite students with parents, alums and community members. A tailgate party will pep up fans for Friday’s hockey game; it will begin at 4:30 p.m. in Lot W. “Crimson and Gold: Center Stage” — a showcase of DU musicians, comedians and other talent — will take place at 5 p.m. on Saturday in Gates Field House. Admission is free; an optional pasta dinner is $10.

This year’s Homecoming celebration will usher in a new tradition — 1864 Week — in celebration of the year DU was founded. From Oct. 22–28, a number of neighborhood businesses will offer discounts (see a list of participants).
  • Thursday, October 25
  • Recent Graduates Wine Reception
  • Athletic Hall of Fame Celebration
  • Friday, October 26
  • Burns School of Real Estate and Construction Management Lecture
  • Parent Info Sessions on Study Abroad, Careers
    and Alcohol
  • DU Hockey vs. Minnesota-Duluth
  • Saturday, October 27
  • Parents Breakfast With the Chancellor
  • Homecoming Parade
  • Newman Center Presents — Dianne Reeves
  • Crimson & Gold: Center Stage
  • DU Hockey vs. Minnesota-Duluth
  • Sunday, October 28
  • Parents Breakfast
  • Parents Brunch

Mike Chambers' Blog Details DU/CC Connection

From: Mike Chambers' Blog

(left) DU's Tyler Ruegsegger will face one of his best friends, CC goaltender Richard Bachman, in a couple of weeks


Another Front Range twist is winding itself around the University of Denver-Colorado College hockey rivalry.

CC freshman goalie Richard Bachman grew up in Highlands Ranch, and is best friends with DU sophomore center Tyler Ruegsegger.

In 1999 the duo spearheaded the Littleton Hawks’ AA peewee team to a 12-under national championship - Colorado’s first such youth title ever.

Now, both have emerged stars on different sides of one of the greatest NCAA hockey rivalries in the country.

All Bachman did last weekend in his debut was backstop CC to 3-1 and 2-1 (overtime) victories over No. 3 Minnesota. (Read rest of the story)

Gwozdecky Records Win Number 450

From: Rocky Mountain News
by Pat Rooney

A win is a win. And when the PairWise rankings, which mimic the system used to select the NCAA tournament field, are released at midseason, the milestone win over Notre Dame on Saturday night for DU coach George Gwozdecky will shine brightly.

The win was Gwozdecky's 300th at DU and 450th overall as a coach. Only Murray Armstrong, who amassed 460 wins while leading DU to five national championships from 1956 through 1977, has compiled more wins at the school.

"We've had great leadership at the university," Gwozdecky said. "They've given us all the tools necessary to recruit some of the finest student-athletes in North America.

"As I told Andy Thomas, our captain, when he presented me the puck in the locker room, I said, 'Thank you, I'm honored. But the puck I really want to have is No. 348, or 347.' I'm not real good with the numbers, but down the road, if you understand what I'm saying, I want to have that puck number that is significant for us in April."

Gwozdecky is referring to the potential of the Pioneers winning the program's eighth national championship when the Frozen Four comes to the Pepsi Center in the spring. But that goal will only be realized if DU (3-1) improves on the special- teams problems it has shown through four games.

The Pioneers surrendered a power-play goal to the Irish and went 0-for-6 with a man advantage. DU went 0-for-11 on the power play in the series and has not scored in its past 18 power-play chances.

"Our power play needs to get on the board, no question about it," said Gwozdecky, whose team opens league play next week at home against Minnesota Duluth. "We had a couple great chances on the side of the net that we missed. We won it on even strength and strong goaltending."

Weekly Polls (10/22/2007)

The first poll of the week is out and DU checks in at #5 on the Inside College Hockey Power Rankings. DU falls one place to #6 in the USCHO.com Poll. DU falls two spots to #7 in the USA Today/Men's Hockey Poll. DU is still #1 in the always reliable LetsGoDU Top 10 SuperPoll®.


Inside College Hockey's Power Rankings

1. North Dakota
2. Miami
3. New Hampshire
4. Michigan State
5. Denver
6. Colorado College
7. Clarkson
8. Boston College
9. Wisconsin
10. Michigan
11. Notre Dame
12. Minnesota
13. Massachusetts
14. Minnesota Duluth
15. Cornell
16. Maine
17. Michigan Tech
18. St. Lawrence
19. Air Force
20. Alaska Anchorage

LetsGoDU Top 10 SuperPoll®

1. Denver - DU is always #1, dems the rules
2. North Dakota - Tied Boston College in the Fog Bowl
3. Miami - Ex Gwozdecky assistant Enrico Blasi getting the job done
4. New Hampshire - Hopefully will sweep CC this weekend
5. Michigan State - Defending Champs
6. Wisconsin - Kyle Turris is good
7. Clarkson - Our "Affirmative Action" ECAC pick
8. Minnesota Duluth - Just setting the Dawgs up for an "Over-Rated" cheer this weekend
9. Boston College - Drops to #9 because of crappy home ice facility
10. Colorado College - CC swept the Gophers, but they still always get ranked last in our Poll

USA Today Poll/USA Men's Hockey Poll

1). North Dakota (24)
2). Miami (9)
3). Michigan
4). Colorado College
5). Boston College
6). New Hampshre (1)
7). Denver
8). Clarkson
9). Michigan State
10). Minnesota
11). Wisconsin
12). Notre Dame
13). Maine
14). Ohio State
15). Michigan Tech


USCHO.com Top 20 Poll

1North Dakota(42)2-0-19911
2Miami( 7)4-0-09502
3Michigan
3-1-07946
4Colorado College
2-0-077710
5Boston College
1-1-27474
6Denver
3-1-07235
7New Hampshire( 1)1-0-07008
8Michigan State
2-1-06539
9Clarkson
3-1-06457
10Minnesota
2-2-05773
11Wisconsin
3-1-051513
12Notre Dame
2-2-047011
13Maine
2-2-029317
14Michigan Tech
3-1-0242NR
15St. Lawrence
2-2-019715
16Massachusetts
2-1-119420
17Minnesota-Duluth
3-0-1190NR
18Cornell
0-0-016519
19Ohio State
2-2-015612
20Alaska-Anchorage
3-0-1106NR

DU Splits Series With Notre Dame

Thursday Notre Dame 4 - DU 3....Friday DU 3 - Notre Dame 1

DU Beats Notre Dame 3-1, Splits Series


From DU Website

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Freshman Anthony Maiani buried a rebound on a shot by Rhett Rakhshani at 12:24 of the third period to send DU to a 3-1 win over Notre Dame tonight before 2,763 fans at Joyce Center. Denver improves to 3-1 with the win, while Notre Dame falls to 2-2.

The win marked the 300th career win at Denver for two-time National Coach of the Year George Gwozdecky. The win was also the 450th of Gwozdecky’s 22-year collegiate coaching career.

“I am really proud of the team tonight,” Gwozdecky said. “We played a tremendous third period tonight to earn a hard-fought win.”

Patrick Mullen started the game-winning play when he fed a streaking Rakhshani in the high slot. Rakhshani’s quick wrist shot bounced hard off Notre Dame goaltender Jordan Pearce (25 saves) toward the right circle where Maiani was waiting for the rebound goal, which was his first career game-winning goal.

Tom May iced the win with an empty-net goal with 17 seconds remaining. Brock Trotter and Andrew Thomas earned assists on the goal.

Freshman Chris Nutini gave DU a 1-0 lead after a dominant opening period by the Pioneers. Nutini’s wrist shot from the point rattled past Pearce high to the stick side at 15:55. DU outshot the Irish, 11-1, and controlled the puck for much of the period.

Ryan Thang tied it at 1-1 with Notre Dame’s third power-play goal of the series. Thang buried a feed from Erik Condra from the low slot at 10:55 of the second period. The Irish outshot DU in the period, 9-8.

Rakhshani led DU with two assists and Peter Mannino earned the win with 19 saves. DU outshot Notre Dame, 28-20, but failed to score on the power play for the third consecutive game. Notre Dame was 1-for-5 with the man advantage.

The Pioneers open WCHA play on Oct. 26-27 against Minnesota Duluth at Magness Arena.

Notes: Nutini became the fifth DU freshman to score his first career goal in the first four games of the season. The Pioneers have outshot their opponents 53-23 in the first period this season....The assists by Rakhshani marked his first points of the season. He led the Pioneers with 26 helpers last season.

Luck Of The Irish: Tornado Misses Joyce Center

(left) Most Minnesota high school rinks have more bells & whistles than Notre Dame's Joyce Center

Despite the 4-3 victory over Denver on Thursday night, Notre Dame hockey fans couldn't help feeling melancholy after the game when a tornado narrowly missed the Joyce Center and instead carved a trail of destruction through nearby Nappanee, IN.

The Joyce Center was evacuated during the second intermission because of a tornado warning, but the game was delayed only a few minutes. If the tornado had hit the Joyce Center, Notre Dame could finally start building their long awaited "hockey palace."

DU Lineup vs. Notre Dame

With Rhett Rakshani back in the lineup, DU went with the "Two Pronged Attack" splitting up Rakhshani, Tyler Ruegsegger & Brock Trotter and interspersing them with three freshman forwards.

Tyler Bozak, Trotter and defenseman Andy Thomas were +2 for the game.

According to Mike Chambers Blog DU has brought all 28 team members, coaches & support staff to Notre Dame so that they can enjoy the USC football game on Saturday.

DU Lineup vs. Notre Dame (Thursday)

Martin - Ruegsegger - Maiani
Rakhshani - Bozak - Trotter
May - Ostrow - Gifford
Glasser & Vossberg (subbing in)

Butler - Mullen
Ryder - Thomas
Testwuide - Brookwell
Marcuzzi (subbing in)

Mannino
Cheverie

Notre Dame Edges DU 4-3

(above) It was "Party Time" for the Notre Dame power play units last night as they converted 2 of 4 PP opportunities

From: Denver Post

Official Box Score & Stats

The fifth-ranked University of Denver hockey team had trouble with No. 11 Notre Dame's power play Thursday night, giving up three man-advantage goals to the Fighting Irish in a 4-3 loss in South Bend, Ind.

The Pioneers (2-1) took an early lead on Kyle Ostrow's goal 1:42 into the game, then Notre Dame (2-1) tied it at the 18:10 mark on a power-play goal by Garrett Regan. DU led 2-1 at the end of the first period after Tyler Bozak stuffed in a feed from Brock Trotter with 45 seconds left.

Even though the Pioneers led, DU coach George Gwozdecky thought the first period was key because of his team's lack of a killer instinct.

"We let too many scoring chances slip away in the first period, which allowed Notre Dame to get back into the game," Gwozdecky said. "We were outplayed in special teams (Thursday), but look forward to improving those areas in (tonight's) game."
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The Irish outshot DU 9-3 in the second period and took a 3-2 lead on goals by Kyle Lawson and Ryan Thang.
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Ben Ryan scored Notre Dame's final power-play goal at the 7:23 mark of the third, then Trotter pulled DU within one 32 seconds later. Goalie Peter Mannino was pulled with 1:44 left, but the Pioneers could not score the equalizer.
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DU outshot Notre Dame 20-18 but went 0-for-5 on the power play. The Irish were 3-of-4. Mannino had 14 saves.

What Fricken' Time Does The Game Start Tonight?

As DU readies to play Notre Dame tonight in South Bend, Indiana who knew that the starting time would be such a mystery?

It turns out that part of Indiana is in the Central Time Zone (geographically the entire state should be CST but thats another matter), but much of the state is in the Eastern Time Zone.

Easy enough right?

Well not exactly. It turns out that not every county in the state recognizes Daylight Savings Time.

Below is the "explaination" of the map above:
Counties of Indiana. Red observed DST before 2006, as did orange (although unofficially); all observe DST since 2006. On April 2, 2006, purple were moved to Central time to join red; blue and orange stayed on Eastern time. Pulaski County, colored purple on the map, was, however, moved back to Eastern time on March 11, 2007.
What? My head hurts from reading that.

We're pretty sure South Bend is in the Eastern Time Zone and the game starts at 7:35 EST, 6:35 CST, 5:35 MST & 4:35 PST, but we wouldn't bet on it.

LetsGoDU Receives A Little "Street Cred"

Denver Post writer Mike Chamber's new Blog has been universally applauded by the Hard-Core DU Hockey Fanbase (that's HCDUHF to you).

Mike must be getting lazy with all his new found success because now he's citing LetsGoDU as a source for one of his stories. OK, maybe we do put "fiction before fact" and sure we plagiarize all of our articles and we always bandwidth hijack the photos and sometimes we start rumors and occasionally we do print half-truths because we're too lazy to fact check our work. We do all those things, because we don't care.

Rakhshani Returns Against Notre Dame Tonight

Coach Gwozdecky Goes For 300th Win At DU

From: Denver Post
by Mike Chambers

The fog has lifted, and clearance has been obtained. Rhett Rakhshani is prepared to take off tonight at Notre Dame.

Rakhshani, who led the University of Denver hockey team with 26 assists last season as a freshman, will return to the lineup after missing the season's first two games to recover from a concussion.

"Feeling good, ready to rock," Rakhshani said Wednesday from Chicago as the Pioneers boarded a bus for South Bend, Ind. "It was hard sitting out, because you always want to be part of it and out there contributing. And it was opening weekend. But it really wasn't as hard as I thought it would be because our team played so well."

The fifth-ranked Pioneers, who opened last weekend at home with 2-0 and 3-1 victories over Maine, face the No. 11 Fighting Irish tonight and Friday at the Joyce Center. The nonconference series begins a day earlier than normal to make room for Notre Dame's homecoming festivities and Saturday's football game against Southern California.

Rakhshani, a California native of Iranian dissent, likely will miss the Dec. 28-29 Denver Cup to play for Team USA in the World Junior Championship. He and classmate Tyler Ruegsegger had strong evaluation camps in August and are good bets to make the under-20 American all-star squad.

Rakhshani and Ruegsegger might ultimately play on a line with classmate Brock Trotter, who had a team-high 40 points last season. Rakhshani was third in scoring and Ruegsegger fourth, spearheading the freshman class to put up 44 percent of the team's points.

Forming the suberb sophomore line is dependent on how the other young forwards develop. Senior Tom May was the only upperclassmen that played forward last weekend.

"I love the way our team is playing," Rakhshani said. "All the forwards are looking great. We're really looking like a seedy team this year, based on a lot of puck movement. And that's really my game, keeping my feet moving and moving the puck."

DU coach George Gwozdecky said Rakhshani is "going to help. He's a big offensive catalyst. To have guys like that in your lineup are necessary and invaluable, and yet, we're a team that has pretty good balance."

No matter what happens on the ice against the Irish, Gwozdecky will take his entire program — 28 players, assistant coaches and support staff — to Saturday's football game.

"It's something I set up a long time ago," Gwozdecky said. "It's an opportunity to experience something that very few people get a chance to do, going to a major college football game at a place that's one of the greatest football venues off all time. A great majority of our team has never been to a major football game like this.

"So it will be a real nice treat for us, based upon how we do in this series."

A win tonight would give Gwozdecky his 300th at DU. In 14 seasons, he has compiled a record of 299-191-40 and captured two NCAA titles.

STANLEY CUP COMES TO PORTLAND

Posted by: du78

As most of you know, former DUer and NHL great, Kevin Dineen is the coach of the Portland Pirates in the AHL. A few weeks ago DU alum & USCHO.com poster Bagman, went to Maine to hang with his old DU buddies and catch some hockey games. It just so happened that the Stanley Cup was in Portland (farm team of Anaheim Ducks). For the second time this year Bagman was able to be with the "Holy Grail" of hockey.

Below are some photos from the weekend.

(Above) Kevin Dineen, Bagman & Shawn Dineen, all 3 DU alums

(above) The boys pose with proud father Bill Dineen who played and coached in the NHL

More CC "Black Face" Coverage

Colorado College's "National Day Of Shame"

What Did The Colorado College Administration Know? And When Did They Know it?
Its been a busy day here at LetsGoDU Corporate Headquarters as we watch the Colorado College's "Blackface Incident" unfold. Consider LetsGoDU your resource when it comes to providing links to coverage of Colorado College's "National Day Of Shame."

The website WithLeather.com has a pretty funny picture accompanying its article.

The Rocky Mountain News jumped into the act reprinting Kate Crandall's fine article.

The always excellent WCHA Blog was one of the first college hockey blogs to run with the story. And then WCHA Blog's article was picked up by Deadspin.com and their readers had a field day.

Of course the Ding-Bats over at CC Tiger Hockey.net were pretty slow to realize the consequences or ramifications of this story as it spread.

As Vail residents ready themselves for the invading hordes of tourists, they can muse over the Blackface Story in the Vail Daily while sipping their grande mocha latte espressos.

College Hockey News.com covers the story for college hockey fans.

In Minnesota, the Star-Tribune ran with the story about "Two Minnesotans among four Colorado College hockey players suspended"
"Four Colorado College hockey players -- including Scott Thauwald, who played high school hockey at Rochester Mayo, and Brian Connelly, who starred at Bloomington Jefferson -- were suspended from the team for two weeks after appearing in blackface at a golf outing." - Star Tribune

MSNBC.com
picked up Ms. Randall's story.

Lookie here. The Associated Press jumped into the act and the article was quickly snapped up by our own hometown Denver Post.

Newspeak.com which bills itself as "Colorado Springs Only Alternative Since 2006" has a pretty good article that goes into some depth about CC's other racial controversy that made the N.Y. Times back in 2002. They also bandy about the term "c-o-v-e-r-u-p" by the Colorado College administration. Oh the horror!

Denver's Channel 7 threw their hat into the ring with website coverage. Not to be outdone Denver's Channel 9 quickly countered with their take. Fox 21 in Colorado Springs was on the ball last night.

The wildly popular Western College Hockey Blog labeled the incident "an innocent mistake."

The University of Wisconsin newspaper The Daily Cardinal had their take.

It shouldn't be long until Nancy Grace gets ahold of this...

Four CC Players Land On Bad Boyz List

CC Players Suspended For "Blackface Act"
From: Colorado Springs Gazette
by Kate Crandall

(left) Grand Wizar...er...I mean CC Hockey Captain Scott Thauwald shown here without makeup


The recent suspension of four Colorado College hockey players was a penalty for wearing blackface and costumes of characters in a TV show about a black family.

The players were senior captain Scott Thauwald, sophomores Andreas Vlassopoulos and Brian Connelly, and freshman Brett Wysopal.

The punishment included two weeks without hockey team activities and disciplinary probation for the rest of the school year. The players were required to meet with members of the local branches of the NAACP and the Urban League, and participate in a campus forum at the school’s multicultural residence, Glass House, with members of the Black Student Union.

The four must take an extra course on “diverse cultures,” and the entire team will meet with speakers and members of the school’s Diversity Task Force.

The incident occurred at the team’s annual preseason golf outing on Sept. 8 at Valley Hi Golf Course.

The players divided themselves into groups and, in conjunction with this year’s theme of TV shows, picked a show to represent. Groups chose “Baywatch,” “Entourage,” “WWE,” “Scrubs” and “The Office.” The four players in question chose “Family Matters” and wore wigs and makeup.

“Colorado College must be a diverse, respectful community, where we value all persons and seek to learn from their diverse experiences and perspectives,” CC President Richard Celeste said in a statement. “Several weeks ago, an incident in which students engaged in inappropriate and offensive behavior violated this core value. The college took this situation very seriously and acted as quickly as possible to take substantial disciplinary action and create opportunities for dialogue.”

Celeste did not name the players, but he said those involved acknowledged their error and joined campus groups in discussing diversity.

“The intent was to have good costumes,” Thauwald said. “We realize now, even though there was no racial intent, that what we did was wrong. We’ve all learned a lot through the last couple of weeks, and we’ve apologized to the school and the people we directly affected, and I feel like a lot of the students were pretty welcoming to our apology. We made a mistake.”

The others expressed similar sentiments:

- Connelly: “We know what we did hurt people. We want to become leaders on campus.”

- Vlassopoulos: “We were hurt not just for the fact that people were calling us racist, but we did cause a lot of pain for people. . . . That was tough realizing that you affected in a bad way so many people you didn’t even know.”

- Wysopal: “The biggest thing was that it hurt that they thought we were lying about our apology. It came from the heart. There was no racist intent involved. We made a mistake and we’re paying for it. But we want to stay involved.”

Coach Scott Owens declined to comment.

In 2002, CC was embroiled in controversy when the student newspaper, Catalyst, published an April Fool’s Day issue that offended members of the black community. Last week, the Catalyst reported the episode with hockey players and a separate, unconfirmed rumor about two students attending an on-campus party in blackface.

On Oct. 2, the players met for dinner with Rosemary Harris and Frank Lytle of the Colorado Springs branch of the NAACP, Thomas Bennett of the Colorado Springs Black Leadership Forum, CC’s vice president of student life Mike Edmonds and CC’s minority student life director Rochelle Mason. Harris, the branch president, said the players received a brief history of blackface, which dates to the early 1800s when white actors in minstrel shows would use burnt cork to darken their skin and would mock the mannerisms, speech patterns and other aspects of black culture.

“It was a constructive experience because I thought they were open,” Harris said. “It was people coming together around the table to do what we so often don’t do, which is talk honestly about race in this country. . . . I walked away feeling it wasn’t going to be swept under the rug, and I felt these students fully expected that it would not be swept under any rug.”

Vanessa Roberts, co-chair of CC’s Black Student Union, said the players’ apology in front of 50 to 60 students at Glass House on Oct. 3 was a step.

“Being able to put it within a context was helpful in terms of understanding it or finding a beginning ground from which to understand and process it,” Roberts said.

The four players and teammates Bill Sweatt, Tyler O’Brien and Eric Walsky also attended a Unity Rally at Worner Student Center on Oct. 10 on their own accord, Thauwald said.

“It was affirming to see them there,” Roberts said. “I know that personally my general concern was that now that they’ve fulfilled the requirements of their punishment that’ll be it. Now, I’m waiting to see what happens next from their side.”

Harris said she expects the players to attend the NAACP’s Freedom Fund Dinner on Saturday at 7 p.m., the same time as CC’s game against Minnesota.

“The president of the NAACP invited us,” Thauwald said. “Then, we received an e-mail from Rochelle Mason. That was about a week ago. We all responded back saying we’re not going to be able to attend, but we would be interested in future things.”