News & Notes From Around PioNation

photo credit: Todd Christensen

The Denver Post previews the NCAA playoff game tonight in Manchester, New Hampshire.  Jussi Olkinoura will start in goal and the Pioneers appear rested, ready and roaring to go against the University of New Hampshire.

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The Denver Post reports that Coach Gwozdecky followed DU's 2004 practice schedule the past two weeks after DU's elimination from the WCHA playoffs.  He's hoping it pays dividends similar to the 2004 National Championship squad.

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Denver Post reporter Adiran Dater is covering the Pioneers in New Hamshire and it just so happens to be a homecoming for the scribe.  He used to cover the Pioneers during the Frank Serratore Era at DU and adds some nice recollections of watching hockey in the Granite State.

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Nick and Quentin Shore will be playing on the same line this weekend as DU trys to add some punch to its first line. Quentin will play left wing.

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Ticket sales have been brisk this weekend for the Manchester Regional that features DU, Wisconsin, Umass-Lowell and the University of New Hampshire.  Hockey East playoff champions Umass-Lowell is located less than 45 minutes away and they quickly sold out their ticket allotment and were looking for extra tickets.  UNH's Athletic Director Marty Scarano held a similar post at CC from 1996-2000.

Serratore Compares Air Force To An Addict

Frank Serratore

From: Mile High Sports

by Brent New

The University of Denver frustrated Air Force 5-2 Saturday night. 

Falcons coach Frank Serratore was animated to say the least. “It’s like an addict,” said Serratore a night after losing to Colorado College 6-2. 

“We have to admit we have a problem.” 

The Pioneers outshot Air Force 42-24 and they won 32 of the game’s faceoffs. Serratore is facing the realization of playing in the same state as some of the nation’s best (#19 CC, #7 DU). 

“We are never going to get the talent of CC and DU, we just aren’t,” Serratore said. 

“The only way we’re going to beat those guys is we have to play as a team better than they play as a team.”

Denver Post: Air Force To Test DU Tonight

From: Denver Post
by Mike Chambers

Frank Serratore's infectious personality is just half of what has turned this weekend into college hockey's Colorado state championship. The guy can also coach, evidenced by his worldly — albeit underrated — exploits behind the Air Force hockey bench. 

Serratore, who has guided the Falcons to conference championships and NCAA Tournament appearances in five of the past six years, has turned Front Range hockey into a three-headed monster. The Falcons are feared, which is why this weekend's mythical "state championship" is relevant [read rest of article].

DU Alum Mike Corbett Promoted At Air Force

Mike Corbett

From: USCHO.com
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Air Force has promoted University of Denver Alum Mike Corbett to associate head coach, the school announced Wednesday.

Corbett has been an assistant to Falcons coach Frank Serratore for nine seasons.

“Mike has done an outstanding job throughout his tenure at Air Force,” Serratore said in a statement. “He has played a key role in the overall success the program has enjoyed. Mike’s expertise has factored greatly into our six-year championship run. The promotion in title is well deserved and overdue.”

Corbett works with the Falcons defensemen, and this season he helped produce a Hobey Baker Award finalist in Tim Kirby.

Corbett played at DU under Frank Serratore & George Gwozdecky from 1994-97 and scored 2 goals and had 11 assists from the blueline.

Chambers Blog: More Murray Armstrong Stories

Mike Chambers Blog has several more stories about former University of Denver hockey coach Murray Armstrong and his legendary recruiting visits up to Canada in the Fifties and Sixties. Chambers talked to former DU player Jim Wiste and current Air Force coach Frank Serratore.

News & Notes from Around PioNation

Mike Chambers of the Denver Post has a story on Tyler Ruegsegger. Ruegsegger has combined stellar hockey statistics at DU with excellent grades and a religious faith that you don't always see in a top flight college athletes.

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LetsGoDU is checking out a posted rumor that Lincoln Stars forward Jarrod Mermis has committed to DU. He's a 5'7 160 forward from Illinois and is in his third season in the USHL.

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Why is the University of Denver hockey team so good this season? Out of DU's Senior Class, the only player not to finish four years at DU was defenseman Keith Seabrook. It certainly was a shock when Seabrook jumped ship for major juniors in Canada, but he was replaced on the roster the following season and now DU is loaded with upperclassmen.

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Current Air Force & former DU coach Frank Serratore's son Tom will play for the Minnesota Gophers starting next season. Best of luck to Tom as he pursues his dream of playing college hockey.

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The Colorado Springs Gazette has an article on Colorado College Senior defenseman Kris Fredheim.

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Last night was the 2010 University of Denver Founder's Day Gala at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. Gen. George W. Casey Jr., the 36th chief of staff for the U.S. Army, received the University of Denver Alumni Association's highest honor, the Evans Award, Thursday in the Seawell Grand Ballroom. Ty Miller, Cindy Courville, Meyer Saltzman, Mike St. John and Nora Heitmann also received awards at this commemoration of DU's founding.

Air Force Players Earn Well Deserved XMAS Break

(above) Air Force won't play again until Dec. 29th

"Right now the academy schedule is grueling. And sometimes you have to take one step back to make two forward," said Air Force coach frank Serratore.

That philosophy extends beyond the holiday break. In addition to taking Sundays off, the Falcons now do not practice on Tuesdays.

Serratore said because of the demands placed upon cadets, he needs to take his foot off the gas occasionally - something he didn't do when he first arrived in 1997. [read rest of article]

Air Force Power Play Is Best In The Nation

(left) Air Force coach Frank Serratore is suddenly an evil genius

From: Colorado Springs Gazette
by Kate Crandall

Air Force's power play is clicking at a nation-best 27.7 percent, nearly 4 percentage points better than Boston University (23.8).

The Falcons are 10 for 19 with the man-advantage in the past three games, including a 5-for-6 performance against Sacred Heart last Saturday.

At the beginning of the season, the Falcons' top power-play line was steered by forwards Josh Frider, Brent Olson and Jacques Lamoureux.

But the trio of Jeff Hajner, Matt Fairchild and Derrick Burnett has taken over as of late.

"We started Hajner's line first on the power play on Saturday night," coach Frank Serratore said. "Being the brilliant coach that I am, after they went 2 for 2, I kept putting them out there. There was just something that told me, ‘Maybe you should just keep putting them out there, Frank.' "

Gwozdecky's Weekly Press Conference Highlights

(above) Coach Gwozdecky's weekly hockey press conference today

Highlights:

• Don't know much about Colgate because they've only just started their season. They've had some good results against good teams.

• Air Force will be very tough. DU is the underdog and Air Force should have been ranked in the Top 10 by the pollsters this week.

• Competition for positions and lines are "wide open." No decisions have been made at this time, but Chevy will start in goal.

• Gwozdecky admires the job that Frank Serratore has done building the Air Force program. Air Force assistant coach and DU alum Mike Corbett has done a great job of recruiting. They've added good players to the fold and having "four-year" players is an advantage.

• Wiercioch will play for DU this weekend in a similar role as last weekend. On the Power Play, ect. Has a "slow healing" injury.
  

Coffee Shop May Be Bemidji's Ticket Into WCHA

(above) Mike Chambers may have accidentally stumbled upon the WCHA's biggest conspiracy last month, hidden behind the doors of this Colorado Springs coffeehouse

Looks like Bemidji State University may have finally found a back door way to sneak into the WCHA. According to a couple of fishwraps, the WCHA may allow Bemidji State to make a presentation to join the league.

I know what you're thinking, "Who the Hell is Bemidji State and how can a Canadian university we've never heard of play in the NCAA?"

Turns out Bemidji is a city in Minnesota with a population roughly the same as a dorm at the University of Minnesota. Sporting an endowment of slightly less than Dan Ritchie's Master Card credit limit, Bemidji State wants to play "big-time" college hockey in the WCHA.

Why would Colorado College vote to accept a school that's even more anonymous than they are? DU beat writer Mike Chambers discovered the "smoking gun" while writing one of his fluff pieces for the Denver Post [its in the middle of the article].

"In Colorado Springs, Frank Serratore [Former DU & current Air Force hockey coach] and Owens' wives take the bond a step further. Frank and Carol Serratore co-own a coffee shop called "It's a Grind." Carol runs the place with Owens' wife, Sally."

Frank, of course, is the brother of Bemidji State's head hockey coach Tom. So it doesn't take a Colorado College grad to figure out where the front money came from to fund the partnership.

"They've become very good friends," Scott Owens said. "Our sons were playing on the same hockey team and they became friends. Between the kids playing together and "It's a Grind," the girls really click. They're kind of two peas in a pod.

Springs Coffee Shop Has College Hockey Ties

(above) Mike Chambers may have stumbled upon college hockey's biggest conspiracy this week, hidden behind the doors of this Colorado Springs coffee house

So much for counting on Air Force to help out DU against Colorado College this season. That sneaky bastard, Colorado College hockey coach Scott Owens, has found a way to neuter CC's rivalry with Air Force.

Denver Post writer Mike Chambers has discovered Owen's sneaky plan to finally try and foil coach Gwozdecky once and for all. [read rest of article]

In Colorado Springs, Serratore [Air Force hockey coach] and Owens' wives take the bond a step further. Frank and Carol Serratore co-own a coffee shop called "It's a Grind." Carol runs the place with Owens' wife, Sally.

"They've become very good friends," Scott Owens said. "Our sons were playing on the same hockey team and they became friends. Between the kids playing together and "It's a Grind," the girls really click. They're kind of two peas in a pod.

Serratore Brothers Unite Against WCHA Bullies

(left) Air Force coach Frank Serratore will attempt to sweep DU & CC this weekend

From: Denver Post
by Mike Chambers

Air Force coach Frank Serratore and his brother, Bemidji State coach Tom Serratore, watched film together Wednesday night in Colorado Springs, agonizing about how to beat Colorado College and the University of Denver.

The Serratores are accustomed to preparing their teams to produce upsets, but for the first time this weekend, they will get the opportunity on consecutive nights.

Frank's Falcons (11-7-4) host DU tonight and visit CC on Saturday. Tom's Beavers (11-9-2) play at CC tonight and travel to DU on Saturday.

The Tigers (16-6) are tied with Michigan for No. 1 in the PairWise Rankings. The Pioneers (17-5) are No. 3.

"We wanted to have a tougher weekend, but the No. 2 team in the country wasn't available so we took No. 1 and No. 3," Frank said. "Seriously, it's a great opportunity to play these guys when they're so good, because for our guys, they have nothing to lose.

"If Denver or CC is in a rebuilding year, we feel like we got to get it done right then. But they're BCS-type teams and they reload pretty well. So seriously, when you have the No. 1 and 3 teams in the country, what do you have to lose?

"If you upset them, you make history for your program. If you don't, then you do what you're supposed to do — you lose to the No. 1 and 3 teams in the country."

Frank said he didn't get to CC's game film Wednesday. But he'll prepare for the Tigers after talking to Tom on Saturday morning. And at the same time, Frank will advise Tom about how to beat DU.

"We've come to the conclusion that there is a reason these guys are ranked No. 1 and No. 3 in the country," Frank said. "They're pretty darn good in every area."

DU coach George Gwozdecky isn't taking either game lightly, noting the Pioneers barely beat the Falcons and Beavers in their previous meetings.

During DU's run to the 2005 NCAA title, Bemidji State gave the Pioneers their toughest test. DU beat the Beavers 5-4 in overtime in the Northeast Regional semifinal.

DU beat Air Force 2-1 last season. The Falcons lost to CC by the same score, but was the only Front Range team to make the NCAA Tournament.

"I think they're a lot better this year than they were last year," Gwozdecky said. "They have a lot more depth on their roster and they have a lot of support for (senior center) Eric Ehn."