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| (above) Things are returning to normal in PioNation. DU in first place and Colorado College in last place |
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The DU Men's basketball team held a lead at halftime but eventually fell to Stanford 66-57 at Magness Arena on Sunday. Chris Udofa scored 20 points and had 10 rebounds for the Pioneers.
13 comments:
Congrats to the NCHC Goaltender of the Week, SR Sam Brittain of @DU_Hockey! Posted .947 save%, 54 total saves & shutout on Sat. #NCHCHockey
What a difference a year has made for Sam. He looks much more relaxed. I think his great numbers are a result of:
1.) Hard work in the off season
2.) Losing his starting job last year.
Congrats to Great Brittain.
The blueliners in front of him are pretty awesome as well.
Almost 50% of the goals coming from the Dmen.
DU's penalty kill is impressive. It has to be since they have racked up a lot of time in the penalty box. I hope Monty is addressing that problem this week.
Monty has changed the style a bit on offense as well. Less dumping the pucks in the corners and scrumming for the puck. They seem to be skating/passing the puck across the blue line. It is more like BC's style. I think less pounding on the forwards during the course of the season and maybe fewer injuries. Great series!
Montgomery specifically mentioned "dumb penalties" in his post-game remarks on Friday night.
I'd imagine it will be a point of emphasis not only this week, but going forward as well.
To me, however, the issue is not only that DU is taking too many penalties; but that too often, the wrong guys are taking them. Didier, Makowski, LaLeggia, Larraza, and Loney all spent time in the box this past weekend...and all of those guys are either on the #1 or #2 penalty kill. If WMU were at all decent on the power-play, the weekend could have turned out very, very differently for DU.
Really though, that's a small quibble.
All in all, not too much bad can be said about the way DU competed this past weekend. On the big come-down after a rivalry weekend, and with the students beginning to gear up for finals, I was a bit concerned with what kind of effort the boys were going to put forth. Save for the first period on Friday, I really needn't have worried.
Oh. One observation:
Montgomery's systems are much less passive than the ones Gwoz usually employed. They are designed to reward skill, risk-taking, and creativity, but require a huge amount of commitment from each player to know his role and understand what's going on around him at every moment. If Monty is able to (a) continue to get "buy in" from his existing players; and (b) recruit the right players to run 'em, DU will be a damned fun team to watch....
Also...with a home-and-home with Air Force on the docket this coming weekend, it will be interesting to see if Cowley gets a start.
If DU wins in Colorado Springs on Friday night, I wouldn't be surprised if Evan sees his first non-exhibition home action of the year on Saturday night...
Yeah, The Cow needs some exposure, soon. Absolutely no reason to think he won't preform. He is a Panther kitten that needs some time off the bench. It will be a good thing.
Cowley played in the Alaska tournament earlier this season. It was not an exhibition. If I am coaching Sam plays every game. This is not like the pros where you can play 4 games in 5 or 6 nights. DU only plays 2 games a week. No reason to change a good thing. Also DU recruit Tyler Pham will now be attending West Point. Good luck to him.
Cowley was the seventh goalie selected in the NHL Draft — first pick of the 4th round, 92nd overall by the Florida Panthers.
Since Brittain was also drafted by the Panthers, they probably don't mind that Sammy's pulling the load.
Since DU's out of conference record is so terrible right now, these nonconference games are more important to the Pairwise than the NCHC tilts.
DU men’s soccer will face Louisville in the 1st round of the NCAA Tournament. DU will play at Louisville on Thursday, Nov. 21 at 5 PM MT.
Tyler Pham sbeen a long time DU commit, but an appointment to West Point would be hard to turn down. Best of luck to him.
I certainly can't speak for every DU hockey fan, but I'm happy with the start to this season. 1st place in the league, solid special teams and goal tending, and for the most part, a good work ethic. Really hoping DU can get 2 wins vs AFA before the series with Miami.
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