Alumni Pro Camp Underway At DU

(above) Five former collegiate All-Americans were among those on the ice yesterday at DU

The first annual Denver Hockey Alumni Pro Camp started yesterday in Joy Burns Ice Arena. The camp attracted 17 skaters and two goaltenders during day one.

Former Pioneer All-Americans Paul Stastny, Chris Butler, Marc Cheverie, Gabe Gauthier and Rhett Rakhshani were joined on the ice by Peter Mannino, Joe Colborne, Geoff Paukovich, J.D. Corbin, J.P. Testwuide, Ryan Dingle, Tom May, Matt Glasser and Brandon Vossberg. Also participating during the first day of pro camp were current Colorado Avalanche players David Koci, Kyle Quincey and Cody McLeod, and former Toronto Maple Leaf Garnet Exelby and former Av Ben Guite. [read rest of article]

News & Notes From Around PioNation

(above) DU Alum Brandon Vossberg will begin his professional career in Alaska

The Portland Pirates (AHL) announced today that the Buffalo Sabres have re-signed Head Coach and DU Alum Kevin Dineen for the 2010-11 American Hockey League season. Dineen has been a candidate for several NHL head coaching vacancies in recent seasons.

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Recent DU graduate Brandon Vossberg has signed a contract with the Alaska Aces (ECHL) for the 2010-11 season.

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Defenseman & DU Alum Brett Skinner signed a one-year deal with Amur Khabarovsk of the Russian super league.

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The first annual University of Denver Hockey Alumni Pro Camp will be held Aug. 16-20 at Joy Burns Ice Arena. The pro camp will allow current professional DU hockey alums the opportunity to train together in preparation for their upcoming seasons this fall. DU hockey alumni expected to participate in this year's inaugural camp are Peter Mannino, Chris Butler, Rhett Rakhshani, Joe Colborne, Marc Cheverie, Geoff Paukovich, Ryan Dingle, J.D. Corbin, Tom May and Matt Glasser. Cody McLeod of the Colorado Avalanche is also expected to participate in the camp.

News & Notes From Around PioNation

One can't help but notice that while Coach Gwozdecky is trying to renegotiate his current contract with DU, his two proteges signed contract extensions with their respective schools. Enrico Blasi at Miami University and Seth Appert at RPI. And one of Enrico's assistants at Miami just named the head coach at Western Michigan. The family tree is growing.

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More post season honors for DU skiers. Senior Nordic skier Antje Maempel, and sophomore alpine skiers Leif Kristian Haugen and Lindsay Cone were named Collegiate Skiers of the Year by Ski Racing magazine. DU skiers swept three of the four awards. Maempel, who won the NCAA individual titles in both the classical and freestyle races for the second consecutive year, was named Women’s Nordic Collegiate Skier of the Year. Haugen, who won the 2010 NCAA individual title in men’s giant slalom, was named Men's Collegiate Alpine Skier of the Year. Haugen represented Norway at the Vancouver Olympic Games, finishing 28th in giant slalom. Cone won the Women's Collegiate Skier of the Year award after finishing second in both slalom and giant slalom at the NCAA Championships, earning All-American First Team honors in both events.

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Goaltender Marc Cheverie earned his second consecutive Most Valuable Player honor, while senior captain Rhett Rakhshani was named Most Inspirational Player as the University of Denver celebrated its 54th Annual Hockey Awards Evening at the Cable Center. Matt Donovan earned the Barry Sharp Memorial Award as top freshman, while Nate Dewhurst and Chris Nutini shared the Murray Armstrong Award as most improved players. Matt Glasser earned the Dr. Ken Bredesen Award for sportsmanship and shared the Dr. Art Mason Award for top scholar-athlete with Tyler Ruegsegger. Barandon Vossberg earned the Bob Martin Memorial Award for community service for the fourth consecutive season.

DU Today Video Profile: Matt Glasser

(above) Matt Glasser talks about his four years at DU

Last Week DU Today Blog profiled DU Seniors Rhett Rakhshani & Tyler Ruegsegger. This week Matt Glasser, Brian Gifford (tomorrow) and Cody Brookwell (Sunday) are featured. Next week Brandon Vossberg will round out the Senior Class.

Victory Moves DU Within One Win Of MacNaughton

(above) John Lee, Brian Gifford & Branddon Vossberg clean out the trash in front of Chevy

From: Mankato Free Press
by Shane Frederick

What’s the difference between No. 1 in the country and ninth place in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association?

“I feel like we’re right there,” Minnesota State forward Rylan Galiardi said after Minnesota State’s 3-1 loss to top-ranked Denver on Friday. “It was there for us to take. I gotta hand it to (Denver). The difference between us and them, is they’ve learned how to win.”

The difference before a crowd of 3,723 at the Verizon Wireless Center was also having the nation’s best goaltender and having a group of all-conference-caliber players who could cash in on special teams.

Pioneers goalie Marc Cheverie stopped 28 shots, and Denver’s top line of Rhett Rakhshani, Tyler Ruegsegger and Joe Colborne had a hand in all three goals. Two of the Pioneers’ goals came on the power play, and the other one came during a delayed penalty. Rakhshani, the WCHA’s scoring leader, finished with three assists.

Minnesota State outshot Denver 29-20, and the game was tied 1-1 until Colborne’s redirection at 6:51 of the third period.

“It tells you the margin for success and no success in this league is so thin,” said Denver coach George Gwozdecky, whose team can clinch the WCHA championship with a win tonight.

Zach Harrison scored the Mavericks’ lone goal, tying the game at 11:19 of the second period on a pretty play from Galiardi and Mike Louwerse.

Minnesota State freshman goaltender Phil Cook made 17 saves. There wasn’t much he could do about any of the goals.

Denver opened the scoring with a power-play goal midway through the first period when Ruegsegger tried to make a back-door pass through the crease but hit MSU defenseman Channing Boe. The puck took an unfortunate carom and popped into the net behind Cook.

During a delayed penalty in the third period, Colborne broke the tie when he tipped defenseman William Wrenn’s shot between Cook’s pads. Less than four minutes later, Denver defenseman Matt Donovan snuck down low and buried a cross-crease pass from Ruegsegger during a power play for a 3-1 lead.

“I thought we played a good hockey game with the exception of special teams,” Mavericks coach Troy Jutting said. “We got beat on special teams.

“I thought we played a smart game. I thought our effort was good. Defensively, we played very good hockey, and offensively, we created some things for ourselves.”

Cheverie, who leads the WCHA in save percentage and goals-against average, stopped Galiardi on two great scoring chances. In the first period, Galiardi walked the puck across the goalmouth and tried to score at the far post only to be turned away by an alert Cheverie. In the third period, the goalie turned aside Galiardi’s redirection try with his left pad during a power play.

“I thought that Mankato had us on our heels,” Gwozdecky said. “They created some chances down low and we got mixed up in our coverages. (Cheverie) made some great saves. …

“We were a tad more opportunistic than they were.”

The Mavericks finished 0 for 4 with the man advantage.

“It was just them bending and not breaking and us not capitalizing,” Galiardi said.

Early this season, Minnesota State lost 4-3 and tied 4-4 at Denver.

“We’re better now than we were then,” Galiardi said. “Denver’s the No. 1 team in the country. We’re neck and neck with them. It would be easy to just sit and say that they’re better than us. But the tough things is, I can’t say that.”

DU Clarion: DU Back On Top Of National Polls

(left) With Chris Nutini out with an injury, Senior Cody Brookwell will play a larger role for the Pioneers

From: DU Clarion
by Eddie Fischermann

With just four games left in the regular season, the Pioneers (16-4-4 WCHA, 22-6-4) are on the verge of clinching the WCHA regular season title. Currently three points ahead of St. Cloud State (15-8-3 WCHA, 20-10-4), they need just two more wins in their last four games to clinch.

Their first chance comes this weekend in Mankato, Minnesota. The team will travel there to play Minnesota State (8-15-1 WCHA, 14-6-2), who is coming off a sweep of Alaska-Anchorage. Earlier in the year, the Pioneers seemed to struggle against the Mavericks, winning the first game 4-3 then tying the second game 4-4.

Minnesota State is currently second to last in the conference.

However, being that it is late in the season, senior captain Rhett Rakhshani knows that every team has to be taken seriously.

“At this point in the season you are going to get your opponents best effort every game,” said Rakhshani. “We need to be ready to play the game simply and intensely if we are going to have success this coming weekend.”

Denver is coming into the weekend on a high note. After previously top-ranked Miami of Ohio lost to the University of Nebraska-Omaha over the weekend, the Pioneers moved up to No. 1 in the nation.

Winning both games against last place Michigan Tech over the weekend, the Pioneers have some momentum coming into these games.

The Pioneers won the games 5-2 and 5-3. Although they let Michigan Tech hang around for most of the game both times, they still got the wins.

DU had a lot of diversity in scoring though.

Eight different goal scorers had goals on the weekend. The only Pioneer to score multiple goals was junior assistant captain Kyle Ostrow.

Junior Anthony Maiani had a five-point weekend, scoring one goal and contributing four assists.

Other Pioneer players who had a big weekend were junior defenseman Cody Brookwell (1 G, 2 A) and senior Brandon Vossberg (1 G, 2 A).

DU did encounter one problem over the weekend.

Junior defenseman Chris Nutini was injured on a play in the DU zone during the second period of the game on Saturday. He needed to be helped off the ice and went straight to the locker room. He did not return to the game, and according to Fox Sports Network, he left the rink on crutches.

He is doubtful for this weekend’s games.

Junior goaltender and Hobey Baker candidate Marc Cheverie made 53 saves on 58 shots over the weekend to get two more wins on the season. This brings his total number of wins on the season to 19, tying him for No. 1 in the nation. He still leads the nation in shutouts with six and is tied for the best save percentage in the nation (.937).

That makes eight straight wins for the Pioneers who have a record of 11-1-2 over their last 14 games.

“We have started to bring the necessary effort to win on a consistent basis,” said sophomore forward Joe Colborne. “The coaches have been preaching it all year and we are now seeing the results.”

The team puts that streak on the line this weekend against Minnesota State.

“We can’t look past a single game because every team we play can beat us if we don’t bring our best effort,” said Colborne.

Minnesota State proved that earlier this year, tying one of the games against DU and giving them a scare in the other.

The games are Friday and Saturday night at 6:37 p.m. MST and 6:07 p.m., respectively.

DU 5 - Michigan Tech 2 FINAL

(above) John Lee against Michigan Tech on Friday night

The game wasn't as easy as the final score indicated, but the University of Denver will take the 5-2 victory against Michigan Tech. DU won its 7th game in a row to remain in first place in the WCHA.

Cody Brookwell scored the opening goal in the first two minutes of the game.

Tyler Ruegsegger scored another classic "Rubberband Man" goal in the second period.

Brandon Vossberg, Anthony Maiani and Kyle Ostrow, playing together on the second line, scored three goals in the third period. Vossberg certainly seems to be enjoying himself playing with two premier playmakers in Ostrow & Maiani. Vossberg's goal and two assists tonight doubled his point production for the season.

Box Score

WCHA Standings

Pairwise Rankings

Denver Post Game Recap

USCHO.com Game Recap

DU 5 MN 1 Final

(above) Gophers are road kill for the Chevy

"I think they're the best team we've played this year."

- Minnesota coach Don Lucia

The University of Denver completed a historic sweep of the Minnesota Golden Gophers 5-1 on Saturday night. For the first time in the school's history, DU swept the University of Minnesota in a 4-game season series. With their earlier 4 game sweep of the University of North Dakota, DU went 8-0-0 against two of the biggest powerhouses in college hockey. DU is now all alone in 1st place in the WCHA.

Joe Colborne led the way with a hat trick. He had goals in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd periods. He put DU on the board at the 18:58 mark of the first period on the power play. His first goal was assisted by Rhett Rakhshani and Patrick Wiercioch.

Anthony Maiani gave DU a 2-0 lead at the 1:07 mark of the 2nd period with assists to Brandon Vossberg and Kyle Ostrow. Joe Colborne got his 2nd goal on the power play at the 12:39 mark of the period again with assists to Rakhshani and Wiercioch to give DU the 3-0 lead.

Joe Colborne completed his hat trick at the 2:16 mark of the 3rd period on an unassisted shorthanded goal to make it DU 4-0. Brian Gifford got his first goal of the season to make it 5-0 DU at the 17:31 mark of the final period. Chris Knowlton and John Ryder had assist on Gifford's goal.

Marc Cheverie's bid for a shutout was thwarted at the 19:21 mark of the period when Tony Lucia tipped a Mike Carman shot for a power play goal with an additional assist to Nick Leddy. This was DU's 20th win of the season and they are 20-6-4.

First Star: Joe Colborne (Denver)

Second Star: Marc Cheverie (Denver)

Third Star: Patrick Wiercioch (Denver)

Box Score

WCHA Standings

Pairwise

Denver Post Game Recap

USCHO Recap

News & Notes From Around Pioneer Nation

DU Senior forward Brandon Vossberg is one of 18 college hockey players nominated for the 2010 BNY Mellon Wealth Management Hockey Humanitarian Award. Good luck Brandon.

With the USA Olympic hockey team about to head to Vancouver in a couple of weeks, DU Alum Matt Carle is one of several players who might be a last minute replacement due to injuries. Carle has been mentioned as one of the most improved players in the NHL season. He has 24 points and +18 so far this season, while being paired with superstar defenseman Chris Pronger.

The New England Hockey Journal has an article about Joe Colborne's big weekend against North Dakota on his 20th birthday. Colborne was also awarded the "DU Hardhat" given to the hardest working player as judged by his teammates.

DU Goaltender Marc Cheverie was named WCHA Defensive Play of the Week and Joe Colborne nabbed WCHA Offensive Player of the week. Sweeping North Dakota brings a lot of national publicity.

Denver Post sportswriter Mike Chambers doesn't appear to be too entralled with college hockey's Pairwise System that dropped DU to #2 in the national rankings the same weekend that DU swept North Dakota. Did we mention that DU swept North Dakota?

The Denver Post has a nice article on former Colorado College and Air Force hockey coach John Matchefts. He was the 2nd hockey coach at Air Force. Matchefts came to Air Force after those cheap bastards at CC wouldn't give him a two hundred dollar raise.

University of Denver Alum Paul Stastny won't be the only athlete with DU ties at the 2012 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Current DU Sophomore Leif Kristian Haugen was named to Norway’s Olympic team and will compete in the Vancouver Games next month in skiing.

Minnesota hockey coach Don Lucia received a vote of confidence from the Athletic Director, Joel Maturi. Maturi was formerly the AD at DU.

Dan Olszewski Is DU's Newest Recruit

(left) Dan "Ozzie" Olszewski

Sixty Minutes. No Alibis, No Regrets Blog is reporting that Daniel Olszewski will be coming to the University of Denver next season. Since there is no confirmation from Hiesenberg's Recruiting Website, US Hockey Report or the St. Louis Bandits Website, its possible that Olszewski is a recruited walk-on.

DU has had success in recent seasons with players from the NAHL including Luke Salazar, Dusty Jackson, Chris Nutini & Brandon Vossberg. Obviously the Pioneers would be hoping for similar performance from Olszewski.

Olszewski plays for the NAHL St. Louis Bandits and is the team's leading scorer. He has 25 points (9g, 16a) in 27 games and is captain of the team. The Bandits also have the third best record in the NAHL this season.

Olszewski has been a key factor in the Bandits’ quick start. The 6-foot, 190-pounder has already surpassed last season’s point total of 13 and is thriving on the power play unit.

“Ozzie has been great for us,” St. Louis assistant coach Rocky Russo said. “He’s our captain and a leader, on and off the ice. He was a role player for the team last season and has developed into a complete hockey player.

“He has the potential to be an excellent Division I college player.”

Olszewski is from Janesville, Wisconsin and is twenty years old. He's 6'0 188 lbs.

2010 Recruiting Class
F Jason Zucker (U.S. Under-18)
D David Makowski (Green Bay, USHL)
F Nick Shore (U.S. Under-18)
F Beau Bennett (Penticton, BCHL)
F Dan Olszewski (St. Louis, NAHL)

2011 Recruiting Class
D Scott Mayfield (Youngstown, USHL)
F Zac Larraza (U.S. Under-17)
G Sam Brittain (Canmore, AJHL)

2012 Recruiting Class
F Tyler Pham (Team Illinios)

Photo Gallery From North Dakota Series

(above) DU players celebrate the sweep of North Dakota

See Denver Post Photo Gallery

LetsGoDU Readers' "Dream Team" Lineup

Our readers have spoken. They want to tweak DU's lineup, so based on the suggestions from Sunday, we've made some changes.

Patrick Wiercioch and John Lee started the NCAA Playoff game against Maimi, proving that Lee was one of DU's best defensemen at the end of last season. We'll keep them together.

Everyone wants to see the Ostrow brothers play together. Pairing them with Colborne creates "The Calgary Stampede Line."

Vossberg is in on Fridays, Jackson becomes "Mr. Saturday Night." Nutini & Phillips most likely will have to fight it out for Ryder's spot.

Forwards
Rakhshani (15g, 22a) - Ruegsegger (15g, 11a) - Maiani (11g, 30a)
K. Ostrow (14g, 14a) - Colborne (10g, 21a) - S. Ostrow (Fr.)
Salazar (15g, 10a) - Shore (Fr.) - Martin (10g, 13a)
Gifford (4g, 8a) - Glasser (4g, 3a) - Vossberg (4g, 2a)
[Jackson (3g, 9a), Dewhurst (0g, 1a), Knowlton (Fr.)]

Defensemen
Wiercioch (12g, 23a) - Lee (0g, 5a)
Donovan (Fr.) - Brookwell (0g, 3a)
Ryder (0g, 6a) - Wrenn (Fr.)
[Nutini (0g, 3a), Phillips (Fr.), Cook (0g, 0a), Brehm (0g, 0a)]

Goaltenders
Chevy (2.34 gaa, .921 sv%)
[Murray (Fr.), Paulgaard (1.61, .917 sv%)]

1st PP
Rakhshani, Colborne, Maiani
Wiercioch, Ruegsegger

2nd PP
K. Ostrow, Shore, Salazar
Donovan, Martin

1st PK
Colborne, K. Ostrow
Wiercioch, Donovan

2nd PK
Martin, Vossberg
Wrenn, Lee

Brandon Vossberg Desktop Wallpaper

Click picture to enlarge

When DU's season was on the brink of collapse, Coach Gwozdecky inserted Junior Brandon Vossberg in the lineup and DU hasn't lost since then. Just grab the picture above or right click on it and "set as desktop background" and have the most awesome computer in the office.

Mankato Free Press Features DU-MSU Photos

(above) Chevy makes a save

(above) Brandon Vossberg moves the puck

(above) John Ryder on defense

(above) Tyler Bozak before he left the game, while Ryder looks on

Source: Makato Free Press

Anthony Maiani Quietly Leads Pioneers In Scoring

(above) While NHL scouts chase Tyler Bozak, Anthony Maiani leads the team in scoring

From: LetsGoDU

With all the flashy household names in the Pioneer lineup, one player has quietly zoomed to the head of DU's scoring charts. At 5'7 and 150 lbs. Anthony Maiani might not be a likely candidate to lead the country in scoring, but he's only three points behind the NCAA's leading scorers Garrett Roe (SCSU) and Aaron Palushaj (Michigan). Maiani's 6 goals and 16 assists place him squarely within sight of the leaders.

The fact that Roe was drafted by the Kings in the 7th Round and Palushaj was drafted by the Blues in the 2nd Round begs the question; Will Maiani be drafted in this summer's NHL Draft? He's draft eligible and might be a "sleeper pick" in 2009.

Perhaps Boston College alum Nathan Gerbe who was called to play for the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday, will help sway NHL scouts in Maiani's favor. Listed generously at five-foot-six, 160 pounds, Gerbe ranked second on Portland (AHL) with an impressive 24 points (14 goals) in his first season as a pro.

Like the rest of the Pioneer squad, Maiani stats have blossomed during DU's five game winning streak. Maiani has two goals and seven assists in the past five games. His 16 assists leads the team and he anchors DU's explosive third line with Jesse Martin and Brandon Vossberg.

Keep in mind that Maiani was an 11th hour addition to the Pioneers in 2007. He committed in July of 2007, when a scholarship became available after Geoff Paukovich signed with the Edmonton Oilers organization. Maiani really came on towards the end of last season and scored a spectacular game winning goal against the University of North Dakota in the WCHA Final 5 semi-finals (see video below).

Maiani's brother Dominic, plays for the Rocky Mountain Rage in the Central Hockey League.

Anthony Maiani's Game Winning Final 5 Goal

Denver Shuts Out Michigan Tech

(above) Dusty Jackson fights for the puck on Friday night against Tech

“We wanted to establish some consistent play on the road tonight and a number of guys played really well for us.”

- Coach Gwozdecky

The University of Denver rolled to 6-0 victory tonight against Michigan Tech as goaltender Marc Cheverie recorded his second career shutout.

The game was close after one period as Denver clung to a narrow 1-0 lead. Michigan Tech dominated stretches of the first period and DU was fortunate to have the lead.

However, DU scored four goals in a short span late in the second period and the horn was the only thing that saved Tech from further damage.

DU's recent turnaround can be traced to Brandon Vossberg's insertion into the line up against Minnesota two weeks ago. Denver has outscored their opponents 20-2 in those four games. Vossberg's return from Casa Del Bow-Wow has coincided with DU's offensive explosion.

Vossberg's linemates, Anthony Maiani had a goal and two assists and Jesse Martin chipped in with a goal and an assist.

DU's Tyler Bozak had two assists, one shorthanded when he sprung Maiani and one on a power play.

Box Score

DenverPioneers.com Recap

Rocky Mountain News Recap

Houghton Mining Gazette Recap

DU 4 - Air Force 1

(above) Matt Glasser & Rhett Rakhshani look for a rebound

(above) Brian Gifford introduces himself to Air Force's Blake Page

(above) Rhett Rakhshani scored two goals against Air Force

We want to put ourselves in position to make up ground on the conference leaders with two difficult road trips in the next two weekends.

- Coach Gwozdecky

There are no unbeaten teams left in college hockey this season. DU put the Air Force Academy to the sword with a 4-1 victory in Magness Arena on Saturday night.

DU blew open a tightly fought contest, after Air Force tied the game 1-1 with less than 18 minutes to go in the game. Kyle Ostrow's goal less than a minute after Air Force had knotted the score, turned the tide.

Rhett Rakhshani added two goals for the Pioneers and Brandon Vossberg added an empty netter. Air Force coach Frank Serratore called Rakhshani's second goal, "A sick, skilled goal. That was a tough one to swallow."

Air Force played a great game and was an even match for DU throughout the night.

Marc Cheverie made 38 saves to earn player of the game honors.

Box Score

DenverPioneers.com Game Recap

Denver Post game recap by Mike Chambers

Theresa Spisak's game recap for USCHO.com

GoAirForceFalcons.com Game Recap

First Star: Marc Cheverie (Denver)

Second Star: Rhett Rakhshani (Denver)
Third Star: Andrew Volkening (Air Force)

Chamber's Blog With More News & Quotes

“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.”

A half-healthy Patrick Wiercioch and a complete healthy dose of scratches appear to have been the keys in the University of Denver’s 4-0 upset of No. 1 Minnesota on Saturday.

The victory that snapped a three-game losing streak might serve the Pioneers the rest of the season, reminding them that Wiercioch could be the team’s only hard-to-replace part. [read rest of article]

Vossberg's Shortie Validates Gwozdecky's Lineup

(above) Brandon Vossberg celebrates while Alex Kangas looks like a Gopher caught in a humane trap (No gophers were harmed in the shooting of this photograph)

From: Rocky Mountain News
by Pat Rooney

When Coach Gwozdecky benched four regulars Saturday, one of the players he turned to in hopes of finding a spark was junior forward Brandon Vossberg.

Vossberg appeared in 60 games during his first two seasons at DU, but with the addition of freshmen forwards Luke Salazar, Joe Colborne and Nate Dewhurst, he has struggled for playing time this season.

Vossberg's appearance Saturday was only his second this season, but he provided a short- handed goal and finished with a plus-2 rating.

"Short-handed, I didn't even know I had that in me," Vossberg said. "It has been (frustrating), but we have a great team here. Any opportunity I have, that's great."

DU Regains Hockey's Mythical Championship Belt

Staring:

Rocky Balboa - Brandon Vossberg

Apollo Creed - Gopher Hockey Team

Burgess Meredith - George Gwozdecky

Paulie - Steve Miller

Adrian - Theresa Spisak