tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-171962082024-03-07T11:20:22.519-07:00LetsGoDUA University of Denver Athletics Blog tailored for and by Pioneers.dggoddardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745826019598020062noreply@blogger.comBlogger6159125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17196208.post-31335543861670832232016-03-15T20:10:00.003-06:002016-03-15T20:10:25.904-06:00We have moved...<span style="font-size: x-large;">Go to </span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="http://letsgodu.com/" target="_blank">LetsGoDU.com</a></span><br />
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5BWesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06902714158850663998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17196208.post-71341610835092544392015-12-28T13:55:00.000-07:002015-12-28T13:55:25.404-07:00Lacrosse Remains Growing Niche Sport<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTKgjwzLykzGfqcJ97OqF7zJ6K5uHKgVyE0MlL4Jbx8ww3Bn2v6ci2rKyHeFG5IjB7rmmkF65NJ7HSvvW7fb1yNJIRIrnICHIs8pFCVrlALsykWLAiBC1P2sjRS-8zIFjZ-yZK/s1600/Lacrosse+Sticks.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTKgjwzLykzGfqcJ97OqF7zJ6K5uHKgVyE0MlL4Jbx8ww3Bn2v6ci2rKyHeFG5IjB7rmmkF65NJ7HSvvW7fb1yNJIRIrnICHIs8pFCVrlALsykWLAiBC1P2sjRS-8zIFjZ-yZK/s1600/Lacrosse+Sticks.png" /></a></div>
A recent <a href="http://www.laxpower.com/common/ParticipationRates2015.php" target="_blank">Lax Power</a> article shows the exponential growth rate of lacrosse at the prep level. Lacrosse is growing faster, based on number of participants, than all other high school sports. Over the past 15 years, participation in high school lacrosse has gone up 159.3% for boys and 161.7% for girls. Lax Power provides data for high school sports offered (sponsorship) and the number of players (participants) for each prep sport.<br />
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The question facing lacrosse is whether the rapid growth of high school lacrosse will translate into rapid growth at the collegiate level. Over time, lacrosse <b>could</b> capture national sports interest to rival collegiate football, basketball, or even baseball. With the advent of liability risks, brain trauma, and operational costs for football, many lacrosse fans speculate that the speed, contact, and scoring in lacrosse makes it a ideal replacement for football, especially at the high school level.<br />
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Of course, this potential change will not occur anytime soon. While short term participation fell 1% 2014-2015 for high school football, net participation actually <i>increased o</i>ver the past 15 years by 7% and remains the highest participation sport for boys. At universities, soaring athletic budgets and title IX restrictions inhibit expansion options. Currently, there are only 61 NCAA-sanctioned Division I men's lacrosse teams, 46 Division II men's lacrosse teams and 189 Division III men's lacrosse teams. There are also 92 Division I women's lacrosse teams, 67 Division II women's lacrosse teams, and 216 Division III women's lacrosse teams.<br />
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The reality is that lacrosse will remain a popular niche sport for quite some time at both the high school and collegiate levels. Boys and girls prep lacrosse is not in the top 10 sports for either high school boys or girls. The most frequently offered sport for prep boys is basketball (18,072 teams) while football has the highest level of participation with 1,083,600 players. The most popular school sport offering for girls is basketball with 17,653 participating schools while track and field has the highest girls participation with 478,700 athletes. <br />
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For HS boys lacrosse, 2,677 schools offered lacrosse with 108,500 participants - basically 10% of the number of high school football players. For girls lacrosse, 2,446 high schools offer girls lacrosse and 84,800 girls play the sport- only 17% of the number of participants compared to the most popular girl's team sport - track and field. To put the numbers in perspective, twice as many boys are wrestling than playing lacrosse. More girls are on spirit squads (cheerleading) than playing lacrosse. Interestingly, from a DU perspective, high school hockey is much more of a niche even than lacrosse with only 33% of Lacrosse's level of participation. Of course a major reason for that is high school age hockey players with potential often choose to play club hockey instead of school sanctioned, varsity hockey.<br />
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Soccer and track & field, both top five participant sport for high school boys and girls, has not transformed college sports - especially from a spectator standpoint. The closest practical comparison to lacrosse is soccer in the US. Popular at the elementary and high school levels for many years, it remains a second tier sport at most universities. While soccer has shown high participation levels and regional growth at the professional level, it is still not close to eclipsing the top four professional spectator sports in the US - football, basketball, baseball and hockey. Lacrosse is on much the same journey.5BWesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06902714158850663998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17196208.post-86920794548529061632015-12-28T13:34:00.001-07:002015-12-28T14:11:30.316-07:00Post Script: Big 12 May Alter WCC Landscape<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5M6vYaiV3vVhzqhX6BbDhSFG_Ctljd9NXjI7Q2NSGy1U22aI2tRh3wR7sXvS9OB3PAHznlCcQpPlfHRFFuwbj8t3roB1qh7k6AH5N-dhYdiBe2YBC9b1lsXgLxSq6AWHw60M1/s1600/BYU.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5M6vYaiV3vVhzqhX6BbDhSFG_Ctljd9NXjI7Q2NSGy1U22aI2tRh3wR7sXvS9OB3PAHznlCcQpPlfHRFFuwbj8t3roB1qh7k6AH5N-dhYdiBe2YBC9b1lsXgLxSq6AWHw60M1/s200/BYU.png" width="200" /></a></div>
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One additional change facing the West Coast Conference is the potential loss of BYU. According to an article published yesterday in <i>Sports Illustrated: <a href="http://www.campusrush.com/big-12-conference-questions-future-expansion-1528668401.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: orange;">Campus Crush</span></a></i>, BYU, an independent football power and WCC member in all other sports, is the first choice of the Big 12 for expansion. Currently sitting with 10 football teams, the Big 12 needs two more football teams to create two divisions and a conference championship. The other two schools being considered are Cincinnati and Colorado State. As for BYU, the article states, "BYU has an increased desire to join the league (Big 12) because of the yawning perception gap between the Power Five (football schools) and everyone else. BYU realizes it won't be treated like Notre Dame as an independent, so this seems like the most logical move for both sides."<br />
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Furthermore, this change is being accelerated by a Big Ten proposal which is currently in front of the NCAA. The amendment states that a conference championship game must be played between the winners of two divisions - meaning the Big 12 must hold a title game between their division winners to qualify for the NCAA football playoffs. <br />
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BYU could elect to join the Big 12 in only football or may decide to move their entire athletic program to the Big 12. If that occurred, the WCC would fall to nine members. BYU is clearly the most ill-fitted member of the West Coast Conference so DU just might make an ideal replacement.<br />
<br />5BWesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06902714158850663998noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17196208.post-2489465725832151362015-12-28T11:45:00.000-07:002015-12-28T12:17:31.426-07:00Sweden Jolts US Juniors 1-0<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2u5ONP29S4UfYfhUUNJ78BuT5s64GPQfxtS5nGKkDo8yQYjYxdBO0iJ62Qmdjb3NdAUIlqaeHEJ4dh3k5hSuVygffFmAEh4Jmq6MYAxxh-EbKn1-i9SNTl2RdX4nfY010d8FL/s1600/Swedish.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2u5ONP29S4UfYfhUUNJ78BuT5s64GPQfxtS5nGKkDo8yQYjYxdBO0iJ62Qmdjb3NdAUIlqaeHEJ4dh3k5hSuVygffFmAEh4Jmq6MYAxxh-EbKn1-i9SNTl2RdX4nfY010d8FL/s1600/Swedish.png"></a></div>
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Following a thrilling win against Canada in game 1 of the U20 World Junior Championships in Helsinki, Finland, the US dropped their second game this morning to Sweden 1-0. The Swedish goaltender, Linus Soderstrom, turned back 46 shots from Team USA for the win. After 12 straight losses to the Americans over a 20 year span at the World Juniors, the Swedes caught the yanks napping with their only goal at 2:41 into the second period on a break-away, top shelf shot from Alex Nylader.<br>
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The US controlled play but could not beat Soderstrom, despite 6 power play opportunities.<br>
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Next up for the Team USA (1-1) are the Swiss (0-2) on Wednesday.5BWesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06902714158850663998noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17196208.post-46450147728117469912015-12-27T13:22:00.002-07:002015-12-27T15:19:00.074-07:00The West Coast Conference - Risk & Reward<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfttkJrI2obzT_0vXCpnQclNu4F-S7qLwvyK-7W5RCYGL_pXQIPYJ2CW7n10ow9bEOZheLgibHNpNQqfB_e9etxoDq8IuK32kx0GzSw43VsblMM7FW3rhYiov6_cPzN07WnMks/s1600/Beach+Volleyball.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="153" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfttkJrI2obzT_0vXCpnQclNu4F-S7qLwvyK-7W5RCYGL_pXQIPYJ2CW7n10ow9bEOZheLgibHNpNQqfB_e9etxoDq8IuK32kx0GzSw43VsblMM7FW3rhYiov6_cPzN07WnMks/s200/Beach+Volleyball.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><i>Photo: Beach volleyball, the fastest growing NCAA sport</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />Imagine Pacific University rolling into Denver to play beach volleyball - the fastest-growing NCAA sport with 50 colleges and universities playing as of January 2015. Or picture DU cross country runners training over at Washington park, getting ready for the December NCAA championships. What about heading across I-25 to a refurbished South High Stadium to watch the Pios take on BYU in baseball or watch women's softball against San Francisco? On a sunny fall day, how about heading out to Cherry Creek to watch a women's collegiate rowing meet with BYU, Portland and Santa Clara?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">In addition to DU's current sports offerings, these are the additional sports that DU would have to sponsor to join the West Coast Conference. There is no doubt that this move would transform the University's athletics programs, elevate DU's visibility regionally and nationally. and align the DU with more "like minded" universities.</span><br />
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It would come with a cost, though.</div>
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DU's golf, soccer, tennis and volleyball would remain unchanged in the WCC while lacrosse, hockey and gymnastics would continue with their current conference affiliation. </div>
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A move like this would add to DU's already high travel costs, scholarships numbers, and facilities cost. The question is: Could or would the University be willing to take on this challenge in exchange for the visibility and potential revenue offsets of some of the new sports. Could DU sell-out beach volleyball? Yes. Cross Country and rowing - No. Baseball and softball - maybe. Would it elevate some of our current sports such as basketball, volleyball, and soccer - definitely. Would it increase non-scholarship student applications, particularly from the west? Likely.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_0x3BIDtl3kSoGMQfRAH8rGafngOKTQqojCmFn1lCr4crw3Bt7otvSRYUBp4JHv5seio9xYj9ASUj2mAwIKEU9COI9w2gurzWOBH28V6MAfBx9rivepxE8PswYC8zSh_zkdZ-/s1600/Cross+Country.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_0x3BIDtl3kSoGMQfRAH8rGafngOKTQqojCmFn1lCr4crw3Bt7otvSRYUBp4JHv5seio9xYj9ASUj2mAwIKEU9COI9w2gurzWOBH28V6MAfBx9rivepxE8PswYC8zSh_zkdZ-/s200/Cross+Country.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo: NCAA cross country championships</span></i></div>
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Of course, if the WCC is willing to add DU, the Pioneers could seek relief by not adding one or two of the most costly new sports. Most conferences do not require participation in all sports.</div>
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Ten 'peer' schools figured it out - BYU, Portland, Loyola Marymount, Gonzaga, Pacific, Pepperdine, St. Mary's, San Diego, San Francisco, and Santa Clara. That means DU could as well.</div>
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5BWesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06902714158850663998noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17196208.post-25753495844482873142015-12-26T13:55:00.004-07:002015-12-27T08:06:49.829-07:00US Schools Canada 4-2 in Round 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv9x3ZmytUiQ8-GMsiYMD8dQ7qoTiDdfs03hYGRm0z2kNe2-UsQIxY9SFfCaoSnE8-KKB8qQJoIAmaLptZnol52QNEbdo5H2Lp8uZM7AIaRkmwUu4KYw-njPkxnjTLh0sJsKFH/s1600/Juniors.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv9x3ZmytUiQ8-GMsiYMD8dQ7qoTiDdfs03hYGRm0z2kNe2-UsQIxY9SFfCaoSnE8-KKB8qQJoIAmaLptZnol52QNEbdo5H2Lp8uZM7AIaRkmwUu4KYw-njPkxnjTLh0sJsKFH/s320/Juniors.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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In a battle of country hockey powers, US collegians made the difference in a 4-2 victory over team Canada in the U-20 World Juniors Championships, round 1, in Helsinki, Finland.<br />
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Boston University's Colin White, Michigan's Zack Werenski and Miami's Louis Belpedio scored one goal each. Austin Mathews was the only non-collegian US goal scorer. Mathews scored the final dagger in the third period. <a name='more'></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="more"></a><br />
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Team USA left the first period tied 0-0 with the US dodging a 5-minute major and a game misconduct for spearing. The second period ended 1-1 with Colin White scoring a goal for Team USA. In the third period, Zerinski found the net and scored at 7:22 of the 3rd period but Canada quickly countered. Then, at the 3:18 mark, Belpedio gave the yanks the lead for good on a shot from the point. Mathews finished off Canada with the 4th goal for Team USA.<br />
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The other battle was during TV commercial breaks when College Hockey Incorporated touted the benefits of college hockey while the USHL sold junior development. The winner, at least for today, was college hockey.</div>
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Colin White was named player of the game. <span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">For team USA, 12 of 22 players come from the college ranks. This was round 1 so these two teams may meet again.</span></div>
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5BWesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06902714158850663998noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17196208.post-10435374935551633312015-12-26T07:54:00.002-07:002015-12-30T07:27:41.825-07:00Leftovers and Loose Ends<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9yHMMkiSGlST2T9KB5VoHZJizsu4o0JHSbeoUu09ZacGVxPxRYqpRCFmRldfYHFEB15zVkh6H8nUj5E9eN55tAnoCJ7g0NaS0Gt1aP2oFu48lYizsPxqpq_JRHDpPIvqEU_35/s1600/leftover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9yHMMkiSGlST2T9KB5VoHZJizsu4o0JHSbeoUu09ZacGVxPxRYqpRCFmRldfYHFEB15zVkh6H8nUj5E9eN55tAnoCJ7g0NaS0Gt1aP2oFu48lYizsPxqpq_JRHDpPIvqEU_35/s200/leftover.jpg" width="200"></a></div>
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Below are links to various hockey stories of interest - some old, some new. <br>
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<li>USCHO had a feature article on former Pioneer Angelo Ricci. <a href="http://www.uscho.com/2015/12/22/checking-in-former-denver-player-angelo-ricci-coaches-the-next-generation-in-colorado/"><span style="color: orange;">http://www.uscho.com/2015/12/22/checking-in-former-denver-player-angelo-ricci-coaches-the-next-generation-in-colorado/</span></a></li>
<li>Avery Peterson, a former Mr. Hockey - Minnesota, departed the UNO hockey program at the break. He had a strong freshman year but was struggling this year and has a sick brother back in Minnesota. <a href="http://www.omaha.com/uno/avery-peterson-s-departure-shocks-uno-teammates/article_7db8097c-a720-5125-8ca4-58e892c3da88.html"><span style="color: orange;">http://www.omaha.com/uno/avery-peterson-s-departure-shocks-uno-teammates/article_7db8097c-a720-5125-8ca4-58e892c3da88.html</span></a><a name="more"></a></li>
<li>Junior forward Nick Roberto from Boston University was suspended one year for gambling. Few details are available but, likely, not college hockey. Per College Hockey News, according to NCAA by-laws, a player who is found gambling on any sporting event, amateur or pro in any sport, via a “bookie” or the Internet, faces a minimum one-year suspension. Other gambling, even through legal means such as fantasy sports, are subject to a suspension of an undetermined length. <u><span style="color: orange;">h</span></u><a href="http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2015/12/21_bus_roberto_suspended_for.php"><span style="color: orange;">ttp://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2015/12/21_bus_roberto_suspended_for.php</span></a></li>
<li>A Wisconsin recruit switched to DU. <a href="http://www.sbncollegehockey.com/college-hockey-recruiting-ncaa/2015/12/3/9846430/kohen-olischefski-decommits-from-wisconsin-commits-to-denver"><span style="color: orange;">http://www.sbncollegehockey.com/college-hockey-recruiting-ncaa/2015/12/3/9846430/kohen-olischefski-decommits-from-wisconsin-commits-to-Denver</span></a></li>
<li>Earlier this month Tyler Bozak returned to Denver with the Maple Leafs and delivered a hat trick against the hometown Avs. <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nhl/2015/12/21/bozaks-hat-trick-in-3rd-leads-leafs-past-avalanche-7-4/77734488/"><span style="color: orange;">http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nhl/2015/12/21/bozaks-hat-trick-in-3rd-leads-leafs-past-avalanche-7-4/77734488/</span></a></li>
<li>CC is in the news. The Tiger's Trey Bradley delivered an illegal hit on an Alabama-Huntsville player and will be taking a 2-game break. <a href="http://www.uscho.com/2015/12/22/nchc-issues-two-game-suspension-to-colorado-colleges-trey-bradley-after-illegal-hit-at-alabama-huntsville/"><span style="color: orange;">http://www.uscho.com/2015/12/22/nchc-issues-two-game-suspension-to-colorado-colleges-trey-bradley-after-illegal-hit-at-alabama-huntsville/</span></a></li>
<li>No DU players were named to the USA Worlds Junior Roster which included a dozen collegiate players. BU had three players and North Dakota had two. <a href="http://www.uscho.com/2015/12/23/final-team-usa-world-junior-roster-has-12-ncaa-connections/"><span style="color: orange;">http://www.uscho.com/2015/12/23/final-team-usa-world-junior-roster-has-12-ncaa-connections/</span></a></li>
<li>The UND Fighting Hawks new logo design is already generating parodies. Some of these designs are sure to draw the attention of UND's legal department. <a href="http://www.grandforksherald.com/news/local/3911648-another-designer-puts-spin-und-logo-controversy"><span style="color: orange;">http://www.grandforksherald.com/news/local/3911648-another-designer-puts-spin-und-logo-controversy</span></a></li>
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5BWesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06902714158850663998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17196208.post-11254759581284236772015-12-25T10:51:00.001-07:002015-12-25T10:51:18.448-07:00Nine Days in January <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJcaDxD_jZ_sPFtVX0TY1ZRsgvmcoyP2YsH3VKlF_BgtFs10howYYkemNMxfM1gvpVuhjsuvRvkVXTxw_4M2WfWF91_hOQ7ENLINSUD3CNPzdzNW6p7BFstGBUd00qT0qwANNF/s1600/Underdog2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJcaDxD_jZ_sPFtVX0TY1ZRsgvmcoyP2YsH3VKlF_BgtFs10howYYkemNMxfM1gvpVuhjsuvRvkVXTxw_4M2WfWF91_hOQ7ENLINSUD3CNPzdzNW6p7BFstGBUd00qT0qwANNF/s1600/Underdog2.jpg" /></a></div>
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While the Summit League my be a free-for-all this year, no team has a tougher opening stretch than the Pioneers. DU will get the Summit League preseason poll <u>1-2-3-4 punch</u> in the first nine days of January. The first two games are on the road, Brookings & Fargo, and the next two games are in Denver. A 2-2 split would be an excellent start to league play. Anything better than that and the Pioneers would have to be considered the biggest league surprise. All in nine days. It won't take long to get a sense of how well DU matches up against the league's best.<br />
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<a href="http://www.thesummitleague.org/sports/mbkb/2015-16/releases/20151014gom4zz" target="_blank"><span style="color: orange;">Summit League Men's Basketball</span></a><span style="color: orange;"> </span><br />
<b>2015-16 PRESEASON POLL</b><br />
1. South Dakota State (January 1, 2016 - Brookings, S.D.)<br />
2. North Dakota State (January 3, 2016 - Fargo, N.D.)<br />
3. Oral Roberts (January 6, 2016 - Denver, Colorado)<br />
4. Fort Wayne (January 9, 2016 - Denver, Colorado)<br />
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<i>LetsGoDU</i> wishes hoops a great start to the new year.<br />
<br />5BWesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06902714158850663998noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17196208.post-6754934782317074052015-12-24T12:34:00.002-07:002015-12-24T15:52:28.276-07:002Q Hoops Report Card Shows Hope & Concern<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmsjTLwNYg2l767fDvyKJiGL3NDEiAHUuZmJ9O_qZpamd0dNv8GjUkUNl0pkSnfsvnADYiAkvoTF8XitI8qYl3EW-CqFFPyZD-LVY0_UCgcnNRFHxRl07Cx7Tm1aWzP0RGFTVe/s1600/Report+Card+2Q.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmsjTLwNYg2l767fDvyKJiGL3NDEiAHUuZmJ9O_qZpamd0dNv8GjUkUNl0pkSnfsvnADYiAkvoTF8XitI8qYl3EW-CqFFPyZD-LVY0_UCgcnNRFHxRl07Cx7Tm1aWzP0RGFTVe/s200/Report+Card+2Q.jpg" width="173" /></a></div>
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DU finished the second quarter of their basketball season, 3-3. All six games were against non-conference opponents. During that stretch, DU averaged 63 points per game while their opponents scored 65.4, a -2.4 margin.<br />
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<b>Quarter 2 Evaluation Period</b><b>: </b><b>Period: Air Force through University California - Riverside</b><br />
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DU 59 - Air Force 61 (L)<br />
DU 59 - San Diego 47 (W)<br />
DU 69 - Weber St. 68 (W)<br />
DU 81 - Northern Colorado 77 (W)<br />
DU 58 - Eastern Washington 74 (L)<br />
DU 53 - UC Riverside 63 (L)<br />
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<b>Key Stats</b><br />
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While Denver was +5 on steals and +19 on turnovers during this stretch, the Pioneers were out-rebounded by 70 (213-143). This equated to an -11.6 rebound differential per game which is nearly impossible to overcome, even with a net +24 advantage in turnovers and steals. The loss of forwards 6'7" C.J. Bobbitt (mono) and 6'6" Abiola Akintola (leg), 40% of DU's front line going into the season, has definitely hurt DU in the paint. Returning players Christian Mackey, Daniel Amigo, and Marcus Byrd had trouble fighting off bigger and more athletic forwards and centers. They will be pushed even harder in the Summit League. DU will need help in this area, especially in Summit League play to close this gap.<br />
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<b>Front Line</b><br />
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As mentioned above, Denver is getting out-rebounded. When looking at rebounds during the past six games, Byrd (16), Mackey (13), and Amigo (7) were out-rebounded by DU guards Joe Rosga (18), Thomas Neff (17), and Jake Pemberton (17). This is partly due to the difference in minutes and DU's motion offense which moves guards to the low post on offense but DU's big men need to grab more than just 6 rebounds per game.<br />
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On offense, the big three cumulatively are averaging 14.8 points per game during the quarter, led by Byrd with 7.7 points per game. The Pios need more offensive production from the front line, otherwise opposing teams will start to play Denver's guards tight and challenge DU to beat them on the interior.<br />
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The absence of Bobbitt hurts as he was averaging 8.0 points and 4.3 rebounds through his first 6 games. He can create a better scoring threat up front and keep defenses honest. Byrd can also play a bigger role on offense (46% FG, 42% 3PT). The Princeton offense should provide more opportunities in the paint rather than lower percentage, 3 point shots. In the first six games, DU was getting more scoring opportunities down low. The Pioneers need to go back to better ball movement, which was a major key to their early success.<br />
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DU has begun to allow opponents' star players to take control of the game. During DU's last two games, they faced very athletic guards and forwards that they could not contain. Eastern Washington had three players combine for 72 points and UC Riverside had two players combine for 32, more than half their point total.<br />
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<b>Guard Play</b><br />
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The two biggest changes from the first quarter of the season came from Bryant Rucker and Jake Pemberton. Rucker played the same amount of minutes as he did in the first seven games, but his scoring dropped from 11.0 per game to 5.5. His field goal shooting, deadly in Q1, dropped to 29% from the field and 15% from 3-point land. Pemberton was the most improved player in the second quarter of the season. He went from 18.2 minutes per game to 35.1. He led the team with assists (27) and steals (16) and averaged 6.3 points per game and shot 52% from the field - the best shooting percentage on the team. He does need to get better about limiting turnovers, though as he led the team with 16 turnovers. However, he was a team-leading net +29 when adding assists and steals and then subtracting turnovers.</div>
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Ironman freshman Joe Rosga averaged 34.1 minutes on the floor. His scoring went from 10.0 points per game to 11.6 with a solid 47% from the field and 39% from beyond the arc. He continues to be a bright spot on this year's squad. With the increased workload, it will be interested to see if Rosga can hold up throughout the grueling conference schedule and tournament.</div>
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Freshman starter Thomas Neff continued to average 24 minutes per game. While not a big-time scorer (4.8 ppg) yet, he shot 47% from the field and chipped in with 10 assists and 4 steals during the second quarter of the season. At 6'5", his defense is solid and he continues to grow and contribute.</div>
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6'6" guard Jake Holtzman is playing less than some other freshmen at 10.1 minutes per game, and he averaged 3.6 points-per-game and shot 33% from three point range. The Pioneers are going to need his size, defense, and scoring potential in league play. It will be critical that Holtzman contributes more on the offensive end in the 3rd quarter of the season if the Pioneers are to continue winning.</div>
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Nate Engesser continued to be the best scorer for DU with 13.6 points per game and the best field goal percentage (57%) and 3-point percentage (47%). He also played 23.8 minutes per game coming off the bench. Coach Joe Scott should give him more minutes to create more opportunities to take advantage of his superior shooting skill.</div>
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<b>Observations:</b></div>
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DU continued to exceed expectations during the last six games. They gave the young players time on the floor and they played consistent .500 ball (3-3). </div>
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There are some open questions heading into the third quarter of the season:</div>
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<li>Can DU narrow the negative rebounding differential?</li>
<li>Will C.J. Bobbitt be back in the lineup and when? Can he be a <i>difference maker </i>in 3Q after playing only 6 games?</li>
<li>Can Bryant Rucker return to earlier season form? </li>
<li>Will DU keep playing 10 players deep or will they shorten the bench? If so, will the freshmen continue to get time to develop?</li>
<li>How will the Pioneers respond to a brutal 4 game start to the conference schedule? (more on that later)</li>
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In the season preview, it was mentioned that freshmen Rosga, Neff, and Holtzman along with Bobbitt & Akintola need playing time. If Denver is ever going to win a conference title, 2-3 of these players must become all-conference players by the time they become upperclassmen, Neff and Holtzman continue to improve but slowly. Sophomore Jake Pemberton showed the most improvement of any Pioneer during 2Q. This season continues to be about developing these players and secondarily about winning. With that in mind, the second quarter of the season has been successful.</div>
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It still appears that the Pios might outperform the 11-18 prediction from the season preview as they posted a 3-3 2nd quarter to bring their record to 8-5 at the holiday break.</div>
5BWesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06902714158850663998noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17196208.post-32844274700327525072015-12-24T11:55:00.000-07:002015-12-24T12:02:35.648-07:00Merry Christmas from LetsGoDU<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEithHkilQuPRcMOZ_9rfb_VWOMmdObh7ntQZ7NVYoXUjT8JL0ejHoNzbmT9JiEsqPCUngMlvLaLu9PqQ2-TGXNQV9176V2RC9_PC8KJVa_ZOJht4O1R5TPBJhisWXGExKhbJjP2/s1600/Merry+Christmas+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEithHkilQuPRcMOZ_9rfb_VWOMmdObh7ntQZ7NVYoXUjT8JL0ejHoNzbmT9JiEsqPCUngMlvLaLu9PqQ2-TGXNQV9176V2RC9_PC8KJVa_ZOJht4O1R5TPBJhisWXGExKhbJjP2/s400/Merry+Christmas+3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />5BWesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06902714158850663998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17196208.post-58739020917157217072015-12-22T23:17:00.001-07:002015-12-23T07:32:57.595-07:00Second Half Skid Dooms DU vs. UC Riverside (54-63)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A brutal start to the second half allowed the home team to build an insurmountable lead and the visiting Pioneers (8-5) fell to the University of California - Riverside/UCR (8-5) Highlanders Tuesday night.<br />
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DU traveled to Riverside California Tuesday night to play their final non-conference tune-up game. Riverside was coming off two straight wins while DU was trying to shake off a lopsided home loss to Eastern Washington. The Highlanders were led by senior forward Taylor Johns with 16.0 points and 9.6 rebounds per game along with their leading scorer, senior guard Jaylen Bland at 17.0 points per game for the season. The challenge for the Pioneers was to shut down this duo and their high-octane offense which was scoring 74.9 points per game - 8.9 points per game better than their opponents.<br />
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As the game played out, DU could not stop the senior duo. Jaylen Bland administered the damage in the first half and Taylor Johns put the hammer down the second half to put the game away.<br />
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The Pioneers desperately needed freshmen forward C.J. Bobbitt 6'7" back on the floor. In the prior contest, Eastern Washington exposed DU's lack of depth up-front. Ideally, the Pioneer's needed to give Bobbitt some minutes before conference games start in January. Unfortunately, he could not answer the bell. DU missed his creativity, size, and inside scoring touch.<br />
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In the first half, DU held close. A cold shooting start by both teams knotted the score at 4 in the first several minutes. A Jaylen Bland 3-point play and 2 point basket took the score to 9-4, Highlanders. DU's Thomas Neff nailed a big 3 to to cut the deficit to 9-7. The teams were tied at 12 with a Pemberton steal and bucket. After exchanging buckets, the score moved to 16 all at 8:35. Denver took their first lead at 6:40 - 18-16. DU dropped down by 3, 21-18, with a Jaylen Bland bomb at the 4:35 mark. Another Riverside three took the margin to 6. Bryant Rucker countered with a DU tray to close the deficit to 3 with one minute remaining in the first half. A Highlander charging call gave DU the ball and another Nate Engesser 3 pointer tied the game with 26 seconds to go at 26 all. With time running out in the half, Riverside hit a 3 from the corner, giving the Highlanders a 3-point lead at half 29-26. Both teams shot 52% from the field. UCR shot 30% from 3 point arc with DU at 37.5%. DU trailed 15-8 on rebounds but the Pioneers led in steals by 1. Jaylen Bland lit up the Pioneers for 14 points in the first half. Nate Engesser countered with 7.<br />
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In the second half, a 10-0 Highlander opening run and cold DU shooting, moved the Riverside lead to 13 points, 28-41. During that stretch, DU was held scoreless for more than 6 minutes on 0-5 shooting. The lead ballooned to 15 points - led by seniors Jaylen Bland with 18 points and Taylor Johns 14 points. The remainder of the second half, the Highlanders lead stayed in the double digits until Jake Pemberton hit a bucket to make it an 8 point deficit, 56-46, with 3:30 remaining. That was the closest DU could get for the remainder of the game. A final bucket-and-one by Christian Mackey made the final score 54-63.<br />
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Joe Rosga had 11 points and Nate Engesser chipped in 10 points. DU was out rebounded again, 30-19. The Pioneers committed an uncharacteristic 17 turnovers and shot 40% from the field in the second half. Nine of ten players had double-digit minutes on the floor - led as usual by Freshman Joe Rosga with 36 minutes.<br />
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This concludes the second quarter of the schedule for the 8-5 Pioneers. As promised, <i>LetsGoDU</i> will be releasing a 2nd quarter analysis of the team's progress tomorrow. <br />
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5BWesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06902714158850663998noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17196208.post-16394903732186496482015-12-22T08:51:00.002-07:002015-12-22T10:54:39.760-07:00Looking for Hope Only Requires a Short Memory<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT3O2a2kanJrVANP0NiLrxWrKSZKgAQ85s8aDhaO78yaFqN6-XSaQvxGs02x8iNI5w6mekzOB_WZmmXOjQVQf7iDx-leJKTPhyPjnDZPJyzX_OtLhDifjXvANgLoJ-oS1CNg4E/s1600/Hockey+2004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT3O2a2kanJrVANP0NiLrxWrKSZKgAQ85s8aDhaO78yaFqN6-XSaQvxGs02x8iNI5w6mekzOB_WZmmXOjQVQf7iDx-leJKTPhyPjnDZPJyzX_OtLhDifjXvANgLoJ-oS1CNg4E/s1600/Hockey+2004.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><i>DU's 2004 squad celebrates a national championship</i></span><br />
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7-7-2. That is not supposed to be the record of this year's Pioneer hockey team at the break. They are loaded at forward, came into the season with two solid goaltenders, and promised to play all 200 feet of the ice - playing relentless<i> Pioneer Hockey</i>.<br />
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In order to conjure up hope, we do not need to go clear back to the Fighting Parsons, DU's original nickname. Look no further than the <a href="https://m.reddit.com/r/hockey/comments/3nx6bh/60_teams_in_60_days_providence_college/" target="_blank"><span style="color: orange;">Providence College Friars</span></a> of 2014-2015. At this same time last year, they were 8-6-2. And, just like DU, a preseason top-5 ranking looked undeserved for such an under-performing squad.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="more"></a><br />
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Last year, the Friars did not get their first win in regulation until November 1, when they took down Boston University in Boston. Later that month, they did experience a nice four-game winning streak to close out November - allowing only one goal against, before losing to Northeastern.<br />
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For most of last season, the Friars lived on the NCAA tournament bubble, dropping games to New Hampshire and Boston College, and tying UConn. Then, on February 7th, the Friars hosted "Drew Brown Night" to honor teammate Drew Brown, who missed the season while battling bone cancer. Inspired by Drew’s presence at the game, the Friars proceeded to crush UConn by a score of 10-1. Perhaps they had the same inspiration DU's 2003-2004 national championship team had with the death of Keith Magnuson. It seems every championship team has 'moments' - a winning streak, comeback victories and a seminal event. <br />
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That was the turning point for Providence College.<br />
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Providence then went on to defeat Notre Dame, UMass, and Maine to keep their slim playoff hopes alive. As a third seed, they went into the Hockey East Tournament and were dispatched in three games, scoring only four goals. The Friars season rested in the hands of the pairwise rankings and the NCAA selection committee.<br />
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The Friars snuck into the NCAA tournament when Minnesota beat Michigan in the Big 10 championship game. In a decision that confounded many, especially the higher seeded DU team, the NCAA placed the #15-seeded Friars in the Providence regional bracket, technically hosted by Brown, that included Miami, Boston College, and Denver. A shaky Providence team played Miami in the first game, which saw the Red Hawks storm back from a 6-2 deficit to nearly tie up the game after pulling their goalie halfway through the third period. Providence finally found the empty net in the third period and won the game 7 to 5.<br />
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We all will remember the next day, Providence versus Denver on Providence home ice. DU, the prohibitive favorite, missed opportunity after opportunity but could not score. The Friars finished off the Pioneers with two empty-netters, 4-1 final, to make it to the Frozen Four. <br />
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Providence faced Nebraska-Omaha in one of the two semifinals. The Friars took a two-goal lead after the second period, which Omaha halved early in the the third period. 24 seconds later, Providence scored to put the Friars on top 3-1. Providence then netted an empty-net goal to win the semifinal with a score of 4-1.<br />
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The underdog Friars went into the Frozen Four championship against rival Boston University. Providence scored first, but BU responded with the two fastest goals in NCAA tournament history and took the lead. But a resilient Providence team tied it up with a Mark Jankowski goal, and BU scored again in the third period with a 3-2 lead. Then BU’s goalie scored on himself, and it took a play from an old Denver assistant head coach, then an associate head coach for Providence. Steve Miller drew up the winning face-off play. The Friars Brandon Tanev hammered the puck past BU Goaltender Matt O’Connor to put the Friars into the lead. Final score 4-3 and the Friar's first hockey championship in 30 years.<br />
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DU can draw inspiration from Providence. While unlikely, and without the possibility of playoffs in in Denver or the western time-zone, all of DU's objectives heading into the season are still in front of them. They just need a little divine inspiration.<br />
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5BWesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06902714158850663998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17196208.post-55984992335061369312015-12-21T14:43:00.001-07:002015-12-22T10:55:41.191-07:00'Power Five' Membership no Guarantee<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi53DxlSEhSq7OuZrBrwkprLnQca8iyW5IdAleMYwrjAbXmVckoBUgGBatTyPNlg18pP81Ix0jO7aSdp5hFvLNmrcz4XmlC73yt3CAd2GEAislu9ijoOM5O-QW05cA8IDuaQziN/s1600/Money+Loser.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi53DxlSEhSq7OuZrBrwkprLnQca8iyW5IdAleMYwrjAbXmVckoBUgGBatTyPNlg18pP81Ix0jO7aSdp5hFvLNmrcz4XmlC73yt3CAd2GEAislu9ijoOM5O-QW05cA8IDuaQziN/s200/Money+Loser.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<i>The Washington Post</i> in an article, <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/sports/wp/2015/11/23/running-up-the-bills/"><span style="color: orange;">Playing in the Red</span></a>, featured 28 schools in the 'Power Five' Conferences (Pac 12, SEC, ACC, Big 12, Big 10) that are hemorrhaging cash in their athletic departments. Among those losers - CU, Louisville, UCLA, Wisconsin, Cal, & Florida State. The issue is not revenue as each of the schools receive a huge influx of cash but, rather, an increasing outflow of cash, especially to support football and related facilities.<br />
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The biggest increase in spending goes to Oregon moving from $48.7M to $193.9 in 10 years - thanks to Phil Knight and a surging football program. And, Oregon does not run a deficit. Neither does Oklahoma State that moved from $58.5 to $111.8 in 10 years -with the love and support of T. Boone Pickins.<br />
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And the losers?<br />
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In 2014, Rutgers’s athletics deficit topped $36 million, an amount equivalent to losing $1, every second, for a year. Another loser, Auburn, built an 11,000 foot high definition scoreboard for $13.9 million expense even though the athletics department posted a deficit of more than $17 million the previous year, one of the worst fiscal years in Auburn athletics history.<br />
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The ACC is bleeding the most with all 8 of the reporting schools showing a loss. The PAC 12 shows only two athletic departments in the black. The strongest conference is the SEC due to football. Of the 13 SEC institutions reporting financials, only three are losing money.<br />
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Of the 48 athletic programs in the 'Power Five' conferences , spending is increasing at unprecedented levels. In 10 years, 2004-2014, the Power Five's 48 athletic departments saw earnings surge by nearly $2 billion and spent it almost as quickly as it came in. The median department saw earnings jump from $52.9 million to $93.1 million.The losing programs, nearly all public universities, need student fees and school money (<i>i.e. public</i>) to make up the difference.<br />
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Men’s basketball is also a money-maker, but arenas are smaller than football stadiums, limiting ticket income, and the sport’s largest television deal is managed more socialistically. The NCAA controls television rights for the wildly popular March tournament, and every year divies up nearly $800 million among hundreds of schools.<br />
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Football — where championship television rights belong to the conferences — separates Power Five schools from everyone else. ESPN is in the midst of a 12-year, $7.3 billion contract to televise the College Football Playoff that will primarily benefit the Power Five. Three of the conferences have launched their own television networks, creating additional revenue streams. Ohio State, Texas, and Alabama are part of the 1% who derive huge money from football- and all operate in the black.<br />
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Where is the increased spending going?</div>
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Sports administration & athletic staff, coaches, and facilities are the primary source of athletic department budgets - nearly doubling in all three areas over the last ten years. </div>
5BWesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06902714158850663998noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17196208.post-76268181976431253602015-12-20T16:38:00.002-07:002015-12-20T16:42:23.903-07:00Denver (8-4) falls to Eastern Washington University (6-6)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbdDRf10qVsA9iSxpEgHHJRRoeh667HBohgcBIbYOXGdTp_-uSeraHg4-BEGunRHT733Ub4PWKFHtHcYu8x1XmOMGj3Xbchc1cS73qw2NZBOGz023P-1WtlUfBbjEopTzeVpcH/s1600/Basketball+E+Washington.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbdDRf10qVsA9iSxpEgHHJRRoeh667HBohgcBIbYOXGdTp_-uSeraHg4-BEGunRHT733Ub4PWKFHtHcYu8x1XmOMGj3Xbchc1cS73qw2NZBOGz023P-1WtlUfBbjEopTzeVpcH/s200/Basketball+E+Washington.jpg" width="170" /></a></div>
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The good news, Denver held all but three Eastern Washington University players to a total of 2 points. The bad news, the other three players scored 72 of the Eagles 74 points.<br />
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The Big Sky defending champions, Eastern Washington Eagles, invaded DU's Magness Arena for a mid-day tilt Sunday afternoon. With 8 of their first 11 games played on the road or neutral courts, the Eagles came into the game following three straight losses and a cancellation in their last four games. Heading into Sunday, the Eagles average over 10 3-point buckets per game, led by Austin McBroom at 18.7 ppg. followed by forwards Felix Von Hofe at 14.7 ppg. and Venky Jois at 13.8 ppg. <br />
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The game started with a technical foul shot and a 1-0 Denver lead. The two teams traded points to a 9-9 tie. A three point bucket by Engesser made it 14-9 DU at the 12 minute mark. The teams knotted the score at 16 points at the 11:30 mark. Then. the fireworks started with 3-point bombs from EW as they took a 23-30 lead at 6:38. The Eagles burned up the nets with 55% shooting from 3-point range and 58% from the field. DU shot 20% from the arc and 46.4% from the field. More big 3's by the Eagles, on 8-16 shooting from the 3, put the Eagles up at half, 43-32. Von Hofe torched the Pioneers for 22 points in the first half - by far the most damage by an opposing player in a single half of basketball this year versus the Pioneers. </div>
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After half, EW pulled out to a 14 point lead, 46-32, on cold shooting by DU. Then, the Eagles extended their lead to a 17 point margin at 15:53. Jois and Von Hofe scored 40 of their team's 50 points. DU rallied but continued to trail by 10 points at the 12 minute mark. An astonishing 57 of the Eagles first 59 points are coming from three players. DU made a scoring push and cut the margin to 8 at the 7:00 minute mark but cold shooting and big 3's by EW quickly took the lead back up to 14 points with 3:26 remaining - 54-68. DU could not keep up, shooting 42 % from the field and 27% from the arc. DU trailed by 14 at the 2 minute mark and never threatened from there.<br />
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DU could never put together a big push in the second half to get back into the game. DU finished the game shooting 40.4% from the field and 23.5% from the three-point range - their worst shooting of the season. The rebounding disadvantage, 21-40, all but eliminated any comeback hopes by the crimson and gold. Denver had nine players with double-digit minutes but no one could solve the big three from Cheney Washington and their 12 three-pointers.</div>
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McBroom 18 points, Von Hofe 28 points, and Jois 26 points scored 72 of Eastern Washington's 74 points. DU Freshman Joe Rosga finished with 23 points and Jake Pemberton and Marcus Byrd had 7 each.<br />
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Final score 74-58, Eastern Washington.</div>
5BWesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06902714158850663998noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17196208.post-6135587926804966982015-12-20T12:06:00.001-07:002015-12-20T12:06:44.616-07:00Volleyball: Can DU take it to the Next Level?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFw6WCPBJIq-ic56Gd7OuPMYmJ9I6KSSz3-8ujdcARqa24I80_5qPlvYxuR-sQh8VO_LovFVMQKbmKZpvzl6-2DvtGQesuxkP7DNx1v1u824OBeMh9pP-Fwz1UmYGJrhwrwIlv/s1600/VB4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFw6WCPBJIq-ic56Gd7OuPMYmJ9I6KSSz3-8ujdcARqa24I80_5qPlvYxuR-sQh8VO_LovFVMQKbmKZpvzl6-2DvtGQesuxkP7DNx1v1u824OBeMh9pP-Fwz1UmYGJrhwrwIlv/s200/VB4.jpg" width="149" /></a></div>
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Last night, Nebraska swept Texas 3-0 in front of 17,561 to win the NCAA volleyball national championship. Some day, could it be DU?<br />
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As crazy as it sounds, volleyball is a sport that DU could be a national player, with a focus on recruiting, strong coaching, and a dash of good fortune (i.e. luck). <br />
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Colorado is a major volleyball youth hub, surrounded by other states with talented prep players. Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas also produce talent that feed D1 programs across the country. <br />
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One neighbor, the University of Kansas, took a path that DU and other programs can follow. Not a traditional volleyball power, the Jayhawks finished just 15-14 overall and 3-13 in the Big 12 Conference four years ago. This year, the Jayhawks finished 30-4, enjoying a fourth straight trip to the NCAA Tournament, and made it to the national semifinal match Thursday against Nebraska.<br />
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How did they do it? Did they throw money at it? Were they a magnet for top recruits? Did they have a dynamic new coach?<br />
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None of the above. <br />
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At KU, a longtime coach added some new staff and built a roster of overlooked recruits from Texas and under-recruited talent from Kansas. They put it all together this year and made their run to the semifinals. And, they play their regular season games on a venue the same size a DU's Hamilton Gym. <br />
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On the other hand, a program like Nebraska has a rich history and gets their pick of top talent. Volleyball is the sport of choice of many girls in Nebraska. According to <em>Nebraska Prep Volleyball</em>, some 100 girls in the state play college volleyball every year. In this year’s NCAA tournament alone, there were 17 Nebraskans with 7 on the Nebraska squad. While DU does not have a volleyball legacy, surely DU can tap the rich recruiting grounds of our neighbors, too. With 12 scholarships per team, the top programs can't take all the top prospects. Also, that being said, Colorado generates nearly the same number of D1 basketball prospects annually as Nebraska. The talent is available here, DU needs to tap into it. <br />
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Heritage does mean something and becoming a national power in volleyball is not easy. After the Kansas loss in the semi-final to Nebraska, their lifetime record against the Huskers fell to 0-87-1. <br />
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So how about DU? <br />
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They are young and have a solid foundation. Coming off consecutive 27 win seasons, two league championships and two trips to the NCAA's they are on a roll. While the loss of Jesse Mahoney is a blow, Tom Hogan worked DU's recruiting pipeline and has solid coaching credentials. Hogan served as the head coach of the USA Junior National Team. That gives DU access to some of the finest young players in the nation and the world for that matter. He has solid head coaching experience. He could become the program's Jamie Franks, taking the helm from a successful coach and taking the program to the next level.<br />
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While the RPI of Summit volleyball is relatively low, DU does have a solid chance to make the NCAA's year-in and year-out. Also, half of their matches are non-conference so there is an opportunity to schedule Midwestern powers at a relatively low cost to build experience, reputation, and RPI against larger, historically more powerful programs. Also, DU would benefit from improved conference competition in the Summit League so they are battle hardened for the NCAA's. Both Oral Roberts and University of Nebraska - Omaha have stated their intentions to build nationally relevant volleyball programs. Other programs may improve as well, such as IUPUI, with access to strong recruiting areas for volleyball talent.<br />
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There are 347 schools that play D1 volleyball. That is where luck comes in - along with good coaching and recruiting.<br />
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What's in for DU? There is the potential, based on what has happened at other successful national programs, that collegiate volleyball could actually be a revenue sport in Denver with the Pioneers bringing in top tier programs. Since there are no relevant professional women's volleyball leagues in the US, collegiate volleyball is the highest level that local fans can pay to see. DU could leverage local interest in volleyball, much like DU gymnastics, to play selective matches in Magness Arena to draw from both the University and the Denver community at large. Finally, the smaller size and academic reputation of DU may actually be much more appealing to some recruits than many of the larger state schools that currently rule the sport. <br />
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The odds make it a difficult climb but not impossible. <br />
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<br />5BWesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06902714158850663998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17196208.post-16975654629426129992015-12-18T08:33:00.001-07:002015-12-18T10:51:55.915-07:00DU Announces Volleyball Shocker<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYjMbS0nfczln49D_ZnDExnto-td3mEiqGYJQ_UxWkhnJhb-ESt5EyJtgv7VNp3t0cZFTtIzF0xjQ7P1p1OpZHpzGKBBtwnGVzS3PdfZnziqPamLimHSv1Fqx1nEH_ZFxPY4aw/s1600/Jesse+Mahoney.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYjMbS0nfczln49D_ZnDExnto-td3mEiqGYJQ_UxWkhnJhb-ESt5EyJtgv7VNp3t0cZFTtIzF0xjQ7P1p1OpZHpzGKBBtwnGVzS3PdfZnziqPamLimHSv1Fqx1nEH_ZFxPY4aw/s1600/Jesse+Mahoney.jpeg" /></a></div>
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In a surprising announcement, Jesse Mahoney (88-40) will be leaving DU's volleyball program after consecutive 27 win seasons, two Summit League tournament championships and two NCAA playoff appearances in four short years.<br />
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With the women's Final Four in Volleyball taking place in Omaha this week, <i>LetsGoDU</i> was preparing an article on DU volleyball - <i>Can DU take it to the next level? </i>Even thinking about that possibility would not be rational without the progress made under Mahoney. He played a major role in building a winning program and will be missed. The Pioneers just completed one of the most exciting seasons in their history - led by their sole senior Sarah Schmid. Jesse Mahoney will be returning to be the head coach for his alma mater, the University of Colorado, Boulder.<br />
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Vice Chancellor Pegg Doppes <a href="http://www.denverpioneers.com/sports/w-volley/spec-rel/121715aaa.html" target="_blank">announced</a> that current Assistant Volleyball Head Coach Tom Hogan would assume the helm. Hogan is an accomplished, experienced head coach and served as the head coach of the USA Junior National Team 2014-2015. That gives DU access to some of the finest young players in the nation and the world for that matter. Plus, he brings continuity to the relatively young team. More detail on Hogan's C/V is provided in the formal announcement by DU athletics.<br />
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The big question remains. <i>Can DU take it to the next level? </i>The ball is in Hogan's court now.<br />
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<br />5BWesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06902714158850663998noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17196208.post-89856029720818338412015-12-16T22:27:00.002-07:002015-12-17T07:06:21.323-07:00Denver (8-3) Hoops Stage Rally for Huge Road Win - 81-77<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUzfuz9WQ7NzfSDv4tnW0HzwWk8EkYRwIfF2YITNakzf5SpN-5FCRYNP8MA3TiaP0PoroEK5xDcOYJeeHo3WwiOsDDhFvK6KlnJsRKQXKIzFGQv3jPY34DMtc_eLb9-o9pBr4F/s1600/dead+bear.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUzfuz9WQ7NzfSDv4tnW0HzwWk8EkYRwIfF2YITNakzf5SpN-5FCRYNP8MA3TiaP0PoroEK5xDcOYJeeHo3WwiOsDDhFvK6KlnJsRKQXKIzFGQv3jPY34DMtc_eLb9-o9pBr4F/s1600/dead+bear.JPG" /></a></div>
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A resilient DU squad, trailing by 8 at halftime, rallied with an early 12 - 2 run to take a second half lead and hang on for a huge win against the University of Northern Colorado (UNC) Bears in Greeley. The DU team, playing with growing confidence and strong veteran leadership from Rucker, Pemberton, Engesser and Byrd kept their composure, upped the defensive pressure, and ran their offense with precision in reeling off their third straight road win against an underrated UNC team.<br />
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UNC, coming off a big home win against CSU, took on the Pioneers Wednesday night in Greely. The Pioneers faced a big task holding four double digit players in check- Dallas Anglin, Cameron Michael, Anthony Johnson, and Jordan Wilson. The UNC Bears (3-7) recently got Dallas Anglin back in the line-up to add to their arsenal.<br />
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In the first half, UNC's Anthony Johnson lit up the scoreboard early with 13 of UNC's first 15 points. UNC moved out to a 15-22 lead at the 10 minute mark. UNC's dangerous 3-guard rotation had the Pios scrambling early on D. But a couple of steals and Bear's missed shots allowed the Pios to hang close 22-24. DU continued to create good shots under the basket but UNC held on to a 5-point lead through the middle of the frame. Cold shooting by DU in the last 3-4 minutes moved the Bears lead to 10 points. DU closed the half with a pair of Joe Rosga free throws - 35-43 at the break. For the first half, DU shot 45% from the field and 33% from three. The big difference in the first half between the teams was UNC's Johnson and Anglin scoring 34 of 43 points for the Bears.</div>
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In the second half, buckets by Rucker and Byrd left the Pios trailing by 4. Finally, DU took the lead 47-45 with a Rosga three at the 15 minute mark, completing a 12-2 DU run. DU's run resulted from sloppy play by the Bears and increased defensive pressure from the Pios. The teams continued to trade leads and baskets. Then, UNC started moving inside and doing damage, taking a 4 point lead at 7:30 when they converted a DU turnover. A Marcus Byrd 3-point bomb put DU up 65-63 for DU's first lead. Then, a Rucker 3 from the arc and a Neff free throw put the visitors up 69-63 at the 3:57 mark. Rosga free throws took the lead to 6 at 73-67 at 2:30 but UNC came back and tied the game again at 1:27. Rucker missed the first of two free throws but canned the second to make it 77-76 DU. Then, with the Bears driving to the basket at 7.4 seconds to play, the officials called a "tie-up" with possession going back to the Pioneers. It was a close call and the home crowd went nuts. Dick Monfort, a UNC alum and trustee, was shown blowing a gasket in the stands. At that point, it was a parade to the foul line as the Pioneers went on to sink four foul shots, all by Jake Pemberton, as a desperate UNC team fouled to get the ball back. Final score - 81-77 DU.<br />
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This team continues to gain confidence at home and on the road. They are playing team defense and running their offense with precision. C.J. Bobbitt missed the game with mono, his 4th missed game. As usual, DU played nearly everyone on the squad with great contributions from ironman freshmen Joe Rosga, Thomas Neff (14 points) and Jake Holtzman . The Pioneers shot 49% from the field and 44% from the arc.</div>
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8-3? What a start for DU basketball!</div>
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5BWesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06902714158850663998noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17196208.post-83401632170315596542015-12-15T16:18:00.002-07:002015-12-15T16:18:33.410-07:00Top-Tier Locker Room Needed for Premier Hockey Program<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoARnbrNAMrdLSUbbi6H7cvxZTPADq3TqPJ4UAisd690I2Q7ReB3YhWhSPS1MT9eB-Tae557qHhOcLRhm_WYJPAbKJlvkfFH2RjAlglxD4Sw0UhzTpxC_vYopD4uEL9AKW8lvA/s1600/Miami+Locker+Room.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="110" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoARnbrNAMrdLSUbbi6H7cvxZTPADq3TqPJ4UAisd690I2Q7ReB3YhWhSPS1MT9eB-Tae557qHhOcLRhm_WYJPAbKJlvkfFH2RjAlglxD4Sw0UhzTpxC_vYopD4uEL9AKW8lvA/s320/Miami+Locker+Room.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Photo: New 3.5 million dollar Miami Redhawk Locker Room</span></i></div>
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While DU fans are rightfully proud of Magness Arena, the reality is that some of DU's facilities haven fallen behind peers. Many of the locker rooms at Ritchie Center were redone with insurance monies as a result of flooding over the summer. Others, such as men's lacrosse, were expanded to accommodate the basic needs of a growing program that weren't being met with the older facilities.<br />
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In the NCHC, the Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, North Dakota is NHL-quality all around. From the locker rooms to the stadium itself, "The Ralph" is second to none in NCAA hockey. Omaha just built a new multi-sport stadium in Baxter Arena which opened this season, Miami (OH) recently spent 3.5 million dollars on a hockey locker room upgrade. St. Cloud recently spent 30 million on facilities, including a new locker room. UMD just moved into a new rink two years ago with new facilities. CC & Western Michigan, NCHC basement-dwellers, have the oldest and least appealing facilities.<br />
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While, we're not advocating the construction of a brand new arena, Magness is now 16 years old, which is extremely old in the modern athletics era. The hockey locker room has endured years of wear and tear without major modifications or upgrades in those 16 years. Overall, the footprint and locker room foundation is good but it needs to be expanded. Many recruits and current players see the locker room as a face of a hockey program. Recruits also look for practical benefits of a modern facility - shower facilities, space, dressing areas, lighting, branding and meeting space. Players spend a great deal of time in this area getting ready for games and practices and unwinding after games and practices. This team space is important to both current players and potential recruits.<br />
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In a recent letter, Coach Montgomery<em> </em>appealed to alumni and season ticket holders, citing a critical need to upgrade the locker room to maintain DU's position as a national hockey power. Internally, there has been ongoing conversation about funding a remodeled locker room facility even since the George Gwozdecky era. <br />
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The fundraising target for the project is $2.0 million dollars and DU is hoping to break ground in the spring. While this project will require significant funding, a premier program must have premier facilities to compete. Historically, DU has avoided undertaking capital improvements without cash-in-hand so this is going to require participation and wide giving, of both large and small amounts, over a short period of time to get this done. <br />
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<em>LetsGoDU</em> strongly endorses this project and will keep readers up-to-date on progress and provide more details as they become available.<br />
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<i style="font-weight: bold;">Editor's Note:</i> As a smaller school by Division I standards, DU has been fairly insulated in recent years from the proliferation of these top-tier athletics facilities. That is simply not the case anymore. DU must keep up with the Division I "arms race" to continue as a national power in more than just lacrosse and skiing.<br />
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The University of Colorado-Boulder, a school that is much more seriously affected by the arms race, resisted joining this movement as long as they possibly could. They suffered as a result as their football program has not been relevant in over a decade. It is becoming increasingly clear that the length of irrelevance is a direct result of poor facilities. Finally, this year, the Buffaloes finished their $142 million "Champions Center" and the future seems to be looking better for that program.<br />
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The University of Denver has no intention of letting something like that happen to the hockey program. DU Hockey is to college hockey as Duke basketball is to college basketball. A good DU hockey program is good for the sport. With more advanced facilities in Magness Arena, DU will have the tools to compete at a high level for the foreseeable future. We encourage all members of the DU community to strongly consider donating to this project. It will benefit all stakeholders involved with the athletics program. That's a guarantee.5BWesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06902714158850663998noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17196208.post-65619236638374039772015-12-15T16:18:00.001-07:002015-12-16T07:35:06.730-07:00Stoppers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQuzXuCNT-8HYhxS0y8ngM3zQX6HWQc7XsnBwthFYeuMSIGDTGmsX-YyXevD_RImI4-5q1JQ5hjPb2t6S19jad6aV0Ojz4hM3SsRv0dwMx9z34zuhvnCsaN7sk9qcClP5egY5w/s1600/stoppers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQuzXuCNT-8HYhxS0y8ngM3zQX6HWQc7XsnBwthFYeuMSIGDTGmsX-YyXevD_RImI4-5q1JQ5hjPb2t6S19jad6aV0Ojz4hM3SsRv0dwMx9z34zuhvnCsaN7sk9qcClP5egY5w/s200/stoppers.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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DU hoops 7-3 start is unexpected and a primary reason for their success has been their ability to limit scoring, especially from opponents' big scorer(s). The list below shows the top scorer(s) for each team by this season-average versus their actual scoring totals against Denver. Of the 14 players listed, only one, Lipscomb's J.C. Hampton, scored above his average.<br />
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<b>Team Player Season AVG. vs. DU</b><br />
Milwaukee Akeem Springs 13.0 8<br />
Matt Tiby 14.4 12<br />
Santa Clara Jared Brownledge 18.0 7<br />
Lipscomb J.C. Hampton 14.4 *21<br />
Utah Valley Kenner Frey 16.5 15<br />
Idaho State Ethan Telfair 14.0 12<br />
Ali Faruq-Bey 16.9 18<br />
Southern Alabama Ken Williams 15.1 12<br />
Wyoming Josh Adams 24.9 19<br />
Air Force Trevor Lyons 14.9 10<br />
Hayden Graham 14.6 8<br />
San Diego Duda Sanadze 13.2 6 <br />
Weber State Jeremy Senglin 20.7 14<br />
<u>Joel Bolomboy</u> <u>17.3</u> <u>14</u><br />
AVERAGE 16.3 12.6<br />
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DU's average scoring margin (65.7) vs. competition (60.4) has been +5.3 points. More than half of that total margin, 3.6 points per game, came from shutting down the leading scorer on the opposing team. One of DU's key formulas to success has been sound defense against the top scoring threat(s) and they have been extremely successful at doing so.<br />
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This Wednesday night, DU will have their hands full in Greeley trying to stop <i>FOUR</i> legitimate scoring threats from University of Northern Colorado - Dallas Anglin 19.0, Cameron Michael 16.8, Anthony Johnson 15.8, and Jordan Wilson 15.0.5BWesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06902714158850663998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17196208.post-14829935066319317382015-12-15T12:56:00.000-07:002015-12-15T12:56:04.384-07:00Winter Storm Hits Denver - Lax Around the Corner<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD4lGXZ062BjnDUueO77ZcIqU3vWYNI-LW-YW4ug5KKWSv_hbvIcsmqNcBsENGhZtKhuWy4vDMx2_i82YtWmKS8SPlWTwS81OhLWunzYu2rIpFMrzxeLNyo6GPaEQuREK0XAjj/s1600/Lax+Winter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD4lGXZ062BjnDUueO77ZcIqU3vWYNI-LW-YW4ug5KKWSv_hbvIcsmqNcBsENGhZtKhuWy4vDMx2_i82YtWmKS8SPlWTwS81OhLWunzYu2rIpFMrzxeLNyo6GPaEQuREK0XAjj/s200/Lax+Winter.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Photo: The first big winter storm hits Denver.</i></span><br />
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Peter Barton Stadium is covered with a foot of snow but only 46 days to go until DU's first home faceoff January 30th against Johns Hopkins. 5BWesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06902714158850663998noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17196208.post-725500316546733492015-12-14T10:55:00.001-07:002015-12-14T10:55:44.032-07:00Look to the "C" to End the Skid<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCiZjUCSv3HRJ72SqgoPJeMzooZ6qJOfVd7FE84XaRX4WsAHffY6hzhm69AXN1mK9RkR3TST5d7tb6OlCnCtKw1a2r7HrQeFSbh3_CL_dyUl5nwny69B5GkTCK5h9D4UPPZgXv/s1600/Arnold.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="121" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCiZjUCSv3HRJ72SqgoPJeMzooZ6qJOfVd7FE84XaRX4WsAHffY6hzhm69AXN1mK9RkR3TST5d7tb6OlCnCtKw1a2r7HrQeFSbh3_CL_dyUl5nwny69B5GkTCK5h9D4UPPZgXv/s200/Arnold.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />As the Pioneers hit the 3-week hockey holiday break, a sense of gloom has settled over the program. The Pioneers are 7-7-2, hardly a disaster, but certainly not up to the program's expectations heading into the season. There are many different thoughts on what has caused the current 0-4 stretch where the Pioneers were outscored an astounding 20-5. </span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />Many look to the head coach or DU's gifted front line for answers. Others look at goaltending. Some see DU as an undersized squad overmatched by bigger teams.<br /><br />The answer might just rest with the alphabet - namely the letter "C". Senior forward Grant Arnold wears this important letter for the Pioneers. While in other sports, captains are largely symbolic and often rotated, a hockey captain holds this role for an entire season. According to USA Hockey Magazine, <a href="http://www.usahockeymagazine.com/article/2012-01/abcs-wearing-c"><span style="color: orange;">The ABC's of Wearing the C</span></a>, "The team captain is picked for leadership, whether it is leading by example or being vocal and letting players know their roles in getting the team to succeed. And many coaches agree that the perfect captain gives their team, in essence, an extra coach in the locker room and on the ice."<br /><br />According to Dave Starman, an NHL scout and hockey analyst, “You’re (head coach) looking for someone who, when you walk out of the dressing room, is going to facilitate your message and who is going to be respected enough by the guys in that room to adhere to it,” </span><br />
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Contrary to other sports, the <a href="http://icehockey.isport.com/icehockey-guides/how-to-be-a-good-ice-hockey-captain"><span style="color: orange;">captain</span></a> isn’t always the best player on a team. There are instances when the captain might even be one of the least talented players on the club. Regardless of their skill set, every captain has a few specific personal qualities – confidence, strength of character, and the ability to speak up, among others. Captains are not selected because they are the star of the team - they are chosen for their leadership skills. For example, in his first three years at DU, Arnold only averaged 2.6 goals per season with and 5.3 assists. While those numbers are relatively pedestrian, Arnold was chosen because he has what it takes to wear the prestigious "C" on his sweater.<br />
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Interestingly, one of the most important things about earning the honor of captain is not "running" for the "C". In hockey culture, leaders don’t broadcast to their teammates and coaches how much they want to be captain, and certainly don’t do things just to be considered for the position. So if a player is campaigning to earn the “C,” he/she probably doesn't deserve the distinction.<br />
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At the conclusion of the recently completed St. Cloud series, radio announcer Jay Stickney suggested a three weak 'break' would be good for the Pioneers. Coach Montgomery quickly responded that family time is important but players must be responsible for following their training schedules, adhering to dietary guidelines and getting sleep. Behind the scenes, expect Arnold to be checking in with his teammates during the break to make sure they adhere to Montgomery's instructions. <br />
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Other tools cited in <a href="http://icehockey.isport.com/icehockey-guides/how-to-be-a-good-ice-hockey-captain" target="_blank"><i><span style="color: orange;">How to be a Good Hockey Captain</span></i></a>, may be employed by Arnold as well. These 'tools' include calling a 'players only' meeting, calling out teammates (1-on-1, not publicly), lead by example, stick up for teammates on the ice, and be a confidante to players on and off the ice. <br />
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When facing tough times, NHL all-star Mark Messier said, "As a captain, I think it’s important that the players really know who you are, and what you stand for, what your beliefs are, and to be consistent in those if things are going good or things are going bad."<b style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"></b><br />
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So, if the Pios are going to emerge from the holiday break and start winning again, it will likely be the leadership of Arnold that is a major reason for it. The Pioneers have a great leader in Grand Arnold and fans should have every confidence in him to help lead this team back to where it belongs, in the win column.</div>
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5BWesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06902714158850663998noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17196208.post-66320540239376550222015-12-13T16:35:00.000-07:002015-12-13T21:44:05.977-07:00Denver (7-3) Wins Barn Burner vs. Weber State (5-5) in Final Seconds<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">A disciplined, relentless Pioneer squad overcame a late 3-point bomb from Jeremy Senglin from Weber State at 6.3 seconds remaining to tie the game. DU drove the length of the court and Marcus Byrd was fouled with 1.5 seconds. He hit the first free throw and intentionally missed the second to end the contest 69-68. </span><a name='more'></a><br />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="more"></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <br />Heading into the game, DU had to stop Weber State's two big guns, Joel Bolomboy a 6'9" center/forward who was scoring 17.3 points per game and shooting guard, Jeremy Senglin with 20.7 points per-game - and they did just that. DU held the dynamic duo to 14 points each. <br /><br />In the first half, the Pioneers were scoring from the outside with 7 3-pointers while Weber State was comfortable scoring in the paint. Weber State jumped out to an early 7-5 lead but a scoring run that included 3-point shots from Engesser and Byrd extended DU's lead to 10 points, 17 -7. The Wildcats came storming back and took a two point lead but the Pioneers responded with a final push at the end of half and went to the dressing room with a 37-32 lead.</span><br />
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Denver carried 50%+ FG shooting and 50%+ from the arc into half. All season long, they have maintained an impressive field goal percentage with well selected shots within their offensive system. Against Weber State, a clearly more imposing physical presence, the Pioneers played smart ball and stayed composed, especially when being punished in the paint.<br />
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Freshmen Thomsa Neff, always solid on the defensive end, continues to get more comfortable on the offensive end with 9 points. Engesser got a 'quiet' 26 points coming off the bench. Unsung Marcus Byrd chipped in with 12 points, 3 rebounds and three assists. Super freshman Joe Rosga had another great all-around game with 11 points and led the Pios in both rebounds (5) and steals (4). Jake Pemberton continues to play an increasing meaningful role with the team by scoring 9 points and dishing out a team-leading 6 assists and a steal. Bryant Rucker was quiet with two assists and C.J. Bobbitt sat out the game with the effects of mono. Eight players played double digit minutes.<br />
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This is a team that is young and, generally, not as physically imposing as their opponents. They continue to provide a great brand of basketball while developing freshmen at the same time. They leave it all on the floor as one of the most unexpected, over-achieving squads in Coach Joe Scott's tenure. <br />
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For the game, Denver shot 54.3% from the field and 48.1 from the 3-point arc.<br />
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For their next game, Denver travels to the University of Northern Colorado this Wednesday at 7 p.m. MT. <span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></div>
5BWesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06902714158850663998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17196208.post-73681475082667401982015-12-13T10:25:00.001-07:002015-12-14T16:39:16.820-07:00Are Summit Hoops Earning Respect?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Summit League basketball, long considered a second tier league in the hinterlands of the upper-Midwest, could eventually turn into a 2-bid conference<br />
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As it stands today, a Summit League team could dominate the pre-conference schedule, win the regular season championship and be left out of the NCAA Tournament in the chilly Midwestern deep freeze or at best be granted an NIT berth, if they drop the league championship tournament in Sioux Falls, South Dakota in early March. The Summit League is a 1-bid conference.<br />
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Such is the fate of a mid-major conference. <br />
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But, based on recent success, Summit League hoops are moving in the right direction. The league has moved up to an overall rank, based on the RPI, of #10 overall out of 32 Division I conferences. If the Summit League can maintain this position, it would be an all-time high level water mark for the conference.<br />
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The RPI (rating percentage index) is unforgiving and accurately reflects where teams stand in relation to all other teams. To move up nationally, Summit League teams must compete against and beat more challenging, higher tier opponents. <br />
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This year's Summit League non-conference success started when Western Illinois trumped then No. 17 Wisconsin of the Big Ten, followed eight days later with South Dakota State (SDSU) triumphing over TCU. Then in a 4-day span this last week, the University of South Dakota beat Minnesota and SDSU also trounced the Gophers on Tuesday night. The North Dakota State Bison were up on Illinois, of Big 10, by 14 points early in the second half before faltering. They did top North Dakota in Grand Forks Friday night 69-67. Omaha, considered near the bottom of the league in league-wide pre-season polls, gave a very good Colorado (8-1) team all they could handle in Boulder and also took Minnesota and Missouri to the wire. <br />
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Summit League teams have a 40-28 record and boasts a 34-11 mark against fellow mid-major teams. The Summit has six teams in the RPI top 151 (Denver is at 252). The highest ranked team in the Summit is #28 Oral Roberts. They fell to #30 Oklahoma (#7 AP Poll) Friday night 96-73.<br />
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“Our league’s probably way better than what people anticipated, and maybe even better than some within the league thought too,” South Dakota Jackrabbits coach <a href="http://www.yankton.net/sports/article_db3d3e28-9ef5-11e5-8408-3bb5d036c05d.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: orange;">Scott Nagy</span></a> said. The non-conference portion of the schedule is a situation where league teams find themselves cheering for everyone else, Nagy said. “We all compete, and we all want to beat each other,” he said.<br />
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The Summit League is also adding <a href="http://www.inforum.com/sports/3900401-impressive-mens-basketball-wins-have-summit-league-reaching-all-time-high-rpi" target="_blank"><span style="color: orange;">new facilities</span></a> to attract top recruits. Omaha just opened $75 million dollar multi-sport Baxter Arena. The University of South Dakota and North Dakota State University are building or playing in new facilities. "There's a commitment there in our league," Commissioner Tom Douple said. "I don't know of any other league that has so many new arenas and that helps in recruiting."<br />
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The Summit League has shown it can compete successfully against larger programs. However, they still likely need to place two to three teams consistently in the top 50 RPI before the Summit can earn the 2-bid 'respect'.5BWesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06902714158850663998noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17196208.post-88029582873319428812015-12-12T23:44:00.002-07:002015-12-12T23:54:24.777-07:00Denver Swept by St. Cloud After 6-2 Loss <div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;">
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Following last night’s 5-2 loss the Pioneer’s were seeking a much needed win before taking a few weeks off for winter break, but were unfortunate in doing so. Denver fell 6-2 to the St. Cloud State Huskies, after making changes in an attempt to recapture the Denver-style level of hockey this team is capable of performing at.</div>
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Denver’s alterations began with scratching last night’s forwards Emil Romig and Logan O’Connor, defenseman Matt VanVoorhis, and goalie Tanner Jaillet with Colin Staub, Rudy Junda, Brad Hawkinson, and Evan Cowley. The starting offensive line we’ve seen most of this year consisting of; Trevor Moore, Dylan Gambrell, and Danton Heinen was changed to Heinen, Quentin Shore, and Troy Terry who provided the Pios with the most threats in tonight’s game. </div>
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The adjustments worked well for the Pios during the first period, as Denver came out noticeably tenacious and energetic. While the Huskies were the first to light the lamp 3:38 on a poorly defended goal, Denver held their ground and managed to get one of their own off a power play. Senior assistant captain, Gabe Levin netted his third of the year in the 15th minute off of a rebound from Colorado Avalanche prospect, Will Butcher. “[I] thought [they] dominated the game the first five minutes and [I] thought [we] carried the last 15 of the first period,” added Coach Montgomery in a post-game interview. Denver outshot the Huskies 10-8 and saw great chances, many of which were created from the dynamic Henien, Shore, and Terry line who’s chemistry was undeniable. </div>
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The second period was troublesome, to say the least, for Denver. 18 seconds into the period, St. Cloud State took the lead when center, Kalle Kossila, found the back of the net to tally his first of three goals by the end of the night. Less than one minute later the Huskies buried their third goal from senior left winger, Joey Benik, marking his second of the match. </div>
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Denver reacted by substituting Jaillet for Cowley, who had no such luck as Kossila converted his second after firing a shot past Jaillet, who Coach Montgomery says got hung out to dry tonight. The Pios weren’t nearly as aggressive nor creative with the puck during the second as they were in the first. The Huskies outshout Denver 16-7, a statistic that greatly reflected the attitude and intensity of play from each team during the middle frame. </div>
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The Huskies extended their lead 5-1 off a one-timer in front of the net scored by Daniel Tedesco 3:21 into the third period. During the media timeout Greg Ogard replaced Jaillet in net for the Pios. Senior captain, Grant Arnold was sent to the penalty box for cross-checking, the Huskies managed to kill the penalty. However, when Arnold returned to the ice he grabbed a loose puck Moore had been battling to get and Arnold sniped in his third of the year in the 8th minute to decrease the visitor’s lead. </div>
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A few minutes later, Kossila and Mikey Eyssimont broke down Denver’s defense with their quick puck passing to score the Huskies’ 6th and final point of the night, as well as Kossila’s third goal. Trailing by four goals, Denver continued to play with intensity and outshot the Huskies 13-6 by the end of the third frame. The loss was not ideal in any fashion, but Coach Montgomery says, “[I] thought [we] played much better tonight than last night against [them] for the full 60 minutes.” </div>
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Denver is scheduled for a three-week break before returning to Magness to face Notre Dame, needless to say, the Pios have a lot to work on; leadership-wise, re-gaining confidence in usual scorers Henien and Moore, and returning to the level of play the team is capable of performing at. Montgomery comments, “The only thing [I] know from [my] pro-career is the way [you] get out of this as a player is [you] go back to work, start putting back together what your team identity is.” </div>
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There are still a lot of positives to take away, even from a 6-2 loss- especially recognizing the youth within the team and how much the freshman class has stepped up throughout this season so far in hopes to come back from this four-game losing streak. </div>
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Denver returns to Magness Friday, Jan. 1 against Notre Dame, puck drop is at 7:36 p.m. </div>
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Going forward Coach Montgomery is not anticipating on continuing to share time in net; Denver has been outscored 20-5 over the past two weekends; Trevor Moore’s assist continued his streak of earning at least one point in every collegiate game he’s played against the Huskies; Will Butcher received his 10th assist tonight (he leads the team), Tanner Jaillet led the three goaltenders in saves with 13, Freshman defenseman Blake Hillman didn’t return the third period due to a tweaked hip-flexor injury - but is expected to be alright. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10116998536378113393noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17196208.post-57062940956507996532015-12-11T23:09:00.000-07:002015-12-11T23:09:18.496-07:00Pioneers' Nightmare Stretch Continues<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX7t9icOvHX5w3piLm-KAjFSIgO__yFWAZsVN3vDV7bT6qVywJ5h1g5wmX-llMP3EoNH72zCoEArLs39cx3afnbMXEboeiiwfhVpYi8i1E_ncF6JVaJcVXZuTCpBucIW7GAcfY/s1600/Heinen+St+Cloud.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX7t9icOvHX5w3piLm-KAjFSIgO__yFWAZsVN3vDV7bT6qVywJ5h1g5wmX-llMP3EoNH72zCoEArLs39cx3afnbMXEboeiiwfhVpYi8i1E_ncF6JVaJcVXZuTCpBucIW7GAcfY/s320/Heinen+St+Cloud.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Credit: Tom Nelson, St. Cloud State University</td></tr>
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Tonight, the Denver Pioneers (7-6-2) returned home looking to maintain their unbeaten home record but ended up losing their third straight game, 5-2 at the hands of the St. Cloud State Huskies (13-4-0). The Huskies scored the last five goals of the game and perpetuated the feeling of helplessness around DU.<a name='more'></a><div>
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The Pioneers got out to a fast start in the first period as they outshot SCSU 8-4. The Pioneers came out looking determined to discard the bad feelings from a week ago in North Dakota. They were skating hard, playing smart, and St. Cloud didn't have an answer for the Pioneers' attack. At the 14:01 mark of the 1st period, Dylan Gambrell found the back of the net and knocked Lindgren's water bottle off of the net to give the Pioneers the 1-0 lead.</div>
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Heading into the first break, it felt like the Pios had shaken off whatever had plagued them in Grand Forks the weekend before and were well on their way to coasting to a victory over the #6 team in the country.</div>
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Denver continued to play good hockey to start the second period and got on the board again early when Troy Terry buried his own rebound at the 2:31 mark. All of a sudden, with a 2-0 lead, Denver was dominating play and the Huskies were on their heels. "Right up until our first power play (8:14 of the 2nd), I thought we were playing great Denver hockey," DU Coach Jim Montgomery said.</div>
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Everything changed as soon as SCSU's Will Borgen stepped out of the penalty box after the Huskies killed off their first penalty. The Pioneers couldn't generate a shot on the power play and SCSU grabbed the momentum and never let go.</div>
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"Our power play has been very inept this year," Montgomery said. "That's my responsibility."</div>
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On the power play, Denver was often trying to make the "pretty play" instead of the smart play. They'd pass the puck to a teammate instead of taking an open shot and eventually, the Huskies were able to continually take the puck and clear the zone. That has been the story of the power play unit all year and that's the reason why DU has only converted 13.79% of their power play chances.</div>
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Just about a minute after the Huskies killed off their first power play, Adam Plant was called for hooking and the Pioneers' 85% PK unit was called on to hold the 2 goal lead. With just 9 seconds left on the power play, Blake Winiecki beat Tanner Jaillet on an unfortunate play in the crease to cut the lead to 1.</div>
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Just 4 minutes later, Kalle Kossila was the beneficiary of a lucky bounce to beat Jaillet and the Huskies were off and running. At the second intermission, the score was tied at 2, but it felt like SCSU should have been up by 2 after they outshot DU 15-6 in the period.</div>
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The third period started well for the Pios as they began to pressure the Huskies defense, but were unable to put the puck past Lindgren. Even on a 2 on 0 chance, the Pios couldn't find the back of the net thanks to a sprawling save by Lindgren. There were multiple times when DU had the Huskies' goalie beat, but somehow he made a miraculous save.</div>
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At the 14:14 mark of the 3rd period, Joey Benik beat Jaillet off the post to give the Huskies their first lead of the night. Then, just 40 seconds later, Kossila scored his 2nd goal of the night after he stickhandled through three DU defenders. At that point, even though there was still more than 5 minutes left in the game, DU seemed to quit. They seemed disinterested in playing hockey.</div>
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About a minute later, David Morley put the nail in the coffin when he beat Jaillet down low to clinch the 5-2 victory. Mercifully, a little over four minutes after that, the final buzzer came and the game was over.</div>
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"St. Cloud showed why they're the #6 team in the nation," Montgomery said. "Those three goals they had in the third period were beautiful goals. If you have breakdowns in your defensive zone, they expose it."</div>
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Tomorrow night, the Pioneers will look to bounce back and earn a victory heading into the three week holiday break. Tomorrow is about as important a game as DU will have this year. "[Tomorrow] is very important, especially for the psyche of the team," Montgomery explained. A victory tomorrow would do a lot towards moving things back in the right direction for the Pioneers.</div>
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In short, the DU Pioneers are playing bad hockey right now. There is no magic button Coach Monty can push to make things better. The Pios have laid 3 straight eggs now and the schedule doesn't get any easier from here on out. Denver needs to turn this thing around quickly if they are going to even come close to attaining their goal of making it to the Frozen Four this year.</div>
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The season is certainly far from over and there is plenty of time for the Pios to turn this thing around and get back to their winning ways, but the longer they wait, the further down the standings they'll slide. This is the first adversity the Pioneers have faced this year. How they respond tomorrow will tell fans a lot about what this team is made of.</div>
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DU was outshot 33-19 on the night and 29-11 in the 2nd and 3rd periods; There were only 3 penalties called all night; Danton Heinen went pointless again; Jarid Lukosivicius picked up his 2nd assist on the year on Terry's goal; Jaillet made 28 saves for a .848 SV %; With his goal in the 3rd Period, Husky David Morley scored his 100th point of his career; Avs GM Joe Sakic was in attendance to watch Avs prospects Will Butcher (DU) and Ben Storm (SCSU).</div>
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<b>Tomorrow</b></div>
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vs. St, Cloud State Huskies</div>
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7:06 PM</div>
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Magness Arena</div>
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Listen: 104.3 FM</div>
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<a href="http://ev9.evenue.net/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/SEGetEventInfo?ticketCode=GS%3ADENVER%3AH16%3AH07%3A&linkID=denver&shopperContext=&pc=&caller=&appCode=&groupCode=H&cgc=">Tickets</a></div>
Nick Tremarolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03287885592467127867noreply@blogger.com6