DU's Josiah Didier Profiled By INCH

(above) Josiah Didier was profiled by Inside College Hockey

InsideCollegeHockey.com Profile

Josiah Didier came to DU a year earlier than expected after several Pioneer underclassmen turned pro in 2011.  This figures to a be a breakout year for Didier as his Baptism of fire was completed during his Freshman campaign.

News & Notes From Around PioNation

DU Alum Brock Trotter was traded over the weekend by the Montreal Canadiens to the Phoenix Coyotes.  Trotter will be assigned to the AHL Portland Pirates.

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The DU hockey team moved up two spots in the INCH Power Rankings to third.

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Seniors Alex Demopoulos and Mark Matthews led the University of Denver lacriosse team to a comeback victory over the MLL's Denver Outlaws, 17-13, in the Third Annual Colorado Lacrosse Showcase.

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Alabama-Huntsville will announce today that they are dropping hockey as a Division I sport at the end of the season.

DU's 2011 Recruiting Class Ranked #5

(above) INCH listed DU's 2011 Recruiting Class #5

Inside College Hockey's recruiting rankings were released today and the University of Denver was ranked #5.

Since Inside College Hockey began compiling the recruiting rankings in 2004, DU has always been ranked in the Top 10.

INCH Ranks DU's Past Recruiting Classes & Key Recruits

2011 - #5 - Laleggia, Mayfield, Larraza

2010 - #1 - N. Shore, Bennett, Zucker, Brittain, Makowski

2009 - #2 - Shore, Donovan, Wrenn, Murray, S. Ostrow

2008 - #8 - Colborne, Lee, Wiercioch

2007 - #9 - Bozak, Martin, K. Ostrow, Cheverie

2006 - #4 - Rakhshani, Ruegsegger, Brookwell, Seabrook

2005 - #6 - Butler, Trotter, Mullen, Fast

2004 - #8 - Stastny, Mannino, Dingle, Thomas, May, Paukovich

News & Notes From Around PioNation

Inside College Hockey has the Pioneers ranked #5 in the first Poll of the season.  They mentioned that DU would have been a consensus #1 pick, but for goaltender Sam Brittain's injury, surgery and rehab.

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The DU men's basketball program is in the running an Adidas Super 64 elite player.  Dalante Dunklin (San Diego/Francis Parker - 5'11 senior), a stocky point guard prospect who made some significant plays at both ends down the stretch in a Las Vegas summer tournament. Dunklin has offers from University of San Diego, UC Santa Barbara, Cal Poly and the University of Denver.

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Mike Chambers has two postings in his blog this week.  One is about new DU volunteer assistant coach Matty Thomas.  The other is about DU assistant coach Steve "Killer" Miller.

DU Fan Gives College Hockey Rag The Business

(above) Click to enlarge

One alert PioNation fan was so enraged by the bogus Inside College Hockey Power Rankings this week, he/she fired off an irate email. The clowns at INCH had the temerity to drop Denver in their ranking after DU managed to split a road series against the #1 team in the country.

Then compounding their flawed logic, INCH lectured the public on Poll etiquette.

While INCH ranked DU #12 this week, the Pioneers moved up six spots to #3 in the Pairwise Rankings after the split with Minnesota-Duluth. DU remains #1 in the LetsGoDU SuperPoll™ (Colorado College is last).

Drew Shore Named Player Of The Week

(above) Drew Shore was named Inside College Hockey's National Player of the Week

University of Denver forward Drew Shore was named MVP of the Denver Cup and INCH's National Player of the Week after recording four goals and two assists against Lake Superior State and the Air Force Academy over the weekend.

Shore was also named WCHA Offensive Player of the Week.

DU's Recruiting Class Named #1 By INCH

(above) For the first time, Inside College Hockey has named DU's 2010 recruiting class #1

When your recruiting class features two of the top four forwards, the #4 defenseman and #3 goaltender, you're destined to have the #1 recruiting class in college hockey. It takes years to build a single recruiting class and there are so many potential pitfalls along the way. No doubt this is a proud day for everyone associated with DU recruiting.

INCH Ranks DU's Past Recruiting Classes & Key Recruits

2010 - #1 - N. Shore, Bennett, Zucker, Brittain, Makowski

2009 - #2 - Shore, Donovan, Wrenn, Murray, S. Ostrow

2008 - #8 - Colborne, Lee, Wiercioch

2007 - #9 - Bozak, Martin, K. Ostrow, Cheverie

2006 - #4 - Rakhshani, Ruegsegger, Brookwell, Seabrook

2005 - #6 - Butler, Trotter, Mullen, Fast

2004 - #8 - Stastny, Mannino, Dingle, Thomas, May, Paukovich

2010 Recruiting Class
F Jason Zucker (U.S. Under-18) - #4 forward
D David Makowski (Green Bay, USHL) - #4 defenseman
F Nick Shore (U.S. Under-18) - #14 forward
F Beau Bennett (Penticton, BCHL) - #2 forward
F Dan Olszewski (St. Louis, NAHL)
F Jarrod Mermis (Lincoln, USHL)
G Sam Brittain (Canmore, AJHL) - #3 goaltender
F Justin Jones (Texas, NAHL)

Adam Murray Profiled By INCH

(above) Adam Murray

After backing up Hobey Baker finalist Marc Cheverie last season, Adam Murray takes over as the veteran goaltender this season for the Pioneers. Inside College Hockey takes a detailed look at the DU netminder.

Projected NCAA Tournament Brackets

Each week leading up to the NCAA Tournament Inside College Hockey.com predicts how they think the field will look in the playoffs. Currently they predict that DU will be the overall #1 seed and will play in the XCEL Energy Center in St, Paul, Minnesota.

DU #1 In All Polls & Rankings

(Above) DU moved into the #1 spot in the Pairwise Rankings after sweeping Michigan Tech over the weekend coupled with Miami's loss to Nebraska-Omaha

DU #1 in Pairwise Rankings

DU in 1st Place in WCHA Standings

DU #1 in Inside College Hockey's Power Rankings

DU #1 In USCHO.com Poll

DU #1 In USA Today's Coaches Poll

Chevy Named INCH.com Player Of The Week

(above) Chevy's goalie mask features a bulked up Boone holding back a rabid dawg

From: Inside College Hockey.com

MARC CHEVERIE
Denver Jr. | G | Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia

In four starts against North Dakota this season, Denver's Marc Cheverie allowed a total of four goals and posted a pair of shutouts.

His Statistics: 55 saves, 2 GA, SHO in two wins at North Dakota.

His Impact: Cheverie led Denver to its second sweep of the season over WCHA rivals North Dakota with a shutout on Friday. In four starts against North Dakota this season, Denvers Marc Cheverie allowed a total of four goals and posted a pair of shutouts. (read rest of article)

Rakhshani Named INCH Player Of The Week

RHETT RAKHSHANI
University of Denver
Sr. | F | Huntington Beach, Calif.

From: Inside College Hockey.com

His Statistics: Denver Cup MVP with 4-2—6 and a plus-minus rating of +5 in wins against Nebraska-Omaha and Boston College.

His Impact: Rakhshani was the catalyst as Denver captured its own holiday tournament with wins over Nebraska-Omaha and Boston College. Denver opened the tournament with a 7-0 win over UNO and Rakhshani posted two goals, an assist and was a plus-4.

Denver trailed Boston College 2-0 after two periods, but Rakhshani took over in the third period. He scored just 30 seconds into the period to cut the Pioneer deficit in half. Later in the period, he scored the game-tying goal with 5:16 remaining and then set up Joe Colborne’s game winner with 3:15 left on the clock.

DU Still #1 In Inside College Hockey Poll

The top two teams in the WCHA standings met last weekend in the heights of the Rocky Mountains, and a three-point weekend allowed Denver to maintain the No. 1 position in the Inside College Hockey Power Rankings.

The USCHO.com & USA Today Polls will be released at 3 PM today.

DU #3 In Pairwise Rankings

DU is #2 In USCHO.com Poll

DU is #2 In USA Today Poll

DU #1 - Inside College Hockey Power Rankings

Inside College Hockey's Power Rankings

USCHO.com's Poll

USA Today's Poll

Inside College Hockey Profiles Rakhshani

(above) Rhett Rakhshani will lead the Pioneers against the Seawolves this weekend

To say a hockey player has “great wheels” is to compliment his speed on the ice. But if you were to tell Rhett Rakhshani that he had great wheels while he was learning the game on the outdoor rinks of Southern California in the mid 1990s, all you’d have been telling him is that he was properly outfitted for hockey.

The Denver senior started playing at age five, but was nearly twice that age before he tried the game on a sheet of ice. (read rest of article)

News & Notes From Around Pioneer Nation

The University of Denver was named Inside College Hockey's Team of the Week. Its a great article, check it out.

You only have to look at DU's lineup in the past several seasons to see how important local players have been to the program. It looks like the pipeline is still producing premier youth players as the Colorado Thunderbirds just won a major tournament in Boston and the Littleton Hawks will represent the state in a major tournament in Quebec.

Despite losing two players this week, Mike Chambers was almost giddy recounting Colorado College's recent sweep of Michigan Tech. He's practically handing the MacNaughton Trophy to Scotty Owens in a gushing web posting. Wise fans will sit back and hum "Fifty-Seven" when the inevitable collapse occurs.

Marc Cheverie Named INCH's Player Of The Week

From: Inside College Hockey.com

It was a weekend of historic proportions for the Pioneers and for Cheverie, who whitewashed Minnesota on back-to-back nights—the first time that has happened to the Gophers since 1930—with identical 30-save efforts. In doing so, Cheverie extended his personal shutout streak to 203:19, second in the DU hockey annals behind Peter Mannino’s run of 208:42 without allowing a goal.

Cheverie has three shutouts this season—he also blanked Ohio State on Oct. 15—and seven for his career. Minnesota has been the victim of Cheverie’s perfection on three separate occasions. In addition to the shutouts this past weekend, he was also the goalie of record in a 4-0 win over the Gophers at Magness Arena on Nov. 22, 2008.

Heading into the Pioneers’ weekend series with Minnesota State, Cheverie leads the nation in shutouts, is tied for first in wins with four, ranks second with a .966 save percentage, and is fourth with a 1.00 goals against average.

Inside College Hockey's A-Z: Luke Salazar

(above) Luke "The Goal Czar" Salazar

Inside College Hockey profiles DU's Luke Salazar today. Its a great little article.

INCH Touts DU For Frozen Four in 2010

Inside College Hockey has an article entitled "10 Things For 2010." They list the University of Denver as the WCHA's strongest candidate to make the Frozen Four in Detroit."

8. Which WCHA team will make it back to the Frozen after such a long (and enjoyable) absence?

OK, so it’s been a one-year hiatus. Consider the teasing payback for the 2005 Frozen Four in Columbus when we had to listen to how fabulous the Dub was ad nauseum.

It wasn’t a banner year for the WCHA in 2008-09. Stalwarts Minnesota and Wisconsin missed the NCAA Tournament. So did preseason favorite Colorado College and perennial postseason player St. Cloud State. Denver and North Dakota were first-round NCAA washouts. Were it not for Minnesota Duluth’s remarkable postseason run, the season would’ve been utterly forgettable.

Don’t expect a repeat in 2009-10. Of the teams in the league that can stake a claim to having Frozen Four aspirations, Denver appears to have the strongest case. The Pioneers can put together two legitimate scoring lines by mixing and matching forwards Joe Colborne, Anthony Maiani, Jesse Martin, Kyle Ostrow, Rhett Rakhshani, Tyler Ruegsegger, and Luke Salazar. That list doesn’t include incoming freshman Drew Shore, a U.S. NTDP product who’s projected by some to be a first-round selection in next month’s NHL Entry Draft. There’s not much point production from the blue line outside of Patrick Wiercioch, but with the talent up front, that isn’t a huge concern. Marc Cheverie, who put up solid numbers in his first season as the no. 1 guy in goal for DU, is back, too.

This could be the most talented team in George Gwozdecky’s tenure. Seriously.

Wiercioch Named INCH's Freshman Of The Year

Inside College Hockey has named DU defenseman Patrick Wiercioch as its "Freshman Of The Year." DU forward Anthony Maiani was named to the WCHA 1st Team. [INCH's WCHA Awards]

"Strong cases can be made for Minnesota forward Jordan Schroeder and North Dakota goalie Brad Eidsness, but we’re going with Denver defenseman Patrick Wiercioch, who has averaged a point per game for the Pioneers and is third in the league in scoring among blueliners. Making his hot start more amazing is the fact that Wiercioch wasn’t even supposed to be playing college hockey this year, and was never supposed to play for the Pioneers. He’d committed to play for Wisconsin next season, but changed his timeline and his time zone when a spot on the Denver roster opened up."