Click on image to enlarge“We’re fortunate to have such a great program, where we can recruit these great players that would be playing at any other school,” Cheverie said. “Your job is never safe, and that’s a good thing. It pushes everyone to be their best, and I think this team is going to be scary to play in the long run, with all our depth.”
(above) Anthony Maiani celebrates after scoring DU's first power play goal since the Bush administration
(above) Chevy had it all going on Saturday night“We felt we had to make some changes, and those changes turned out to be very effective. The players we inserted into the lineup (Cunningham, Marcuzzi, Vossberg) really brought us some energy and enthusiasm, especially in the locker room. Obviously, Brandon Vossberg scored a big short-handed goal for us. They really were the glue, I thought, for our team tonight,” Gwozdecky said.
Tyler Bozak scored a short-handed goal and and assisted on Chris Butler's short-handed goal last night.
From: Denver PostUniversity of Denver hockey coach George Gwozdecky today announced the signing of forward Anthony Maiani of Michigan to a national letter of intent, the newest in a series of signings that will give the Pioneers a new look next season.
The team also said seven other players will join the team as freshman in the fall.
That brings to 12 the number of new recruits to the Pioneers roster — an unusually high number after four players in the offseason left the team early to join the professional ranks.
It will be DU's largest recruiting class in Gwozdecky's 13 years with the team.
"With the early departure of several players to the pro ranks, we will once again rely heavily on our freshmen to produce," Gwozdecky said.
Maiani, a 5-foot-8, 165-pound forward, had 48 points with 16 goals and 32 assists in 59 games for Sioux City of the United States Hockey League last season. He led the team with a +20 plus-minus rating.
DU also added seven other freshman: defensemen Joey Brehm of Edina, Minn., Jon Cook of Denver, Chris Nutini of Centennial, and John Ryder of Colorado Springs; forwards Stephen Cunningham of Boulder, Dustin Jackson of Omaha; and goaltender Eddie Guinn of South Burlington, Vermont.
Maiani joins four other players who signed letters of intent: goaltender Marc Cheverie of Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia; forwards Tyler Bozak of Regina, Saskatchewan, and Jesse Martin of Edmonton and Kyle Ostrow of Calgary.
(Left) DU recruit John Lee played for his High School in Moorhead, Minnesota this winter and then moved to Waterloo, Iowa to complete the Black Hawks USHL season
From: Denver Post
by Mike Chambers
Defenseman Jon Cook of Denver and two other Colorado natives have agreed to join the University of Denver hockey team as recruited freshman walk-ons next season.
Cook, brother of outgoing Pioneers senior forward Steven Cook, is a rookie in the Alberta Junior Hockey League, playing for the Camrose Kodiaks. The league champions are ranked No. 2 in the Canadian junior-A system, and Cook has played in 75 of the club's 77 regular-season and playoff games heading into the national tournament, which begins Friday.
Cook's sister, Dominique, is scheduled to marry former DU star Mark Rycroft, who just finished his first season with the Avalanche, in June. Dominique also attended DU.
"For me to be able to come back home and play is an absolute dream," Cook said from his Canadian billet home. "I'm so happy to have the opportunity, and whatever the team asks me to do that's what I'm doing."
Cook, who graduated from Colorado Academy, will become a DU classmate with defenseman Chris Nutini of Aurora and forward Steve Cunningham of Boulder.
Nutini, who attended Regis High School, plays for Wichita Falls of the North American Hockey League. Cunningham, from Fairview High School, plays for Burnaby of the British Columbia Hockey League.
Cook, 21, said he doesn't know Nutini and Cunningham, but given that Cook is older and didn't play hockey from the ages of 12 to 17, that's not surprising. Cook quit the game after pee-wees, then picked it up again as a high school junior after seeing his older brother develop at DU.
Steven Cook, who played four years of Colorado prep hockey at Kent Denver, overcame injuries and became a valuable fourth-line checking winger as a junior and senior at DU.
"I'd watch him and say, 'Man, that's a good time out there,"' Jon said of his 23-year-old brother. "That definitely had something to do with me coming back.
"I always think, 'Man, why did I ever quit. I would be so much further along.' But I really respect the game now. It's like a new-found love."
DU's incoming recruiting class is going to feature four players that will be 21 years old before the start of next season. Last season Brandon Vossberg was the only 21 year old freshman on the roster.
The British Columbia Hockey League's websire is reporting that Stephen Cunningham will attend the University of Denver next season.
