Showing posts with label MSU-M. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MSU-M. Show all posts

NBC Sports Website Revisits DU's "Lost Weekend"

(above) DU will have a chance to get its "Mojo" back on Friday night against Wisconsin in a nationally televised tilt on NBC Sports Network
by Joe Yerdon

Things were going so well for Denver University this season until they invited a pair of teams from New England to town this past weekend. The Pioneers were 9-0-1 and the No. 2 team in the country heading into action against Yale and New Hampshire. But once things were over with on Saturday night, they’d lost 2-1 in overtime to the Bulldogs and blew a 4-1 second period lead to UNH before losing 6-4.

On their overtime loss to Yale, coach George Gwozdecky told Mike Chambers of The Denver Post, “Fortunately, we saw this coming. It was not a good week of practice. … Some of the plays we couldn’t make, whether it was the 5-on-3 power play or the other four power plays. It was awful. No other way to put it. If I had been sitting anywhere else, I would have been booing.”

And that was after their first loss of the season. If there’s a potential cure for Denver it comes in the form of this weekend’s visitors from the University of Wisconsin as the Badgers are just 1-7-2 to start the year and swept last weekend by Minnesota State. 

While Denver will surely slip when polls come out later today, the question here for Gwozdecky’s team is if this is just a hiccup or a sign of problems on the way. With talent like Nick Shore (Los Angeles), Joey LaLeggia (Edmonton), Chris Knowlton, and David Makowski there’s plenty of balance in their attack.

The Pioneers’ loss to New Hampshire was almost single-handedly because of junior Kevin Goumas. While he assisted on the first two of teammate Grayson Downing’s three goals, he helped ice Denver scoring a natural hat trick of his own in the five point effort.

Denver 3 - Minnesota State Mankato 2 FINAL

(above) Minnesota State clawed back into the game for the second night in a row
The University of Denver closed out a hard fought weekend with a dramatic 3-2 victory on Saturday evening. Chris Knowlton's second goal broke the tie, leading to the weekend sweep.

Knowlton's goal at 16:48 of the third period helped the Pioneers (7-1-0, 5-1-0) remain in first place in the WCHA.

MSUM's Josh Nelson scored on a power play just 2:42 into the third period, knotting the game at 2-2. It was Nelson's second goal of the season. Eriah Hayes scored the Mavericks' first goal at 15:07 in the first period.

Knowlton and Dan Doremus kicked off the scoring for DU in the first period.



Denver 4 - Minnesota State 3 FINAL

The University of Denver jumped out to a 3-0 lead on Friday night against Minnesota State.  The big lead almost didn't hold up as the Mavericks almost came all the way back, before falling 4-3.

Nolan Zajac, Daniel Doremus & Shawn Ostrow each recorded a goal and an assist.   Joey Leggs also scored for DU.


News & Notes From Around PioNation

Both ice hockey games against Michigan Tech will begin at 5 PM MT this weekend.  According to the DU Website, both games will be available online, presumably on PioneerVision.
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Drew Shore was named WCHA Offensive Player of the Week.  Shore was +6 on the weekend, scored a GWG and assisted on the other game winner against Minnesota State.
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DU Alum Joe Colborne is off to a great start this season in the AHL.  He already has 12 points in the first six games for the Toronto Marlies.  It may take an injury to an existing player on the Maple Leafs roster for Colborne to get called up to the NHL this season, but he looks like he's going to be ready.
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The University of Denver Alumni Association Website has some great photos of the pregame alumni event in Boston.  Boone is in a lot of the photos, greeting guests, schmoozing with DU bigwigs and lightening up the mood at the party.

How Rare Are 10 Goal Games At DU?

Saturday night was the first time since an 11-1 rout of Air Force on Dec. 27, 1995 that the Pioneers have scored 10 or more goals. Coach Gwozdecky was in his second season at the University of Denver and the Air Force triumph was his 33rd career victory at DU. Last night marked his 401st victory.

DU 4 - Minnesota State 2 FINAL

(above) The Goal Czar was en fuego on Friday night
The University of Denver hockey team won a hard fought battle in front of a raucous Magness Arena crowd on Friday night.  Minnesota State went toe to toe with the Pioneers all night long before finally falling 4-2 after an empty net goal sealed their fate.

The Goal Czar scored two goals in the second period to give DU a 2-1 lead.

The Mavs tied it early in the 3rd period.

Drew Shore scored the game winner on the power play and brother Nick Shore iced it with an empty netter.

Both goalies had strong games. It took a while for DU to solve Austin Lee. Adam Murray was equal to the task. Coach George Gwozdecky recorded his 400th win as the DU coach.
Shots: DU 38 MSU 25
First Star: Luke Salazar (Denver)
Second Star: Drew Shore (Denver)
Third Star: Jason Zucker (Denver)

DU Not Viewing Minnesota State As A Cupcake

From: Mankato Free Press
by Shane Fredericks

Minnesota State’s not the only team that remembers how close it came to winning a couple of games in the first round of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association playoffs last March.

“We remember very well our most recent series,” Denver coach George Gwozdecky said in his weekly press conference Tuesday. “They had the lead on us in both playoff games last year before we were able to catch up and win both games.”

By now, the Mavericks are tired of hearing the time stamp of 2:25. Those 185 seconds were all the time Denver led that playoff series. Tack on Denver’s tie and win in Mankato two months earlier, and the Pioneers went 3-0-1 against the Mavericks despite having the lead for just 2:49 in those games.

“Minnesota State has the rap of being one of those programs in the WCHA that is looked upon as one of the bottom-half dwellers,” Gwozdecky said. “But if you look at how they’ve played the last few years, there’s no team that works harder, there’s no team that’s better coached. They’re physical, they play with a great amount of intensity. They’re a tough team to play, whether it’s at their house or on the road.”

Denver is ranked third in the country and one of the favorites to win the WCHA. The Mavericks haven’t won in Denver since 2002-03, going 0-12-2 at Magness Arena since then. They’ve had plenty of close games there, including last spring’s playoff games and a 3-2 series-opening loss there last November. But they’ve had some real stinkers, too, like the next night in November when Denver pounded them 6-1.

“We’re going to play a very good hockey team,” Mavericks coach Troy Jutting said.

Denver was the WCHA coaches’ preseason pick to win the conference, and Jutting was one of the coaches who cast his vote for the Pioneers.

This weekend, Minnesota State takes a skeleton crew to Colorado, as six players, including veterans Mike Dorr, Eriah Hayes and Tyler Elbrecht, stayed back in Mankato to nurse injuries.

“The injuries have been to some of our older kids,” Mavericks coach Troy Jutting said. “Normally those are the kids that are showing the way. We’re still learning as a hockey team. ... We’re learning a lot of stuff most teams don’t have to — at least this early.”

The WCHA is beginning its 60th year as a conference, but it’s also in the final two years in its current formation. Denver will be one of eight teams leaving the league for another conference in 2013, going to the new National Collegiate Hockey Conference with Colorado College, North Dakota, Minnesota Duluth, St. Cloud State and Nebraska-Omaha. Minnesota and Wisconsin will head to the Big Ten in 2013.

Lax Team To Be Honored During Hockey Game

The University of Denver men's lacrosse team will be honored for its accomplishments during the 2011 season, in an on-ice ceremony during the second intermission of the DU men's Homecoming hockey game against Minnesota State on Saturday night at Magness Arena [read entire article].

WCHA Playoff Game Two: DU 3 * MSU-M 2 Final OT

The formula remained the same on Saturday night in Magness Arena. Allow Minnesota State to jump out to a 1-0 lead and then turn on the jets in the third period.

DU eventually won early in overtime on a Jason Zucker goal, but this game could easily been lost a number of times in a dramatic third period. DU tied the game 1-1 on a power play goal by Matt Donovan.

After the Mavericks quickly responded with a goal, David Makowski performed his magic to knot the score at two apiece.

Despite the win, DU dropped a spot on the Pairwise to 6th.  Miami leapfrogged the Pioneers after a sweep against Alaska.

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WCHA Playoff Game One: DU 4 - Minnesota State 2


(above) Shawn Ostrow went Charlie Sheen on Minnesota State scoring the WINNING goal
By now PioNation already knows the script.  The University of Denver hockey team falls hopelessly behind, wakes up in the third period and one of DU's elite NHL bound players steps up and plays the hero.  Except that tonight the hero was Shawn Ostrow, who scored the game winner with lass than three minutes remaining.

The goal was Shawn Ostrow's first goal of the season.  Shawn must have been feeling his oats because he added an empty netter for good measure a minute and a half later.

The Pioneers trailed 2-0 after two first period goals by Minnesota State.  A scoreless second period set up the thrilling finish.

Kyle Ostrow, who the rest of the weekend will be referred to the older less-talented Ostrow brother, started things off with an early third period power play goal to wake up the slumbering Pioneers.  Then Beau Bennett scored an amazing one on two goal that left a trail of Maverick players in his wake.

All that remained was for Shawn Ostrow to steal the show.


Zucker - D. Shore - Goal Czar
Mermis - N. Shore - Bennett
Maiani - K. Ostrow - Jackson
Knowlton - Dewhurst - S. Ostrow

Donovan - Nutini
Ryder - Makowski
Phillips - Lee

Brittain - Murray - Rosenholtz

Santa Tracker Software Follows MSU-M Bus Trip

(above) Use Santa Tracker 2.0 to follow Minnesota State's bus trip to Denver today
Sparing no expense, LetsGoDU has developed an app for college hockey fans to follow Minnesota State-Mankato on their epic 824 mile journey to Denver today.  Based on the popular Santa Tracker 1.0 software used by school children around the world, Santa Tracker 2.0 offers enhancements for serious college hockey fans.

Fans can tweak the speed of the bus, throw in tornadoes or blizzards and adjust the number of stops the bus will make to estimate an arrival time in Denver.  Want the driver to pull over and buy beer for the players [the SCSU patch]?  No problem.  Want the bus to pull over so the players can recharge their iPhones at Denny's?  No problem.

Minnesota State Will Ride The Bus To Denver


A little 824 mile bus ride doesn't scare Minnesota State coach Troy Jutting. Minnesota State will embark for Denver via Interstate 80 on Wednesday morning.  Twelve hours on the road, playing cards, surfing the internet, doing homework and telling jokes.

Fun Site Seeing Attractions Along The Way
(above) Kool-Aid & 80s Boone
Kool-Aid was invented in Hastings, Nebraska.  Any resemblance to  '80s  Boone Mascot is strictly a coincidence
The World's Largest Ball of Stamps is in Omaha
The Sod House Museum and Worlds Largest Plow in Gothenburg, Nebraska
Two weeks ago Colorado College took a 21 hour bus ride from Bemidji to Colorado Springs via Minneapolis when their flight was delayed by a blizzard.
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Who can forget the epic video footage of the Bowling Green hockey team bus stuck in the snow in Nebraska in 2007?
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Or the good old days when DU hockey player Tom Martin was traded for a bus while he was playing for the University of Denver in 1983.  The Seattle Breakers traded Martin's WHL rights to Victoria with cash for a used team bus and future considerations. In fact, the deal was really just Martin straight-up in lieu of Seattle having to make a down payment on Victoria's spare bus.

St. Cloud State 3 - DU 2 FINAL


St. Cloud scored a dramatic 3-2 victory over on Friday night at Magness Arena.  DU looked to be perfectly content to settle for a tie on Friday night after giving up two early first period goals.  But a St. Cloud goal by Aaron Marvin with 1:36 remaining in the game sealed Denver's fate.

Luke Salazar & Nick Shore scored for DU.

All is not lost for DU however.  Thanks to Minnesota Duluth's victory over UNO, DU still can wrap up the #2 seed in the WCHA playoffs with a victory tomorrow night.  Denver will face either Minnesota State or Bemidji State in the first round of the playoffs in Magness Arena next Friday.

Mankato Free Press Impressed By DU's Firepower

(above) The Mankato fishwrap would prefer that Jason Zucker join the NHL's Minnesota Wild ASAP

From: Mankato Free Press
by Shane Frederick


I wonder how long it will be before Minnesota State hockey fans will be cheering for Jason Zucker.

Zucker, a freshman forward for Denver, is a second-round draft pick of the Minnesota Wild last summer. He leads all Western Collegiate Hockey Association rookies with 16 goals, including two against the Mavericks over the weekend.

With a fabulous, game-tying breakaway goal on Saturday, Zucker completed the Pioneers’ three-goal comeback, and Denver later shocked MSU 21 seconds into overtime [read rest of article]

DU 4 - Minnesota State 3 FINAL OT

(above) Raise your hand if you choked up a three goal lead and lost the game in overtime

After giving up 3 goals in the first 22 minutes against Minnesota State, the University of Denver staged an epic comeback on Saturday night.

Beau-Bennett.com scored to pull DU within two in the second period, but the Pioneers still trailed 3-1 with nine minutes to play in the game. Then Nick Shore & Jason Zucker scored goals within two minutes of each other to level the score.

Dustin Jackson scored the game winner just 19 seconds into Overtime to stun the Mavericks.

Box Score

USCHO.com Game Recap

Mankato Free Press Blog Recap

Pairwise Rankings

WCHA Standings

First Star: Dustin Jackson (Denver)
Second Star: Chase Grant (Minnesota State)
Third Star: Nick Shore (Denver)

DU 4 - Minnesota State 4 FINAL OT

Klye Ostrow scored with 1:16 to play in regulation to salvage a tie for the University of Denver against Minnesota State.

Mankato Free Press Breaks Down MSU-M vs DU

(above) Minnesota State has been on a roll recently since losing two games to DU earlier in the season

While the University of Denver hockey team may be confident after sweeping Minnesota State earlier in the season, the Mavericks have quietly gone 8-2-0 since that weekend. Victories against Minnesota (sweep) and Notre Dame prove that MSU-M will be no pushovers at home for the Pioneers.

The Mankato Free Press features five things to know about the series.
"Denver is a very, very good hockey team. If you’re not clicking on all cylinders, they’re going to beat anybody and everybody."
-Troy Jutting, Minnesota State Head Coach

Chambers Blog Has DU Hockey Updates

Mike Chambers Blog has details on injuries to Beau Bennett & Chris Knowlton. He also mentions the goaltending rotation this weekend against Minnesota State. Finally he's hoping to see Joey Brehm light up the lamp his weekend.

Clarion: Pioneers Take On Minnesota State

(above) Today's DU Clarion profiles the upcoming Minnesota State series

From: DU Clarion
by Tyler Perlmutter


LinkDU hockey plays WCHA-foe Minnesota State on Friday for the second time this season as the Pioneers begin the second half of their conference schedule the road.

The Pioneers (13-5-4) have won seven of their last 10 games (7-1-2) and already have the upper hand in the season series. Denver swept Minnesota State (8-8-4) in an early season home series, beating the Mavericks 3-2 on Nov. 12 and then 6-1 the next night [read rest of article].

DU 6 - Minnesota State 1 FINAL

The University of Denver rolled to a 6-1 victory over Minnesota State on Saturday night. Anthony Maiani scored his 100th career point after recording two goals and an assist. He scored both a power play goal and a shorthanded goal.

Beau Bennett scored his first collegiate goal in the first period.

Luke Salazar's two goals upped his season total to 7 goals.




WCHA Standings


1st Period

DU Goal - Maiani (Donovan, Makowski) 5 on 3 PP
DU Goal - Salazar (Zucker)
DU Goal - Bennett (Makowski, Maiani)

2nd Period
MSU Goal - Zuck (Louwerse)

3rd Period
DU Goal - Salazar (Mermis)
DU Goal - Makowski
DU Goal - Maiani SH

DU Lineup
Zucker (A), D. Shore, Salazar (2G)
Maiani (2G,A), K. Ostrow, Bennett (G)
Knowlton, N. Shore, S. Ostrow
Mermis (A), Dewhurst, Cook

Donovan (A), Nutini
Ryder, Makowski (G,2A)
Wrenn, Phillips

Brittain, Murray, Rosenholtz