Twitter: Adam Murray To Start In Goal Tonight

(above) Mike Chambers of the Denver Post announced that Adam Murray will start for DU tonight

Two Front Page Articles About DU-CC Series

(above) DU's homegrown heroes receive a little facetime in the Denver Post today

The front pages of the Colorado Springs Gazette and Denver Post sports sections had fantastic articles today about college hockey.

The Gazette focused on the matchup tonight between #14 ranked Colorado College and #2 ranked DU.  The Post looked at the Colorado Thunderbirds hockey development program and the inroads that have been made in youth hockey in Colorado in recent years.

Gazette: Gold Pan Match-up

Post: In-state Pipeline to DU

DU Recruits Go For USHL Title Tonight

(above) DU recruit Dakota Mermis will be a mainstay on the DU blueline next season

From: Green Bay Press-Gazette
by Weston Hodkiewicz

The Green Bay Gamblers will face Waterloo tonight in a deciding Game Five for the USHL Championship. Two DU recruits, team captain Grant Arnold and Dakota Mermis play for Green Bay. Former DU assistant coach Derrek Lalonde is the head coach for the Gamblers. 

Grant Arnold never will forget May 12, 2010.

Then a first-year forward for the Green Bay Gamblers, it was that day Arnold stood before a deafening crowd at the Resch Center moments after the Gamblers defeated the Fargo Force 5-3 to capture their first USHL Clark Cup postseason championship in a decade.

All told, it took 72 games and every minute of the best-of-five championship series to put the Force away, but finally capturing that elusive championship made it every bit as memorable.

"I'll remember that night for the rest of my life," said Arnold, now a team captain in his third year with the Gamblers. "With 8,500 here and a sellout (crowd), the moment that buzzer hit zero was awesome. Hopefully, we'll do that again."

Arnold is one of three players left from the 2010 Clark Cup championship team For the last three seasons, Arnold has had front-row seats to one of the greatest runs in league history with three consecutive Clark Cup finals appearances, two Anderson Cup regular-season titles and one postseason crown.

The Gamblers split their home series with the Black Hawks last weekend before winning Game 3 in Waterloo Friday. They had a shot to close it out last Saturday, but fell 5-3 to force Game 5. 

"It's a great way to close the book of an unreal ride," said Arnold, who will play at Denver next year. "We'll definitely look back on this window and be very thankful for everything that's happened."

Lalonde Breaks USHL Rookie Coaching Record

(above) Former DU assistant coach Derek Lalonde broke a USHL coaching record last Friday night

From: The World Of Junior Hockey

With a victory over the Youngstown Phantoms this past Friday, Green Bay Gamblers head coach Derek Lalonde recorded his 42nd victory surpassing Eric Rud (41) for most wins by a first year head coach in USHL history.

Lalonde became just the fifth coach in USHL history to lead a team to the Anderson Cup [best USHL regular season record] in the first season behind the bench in the League. The last coach to accomplish that feat was Jon Cooper with the Green Bay Gamblers during the 2008-09 season. Lalonde is also only the second coach in USHL history to reach the 40-win mark in his first season, following Eric Rud who won 41 games last season with the Gamblers.

“It is a great honor to have accomplished these feats in my first season with the amount of great coaches that have coached in the USHL,” said Derek Lalonde, “I certainly benefited from coming into a great organization where a lot of the good pieces were already in place.”

Prior to coming to the Gamblers, Lalonde spent the past five seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Denver. While at Denver, Lalonde assisted in all aspects with the DU program, including recruiting, video breakdown, goaltending and skill development. Lalonde helped the Pioneers to two WCHA Championships (2008 & 2010), four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances and 122-63-19 record in five seasons as assistant coach.

While at DU, Lalonde helped recruit six nationally-ranked recruiting classes. He recruited 11 NHL draft picks, including first round picks Beau Bennett and Joe Colborne. Lalonde also recruited second round selections Jason Zucker, Patrick Wiercioch, Drew Shore and William Wrenn, and non-drafted recruits Tyler Bozak and Anthony Maiani.

Currently the Gamblers are three wins shy of their team record 45 victories which was set during their 2009-10 Anderson Cup-winning season. They are also nine points shy of the team record 95 points they earned in the standings in 2009-10.

DU recruits Dakota Mermis [5g, 18a] and Grant Arnold [5g, 8a] plays for LaLonde on the Green Bay squad.

DU Lands Colorado Native Grant Arnold

(above) Grant Arnold [#34] will bring a physical presence at forward next season

Grant Arnold

Forward Grant Arnold (6'2 215 lbs.) of the USHL Green Bay Gamblers has committed to the University of Denver. Arnold is the third player on the Gamblers roster to commit to the Pioneers, joining forward Conner Honey and defensemen Dakota Mermis.

In two seasons with the Gamblers, Arnold appeared in 101 games registering 13 goals and 19 assist. Last season, the Centennial, Colorado native played a pivotal role in his team reaching a 2nd straight Clark Cup Finals.

This season, Arnold was selected team captain by his teammates along with Max Hartner. At the 2011 Fall Classic, Arnold recorded his first hat trick in the USHL in a win over Tri-City 8-3.

Arnold is being coached this season in Green Bay by former DU assistant coach Derek Lalonde.

2012 Recruiting Class
F Tyler Pham (Indiana Ice, USHL)
D Dakota Mermis (Green Bay, USHL)
D Matt Van Voorhis (Sioux Falls, USHL)
F Garrett Allen (Unknown)
D Nolan Zajac (Cedar Rapids, USHL)
F Quentin Shore (U.S. Under-18)
F Connor Honey (Green Bay, USHL)
F Grant Arnold (Green Bay, USHL)

2013 Recruiting Class
F Brad Hawkinson (Lincoln Stars, USHL)
F Landon Smith (Cedar Rapids, USHL)
F Connor Chatham (U.S. Under-17)
F Ray Pigozzi (Des Moines, USHL)
D Will Butcher (U.S. Under-17)

2014 Recruiting Class
F Jared Fiegl (Colorado Rampage, U-16)
D Gage Ausmus (U.S. Under-17)
F Trevor Moore (Tri-Cities, USHL)