Gwozdecky Named "Lord of the Springs"

Plot Overview

The Pursuit of the Hobey is the first of three volumes in The Lord of the Springs, an epic set in the fictional world of Colorado College. In the Lord of the Springs is an entity named Coach Scotty Owens, the Dark Lord, who long ago lost what Donnie Lucia had taught him. His overriding desire is to reclaim the National Championship Trophy and use it to enslave all of Denver.

The story of The Lord of the Springs begins with several events that take place at NORAD Missle Defense Compound buried deep within the Rocky Mountains. While wandering lost in a deep cave, Brent Sterling, a Hobbit—one of a small, testy race about half the size of Men—stumbles upon a Hobey Baker Trophy and takes it back with him to The Garden of the Gods, the part of Colorado Springs that is near the Hobbits’ home. All Sterling knows of his trophy is that holding it causes him to become invisible next to Marty Sertich. He is unaware that it is "The" Hobey Trophy, and is oblivious to its significance and to the fact that Owens has also been searching all his life for a National Championship Trophy.

The Pursuit of the Trophy opens with a party for Sterlings’s 21th birthday at the Golden Bee (the Fox 9 Undercover News Team was not invited). Sterling wants to give The Hobey Trophy to the rightful owner, fellow Hobbit Marty Sertich. When the time comes to part with the trophy, however, Sterling becomes strangely reluctant to do so. He gives up the trophy only at the determined urging of his friend, Matt Zaba, the Great Sieve. Zaba suspects that the trophy is indeed the missing Hobey. After confirming his suspicions, he tells Owens that the Trophy must be taken away from Sterling, as Matt Carle’s power is growing once again.
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Long and the short of it is DU sweeps CC for the 100th time, Owen's accepts his lot in life becoming a spokesman for Avis, Matt Carle wins the 2006 Hobey Baker Award, Sterling and Sertich become uber successful jockeys and DU sweeps CC yet again.

All's well that ends well.

Carle Also Picks Up INCH & USCHO Weekly Awards

(Left) Matt Carle was named INCH Player of the Week and USCHO's Defensive Player of the Week

His Impact: Carle not only personally set up seven of the Pioneers' nine goals against their archrivals from Colorado Springs, but he helped lead a Denver defense that silenced Colorado College's potent offense. The Tigers managed just three goals on the weekend, and every player in the lineup combined had eight points – just one more than Carle's total.

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His Statistics: 2 GP, 0-7—7, +3 rating

His Runners-Up: Dave Borrelli (Mercyhurst), Colin McDonald (Providence), Scott Munroe (Alabama-Huntsville), Alec Richards (Yale), Bill Thomas (Nebraska-Omaha)

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Previous Winners Oct. 11: Matt Hunwick Oct. 17: Alex Nikiforuk Oct. 23: Tyler Sims Oct. 30: Paul Szczechura Nov. 7: John Curry Nov. 14: Tyler McGregor Nov. 21: Mike Ouellette Nov. 28: Travis Russell

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Article from Inside College Hockey

Batman & The Butler Earn WCHA Awards

DENVER - Junior Matt Carle (Anchorage, Alaska) was named WCHA Co-Defensive Player of the Week for Dec. 5-11, while freshman Chris Butler (St. Louis, Mo.) earned Rookie of the Week honors, it was announced today.
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Carle assisted on seven of Denver's nine goals this past weekend in a home-and-home sweep against Colorado College. In addition to his seven scoring points, he earned a +3 plus-minus rating, blocked six shots and had eight hits. Carle ranks tied for second in scoring nationally among NCAA Division I defensemen with 22 points in 16 games on six goals and 16 assists and has 91 points in 89 career games for the Pioneers. Carle shared this week's award with Wisconsin's goaltender Brian Elliott, who backstopped the No. 1-ranked Badgers to a sweep of Minnesota.

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Butler, who was strong at both ends of the ice while helping the Pioneers to a two-game sweep over arch-rival Colorado College last weekend, has been named the Red Baron® WCHA Rookie of the Week for Dec. 5-11.

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Butler tallied a career-high three points in Denver's 5-1 victory over the visiting Tigers last Saturday (Dec. 3) night at Magness Arena. He scored the game-opening goal on a power-play at 19:28 of the first period, assisted on teammate Ryan Dingle's (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) eventual game-winning goal at 0:59 of the second period, and also assisted on the game's final goal by Dingle at 16:18 of the third.

In addition to his three points, Butler recorded five blocked shots and had six hits in the series, and quarterbacked a Denver power-play that went 6-of-15 (40%) in the two wins over the Tigers. Defensively, Denver limited CC to just three goals in the series, to just 46 shots on goal total, and held the Tigers to two power-play goals in 12 man-advantage opportunities.

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A fourth round NHL draft pick of the Buffalo Sabres in 2005 (96th overall), Butler was also today named to the 2006 U.S. National Junior Team today that will compete in the IIHF World Junior Championships between Dec. 26-Jan. 5 in Vancouver, B.C.

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www.letsgodu.blogspot.com

UAA Coach Sings Familiar Tune

From: Inside College Hockey

It didn't take new UAA Coach Dave Shyiak long to pick up the longstanding Alaskan tradition of "crying" over the WCHA Instant Replay Rule. However, Dave has added his own twist to the formula, by "crying" over a call that went in UAA's favor. If you recall last season, the wailing from the Land of the Midnight Sun could be heard in the Lower 48 as DU scored a controversial goal in overtime when Jeff Drummond slipped a low shot by Nathan Lawson in Overtime. The goal was reviewed on instant replay and awarded to the Pioneers.

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Last week against the Gophers with UAA leading 3-1, Brent Borgen's shot hit Nathan Lawson and almost trickled into the goal. Refree Don Adam correctly called "no goal" and then went to the Replay. Ten minutes and three Gopher goals later the game was over.
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“There was that long stoppage of play for the replay, and that was the momentum-changer, obviously to their advantage,” Shyiak said afterwards. “We had them back on their heels, and I think we lost that edge after (Minnesota’s) second goal.”

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Of course Don Lucia thought it was his coaching that swung the game the Gophers way, “I told our players there was ice reserved at 7:15 on Sunday if they weren’t interested in skating (Saturday).”

Two DU Players Named To USA Hockey National Junior Team

DU's Chris Butler and Geoff Paukovich have been named to the 2006 U.S. National Junior Team, released this morning by USA Hockey. Seventeen college players and one college recruit are among the 22 players named to the USA squad. The team will compete at the 2006 World Junior Championship in British Columbia from Dec. 26 to Jan. 5. It's already been called by some, including Bob McKenzie of Canadian sports network TSN, the pre-tournament favorite to win the gold medal.

Michigan, Minnesota and North Dakota have three selections each on the roster. Boston College and Denver each have two players on the team, while Miami, Minnesota Duluth, Ohio State and Wisconsin will also be represented. The team is comprised of players under the age of 2o

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It is something I've worked very hard for and I'm definitely excited. I set a goal to be part of that team," Butler said. "It is going to be quite an honor, and I'm looking forward to it."

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DU coach George Gwozdecky, whose team retained possession of the Gold Pan by sweeping Colorado College during the weekend, expects Butler and Paukovich to miss only two games if they join the national team. The two would miss the Wells Fargo Denver Cup, which begins Dec. 30.

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Junior Matt Carle missed six games when he helped the U.S. win the gold medal at the World Juniors two years ago in Finland.

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"These are the reasons our players come here - to play in big games," Gwozdecky said. "We hope they can bring a gold medal back like Matt Carle did a few years ago."

Random Stuff

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On Thursday afternoon, DU coach George Gwozdecky said he was asking the "hockey gods" for aid in stopping Sterling, who roared into Friday's game with 16 goals. Gwozdecky appeared to be kidding, but after all of Sterling's near-misses, you have to wonder about the power of the coach's prayers (aka Karma).

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DU outscored CC 9-1 over the last 90 minutes of the series.

For all practical purposes there is a five way tie for 2nd place in the WCHA. Probably three of the five will make the NCAA's.

The coaches told the players on Saturday during the second intermission, "You can clinch the Gold Pan in the next 20 minutes." Result: Gold Pan firmly in DU's possession until at least 2007.

Six of DU's next eight games are at home. DU needs to win at least 6 of the next 8 games to create "seperation" in the WCHA and improve the RPI position.

When CC starts running your goaltender, it means you are playing well. Scotty Owens (a former goaltender) has a few tricks up his sleave. Oh yeah, running the goaltender is the one penalty the referees NEVER miss and ALWAYS call.

In the happy moments of the second period on Friday night, when Colorado College seemed on its way to a convincing win against the University of Denver, someone at World Arena held up a sign that proclaimed, "Dude, DU Isn't Good This Year." Memo to CC-Sign-Holder-Uppers: Wait until there's 2 minutes left in the game or until CC wins a National Championship, whichever come first...

Dingle had blood all over the front of his jersey on Saturday. Not sure if it was from a cut nose/lip or a "raw" New York Strip served in the pregame meal. Now, who's the Tiger?

One great thing about this DU team, even when they were struggling, they were winning faceoffs.

Don't ask Gwoz about the Gold Pan. He's getting a little "testy" with reporters on the subject. Although a sign, "Hey Gwoz, if we buy you a new Gold Pan do you promise not to lose it?," might be funny...

Puck Swami's Ranking of Most Famous DU Athletes in History

(Left) Penguins GM Craig Patrick at the NHL's Draft Lottery Board

1. Keith Magnuson (Hockey) - Two time Denver all-American defenseman who won two NCAA titles with Pioneers in 1968 and 69 and went on to long career with Chicago Blackhawks as both a player and coach. Best known of the 50+ NHL players to come out of Denver. Died in 2003 car crash.

2. Glenn Anderson (Hockey) - Played in 1979 for Denver and Canadian Olympic team and went on to a 500+point NHL career, mostly with the Edmonton Oilers glory teams of their Stanley Cup era in the 1980s.

3. Craig Patrick (Hockey) - Captain of an NCAA title team in 1969 with Denver, Patrick played in the NHL for many years, was the assistant coach of the 1980 "Miracle on Ice" Gold Medal US Hockey team, became AD at Denver, GM of the New York Rangers and is now president and GM of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

4. Dan Schatzeder (Baseball) - Former Pioneer pitching and hitting star turned journeyman pitcher for a number of MLB teams for 15 years, but won a World Series Ring with the Minnesota Twins (1987). Best known of Denver's six players to make it to major league baseball.

5. Vince Boryla (Basketball) - Was an All-American at Denver in 1949-50 and went on to become a US Olympic and NBA player, head coach and GM all with the New York Knicks, as well as an basketball executive with other teams. Best known of the 5 DU players to play in the NBA.

6. Kevin Dineen (Hockey) - Former Pioneer captain played 20+ years in the NHL, including all-star years with Hartford and Philadelphia. Retired in 2003.

7. Sam Etcheverry (Football) - Was a star QB for many years in the Canadian Football League from the 50s to the 70s and is a member of the CFL Hall of Fame. Brief NFL Stint with St. Louis Cardinals. Probably DU's best known football player.

8. Jerome Biffle (Track and Field) - DU's 1950 NCAA long jump champion who won 1952 Olympic Long Jump Gold Medal at Helsinki Olympics (24 feet, 10 inches). Died in 2002 after three decades coaching at Denver's East High School.

9. Peter McNab (Hockey) - Played long career with Boston Bruins and New Jersey Devils. Now Broadcaster for Colorado Avalanche

10. Byron Beck (Basketball) - Shooter played 10 years for Denver Nuggets in both ABA and NBA. Had his number retired by the Nuggets.

Honorable Mentions:
DU Basketball: David Adkins is a former Pioneer basketball player now known as "Sinbad" -- a moderately famous comedian. Former DU coach Stan Albeck coached at DU and later with San Antonio, New Jersey and Chicago in the NBA. Current San Antonio coach Greg Popovich has a masters' degree from DU. Denver's NBA players include Byron Beck (Denver Nuggets), Vince Boryla (NY Knicks) Jimmy Darden (Denver Nuggets) Don Putnam (St. Louis Bombers) Winfred Jacobs (St. Louis Bombers) and Bob Warlick (Detroit Pistons, San Fran Warriors, Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns). Misa Pavlickova played in WNBA (Utah Starzz and Phoenix Mercury) and for the Czech Republic in the 2004 Athens Olympics.

DU Baseball: Six DU players have made it to the big leagues. Henry Bostick (Philadelphia As), Ray Boggs (Boston Braves), Jack Tising (Pittsburgh Pirates) Steve Blateric (Cincinnati Reds, NY Yankees and California Angels), Craig Stimac (San Diego Padres) and Dan Schatzeder (Expos, Tigers, Giants, Phillies, Twins, Indians, Astros, Mets and Royals).

DU Hockey's NHLers: DU has produced about 50 NHLers including Keith Magnuson, Glenn Anderson, Craig Patrick, Kevin Dineen, Peter McNab, Bill Masterton, Bruce Affleck, Erik Andersson, Adam Berkhoel, Doug Berry, Ken Berry, Lyle Bradley, Matt Carle (Current), Cliff Korroll, Pete Lo Presti, Ron Grahame, Rich Preston, Marshall Johnston, Ed Beers, Rick Bragnalo, Mike Busniuk, Mike Christie, Antti Laaksonen (Current), Paul Comrie, Ed Cristofoli, Wade Dubielewicz, Dallas Gaume, Lex Hudson, Chris Kenady, George Konik, Mike Lampman, Jim Leavins, John MacMillan, Tom Martin, Dwight Mathiasen, Derek Mayer, Paul Messier, Gavin Morgan, Rob Palmer, Matt Pettinger (Current), Craig Redmond, Mark Rycroft (Current), Wayne Smith, Paul Stastny (Current), Vic Venasky, Bob Shires, Jim Wiste, Joe Noris, Tom Miller, George Morrison, Lynn Powis

DU's NFL players - Bob Balog (1949 - 1950 Pittsbugh Steelers), Greg Browning (1947 NY Giants), Fred Dreher (1938 Chicago Bears), Sam Etcheverry (1961 - 1962) (St. Louis Cardinals), Tom Fena (1937 Detroit Lions), Bob Gifford (1942 Brooklyn Dodgers), Bob Hazelhurst (1948 Boston Yanks), Ray Johnson (1937 - 1940) (Cleveland Rams, Chi Bears, Chi Cardinals), Mike Jurich (1941 - 1942 Brooklyn Dodgers), Don Stansauk (1950 - 1951 Green Bay Packers), Morgan Tiller (1941 - 1945) (Pittsburgh Steelers, Boston Yanks), John Woudenberg (1940 - 1949) (Pittsburgh Steelers, SF 49ers)

DU Soccer - Nat Borchers plays for the Colorado Rapids, and has appeared with the US National Team.

Administration - Lyman Bingham was the a star multisport athlete at DU from 1911-1915, and eventually become the first executive director of the US Olympic Committee in 1950.

The Butler Did It...

In a small luxury hockey arena near the Rocky Mountains, a crime has just been committed. Unfortunately for the victims, Brent Sterling and Marty Sertich, their 2006 Hobey Baker Trophy has just been stolen. To make matters worse the 6,000+ witnesses in Magness Arena aren't talking. To top it off, the "Butler" really did commit the crime.

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In this case it was DU freshman defenseman Chris Butler, who had his "breakout" game scoring the decisive first goal and then chipping in two power play assists for good measure.

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Lets just say that DU's 5-1 victory and series sweep against the team formerly known as the Tigers, was a watershed moment for the Back2Back Defense Campaign. There were so many heroes. The defensemen who shut down CC's amazing scoring machine. Peter Mannino who did a reasonably impressive Glenn Fisher impersonation in goal (actually its pretty tragic that a goal with 0:00.7 seconds left in the 2nd period cost Mannino his third career shutout of Colorado College). The Power Play unit which went 4 for 6. And so on and so on and so on...

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J.D. Corbin got his offensive game back on track with a sweet shorthanded goal. It was a beautiful breakaway opportunity when he got loose on the right side, broke to the goal, deaked the goalie a half dozen times, and then seemingly waited for someone to pass to and when no one materialized went top shelf on the CC goalie.

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Matt Carle picked up his usual three assists. For those of you keeping score at home, that's seven assists for the series, not a bad haul for the weekend. Ryan Dingle, the other half of the Dynamic Duo scored two more goals to increase his team lead in goals. Gabe Gauthier added another goal and two helpers.

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Somebody must have been marking Brent Sterling and Marty Sertich all weekend because as usual they tallied no points against the Pioneers. Denver's Andrew Thomas was all over Sterling all weekend, but at the end of the day "The Butler Did It..."

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Case Closed. Bring on the Seaswolves...

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DU Lineup Against CC

LW Geoff Paukovich / C Paul Stastny / RW Ryan Dingle

LW Ryan Helgason / C Gabe Gauthier / RW Patrick Mullen

LW Tom May / C Michael Handza / RW J.D. Corbin

LW Ted O'Leary / C Steven Cook / RW Jon James

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LD Matt Carle / LD T.J. Fast

LD Chris Butler / RD Andrew Thomas

LD JP Testweide / RD Julian Marcuzzi

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G The "Catholic Rotation" - FISH on Friday & Mannino on Saturday

DU 4 - CC 2 "That's one less Hobey candidate from CC. Where's the other one?"

Holy Cow Batman, DU Smokes CC 4-2

(Left) Matt Carle watches the night sky over Colorado Springs light up with the DU logo after a dramatic come from behind victory over CC on Friday Night.

Consolation College is finding it increasingly difficult to achive its 100th victory against your University of Denver Pioneers. DU now leads the all-time series 149-99-8. Lets run through the latest four game losing streak. First CC had sole possession of the MacNaughton on the line in Magness Arena last year in the regular season finale; Peter Mannino "riddled" them in a shutout for the good guys. No problem, CC had its first ever Broadmoor Trophy on the line against the good guys in the Final Five Championship Game; no goals for the Hobey Brothers and another shutout for the Prince of Darkness Mannino. Thats OK, the Frozen Four Semi-Final in Columbus would be the locale of redemption; CC scored some goals, but unfortunately their Penalty Kill looked like it was designed by the Joker. Which brings us to tonight, another sweet victory for the Batmen, led by the Dynamic Duo of Matt Carle and Ryan Dingle.

DU scored the most unlikely of victories in World Arena with a fantastic come from behind victory. CC led 2-0 midway through the game, when the power play started clicking and DU began playing like superheroes. If Matt Carle is Batman, that would make Ryan Dingle, Robin. Carle had assists on all four goals and got his 2006 Batman for Hobey Campaign© off to a flying start. Dingle on the otherhand, was all over the ice and picked up two nifty goals.

That brings up to Ryan Helgason. He scored what turned out to be the key goal of the game on a 4 on 4 with just over a minute to go in the Second Period. The goal which leveled the game at 2-2, gave the team a huge lift as they headed into the Bat Cave for the second intermission. You could feel the air getting "sucked" out of the World Arena when his goal went through a heap of CC players and the pads of Matt Zaba.

Throw in the obligatory Gabe Gauthier dramatic one timer from the back of the faceoff circle and a nifty little "eightball-in-the-corner-pocket-off-the-wall-and-down-three-quarters-of-the-ice" shot by Dingle aka Robin and you have BIG MO back behind the Pioneers.

Dammit Alfred, start the Batmobile and attach the Bandwagon we're going to Milwaukee...

GO DU - BEAT CC

Veideman Out 2-3 Weeks

DU "Supersub" Adrian Veideman will miss two to three weeks due to a shoulder seperation suffered in the UMASS game. Veideman has played every position except goaltender for the Pioneers and on every possible line over the past two seasons, was responsible for stabilizing the defense the past two weekends.

He was hospitalized last night due to a staph infection and had successful surgery to clean out the shoulder and provide antibotics.

In the UMASS game Veideman had a goal and two assists while playing defense. In recent weeks his work on the blueline on DU's 1st Power Play unit was instrumental in improving the effectiveness of the special teams.
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We wish him a speedy recovery...

Harsh end to season still pains Owens

Scott Owens has reflected on the past season (Lemme guess, he would have liked to work on the PK the week before the Frozen Four, but he was too busy helping Marty Sertich write his Hobey acceptance speech).

Colorado College's hockey coach likes what comes back to him when he looks at the entirety of the year. But certain parts of the season stick with him more than others.

The season was similar to a Picasso - part real, part caricature and at the end, definitely part tragic (If CC season was a Picasso, DU's season was a Monet).

Owens doesn't wake up in cold sweats, but he would love to get back a few minutes of his last game (Uh, 24 minutes of shorthanded hockey is more than a "few" minutes, its almost half the game). Refreshing your memory, that was a 6-2 loss in the national semifinal to the national champion Denver Pioneers (cue the DU fight song).

The Pioneers looked like champions in that game, the Tigers efficiently played the role of chumps (chumps, chimps its all the same).

"I have a pain in my gut for how we lost," Owens said. "If it's up and down, end to end, great play after great play and we lose 3-2 - OK. But to give up 12 power-play opportunities and to give them six (goals) . . . "

Owens paused a few moments, to drink his scotch and finished, "We didn't give ourselves a chance," he sobbed.

Losing to Denver, for the third consecutive game (and 149th time overall), was like your daughter marrying a Texan. From an emotional standpoint, a loss to Wayne State or Alabama-Huntsville would've been easier to take.

Original Story From: MILO F. BRYANT Gazette Sports columnist

DU Alumni Currently Playing Pro Hockey

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DU's excellent poster "Duper" did some research and came up with this current list and statistics of DU players in the professional ranks. He wins a "Pioneer Burger" at Spanky's (UAA Weekend).

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Goalies

GP - W - L - GAA - S PCT

Adam Berkhoel - Atlanta Thrashers(NHL) - 8 - 2 - 4 - 4.08 - .876

Adam Berkhoel - Chicago Wolves(AHL) - 3 - 1 - 2 - 3.02 - .922

Wade Dubeliewicz - Bridgeport Sound Tigers(AHL) - 9 - 2 - 7 - 4.55 - .870

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Skaters

Player - Team - League - GP - G - A - P - +/- - PM

NHL

Antti Laaksonen - Colorado Avalanche - 26 - 7 - 8 - 15 - -8 - 30 (3 PPG)

Matt Pettinger - Washington Capitals - 19 - 5 - 3 - 8 - +2 - 12 (1 SHG)

Mark Rycroft - St. Louis Blues - 20 - 3 - 1 - 4 - -5 - 12

AHL

Ryan Caldwell - Bridgeport Sound Tigers - 13 - 1 - 2 - 3 - -5 - 14

Kevin Doell - Chicago Wolves - 17 - 4 - 4 - 8 - 0 - 2

Connor James - Manchester Monarchs - 20 - 5 - 7 - 12 - +6 - 18

Aaron McKenzie - Peoria Rivermen - 10 - 1 - 1 - 2 - +1 - 10 (1 PPG)

Gavin Morgan - Peoria Rivermen - 18 - 1 - 7 - 8 - +1 - 24

Brett Skinner - Manitoba Moose - 20 - 2 - 8 - 10 - +1 - 21 (1 PPG)

ECHL

Jeff Drummond - Long Beach Ice Dogs - 10 - 0 - 0 - 0 - -1 - 2 (injured twice)

Luke Fulghum - Pensacola Ice Pilots - 14 - 6 - 6 - 12 - -6 - 12 (2PPG, 1SHG)

Chris Kenady - Long Beach Ice Dogs - 17 - 2 - 9 - 11 - 0 - 24 (1PPG)

Kevin Ulanski - Long Beach Ice Dogs - 14 - 2 - 4 - 6 - +6 - 6 (1SHG)

CHL

Erik Adams - Colorado Eagles - 9 - 1 - 1 - 2 - +1 - 6 (1PPG)

Jon Foster - Corpus Cristi Rayz - 14 - 3 - 2 - 5 - -1 - 14

UHL

Greg Barber - Rockford Ice Hogs - 18 - 10 - 10 - 20 - +10 - 12 (1PPG, 3GWG)

Travis Smith - Roanoke Valley Vipers-16 - 0 - 2 - 2 - +1 - 20

SPHL

James Patterson - Huntsville Havoc - 11 - 5 - 12 - 17 - +1 - 20(1PPG, 1GWG)

Overseas Players

Jussi Halme - JYP Jyvaskala (Finland)

Derek Mayer - Riessersee SC (Germany)

Jordan Bianchin - Aisago (Italy)

Kelly Popadynetz - Herning IK (Denmark)

List of Pioneers Who Played Professional Hockey

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Here's a link to Hockey Database's List of many Pioneer players who played professional hockey over the years with teams, statistics & leagues played in. Current players statistics will be a year old. Unfortunately, there appears to be several omissions.

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A list of DU's most notable NHL'ers

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A complete list of DU players who have played professional hockey is avaliable in the DU Media Guide available in the Magness Arena Shop.

What Happened to DU's Senior Class...

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(Left) Gabe Gauthier has led the Pioneers to two National Championships

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Yesterday, Coach Gwozdecky was asked during Ask the Coach...

Danielle (Boulder): Most of the national championship team from last year returns for the 2005-2006 season... team's leading scorer, WCHA Rookie of the Year, Frozen Four MVP...With all this returning talent, how is it that you began the season ranked number one and have gradually slipped to 15 in the national polls?

Coach Gwozdecky: Through our last two National Championship runs, we have had the great luxury of a good sized senior class. These seniors have been strong, skilled and had valuable experience. We are challenged this year with having only one senior who has been a regular in our lineup over the last three years. As a result, we have asked many of our younger and more inexperienced players to assume roles of primary responsibility that they are slowly getting comfortable with.

I thought this was a very candid answer, so I went back to Heisenberg's site and did a little research to see what was going on at DU in 2001, during the Letter of Intent signing periods. This was a very pivotal moment in DU's Hockey History. The Pioneers had their last losing season under Coach Gwozdecky in 1999-2000 and may not have been on the radar of the top college hockey "blue chippers." Down the road in Colorado Springs, Don Lucia was in the process of moving on to Minnesota and Scott Owens was taking over the reins at CC.

During the "Early LOI" period (March-May, 2001), DU signed Brett Skinner and Ryan Dingle. (During this period DU also signed Jon Foster, Kevin Ulanski and Nick Larson, who were "late signees" coming to DU in the following Spring). Skinner was a huge prize for the coaching staff. He was a Canadian defenseman who played for Des Moines in the USHL. At 6'1" 170 lbs. he might have been on the "skinny" side, but Heisenberg had him listed as the #2 recruit in the USHL and the #1 defenseman. During his DU playing career he improved unbelievably and eventually became an All-American his Junior season. As we all know, he signed with the Vancouver Canucks a year early. The other signee, Ryan Dingle from Steamboat Springs ended up deferring his college admission at DU for two seasons, but has been a fantastic addition for the Pioneers. So if you were to grade DU's recruiting signees in the Fall of 2001 you would have to give the coaches an "A" or perhaps an "A+", when you factor in the contributions made by Foster, Ulanski and Larson during the Championship runs. There were some real "finds" there.

During the Fall Signing Period of 2001 DU inked commitments from Gabe Gauthier, Scott Drewicki, and Glenn Fisher. Gabe Gauthier was a another huge signing for the DU coaching staff. Gauthier was a Californian playing for the Chilliwack Chiefs along with Jeff Tambellini, who ended up being a superstar with Michigan. Tambellini racked up 129 points for Michigan in just three seasons, but like Skinner signed a professional contract a year early. Tambellini was considered to be the #1 recruit out of British Columbia and Gauthier #2.

Gauthier narrowed his choices down to Boston University and DU. Gabe's father was so sure that he was heading to Boston, that he loaded up on BU Hockey shirts on a recruiting visit. Gabe had played some prep hockey out East, so he was familiar with the area. Something must have happened on his visit to Denver, however, because Gabe choose the Pioneers in a bit of a surprise at the time. One GWG against Maine, two National Championships and over 100 career points later and Gauthier is a shoo-in for the DU Hall of Fame.

Glenn Fisher was signed during the 2001 Fall signing period as well. He was always slated to come to DU a year after Gauthier. Fisher was a prize recruit considered by Inside College Hockey to be the #1 incoming goaltender. The Scott Drewicki signing can only be descibed as a "bust." He was a sought after prospect from Alberta, and was ranked by Heisenberg as the #2 defenseman and #13 prospect overall. When DU signs a player out of Canada, big things are expected. In a season and a half at DU he saw limited duty with the Pioneers appearing in 28 games and notching up two assists. He quit the team during the middle of first Championship season and transferred to Merrimack. The irony was that as soon as he quit in his sophmore season, DU had a rash of injuries and he would have seen more playing time. Add to the fact that he walked out on two National Championships and perhaps a key role this season. Hard to say what kind of a grade you would give the Fall Signees. Skinner is one of the top Power Play defensemen in DU history and he played a pivotal role in two Championships. Perhaps a "B," but it sure would be handy to have a few more Seniors on the roster right now.

Ted O'Leary was a Late Signee in the Spring of 2002. He has played in two National Championship games, is the Assistant Captain this season and as we all know is a three time WCHA All-Academic Team selection. You have to love what he has contributed to the Pioneers over his career. The coaches frequently point to his leadership and hard work to motivate the younger guys. Ted has two rings and the respect of every Pioneer fan.

So there you have it. The 2001 recuits who played a pivotal role in delivering two National Championships to the Pioneers. Today the Pioneers only have two Seniors on the Roster and with the big CC series this weekend, perhaps the entire season hangs in the balance. A split or better and the Pioneers can improve their RPI postion towards an NCAA bid. Against all odds, DU's two lonely Seniors are going to have to lead the way for DU to return to Milwaukee.