The exhibition game on Sunday night should clear up some of the offseason questions about DU's lineup. There certainly hasn't been a lot of scuttlebutt coming out of the Captain's practices and with only a couple of practices under the watchful eyes of the full coaching staff, nobody may have all the answers yet. We'll take a stab at the five biggest questions surrounding DU's upcoming campaign.
DU has four front-line centers that figure to play on the Top three lines. Does incoming Freshman Drew Shore move to wing, to play on Colborne's line?
Who grabs the elusive sixth defenseman spot between Ryder, Nutini and incoming Freshman Paul Phillips? Traditionally Gwozdecky has gone with the scholarship athlete early in the season, in this case Phillips, but Nutini & Ryder are experienced WCHA performers. It will probably be by committee until further notice.
Can Nate Dewhurst supplant Brandon Vossberg in the lineup? Vossberg has proven to be the ultimate warrior for DU and won't go quietly into the night. Dewhurst brings speed and ability, Vossberg brings heart and determination.
How effective and how many starts will incoming Freshman Adam Murray get in goal? A clue might be the playing time on Sunday night. If Chevy & Murray get close to 30 minutes each, Murray might be in line to get 10 starts as a Freshman. If it goes 40-20 to Cheverie, Gwozdecky may be planning on riding the Chevy most of the season.
Who will be the biggest surprise this season? The candidates appear to be Shawn Ostrow, Adam Murray, Nate Dewhurst, Paul Phillips and perhaps Brian Gifford or Matt Glasser having a "breakout season." We'll go with Shawn Ostrow, but we picked Lars Paulgaard last season and he only appeared in a couple of games.
Forwards
Rakhshani (15g, 22a) - Ruegsegger (15g, 11a) - Maiani (11g, 30a)
K. Ostrow (14g, 14a) - Colborne (10g, 21a) - Shore (Fr.)
Salazar (15g, 10a) - Martin (10g, 13a) - S. Ostrow (Fr.)
Gifford (4g, 8a) - Glasser (4g, 3a) - Vossberg (4g, 2a)
[Dewhurst (0g, 1a), Knowlton (Fr.)]
Jackson (3g, 9a) Injured
Defensemen
Wiercioch (12g, 23a) - Lee (0g, 5a)
Donovan (Fr.) - Brookwell (0g, 3a)
Ryder (0g, 6a) - Wrenn (Fr.)
[Nutini (0g, 3a), Phillips (Fr.), Cook (0g, 0a), Brehm (0g, 0a)]
Goaltenders
Chevy (2.34 gaa, .921 sv%)
[Murray (Fr.), Paulgaard (1.61, .917 sv%)]
1st PP
Rakhshani, Colborne, Maiani
Wiercioch, Ruegsegger
2nd PP
K. Ostrow, Shore, Salazar
Donovan, Martin
1st PK
Colborne, K. Ostrow
Wiercioch, Lee
2nd PK
Martin, Vossberg
Donovan, Wrenn
Rakhshani (15g, 22a) - Ruegsegger (15g, 11a) - Maiani (11g, 30a)
K. Ostrow (14g, 14a) - Colborne (10g, 21a) - Shore (Fr.)
Salazar (15g, 10a) - Martin (10g, 13a) - S. Ostrow (Fr.)
Gifford (4g, 8a) - Glasser (4g, 3a) - Vossberg (4g, 2a)
[Dewhurst (0g, 1a), Knowlton (Fr.)]
Jackson (3g, 9a) Injured
Defensemen
Wiercioch (12g, 23a) - Lee (0g, 5a)
Donovan (Fr.) - Brookwell (0g, 3a)
Ryder (0g, 6a) - Wrenn (Fr.)
[Nutini (0g, 3a), Phillips (Fr.), Cook (0g, 0a), Brehm (0g, 0a)]
Goaltenders
Chevy (2.34 gaa, .921 sv%)
[Murray (Fr.), Paulgaard (1.61, .917 sv%)]
1st PP
Rakhshani, Colborne, Maiani
Wiercioch, Ruegsegger
2nd PP
K. Ostrow, Shore, Salazar
Donovan, Martin
1st PK
Colborne, K. Ostrow
Wiercioch, Lee
2nd PK
Martin, Vossberg
Donovan, Wrenn
1 comment:
Last year I picked Martin which was a pretty good pick even though he played hurt all last season.
When you think about it Ruegsegger, Wiercioch and Martin all played the majority of the season last year either hurt or sick. It should be fun to watch them hopefully play healthy all season.
My pick this year is Brian Gifford but I also like your pick of Shawn Ostrow. Much better than your pick last year. :-)
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