Westword Asks "Where is DU's Mascot?"

(above) Westword continues to turn up the heat

From: Westword

Something will be missing from Homecoming and Parents Weekend at the University of Denver, which kicks off on October 24: a mascot. If all had gone according to plan, by now DU would be rolling out its choice for the school's new symbol for the Pioneers at a special "Evolution of DU's mascot" event. But little has gone according to plan in this pioneering effort. Last February, the student government determined that it was time to officially ban Denver Boone, the on-again, off-again Disney cariacature that had been DU's official mascot from 1968 to 1998, then booted and replaced by the lamentable Ruckus the Red-Tailed Hawk, then allowed back on a limited, unofficial basis in 2008, when Ruckus got plucked. Alumni, in particular, were big Boone boosters — but after some students complained that he did not represent the greater DU community, a 76-member mascot development committee of students, alums, faculty members and others was charged with coming up with a new mascot. And bringing back Boone — or the Fighting Parsons or Pioneer Pete, earlier mascots — was never an option. Instead, the committee whittled the list down to three possibilities — Pio the Elk, Pio the Mountaineer, Pio the Jackalope — and polled the greater DU community for its favorite...and no winner emerged. And so for now, the Pioneers remain logo-less [read entire article].

Ty Loney Will Remain On First Line

(above) Reed and Ty [right] spend a little time with the Stanley Cup in the backyard

From: Denver Post

by Adrian Dater

One of Ty Loney's first memories is of his father's last acts as a professional hockey player.

"His last practice as a player, I think I was about 3 years old, I got to skate with him. That's my only memory of him and the NHL," said Loney, a University of Denver freshman forward whose team hosts Bemidji State this weekend at Magness Arena.

Loney's father, Troy, played 12 seasons in the NHL, the final one with the New York Islanders in 1994-95. He was part of a Pittsburgh Penguins​ team that won back-to-back Stanley Cups in 1991 and 1992 [read entire article].

Media Coverage Of Proposed Super League

(above) Colorado College is reportedly holding an auction next Wednesday to sell the largest private collection of WCHA banners on the planet.  The 1950 and 1957 national championship banners will not be sold.

University of Denver Sports Information Director Erich Bacher said DU is "exploring its options" regarding a new hockey conference. Head coach George Gwozdecky told the Denver Post Thursday, "The Pioneers want to be aligned with schools of 'like-minded thinking' and operations."

Reportedly the University of Denver, North Dakota, Colorado College, Miami University, Minnesota-Duluth and Nebraska-Omaha are in discussions to form a new hockey conference. The Nebraska World-Herald is confirming that the conference is a "Done Deal."

Five WCHA member Athletic Directors from Alaska-Anchorage, Minnesota State, Bemidji State, St. Cloud State and Michigan Tech plan to meet in person next week in Minnesota with WCHA administrators after having a teleconference yesterday.

According to WCHA by-laws, member schools have to give one year's notice before vacating the league or face paying a "buy out."

Denver Post

Colorado Springs Gazette

Duluth News-Tribune

Omaha World-Herald

Grand Forks Herald


Grand Forks Herald Editorial

Oxford Press

St. Cloud Times

Anchorage Daily News

Bemidji Pioneer

Mankato Free Press 

Pilot Makes DU Hockey Freshman Sing D-Rah

Some DU fans were on the flight to Minneapolis-St. Paul that the University of Denver hockey team was was on.

The pilot made the freshmen sing the school fight song! Everyone had fun with that.

One comment overheard was "I hope they play better hockey than they sing!"

Denver's Bid To Host NCAA Lax Championships

(above) The 2008 NCAA Lacrosse Championship game featured Syracuse & John Hopkins University

From: Baltimore Sun
by John Weaver

Denver's bid to host either the 2010, 2011 or 2012 NCAA Lacrosse Championships at Invesco Field features some interesting statistics. It also shows what hoops a city must jump through to host an NCAA event.

Metro Denver Sports Commission president KieAnn Brownell, who guaranteed $3 million in revenues at the final presentation to the NCAA Lacrosse Committee. She stressed that lacrosse is not an alternative sport in Colorado.

Said Brownell: "Denver is the lacrosse capital of the West and here's why: Since 1999, when lacrosse was first sanctioned by the Colorado High School Athletic Association, the sport has seen explosive growth. Today there are 59 high school programs in eight conferences. Youth are regularly hanging up their baseball bats and football helmets and taking up lacrosse. And Denver's high school programs are top notch. Kent Denver is ranked in the top 10 of U.S. high school programs. Ten players from Colorado were named All-Americans in 2008. The University of Denver's 2008 recruiting class is ranked No. 10 in the country."

The Denver bid is bolstered by the great crowds at Outlaws and Mammoth (NLL) games. Brownell pointed out that the professional lacrosse franchises in Denver are thriving and lead the country in attendance.

“The Colorado Mammoth, Denver's NLL franchise, consistently tops attendance records and outdraws the NBA and NHL franchises," Brownell said. The Mammoth outdraws its closest East Coast competitor by 15 percent."

She added: “Denver's attendance will be comprised of their professional fan base noted above; the strong collegiate fan base from the two Division I programs at the University of Denver and the Air Force Academy; the collegiate fan base from the eight collegiate club programs in Colorado, including perennial club contender Colorado State University; the event-driven Denver sports fans, who have set and held attendance records in the MLB, NHL, NFL, NCAA hockey, USGA, NLL, and the MLL, where this past summer they broke their own single game attendance record. Further, Denver Sports received letters of support from several lacrosse clubs in other western states, saying they would travel to Denver but not to the east."

The common perception is that Denver would be a "growth of the game" play instead of a huge attendance and revenue play, but Brownell says that the idea that Denver's attendance would be down is a misconception. “Denver will undoubtedly set an all-time attendance record for the lacrosse championships," she said.

Since 2006, Denver has sold more than 600,000 tickets to professional lacrosse. The Outlaws average 11,000 fans per game and the Mammoth averages 18,000 per game, and these are two groups of different people. The interesting difference between the professional fans in Denver and the lacrosse fans in the east is that the professional fans in Denver are an entirely different demographic. They are not the lacrosse community's committed core; instead, they are sports fans who have fallen in love with the game. Unlike the east that depends on the lacrosse community and the collegiate teams to fill the stadium, Denver will appeal to a wide variety of fans. (read entire article)

Denver Post Looks At Mannino & Berkhoel

(above) Peter Mannino's season has mirrored former goaltender Adam Berkhoel's 2004 campaign

As Frozen Four MVPs in 2004 and 2005, respectively, Adam Berkhoel and Peter Mannino will forever be linked as University of Denver heroes.

The goaltenders also share this: As seniors, they got hot at just the right time, with Mannino's legacy yet to be finalized.

Four years after Berkhoel backstopped the Pioneers to the first of two consecutive NCAA titles, Mannino is on track to upstage the 2004 USA Hockey player of the year. (read rest of article)