JP Testwuide Enrolled In "Playoff Beard Contest"

(above) J.P. Testwuide's Playoff Beard is coming in nicely

The Houston Aeros (AHL) signed University of Denver Alum JP Testwuide to an amateur tryout contract for the remainder of the 2008-09 season. J.P. has appeared in three of the Aeros ten playoff games.

The big news is that the Aeros are having a beard growing contest and fans can vote for the "Sickest Beard Contest." Since J.P.'s fanbase in Houston is probably a little thin right now, it looks like LetsGoDU is going to have to pull off a "Danny King" and rig this election. Send an email to the Aeros and vote for J.P.

Send the name of your vote to online@aeros.com and reasoning behind your choice can’t hurt. The judges can be bribed. The beards will be revisited as the playoffs roll on and the winner will be announced and probably awarded a Bic razor when the playoffs are through.

DU Needs To Recruit This Guy

(above) Braydon Klimosko fights for the puck in the corner

When the Camrose Kodiaks, featuring two of DU's prized recruits, took on the Humbodlt Broncos (from Saskatewan) yesterday, one player stood tall for the Broncos. Brayden Klimosko may only stand 5'7, but he weighs 220 lbs. The word bowling ball comes to mind, but it turns out that he's also one of the better players on the Humbodlt team.

During the regular season he had 10 goals and 27 assists in 48 games and added 7 goals and 10 assists in 19 playoff games. Klimosko was named league championship series MVP for his outstanding play last week. He scored four points (1g, 3a), but it was his consistent, gritty play and leadership that earned him the MVP.

Even Joe Colborne weighed in on the Klimosko debate in posting in the Coming Down the Pipeline Blog.

"On a positive note, we finally played against a player who was heavier than Macleod! The program said he was only 5'7" and 225 lbs, but he seemed both shorter and heavier than that!"

If LetsGoDU can draw national media attention in promoting Danny King for the 2006 Hobey Baker Award, surely we can mount a campaign to bring Klimosko to DU next season.

Rink Rat Blog Has DU At #1

From: CSTV's Rink Rat Blog

In all the excitement this week we overlooked our favorite CSTV journalist Elliot Olshansky. No point dissin' the man who made former DU backup goaltender Danny King a national folk hero.

1. Denver - No disrespect to Michigan, but I'm still loving Denver's proven goaltending and experienced defensive corps along with a more-than-capable group of forwards. I also love the poise on this team, as displayed in the comeback win at St. Cloud. Sweeping a road series in the WCHA is a tall order no matter where you are, and the Pioneers came through. None of their four losses is anything to be ashamed of, and I still like the Pioneers if you put them on a neutral sheet with Michigan tomorrow.

Another DU Alum Connection

Editor's Note: The article below was contributed by "Donald," UAA's self absorbed, probably insane SuperFan. He has his own UAA Fan Blog but due to low readership and a self-imposed Mental Health Break this offseason he's been relatively quiet this Spring.

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Donald has been banned from USCHO.com & Gopher Puck Live's message boards (not that there's anything wrong with that), but still has full writing privledges at LetsGoDU. He's probably the Hunter S. Thompson of college hockey writers. In other words, if you don't "get" the article, you're not alone.

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Hopefully we will all get through this painfully long offseason.

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Enjoy...
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dg

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Danny King has had much to celebrate this offseason. Not only can he be proud of his fine career at DU he can look to his extended family for additonal celebration of great hockey achievements. Danny's second-cousin twice-removed Robb Gray backstopped the Dubai Mighty Camels team to 2nd place in premiere league tournament action last month at the Al Nasr Leisureland ice rink:

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From the Khaleej Times Sportspage:
A Correspondent:

IN WHAT some ice hockey enthusiasts claim was the best hockey game ever played in the the UAE and Al Nasr Leisureland ice rink, Abu Dhabi's Al Wahda ice hockey team eked past the ABN AMRO Dubai Mighty Camels Black team with a 4-3 victory in sudden-death overtime.

The winning goal was tipped in by Vitaly Saveko, assisted by Yura Faijkov after 13 minutes 51 seconds of intense overtime action. The Dubai Camels battled valiantly and had several opportunities to score, but just couldn't put the puck into the back of the net.

It was the final game in the three-day annual Dubai International ice Hockey Tournament, hosted by the Dubai Mighty Camels, and one that kept Dubai fans on the edge of their seats, and offering a spectacular example of ice hockey at its best.

The tournament featured action at three levels with the Khansaheb Buds winning top honours in the B Division and the Kuwait Mooseheads claiming honours in the C Division.

In Friday's other action, the Kuwait Mooseheads faced off against the Dubai Mighty Camels White during the C Division final and won 5-0. Dan Summers claimed a hat-trick for Kuwait in the final game. Earlier in the day, in a game against the Dhahran Saad Falcons Whites, Summers put in four goals for a 6-0 victory that clinched the team's place in the final game for the C division.

Summers was awarded the MVP of the game for the Kuwait Mooseheads, while Dubai goalie, Jack Guerreiro was chosen as MVP for the Camels in the final match.

In the B Division the Khansaheb Buds faced off against the Kuala Lumpur Cobras and won top honours with a 3-0 final score. Dave Roberts scored two goals for Khansaheb and Jifi Hiratsuka scored one.

Game MVP for Kuala Lumpur was Matt Pritchard while Dave Roberts claimed the game MVP title for Khansaheb in the final game in the B Division. But the tournaments most intense action, was without a doubt, the final game in the premiere division which took the ongoing Dubai-Abu Dhabi rivalry to new heights.

The Dubai Camels were first on the scoreboard, with Ron Berry putting one past goalie Andrei Froulev just 59 seconds into the game. By the end of the first half, the score was tied 2-2, with a second goal by Rob Proctor for Dubai, while Vitaly Saveko and Yura Faijkov each scored one for Al Wahda.

Just under three minutes into the second half of the game, Ali Al Mazroui put the puck past a diving Dubai goalie Robb Gray, putting Al Wahda in the lead 3-2.

Then, with 8:54 left on the clock in the second half, and Al Wahda serving a two-minute penalty for having too many players on the ice Ron Murphy blasted a shot into the twine to tie the game at 3. At the end of the game, the score remain knotted at 3, forcing play into sudden death overtime.

Following the final game, a series of awards were presented. Jason Young, who played with the Khansaheb Buds was named the Best Defender of the tournament for superb defence action throughout the three-day tournament.
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Personally, I'm a big Kuwait Mooseheads fan but hey ... way to go Al Wahda! Anyway ... no doubt the Mighty Camels will kick their assess next year! And how about that writing from "A Correspondent"? "A" definitely writes in the tradition of the greats like Grantland Rice. It's humbling.

Lastly I wanted to share this message from Ron Murphy of the Dubai Mighty Camels (in case you didn't actually use the Mighty Camels link):

Dear Camels,

To all interested camels that needs a good skate in the month of May and June we have " ICE available every SUNDAY " from 9:00 PM , till you drop over. ( 9:15 PM for Jerry) everybody is welcome to join bring beers and girlfriends to share.

Thanks,
Ron Murphy

DU Announces Post Season Awards
Fisher Wins MVP, Ruegsegger's GPA Creates Buzz

From: DU Athletics Website

(left) Glenn Fisher capped off a tremendous DU Career by winning the Bill Masterton award as DU's MVP

Senior goaltender Glenn Fisher earned Most Valuable Player honors, while redshirt freshman Brock Trotter, freshman Tyler Ruegsegger and senior alternate captain J.D. Corbin earned two awards each as the University of Denver celebrated its 51st Annual Hockey Awards Evening tonight at The Cable Center on the DU campus.

In addition to honoring Fisher, the Pioneers celebrated their 2006-07 season and said goodbye to seniors Steven Cook, Mike Handza, Ryan Helgason, Danny King, Adrian Veideman, Corbin and Fisher. DU also honored junior Ryan Dingle, who left DU after three seasons when he signed a professional contract with Anaheim on March 27.

Fisher earned the Bill Masterton Memorial Award (MVP) after enjoying his finest season as a Pioneer by leading the team with a 13-9-2 overall record. He established career bests with a 2.32 goals against average and .919 saves percentage. Fisher recorded three shutouts, including back-to-back shutouts against Wisconsin and Michigan Tech, and ended Minnesota's 21-game home unbeaten streak with a 31-save shutout effort on Jan. 19. He stopped a career-high 47 shots in a 4-3 overtime win at St. Cloud State and set a personal best with a shutout minutes streak of 158:03. Fisher was named one of 10 finalists for the inaugural Lowe's Senior CLASS Award for classroom, character and community in addition to performance in the hockey rink during this season.

Trotter earned the Leading Scorer Award and "Star of the Year" Award. He made a successful return to the ice after suffering a season-ending Achilles tendon injury early last season. Trotter became the first DU freshman to lead the team in scoring since Dave Shields in 1986-87 when he netted a team-leading 40 points on 16 goals and 24 assists. He tied for the team lead with 12 multi-point games, including four three-point efforts. Trotter set a career high with three assists in DU's 5-1 win over RPI on Oct. 21. Trotter helped DU to 13 home wins and was named the No. 1 star in three games this season.

Ruegsegger was honored with the Barry Sharp Memorial Award as DU's top freshman and shared the Dr. Art Mason Award as DU's top scholar-athlete with King. Ruegsegger led the Pioneers with a +15 plus/minus rating, while finishing fourth on the team in scoring with 34 points on 15 goals and 19 assists. Ruegsegger netted two points in his collegiate debut against Miami and was named the Red Baron WCHA Rookie of the Week for Jan. 16-22. Ruegsegger tallied a 3.96 GPA in general business this year for the Pioneers, while King earned his second consecutive Dr. Art Mason Award after posting a 3.91 grade-point average in finance and marketing during his senior season.

Corbin earned his second consecutive Dr. Ken Bredesen Award for sportsmanship and first Bob Martin Memorial Award for community service. Corbin committed just two penalties for four minutes and tallied six points on two goals and four assists in 10 games. Corbin missed 30 games this season after suffering a broken leg and ankle injury in practice in October. He made a triumphant return to the lineup when he netted his first career game-winning goal in DU's 4-3 overtime win over Frozen Four participant North Dakota on Feb. 23. Corbin shared the community service award with freshman Brandon Vossberg. Corbin and Vossberg participated in the Skate with the Pioneers event to benefit the Starlight Starbright Foundation and visited local children's hospitals and elementary schools. Corbin and Vossberg volunteered for the D.U. Youth Hockey program, participated in the Qwest Food Drive and made several public appearances on behalf of the Pioneer hockey program.

Sophomore J.P. Testwuide captured the Murray Armstrong Award as DU's most improved player. Testwuide proved to be DU's most versatile player this season. He started the season as a defenseman before combining with Handza and Cook on Denver's top defensive forward line. He contributed three assists and finished third on the team with 63 penalty minutes.

Veideman was honored with the Dr. Ralph Verploeg Award as DU's most inspirational player. Veideman led the Pioneers to their sixth consecutive 21-win season and a fourth-place finish in the WCHA. The Sicamous, British Columbia, native scored 13 points on three goals and 10 assists, while recording three multi-point games. Veideman missed four games after suffering a concussion against Colorado College, but returned in time to lead the Pioneers to their 12th Wells Fargo Denver Cup championship in 15 seasons.

Sophomore Chris Butler earned the Keith Magnuson Memorial Award as DU's top defensive player. Butler earned honorable mention All-USCHO All-America honors after scoring 27 points on 10 goals and 17 assists. He earned Ice Breaker Invitational and Wells Fargo Denver Cup All-Tournament honors, while leading DU with 110 blocked shots. Butler tied for second among WCHA defensemen with 20 points and seven goals in league play. He earned Red Baron WCHA Defensive Player of the Week honors for Oct. 9-15.

DU Faculty Athletics Representative Dr. Nancy Sampson recognized DU's 10 All-WCHA Academic honorees. Zach Blom, Butler, Cook, Corbin, Fisher, Helgason, King, sophomore Patrick Mullen, Testwuide and junior alternate captain Andrew Thomas were all honored for earning a 3.0 GPA or better this season. In addition, Blom, Cook, Corbin, Fisher and King were recognized for winning WCHA Scholar-Athlete Awards for GPA's of 3.5 or better.

DU Lands 10 Players On WCHA All-Academic Team

MADISON, Wis. - The University of Denver placed 10 of the 88 student-athletes on the 2006-07 All-WCHA Academic Team, announced today by the league office. Fifty of the 88 student-athletes are repeat honorees from last season.

Representing the Pioneers were junior Zach Blom, sophomore Chris Butler, senior Steven Cook, senior J.D. Corbin, senior Glenn Fisher, senior Ryan Helgason, senior Danny King, sophomore Patrick Mullen, sophomore J.P. Testwuide and junior Andrew Thomas. Blom, Cook, Corbin, Fisher, Helgason, King and Thomas are repeat selections for the Pioneers.

"On behalf of the entire membership of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, I want to commend each and every one of these 88 student-athletes for their outstanding academic accomplishments," said Commissioner Bruce M. McLeod. "They can take a great deal of pride in the fact that they have excelled both in the classroom while also competing at the highest level of collegiate athletics."

To earn a position on the annual All-WCHA Academic Team, member-team student-athletes must meet the following criteria: 1) have completed at least one year of residency at present institution prior to the current academic year; 2) have a grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.00 (on a 4.00 scale) for the previous two semesters or three quarters, or may qualify if his overall grade point average is at least 3.00 for all terms at his present institution. The conference has recognized an All-WCHA Academic Team each season since the league instituted the honor beginning in 1984-85.

Thanks For A Terrific Season

Firstly and most important I want to say thank you to the Seniors. They were a part of two incredible National Championships. I often said, "If DU never won another game after Boston, I'd still owe a debt of gratitude to the players who were involved with that experience." Obviously they've tested that philospophy, but I mean it.

Thanks to Seniors Veideman, Handza, Helgason, Corbin & Cook who ALWAYS played their hearts out, often with injuries. We can't thank them enough. These guys made so many sacrifices for the Program, while others got the glory.

Thanks to Glenn Fisher who was always MONEY in the Third Period and leaves DU with one of the best winning percentages of any goaltender who played here.

And to Danny King, two rings & All-WCHA Academic Team multiple times. I'd still take King over Brett Sterling any day.

In reality the death bell tolled for this team when we lost 3-0 to CC last week. With everything on the line and so much to play for, DU couldn't answer the challange. For the first time in four years, extraordinary effort couldn't get the job done.

When you look at the second and third period last night and you see the effort extended trying to fulfill their dreams and make it to Pepsi Center, it breaks your heart. These kids wanted it badly and missed the prize by one or two wins.

This is a team that won four games in overtime. They won or tied FIVE games in the last 10 seconds of regulation or overtime. Simply amazing. The team deserved a better fate than this.

Finally to the DU fans, some of who have spent hundreds and hundreds of dollars to buy Regional tickets that are now basically worthless. You deserve more, but hopefully DU will make the Frozen Four next season and the "investment' will be worth it in the long run.
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It was an incredible season and everyone associated with the Program deserves props. I don't care if they win or lose only that they play hard. This team played their guts out repeatedly all season long, particularly during the last ten games of the season. They just weren't good enough and thats not a crime. They've introduced thousands of new fans to college hockey in Denver and revitialized the Program. Tough way to end the season but thanks again to everyone.

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And oh yeah. CC still SUCKS...

5 DU Players Named As WCHA Scholar Athletes

Five DU players were honored as WCHA Scholar-Athletes for achieving a 3.5 GPA during the 2005-06 academic year:
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Zach Blom (Englewood)

Steven Cook (Denver)

JD Corbin (Denver)

Glenn Fisher (Edmonton)

Danny King (Colorado Springs)

Editorial
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College Hockey Recruiting
Where 7 minus 4 equals 0 Scholarships

As you may know DU has 7 Seniors on the team, but only 4 confirmed recruits for next season (Cheverie, Bozak, Martin & Ostrow). Add in the unexpected departure of T.J Fast and it would appear that DU has 8 spots open next season. The question is, why would DU make recruits Gregorie, Lee and/or potential recruit Riley Nash wait until '08?

I think the key lies with Steven Cook. He's a Senior, but I now think that DU is confident that he will be playing for the Pioneers in 2007. I have no inside information, just a hunch based on a few signs.

DU's star women's lacrosse player Kristie Leggio is in her 6th year of college. Like Cook she transferred (from Maryland) and sat out a year. DU applied for a "hardship" and now she's playing an extra season for the Pioneers. I believe that DU is using the same logic, plus Cook's injury at Air Force to apply for "an extra season."

We also know that Cook took the LSAT last weekend, so its not a stretch to think that he might be enrolling at DU's Law School next Fall.

With 6 or 7 players leaving, wouldn't DU still have extra scholarships available? Probably not, because "media darling" Danny King probably doesn't have a scholarship. Additionally, there might be several players on the current Roster that are playing with less than full scholarships that are "owed" better deals due to increased playing time or a previous agreement.

With Corbin coming back this weekend, one would assume that he is no longer a Redshirt Candidate and that might also free up a scholarship.

The final piece in the puzzle will be if Paukovich or Butler leave early for professional hockey. If a defenseman leaves early, that would presumably bring in Lee.

(above) Why our gender neutral "bird" was prostituting itself with the Chick-Fil-A Cow during the first intermission wasn't exactly clear, but I can assure you that the Denver Boone would have taken the Heffer down.


CSTV Bloggers Outakes & Notes From Last Night's Game

Elliot Olshansky from CSTV.com joined us before the game and had some comments about Spanky's, The Crimson Creatures (DU's Student Section) & the game. Here are some of the highlights:

• My pal DG Goddard of Let's Go DU fame invited me to drop by Spanky's Roadhouse before the game to hang out with some Denver and Minnesota Duluth fans, and I'm very glad I took him up on the offer (of course, after he advertised my appearance on his blog, I didn't have much of a choice).

• Two words about the Pioneers in the first period: Brock Trotter. The redshirt freshman was everywhere in the first period: scoring the power play goal to put DU up 1-0, nearly making it 2-0 on a shorthanded breakaway (he had Stalock beat, but his angle was off on the backhand shot, sending the puck back through the crease into the goal)...even when he got in trouble, he made it look good: he was knocked for a loop by the Bulldogs' Mason Raymond, drawing an interference penalty, and he scored a 9.5 (personally, I think the German judge was a bit rough on him). He was easily the most impressive player in the first period.

• The Pioneer student section - the "Crimson Creatures" are a little weaker in numbers than I might have expected, given last year's playoff history, but they're certainly a humorous bunch! Dig that penalty kill chant, guys!

• One more Pioneer who's impressed me tonight has been Chris Butler. He's maturing nicely into a top rearguard for this team and in the WCHA. He makes smart passes, controls the blueline well, and does an excellent job keeping the puck in.

• Finally, I withdraw my previous comment about the Crimson Creatures. They've filled up the student section nicely, and I was quite impressed when I made my way down there to shoot some photos in the second. One gentleman in particular impressed with his bathrobe. He wears it to every single game, because the one game he didn't wear it to was one he was thrown out of. The things people do for college hockey...I love it!

• With just over a minute left, Denver head coach George Gwozdecky made a lot of DU diehards happy when he gave senior goaltender and "Hobey Baker candidate" Danny King the first game action of his collegiate career. When the final buzzer sounded, the Pioneers skated off the bench and embraced King as if he'd been playing the entire game. Well, one thing's for certain: I definitely picked the right night to visit Magness Arena.

• All in all, I liked what I saw from the Pioneers. Their power play executed well, they won 50-50 battles, and did all the things that good teams do to win hockey games. There are some dynamic talents on this roster, including Brock Trotter (note to NHL scouts, he's still draft eligible), Rhett Rakhshani (that was one hell of a slap shot), Ryan Dingle (the cold streak belies the skills) and Chris Butler (an extremely solid No. 1 defenseman).

King Leads DU To Victory

Feb. 2, 2007 From DU Athletics Website

DENVER - Senior netminder Danny King saw his first regular season collegiate action tonight when he replaced Peter Mannino with 1:13 remaining in DU's 5-2 victory of the University of Minnesota Duluth. King has been a solid contributor to the DU hockey program for the past four years.

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Redshirt freshman Brock Trotter, and freshman Tyler Ruegsegger recorded a goal and two assists apiece to lead the #5 ranked Denver Pioneers to victory. Ryan Dingle, Rhett Rakhshani and Brian Gifford also recorded goals for the Pioneers and junior goaltender Peter Mannino recorded 19 saves as the DU improved to 20-9-2 and 12-7-2 in the WCHA.

DU held the Bulldogs' (9-17-3, 5-14-2) power play, ranked third in the nation coming into tonight's game, to one goal on seven chances, while the Pioneers scored three power-play goals of their own in eight opportunities.

"We were very timely in our goal scoring," said Denver Head Coach George Gwozdecky. "It was a bit of a nail-biter tonight, but it was great to see the guys kill penalties like they did against a very good power play."

The Pioneers scored first early in the opening frame when Trotter banged home the rebound of a Chris Butler shot from the point on the power play at 4:21.

DU took a 2-0 lead at 5:15 of the second period on Dingle's power-play tally. Only seconds after Rakhshani rung the crossbar from the left faceoff circle, Dingle picked up the rebound of a Ruegsegger wrist shot and used a second effort to bury the puck past UMD goaltender Alex Stalock (15 saves).

The Pioneers found themselves down two skaters at the 7:33 mark of the middle frame, but were able to kill a 1:36 UMD 5-on-3 advantage to maintain their lead. However, UMD finally solved Mannino at 16:28 when Andrew Carroll took a feed from Mike Curry and beat the DU netminder from the low slot to make it a 2-1 game.

The Pioneers answered back before the close of the second period when Gifford located the ricochet of a blocked Geoff Paukovich attempt inside the right circle and fired the puck past Stalock at 18:52.

Josh Meyers made it a 3-2 game at the 7:01 mark of the third period when he one-timed a cross-ice pass from Matt McKnight that got past Mannino.

Ruegsegger gave the Pioneers a 4-2 advantage at 15:18 when he joined Trotter on a 2-on-1 and received a nifty pass before slipping the puck past Stalock's outstretched pad. Rakhshani added an insurance goal at 18:13 when he picked up a loose puck at the blueline, took two strides and blasted a rocket through Stalock's five-hole.

The two teams will meet again tomorrow night at Magness Arena at 7:07 p.m.

Notes: Mannino has won six consecutive starts, including shutouts against Alaska Anchorage (12/16), Mercyhurst (12/29) and St. Cloud State (1/27) ... Denver's senior class earned its 100th victory tonight ... The Pioneers are 12-3-2 against unranked opponents this season ... DU has netted at least one power-play goal in seven straight games.

Pioneers Clean Up on Post Season Awards

Matt Carle becomes the first player to win WCHA Player of the Year & WCHA Defensive Player of the Year in the same season.

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The Pioneers also landed 12 student-athletes on the All-WCHA Academic Team. Matt Carle, Ted O'Leary, Paul Stastny, Zach Blom, Steven Cook, J.D. Corbin, Glenn Fisher, Ryan Helgason, Jon James, Danny King, Brock McMorris and Andrew Thomas represented the Pioneers on the All-WCHA Academic Team.

WCHA Player of the Year
Matt Carle, Jr, D, University of Denver

WCHA Student-Athlete of the Year
Ted O'Leary, Sr, F, University of Denver

WCHA Defensive Player of the Year
Matt Carle, Jr, D, University of Denver

WCHA Rookie of the Year
Phil Kessel, Fr, F, University of Minnesota

WCHA Coach of the Year
Don Lucia, University of Minnesota Bob Motzko, St. Cloud State University

WCHA Scoring Champion
Paul Stastny, So, F, University of Denver

WCHA Goaltending Champion
Brian Elliott, Jr, University of Wisconsin

2005-06 All-WCHA First Team
Pos Name Team Hgt Wgt Yr Hometown Pts
F Ryan Potulny Minnesota 6-0 193 Jr Grand Forks, ND 367
F Brett Sterling Colorado College 5-8 182 Sr Pasadena, CA 287
F Paul Stastny Denver 6-0 210 So St. Louis, MO 266
D Matt Carle Denver 6-0 195 Jr Anchorage, AK 390
D Tom Gilbert Wisconsin 6-3 210 Sr Bloomington, MN 304
G Bobby Goepfert St. Cloud State 5-10 170 Jr Kings Park, NY 314

2005-06 All-WCHA Second Team
Pos Name Team Hgt Wgt Yr Hometown Pts
F Joe Pavelski Wisconsin 5-11 185 So Plover, WI 204
F Marty Sertich Colorado College 5-8 165 Sr Roseville, MN 143
F David Backes Minnesota State 6-3 210 Jr Blaine, MN 138
D Alex Goligoski Minnesota 6-0 178 So Grand Rapids, MN 222
D Brian Salcido Colorado College 6-2 193 Jr Hermosa Beach, CA 174
G Brian Elliott Wisconsin 6-3 187 Jr Newmarket, ON 270

2005-06 All-WCHA Third Team
Pos Name Team Hgt Wgt Yr Hometown Pts
F Drew Stafford North Dakota 6-2 200 Jr Faribault, MN 131
F Ryan Dingle Denver 5-10 190 So Steamboat Springs, CO 118
F Danny Irmen Minnesota 6-0 193 Jr Fargo, ND 113
D Chris Harrington Minnesota 6-0 182 Sr St. Cloud, MN 122
D Matt Smaby North Dakota 6-5 220 Jr Minneapolis, MN 76
G Jordan Parise North Dakota 5-11 190 Jr Faribault, MN 58

2005-06 All-WCHA Rookie Team
Pos Name Team Hgt Wgt Yr Hometown Votes
F Phil Kessel Minnesota 6-0 190 Fr Madison, WI 73
F T.J. Oshie North Dakota 5-11 182 Fr Warroad, MN 72
F Mason Raymond Minnesota Duluth 6-0 170 Fr Cochrane, AB 40
D Chris Butler Denver 6-1 185 Fr St. Louis, MO 55
D Brian Lee North Dakota 6-3 190 Fr Moorhead, MN 50
G Dan Tormey Minnesota State 6-2 195 Fr Syracuse, NY 55

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WCHA Recognizes DU Scholar Athletes

MADISON, Wisc. - The Western Collegiate Hockey Association, announced an inaugural group of 47 WCHA Scholar-Athlete Award recipients. Only 19 Male players achieved the award and six play for the University of Denver. This was the highest number of players from any team in the conference.

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To earn recognition as a WCHA Scholar-Athlete, conference-member student-athletes must have completed at least one year of residency at their present institution prior to the current academic year and must also have a grade-point average of at least 3.50 on a 4.0 scale for the previous two semesters or three quarters, or may qualify if his or her overall GPA is at least 3.50 for all terms at his or her present institution.

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University of Denver:

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Zach Blom (Jr., D, Englewood, CO)

Steven Cook (Jr., F, Denver, CO)

J.D. Corbin (Jr., F, Littleton, CO)

Daniel King (Jr., G, Colorado Springs, CO)

Brock McMorris (Jr., F, Cherry Hills, CO)

Ted O'Leary (Sr., F, Arvada, CO)

"Rink Rat" to Visit Lambeau Field

This week the Rink Rat, Elliot Olsansky will be visiting Lambeau Field to witness the Wisconsin-Ohio State game. It should be a crazy atmosphere with over 50,000 frozen fans watching the game outdoors.
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Elliot writes one of the coolest college hockey blogs, and is on a whirlwind tour of college hockey arenas this season. He witnessed DU's game at UMASS earlier in the season. DU fans will recognise Elliot for his now famous CSTV expose on Danny King's surprising Hobey Baker vote tally.
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The "Rink Rat" is an assistant editor for CSTV.com and a regular contributor for men's and women's ice hockey. He knows all the words to Opus' "Live is Life," thinks "Sieve" is the greatest word in the English language, and watches Miracle at least once a month. Simply put, he loves college hockey. Elliot will be covering over 65 games this year all over the college hockey landscape, and talking with players, coaches and fans along the way.

King's Hobey Campaign Draws National Media

Danny King Receives "National Props" from the boys at CSTV....

The "National Media" has jumped on a story that we all knew was "hot" from the get go. In this case it is Denver's Third String goalie Danny King. King has worked as hard as any other player on the team over his career at DU and made just as many sacrifices. Yet when the game starts he is on the bench encouraging the other players without the glory. At "Let's Go DU" we decided to do something about it, and now CSTV's Website has picked up on the story...

CSTV Article

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THE LINE-UP: Top Six Players Looking Up At Danny King in the "Vote For Hobey" Standings
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One of my favorite college hockey blogs - besides my own Rink Rat blog, of course - is D.G. Goddard's "Let's Go DU" blog, which is where I was first introduced to the ferocious campaign supporting Denver third goalie Danny King for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award. I haven't had a chance to see King play, although I did see the Pioneers at UMass back in November, but I clearly must be missing something (along with everyone else who didn't see Denver's preseason game against Lakehead, where King stopped 6 of 7 first-period shots to pick up the win). Just look at the talent that King has a leg up on in the fan voting for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award.
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Brian Boyle, Boston College - The L.A. Kings obviously think a lot more of Boyle than the Hobey fan voters, as the Eagles center was a first-round draft pick in 2003. The future King's 320 points are just three points short of Danny King's total, but when you're 6'7", you're probably not used to coming up short too often.
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Drew Stafford, North Dakota - Stafford has made an impression over the past couple of weeks, breaking into the CSTV Hobey Baker Watch. He hasn't made quite the same impression with the fans, as the rarely-seen Denver goalie has the upper hand in the fan vote standings.

Joe Fallon, Vermont - In under two seasons at Vermont, the Bemidji native has broken the school shutout record, which was previously held by Tim Thomas. Apparently, though, with only 268 points in the fan voting, he's no Danny King.
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Phil Kessel, Minnesota - Before Kessel had even committed to Minnesota, a mountain of hype grew up surrounding him to the point where winning the Hobey might be the only way to live up to it. With Kessel having 35 fewer points than King in the fan voting (323 to 288), however, somehow it doesn't seem to be in the cards.
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Cory Schneider, Boston College - He's the Hockey East co-Player of the Week. He's allowed two goals in five games since he returned from the World Junior Championships. He plays for the No. 1 team in the country. But in the Vote for Hobey standings, his 272 points leave him 53 behind King.
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Peter Mannino, Denver - Now it gets interesting. I can understand Pioneer fans getting behind King to have some fun with the Hobey fan voting. When I was in college, my fraternity used to run a dead hedgehog named Snead Hearn for Student Government every single year (he once won a Class Council seat, actually). However, it's certainly odd that more Denver fans would vote for the third goalie who hasn't seen a minute of regular-season action in his career than the man who backstopped their team to a National Championship and earned Frozen Four MVP honors in the process. Not that I'm comparing Danny King to a dead hedgehog, mind you, but it's not like the dead hedgehog has any less playing time this season.
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Elliot Olshansky is an assistant editor for CSTV.com. As the Rink Rat, he is travelling to and covering over 65 men's and women's college hockey games this season.

Hobey Baker Voting

Phase #2 of the fans voting has begun for the Hobey Baker Award. Several DU players have been nominated including Matt Carle, Ryan Dingle, Gabe Gauthier, Glenn Fisher, Danny King, Peter Mannino, Paul Stastny, Andrew Thomas and several others.
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Its free and all you have to do sign up and vote once per day for every email address you have registered.

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http://hobeybaker.com/vote/guest_welcome.php

The Tale of the Tape: Brett Sterling vs. Danny King

Who Deserves The Hobey? You Decide...

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CC Senior forward Brett Sterling has had a great career for Colorado College. As he wraps up his Senior season there is even rumbling from Colorado Springs that he deserves the Hobey Baker award given anually to the best player in college hockey. He has 95 career goals and 66 assists. The fact that Colorado College collects Hobey Baker awards like DU wins National Championships is besides the point.

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The crack research staff at LetsGoDU decided to compare head-to-head All-American Sterling's offensive statistics to the offensive stats of DU's third-string goaltender and All-Round "great guy" Danny King, to see who really deserves the 2006 Hobey Baker award.

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Over the past four years Colorado College and Denver have played some of their most important games in the history of the 50 year rivalry. NCAA bids, MacNaughton Trophies, Broadmoor Trophies and two National Championships have been on the line. Since these games have been so important, the we compared Sterling & Kings offensive production against each other.

2002-03: CC swept DU in the four games they played against each other. Although Sterling had 0 points against DU, he wins the head-to-head with Danny King, who didn't play against CC.

Edge: Sterling

2003-04: DU & CC split the six games they played against each other. Sterling had one goal in six games (the "goal" was on a 5 on 3 Power Play with CC leading 5-1 in the Third Period). Although King didn't play against CC, he won a National Championship ring.

Edge: Tie

2004-05: DU won four of the six meetings and won the MacNaughton, Broadmoor & NC Trophies. Sterling chipped in 0 goals & 0 assists again. Although King didn't play against CC, he won another NC ring

Edge: King

2005-06: In the first two games of the series, Sterling had 0 goals & 0 assists. He gave Mannino a nice little cheap shot pushing his helmet into the ice. DU won both games. King didn't score.

Edge: King

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So there you have it. Sterling has played 18 important rivalry games against DU and has 1 goal and 0 assists. To vote for Danny King:

http://hobeybaker.com/vote/guest_welcome.php

ASK dg

This week's question come from a reader in Maine...

gscott13: We all know that Maine had a scout at the DU-Lakehead game. I'm sure whoever was scouting the game is smart enough to know that those lines by Denver were in all likelihood an experiment. They were probably looking more at players on an individual level, tendencies of whichever goaltender played and what they were trying to do in terms of systems. Won't Maine have a huge advantage because of this scouting report?

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dg: Not Neccessarily. Of course Gwoz realized that the Maine Scout would be smart enough to see through the "Olde-Experimental-Lines-Ploy" and so he used the actual lines. What seperates the DU Coaching Staff from all others in college hockey is for the Lakehead game they retrained the entire team to play against their tendencies and hide their individual talent levels. All three DU goalies played with their sticks & gloves on the opposite hands to mask said tendencies. I hope the scout noticed that Mannino & King also switched Jerseys before the game.