DU Coach Will Assist USA World Jr. Team Again

(above) David Lassonde will assist the USA Under-20 team in Sweden next year

Minnesota head coach Don Lucia was named head coach of the 2014 U.S. National Junior Team in an announcement made Saturday.  Boston College assistant coach Greg Brown, Denver assistant coach David Lassonde and St. Cloud State head coach Bob Motzko [a former DU assistant coach] will be Lucia’s assistant coaches with Team USA.

The 2014 IIHF World Junior Championship runs from Dec. 26, 2013 to Jan. 5, 2014, in Malmo, Sweden. The U.S. is seeking its fourth medal in five years, having won gold under Phil Housley in 2013 and under Nebraska-Omaha coach Dean Blais in 2010 and the bronze medal in 2011.

St Cloud State 5 - Denver 1 FINAL

(above) It was a frustrating night for the Pioneers

The University of Denver had not been swept in 60 straight WCHA series dating back to 2008.  That came to an end on Saturday night as St. Cloud State University crushed DU 5-1 to complete the sweep.

Joey LaLeggia scoed DU's lone goal on a power play.

“Our defensemen struggled mightily to transition the puck up the ice and that’s been one of our strengths. St. Cloud took it away.”

- DU Coach George Gwozdecky

St. Cloud Times Game Recap

Boxscore

WCHA Standings

Pairwise Rankings

St. Cloud State 5 - Denver 2 FINAL

(above) Scott Mayfield reaches for the puck on Friday night

St. Cloud State University used relentless pressure to break down the University of Denver on Friday night at the National Hockey Center.  DU managerd to tie the game at 2-2 early in the third period, but three goals in the last half of the final period did in the Pioneers.

Zac Larraza and Nick Shore scored for DU. 

USCHO.com Game Recap

St. Cloud Times Game Recap & Photos

Boxscore

WCHA Standings

Pairwise Rankings

St. Cloud Times: Olkinuora Remains Hot

(above) The St Cloud Times profiles Juho Olkinuora

From: St. Cloud Times

by Mick Hatten

St. Cloud State has struggled to score goals in its last four games, scoring eight goals. The Huskies will look to get its offense going this weekend against one of the hottest goaltenders in the country.In his last eight starts, sophomore Juho Olkinuora is 4-0-4 with a 1.56 goals-against average and a .950 save percentage [Read entire article].

Photos: St. Cloud At Magness On Saturday Night

(above) SCSU's Ryan Faragher is replaced by Rasmus Reijola after giving up 3 goals on 11 shots

photo credit: © Todd Christensen

(above) Nick Shore scores the game-winning goal on Saturday night

photo credit: © Todd Christensen

(above) Quintin Shore & SCSU's Drew LaBlanc face-off at center ice

photo credit: © Todd Christensen

(above) Boone surveys the situation in the student section on Saturday night

photo credit: © Todd Christensen

Todd Christensen shared these photographs of some of the action in Magness Arena on Saturday night. Click on photos to enlarge.

Denver 6 - St. Cloud State 1 FINAL

One night after being shutout by St. Cloud State University, the University of Denver bounced back in emphatic style to defeat the Huskies 6-1.  Chris Knowlton led the way with a Hat Trick and was a team high +4 on the evening. Juho Olkinuora, making his first start of the season, recorded 20 saves.

Denver Post Game Recap

Box Score

WCHA Standings

St. Cloud State 3 - Denver 0 FINAL

After starting off the season impressively, the University of Denver was unable to muster any offense against St. Cloud State University on Friday night at Magness Arena.  The Huskies jumped out to a 2-0 first period lead and were able to secure the shutout.

Boxscore

Denver Post Game Recap

Video: Rakhshani's 2007 Hat Trick Stuns SCSU

December 8th, 2007 - As the University prepares to face St. Cloud State University tonight, we look back at one of DU's most epic comebacks. DU had played listlessly for most of the game and found themselves trailing by two goals with six minutes to play. Thats when DU's Rhett Rakhshani got busy.

Video: SCSU All-Access Breaks Down DU Series

Former DU Staffer Becomes AD At St Cloud State

(above) Future NCHC rival St Cloud State will be led by DU Alum Heather Weems

St. Cloud State announced Friday that DU Alum Heather Weems, associate athletics director and senior woman administrator at Drake University, has been named athletic director at SCSU, effective July 1.

Weems will take over for retiring athletic director Morris Kurtz, who has been at St. Cloud State since 1984.

Prior to Drake, Weems was the associate AD at Denver for seven years, first involved in internal operations and then with student services and compliance. Weems was on the senior staff at Denver when it transitioned from Division II to Division I.

“I am ready to take the next step and be athletic director of the quality program at St. Cloud State,” added Weems. “I am pleased to have been selected and look forward to building upon the legacy of Dr. Kurtz. St. Cloud State has a strong athletics reputation both regionally and nationally. While building upon that will be challenging, it will also be exciting and rewarding. My husband and four young boys look forward to becoming involved in the St. Cloud community.”

Weems has a bachelor’s degree from Iowa and a master’s degree from Denver.

New NCHC Commissioner Introduced To Media

(above) Jim Scherr will lead the National Collegiate Hockey Conference

Jim Scherr, the former head of the U.S. Olympic Committee was introduced as commissioner of the new National Collegiate Hockey Conference on Wednesday.  Scherr signed a 4 1/2 year contract with a base salary of $150,000 that will take him through the 2015-16 hockey season. His contract also includes the possibility for bonuses.

The new league will include the University of Denver, Colorado College, North Dakota, Miami, Minnesota-Duluth, Nebraska-Omaha, St. Cloud State & Western Michigan.

Scherr said one of his first tasks will be to help solidify media platforms for the league. The NCHC will soon announce its first television contract. The Grand Forks Herald reported it will be with the CBS Sports Network and it will include around 16 telecasts per season.

Denver Post

Colorado Springs Gazette

Omaha World Herald

Grand Forks Herald

St Cloud Times

Duluth News-Tribune

St. Cloud State 5 - DU 1 FINAL

St Cloud State defenseman Nick Jensen had a hat trick to lead the men’s hockey team to a 5-1 victory over the University of Denver.

DU Fell behind 1-0 in the first minute of the game and St Cloud never looked back.

Boxscore

St. Cloud Times Game Recap

DenverPioneers.com Game Recap

DU 3 - St Cloud State 2 FINAL OT

(above) Jason Zucker opened the scoring with a power play goal

 DU Lineup

Zucker - D.Shore - Salazar

Mermis - N.Shore - Doremus

Knowlton - Ostrow - Jackson

Larraza - Tabrum - Loney

Phillips - Mayfield

LaLeggia - Lee

Makowski - Didier

Olkinuora [Hope]

1st Period
DU 1 - (PP) Jason Zucker scored on an early Power Play goal.  Assists to Drew Shore and David Makowski.

2nd Period 
SCSU 1 - Cam Reid
St. Cloud 2nd goal waived off by replay.  Goaltender interference.
DU 2 - (PP) Drew Shore from Joey LaLeggia & Nick Shore

3rd Period
SCSU 2 - (PP) Travis Novak

OT
DU 3 - (PP) Drew Shore.  Assists Joey LaLeggia & Nick Shore

Boxscore

St. Cloud Times Game Recap

DenverPioneers.com Game Recap

Pairwise Rankings
 

Gameday: DU @ St. Cloud State

“I would say the season has been less than successful.”

-Denver head coach, George Gwozdecky

From; St. Cloud Times
by Mick Hatten

Denver and St. Cloud State go into this weekend’s WCHA men’s series in the middle of a clump of teams that will be battling in the second half for first round home ice for the conference tournament.

There are five teams — Colorado College, Denver, Michigan Tech, Bemidji State and St. Cloud State — separated by three points from fourth place to ninth place in the conference standings. The top six teams at the end of the season will get home ice for the first round of the WCHA playoffs.

The Pioneers, who are ranked No. 13/14 in the national polls, did not expect to be in that clump before the season started. They weren’t alone in that outlook [read entire article].

Denver Post: Zucker & Shore's Impromptu Tryout

Last weekend's series between the University of Denver and visiting Nebraska Omaha offered Mavericks coach Dean Blais​ a unique side opportunity.

The distinguished coach got a chance to scout two Pioneers hoping to play for him on the U.S. National Junior Team that will compete at the upcoming World Junior Championship in Edmonton and Calgary, Alberta.

DU sophomore forwards Jason Zucker and Nick Shore are expected to make the preliminary U.S. roster and report to Blais with the rest of the American hopefuls on Dec. 18, the day after the Pioneers conclude a two-game series at St. Cloud State [read entire article].

St Cloud & Western Michigan To Join NCHC

Edit: St Cloud State University & Western Michigan University announced that they are joining the NCHC on Thursday.

According to the Grand Forks Herald the National Collegiate Hockey Conference will invite Western Michigan and St. Cloud State to join North Dakota, Denver, Colorado College, Nebraska-Omaha, Minnesota-Duluth and Miami in the new league that will start in 2013-14, sources say.

Both schools are expected to accept the invites.

Notre Dame has not yet decided its future, but also holds an NCHC invite. Irish athletic director Jack Swarbrick told a radio station over the weekend that his school will make a decision within 10 days.

St. Cloud Editorial Rips School, President & AD

(above) St. Cloud State University president Dr. Earl Potter was ripped in an editorial

The shifting sands in college hockey due to schools changing conferences has caused a chain reaction of epic proportions.  Dave DeLand, the sports editor of the St. Cloud Times, is not pleased with the leadership at St. Cloud University or the fact that the Huskies will be playing in a stripped-down WCHA in two seasons.

He asked some pointed questions in a July 16th editorial, including;

How did SCSU wind up on the outside, looking toward a future in a third-rate, stripped-down WCHA instead of in college hockey’s new “super conference”?

How did the Huskies go from big-time program to scorned afterthought?

St. Cloud State is paying consultant [former North Dakota hockey coach] Gino Gasparini $90,000 for six months to “create a new and expanded vision for the future of Husky athletics." Why wasn’t he able to prevent the Huskies from being shunted aside?

SCSU also is paying athletic director Morris Kurtz nearly $130,000 to stay around for a lame-duck year before his June 2012 retirement. What exactly is his role with the hockey program now? Does he even have one?

SCSU is getting ready to start a $28.8 million renovation project at the National Hockey Center. Is that even needed now that the building’s primary tenant is headed for a significant league downgrade — and, in all likelihood, an attendance downsizing?

How does the WCHA implosion affect fundraising for the NHC renovation? Funds for the initial $14 million stage are in hand, but part of the funds for the $14.8 million second stage are supposed to come from future revenue — and that will almost certainly be diminished by the conference’s breakup.

How do you sell naming rights for the arena of a team in a third-tier conference? In 2013-14, that’s exactly what the WCHA will be.

SCSU’s football program narrowly avoided elimination last year, and the student fee increase that saved it expires after the 2013 season — the same time that the hockey team becomes part of an inferior league. Does that make football unaffordable?

How will the WCHA downgrade affect businesses in St. Cloud? A weekend series against North Dakota or Wisconsin or Minnesota-Duluth currently brings a bunch of out-of-towners into hotels and restaurants, but St. Cloud doesn’t get much of a tourism bump when Anchorage comes to town.

This much is certain: There’s a new reality in the WCHA, and for the teams left behind it’s starkly depressing. St. Cloud State is left with no good outcomes and no good options — only more questions [read entire editorial].

News & Notes From Around Pio-Nation

Adam Wodon of College Hockey News has a well thought out editorial about the shuffling of college hockey conferences.  His thesis that the six breakaway schools were only looking out for themselves will surely be refuted at the Press Conference tomorrow.

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Mike Chambers of the Denver Post has an editorial in his Blog on what the Super League will mean for DU hockey fans and players.

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DU Defenseman Paul Phillips was interviewed by USHL.com in a YouTube Video.  Its a really good interview although the backgound noise is a little harsh.

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USCHO.com has an editorial by Jim Connolly that explains the college hockey landscape and predicts where many of the progarms will end up.

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DU alums Marc Cheverie and Kevin Dineen are together this week at the Florida Panthers prospect camp.  Dineen was spending his first days on the job as an active NHL head coach.  Panthers prospect and current DU star Drew Shore missed the camp due to summer school at DU.  Looks like Shore may try and graduate in three years.

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The St. Cloud Times has an article about the teams left behind in the WCHA. SCSU coach Bob Motzko compared the situation to a divorce, but said that teams from the various conferences would still schedule each other in non-conference games.

Articles & Rumors Surrounding Super League

Brad Elliott Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald explains the motives of the six schools that will form the new college hockey conference.  Its the best article written yet about the subject.  He also offers some interesting insight into the inner politics of the WCHA.  Namely the schools were at odds on what direction to take the conference.

Interesting rumor on the SiouxSports Message Board suggesting that the University of St. Cloud was snubbed because their former president lobbied to remove the Fighting Sioux nickname.  He was also accused of assisting a protest rally against the nickname in front of Englestad Arena.

Western Michigan hopes to hitch their wagon to Notre Dame and plan to follow the Fighting Irish to either the Super League or Hockey East.  Sounds like a plausible strategy and I believe this significantly increases the odds that Notre Dame will eventually decide or may have already decided to join the Super League.

Northern Michigan University is going to aggressively pursue its conference strategy, but its interesting to note that their Athletic Director is out on medical leave.  Sounds like they might like to jump to the WCHA.  That would give the "new" WCHA six teams; UAA, MSU-M, SCSU, MTU, NMU & BSU.  If the compact six team league could get some sort of a scheduling agreement with the Big Ten Hockey Conference on the side, it just might work.

The Grand Forks Herald also has another editorial about the new Super League.

DU 3 - St. Cloud State 2

The University of Denver hockey team clinched second place in the WCHA with a 3-2 victory over St. Cloud State in Magness Arena.  Two third period goals, including a shorthanded goal by Kyle Ostrow provided the margin of victory.

Ostrow's goal not only was the game winner, but was his 100th career point at DU.

Jarrod Mermis scored an important first period goal that gave Denver an early lead and Drew Shore opened the third period with a huge goal.

The Pioneers will play Minnesota State next weekend in the WCHA playoffs in a best of three series.  DU moved up to 5th in the Pairwise rankings.  To show you how volatile the Pairwise is right now, DU was in 10th place before tonight's win was factored in.

Box Score

Denver Post Game Recap

St. Cloud Times Game Recap

Pairwise Rankings

WCHA Standings

First Star: Drew Shore (Denver)
Second Star: Kyle Ostrow (Denver)
Third Star: Jarrod Mermis (Denver)