DU Recruits Shine In USHL/NHL Prospects Game

(above) DU recruit Garrett Gamez assisted on the game winning goal in the USHL/NHL Prospects Game last night

Two of DU's most promising forward recruits, Garrett Gamez and Trevor Moore, participated in the 2013 USHL/NHL Prospects Game last night in Muskegon, Michigan.  Gamez & Moore helped Team West to a 2-1 victory over Team East.

Gamaz assisted on the game winning goal. 

 

Jason Cotton gave the West a 2-0 lead 1:53 into the second when he took a no-look pass from Tri-City teammate Gamez in the high slot and ripped a shot into the top left corner past East starting goalie Charlie Lindgren of the Sioux Falls Stampede.

"We had a good forecheck going on that goal, and I got a great pass from Gammer," said Cotton, who is bound for Northeastern University in the fall of 2014.

Many scouts and collegiate representatives were on hand to witness the second annual Top Prospects Game.

2013 Recruiting Class Updated Stats

D Matt Van Voorhis (Sioux Falls, USHL) - 34 gms, 3 goals, 13 assists

F Brad Hawkinson (Lincoln Stars, USHL) - 30 gms, 6 goals, 2 assists

F Landon Smith (Chicago, USHL) - 30 games, 10 goals, 5 assists

F Connor Chatham (Omaha, USHL) - 37 games, 13 goals, 12 assists

F Ray Pigozzi (Chicago, USHL) - 34 games, 6 goals, 16 assists

D Will Butcher (U.S. Under-18) - 37 games, 7 goals, 13 assists

F Cody DePourcq (Penticton, BCHL) - 41 games, 7 goal, 8 assists

F Trevor Moore (Tri-Cities, USHL) 35 games, 15 goals, 23 assists

D Gage Ausmus (U.S. Under-18) 36 games, 7 assists

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2014 Recruiting Class Updated Stats

F Tyler Pham (Indiana Ice, USHL) - 38 games, 3 goals, 12 assists

F Jared Fiegl (U.S. Under-17) 35 games, 4 goals, 9 assists

F Garrett Gamez (Tri-Cities, USHL) 30 games, 6 goals, 5 assists

.

2015 Recruiting Class Updated Stats

F Dylan Gambrell (Dubuque, USHL) 31 games, 5 goal, 13 assists

DU Recruiting News & Notes

NHL Central Scouting released their preliminary rankings of players in each top junior league in both North America and Europe, eligible for the 2013 NHL Draft. Three University of Denver recruits were mentioned in the USHL's Top 25; #15 Trevor Moore, #20 Will Butcher & #21 Garrett Gamez.

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DU recruit Garrett Gamez was profiled in StormHockey.com. Gamez [5'11 180 lbs. Chino Hills, CA] fulfilled his lifelong dream when he committed to play college hockey at the University of Denver. 

“When I was eight years old I actually went to a tournament in Denver, and I just always loved it there. After nationals this year I visited New Hampshire, Northeastern, Colorado College and Denver. After I went to Denver, my mind was made up. It’s where I wanted to go since I was a little kid, and I was so blessed to get a full scholarship. That meant a ton to me and my family.”

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University of Denver hockey alum Scott McConnell, who is the head coach of the USHL Chicago Steel, announced that the Steel have acquired DU recruit Landon Smith [5'10 181 lbs. Greenwood Village, CO] from the Cedar Rapids Roughriders.  The move should net Smith more ice time and scoring opportunities.

2013 Recruiting Class Updated Stats
D Matt Van Voorhis (Sioux Falls, USHL) - 16 games, 2 goal, 7 assists
F Brad Hawkinson (Lincoln Stars, USHL) - 14 games, 3 goals, 1 assist
F Landon Smith (Chicago, USHL) - 15 games, 5 goals, 2 assists
F Connor Chatham (Omaha, USHL) - 17 games, 7 goals, 4 assists
F Ray Pigozzi (Chicago, USHL) - 12 games, 1 goal, 8 assists
D Will Butcher (U.S. Under-18) - 21 games, 3 goals, 10 assists
F Cody DePourcq (Penticton, BCHL) - 23 games, 1 goal, 5 assists
F Trevor Moore (Tri-Cities, USHL) 17 games, 8 goals, 10 assists
D Gage Ausmus (U.S. Under-18) 20 games, 2 assists

2014 Recruiting Class Updated Stats
F Tyler Pham (Indiana Ice, USHL) - 17 games, 7 assists
F Jared Fiegl (U.S. Under-17) 16 games, 4 goals, 5 assists
F Garrett Gamez (Tri-Cities, USHL) 17 games, 4 goals, 3 assists

2015 Recruiting Class Updated Stats
F Dylan Gambrell (Dubuque, USHL) 15 games, 1 goal, 4 assist

Suspended Coach Has Ties To CC Cheating Scandal

(above) USCHO says Northeastern head coach Greg Cronin was involved with an NCAA cheating scandal in the mid-Nineties at Colorado College

From: USCHO.com
by Jim Connelly

Last Friday afternoon, a news release came across saying Northeastern hockey coach Greg Cronin and assistant coach Albie O’Connell had been indefinitely suspended pending an investigation into possible NCAA violations surrounding communication with potential recruits.

The lesser-known past problem for Cronin occurred in the early 1990s while he was a member of the Colorado College coaching staff under the direction of head coach Brad Buetow. There, the staff was involved in the mid-season recruiting of a goaltender who was illegally flown to the campus using an assistant coach’s frequent flyer miles, provided free accommodations and allowed to practice with the team despite still being enrolled in junior college. That case was amplified when Buetow didn’t cooperate with the NCAA investigation and was ultimately forced to resign [read rest of article].

Sleeping With The Enemy In North Dakota

(left) Tate Maris from Denver will be the 3rd String goaltender for the Fighting Sioux this season

What happens if you are a young goaltender prospect and the hometown university is loaded with quality goaltenders? If you're Tate Maris from Denver, you have to start looking for "safety schools."

The University of North Dakota's third string goaltender is from Denver. Maris attended Cherry Creek High School, but played his high school hockey with the Kent School. He was a three time all-Colorado goaltender at Kent.

After graduating high school in 2007, Maris played for the Bozeman Ice Dogs in the North Pacific Hockey League. He appeared in 23 games and went 18-5-0 with a 2.53 goals against average and a .918 save percentage. He ranked fourth in the league in save percentage and fifth in goals against average.

As North Dakota's Freshman goaltender, Maris is unlikely to see any time this season behind Aaron Dell and Brad Eidsness, but just knowing that the poor kid is probably going to get arrested several times while in Grand Forks breaks our heart.

So how did he end up at DU's most bitter rival? Since his dad played college basketball at both the University of Colorado and Colorado State, collegiate rivalries must not mean much in the Maris household.

Hockey Playing Dad Developed DU's Best Golfer

(above) Like Happy Gilmore, DU's Stephanie Sherlock has hockey blood coursing through her veins

Sources: Barrie Examiner, Hockey's Database

The University of Denver's most famous golfer, Stephanie Sherlock, is currently the #1 ranked player in NCAA women's golf. Stephanie was born in Germany, where her father was playing professional hockey, grew up in Florida and moved back home to Canada when she was 12.

Recently she was named the top amateur women's golfer in Canada by the Royal Canadian Gold Association and she hopes to lead the Pioneers to the NCAA National Championship and then turn professional after she graduates.

Sherlock, who has two spring golf seasons remaining with the University of Denver, is trying not to look too far ahead. But she is conscious of her situation, and she does have aspirations of eventually turning pro.

"I didn't take it too seriously up until this year. Now, it's like, I only have one year of school left," she said. "What am I going to do? I've got to do something. I'm definitely going to try (turning professional). I don't want to not try and wonder what would have happened."

Her father Dave Sherlock played college hockey at Northeastern University and then spent nine years playing and coaching hockey in Germany. After finishing his career in Germany, Dave moved the family to Florida.

David remembers the first time he introduced his daughter to golf.

Having bought into the Countryway Golf Club in Tampa, Fla. -- where he worked as superintendent and still has ownership stake -- it was only natural to hand then seven-year-old Stephanie Sherlock a club.

"She was more interested in driving the golf cart," David said. "She'd hit the ball and just run after it. It was too slow for her."

In truth, for a young girl living in Florida, the sport bordered on the lamest of activities.

"He would bring me out and I'd hate it," Stephanie said. "So boring. What kid wants to play golf? I'd just run around and hit the ball the odd time."

David might not have been the late Earl Woods, yet, despite his daughter's initial lack of interest in the sport and seemingly short attention span on the links, he kept her in the game.

"It's a fine line, and I tried not to push her," David said. "But she had athletic ability, for sure."

He was right about that.

College Hockey Well-Represented In The Snoopy Tournament

Editor's Note: DJ Powers of Hockey's Future was in California last week covering the Snoopy Senior World Hockey Tournament. For the second straight year she agreed to write a series of articles for LetsGoDU about the DU Pioneers, an alumni team made up of former DU players from the Murray Armstrong era. We can't thank DJ enough for her outstanding coverage of the event.

The Tournament was founded by Peanuts creator Charles Schultz in 1975 and brings together hockey players between the ages of 40-75. (Video Link about Tournament)

Special to LetsGoDU

By DJ Powers

If it hasn’t been said already, it could be said here. “Old college hockey players never die. They just end up playing in the Snoopy’s Senior World Hockey Tournament.”

With teams spanning across North America, it is not surprising to see so many former collegians at this tournament each year. The University of Denver and the University of Michigan are the two teams that have brought along their respective programs’ names to the tournament, along with many of their former players. Many more college hockey programs have also been represented in the tournament over the years.

In this year’s tournament, among the schools represented by their former players include (aside from Denver and Michigan) the following:

Colorado College
Cornell University
Michigan State University
University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota-Duluth
University of North Dakota
Northeastern University
Princeton University
University of Wisconsin

by DJ Powers Staff Writer - NCAA
Hockey's Future (http://www.hockeysfuture,com/)
Future Considerations (http://www.futureconsiderations.ca/)
[And your humble DU Snoopy Tournament correspondent]