Time To Stuff The Ole Ballot Box....Again

VOTE: Mile High Sports Poll

Here at LetsGoDU we're not adverse to using our clout to rig elections or stuffing the ballot box.  Who could forget our "2006 Danny King for Hobey Campaign" that netted several thousands votes for DU's 3rd string goaltender.  Or whenever Boone was involved in public opinion surveys at DU.

Mile High Sports is conducting all-star voting for 2011 teams on its website. DU is nominated in several categories including best local college team and best local college coach (Gwozdecky, Scott, and Tierney). There's also open spots to "write-in suggestions" for the categories of best college mascot (Boone) and best local must-see game (write-in DU/CC Hockey).

The the Media Poll there are a few opportunities to vote for personalities like DU hockey 's smooth play-by-play voice Jay Stickney. Don't forget to "write-in" LetsGoDU for best Denver sports news website. You could also write-in Mike Chambers for his excellent coverage of DU sports.

Vote Early & Vote Often!!!

Mark Rycroft: Scooters On Broadway [S.O.B.]

(above) Pioneer alum Mark Rycroft and his father Al show off the Schwinns at Scooters on Broadway located near DU

Scooters On Broadway Website

What goes 55 miles per hour and gets 80 miles to the gallon? A brand new Schwinn scooter from Scooters on Broadway. Located less than three miles from the University of Denver campus, former Pioneer legend Mark Rycroft is managing the eco-friendly Schwinn scooter dealership.  The store also stocks  scooter related merchandise, parts, helmets and some very cool Scooters On Broadway [S.O.B.] t-shirts by Sportiqe Apparel.

Rycroft bleeds Crimson and Gold. After a storied career at the University of Denver and in the NHL with the St. Louis Blues and Colorado Avalanche, he married DU alum Dominique Cook, the sister of former DU hockey player Steven Cook and Senior Jon Cook.  Rycroft also keeps busy providing color commentary on the Pioneer radio broadcasts with Jay Stickney and Colorado Avalance games on Altitude.

With gas prices hovering around four bucks a gallon and no relief in sight, scooters pay for themselves within a few hundred miles.  Rycroft was drawn to Schwinns because of their reliability, low price points and unheard of four year warranties.

Stop by the dealership located at 2881 S. Broadway between Dartmouth and Yale to check out the products.  There's plenty of DU hockey paraphernalia on the walls from Rycroft's playing days.

Photos From Day Two Of The Final 5

(above) DU student Matt Bick is interviewed before the game by the Xcel Center video team for a feature on the Jumbotron

(above) The Beaver

(above) Kyle Ostrow's helmet features many half eaten jelly donuts

(above) The Goal Czar inspects the troops before leading them into battle

(above) Think Jason Zucker doesn't like to play hockey?  He the first player on the ice, skates at 90 M.P.H. during warm-ups, is the last player off the ice and here helps the equipment managers pick up the pucks after warm-ups

Good times at McGovern's Pub after the game

(above) Sure he's arrogant, but when you're the best damn play by play radio voice in the W.C.H.A. you can get away with it.  Jay Stickney resting the pipes on the night before the Final 5 Championship Game

Gwozdecky Wants To Ramp Up Fan Support

(above) Coach Gwozdecky wants a lift from DU fans at Magness the next two weekends

Purchase Tickets Online

Coach Gwozdecky had some pretty interesting comments after the game on his Post Game Show with Jay Stickney.

"We have been sputtering along the past four weekends. This team wants to prove that they are not done.

I know that [DU S.I.D.] Erich Bacher has been following the blogs and has been very concerned about the doom and gloom of the fans.

Omaha has been a very good team. We had to go out tonight and perform very well. And we did. We played a smart game. We need to get back into a winning rhythm.

I want to encourage all of our fans and friends to come out and support this team in our final series against St. Cloud and the 1st round of the WCHA playoffs. They are going to be important games.

I don't know if you could hear on the radio back home, but this building [Qwest Center] was loud both nights. They had a big crowd last night and the third largest crowd in UNO history [11,504] tonight.

Its so important to give yourself that little intangible edge. Whether its the regular season or the playoffs.

So hopefully we can get a real good push from our crowd next week and the following weekend. Its the last times we will be playing at home this season. We want to be one of the top two teams in the WCHA to earn a shot the Final 5 bye."

- George Gwozdecky

Voice Of The Crimson & Gold Grades Jay Stickney

(above) "The Voice Of The Crimson & Gold" - Jay Stickney

(Above) From Mile High Sports

News & Notes From Around PioNation

DU alum Rhett Rakhshani has scored in two games in a row for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (AHL). His first professional goal came against the Providence Bruins, Joe Colborne's team.

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Mike Chambers of the Denver Post was not impressed with DU's power play units on Saturday night. DU may have benefited from some "Home Cooking" from the WCHA refs and still couldn't score.

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DU alum Mark Rycroft, who spent three years at DU before beginning a 226-game NHL career as a third-line grinder, debuted as Jay Stickney’s radio sidekick this weekend. Rycroft is scheduled to work most of DU’s home games with Stickney on 87.7 FM The Ticket.

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DU alum Peter Mannino has been backing up Chris Mason for the NHL Atlanta Thrashers since Ondrej Pavelec's collapse. The Thrashers did not have an update on Pavelec last night, other than to say "he's feeling much better." Mason played both games this weekend.

Ruegsegger's Sick 360 Degree Pass To Colborne

Shagman: The Mind, Body & Soul Of DU Hockey

(left) The self-described "best looking play-by-play voice in the WCHA," Jay Stickney

Sources: The Clarion, Westword, Denver Post

DU hockey players and coaches know him as "The Voice of University of Denver Hockey." But Jay Stickney was once the "Shagman" of the cheesy Denver commercials for Rocky's Autos near Mile High Stadium.

What's a "shagman?" David Rothrock - who founded Rocky's at a corner gas station in 1982 and has built it into one of the region's largest used-car dealerships, including a $100,000 budget for TV and radio spots - has the answer. "It's a name used for people who drive cars back and forth, from coast to coast or locally."

"I guess as strange as the commercials were, it was still fun doing them, being with the crew," Stickney remembers. "The weirdest part was really just meeting the general public. When you're out at the Adam's County Fair -- we went wherever there was dirt -- there'd be people waiting an hour and half to get a hat signed. It was like being a really bad rock star."

These days you can catch him live twice a week at the Ritchie Center as the voice of the University of Denver's Pioneer hockey team on KLZ 560 AM. "It's great being part of a team that's so successful for the past nine years. I get to travel with the team, hanging out with 20 & 21 year-old guys," says the 38-year-old. "I'm more like a coach. I drink a lot of coffee and just follow the puck."

"When I am on the air, I just pretend that I know what I am talking about," said Stickney.

Ask any coach or player to comment on his experiences with Stickney and the response will start with a laugh, smile or shake of the head, every time.

He is referred to by everyone who knows him as the team comic.

"Sometimes my humor will get me in trouble with fans though," said Stickney.

"One time, four or five DU players were called for penalties at the end of a game and a couple guys had to sit on laps in the penalty box because the box only holds about three players at a time. So I made a joke about there being a lap dance going on in the penalty box," said Stickney.

He added, "I got a call from an unhappy listener the next day. That was several years ago and I have not had any upset calls since. Maybe no one is listening to me anymore."

"I was the ninth pick for the job as DU announcer. They said it was because I was just too good looking for radio. I was just excited to be picked," Stickney joked.

Stickney said, "I have worked in many places, but I love working for the DU hockey program."

"Being able to call the games at the Frozen Four in Boston in 2004 was one of the most phenomenal experiences of my life, even if I did lose my voice by the end of the championship game," he said.

Stickney graduated with a degree in journalism and mass communications from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1990.

He currently resides in Littleton with his wife and two kids.

DU's Crimson Creatures Student Section Evolving

(above) Will the Crimson Creatures be able to build off their opening night performance against Notre Dame?

YouTube Collection of the best college hockey student sections

A change was in the air at Magness Arena on Saturday night against Notre Dame. For the first time in a long time, the DU Student Section had an "edge" to them that had been missing for a while. While we've still got a long way to go to match the University of Wisconsin student section, at last the gap is closing.

One longtime DU hockey fan who attended hundreds of DU games over the years told me, "This is the best opening night for a DU student section I've seen in 20 years."

Last Saturday the Crimson Creatures were loud, boisterous and ran through a repertoire of cheers. By the third period they were running on all cylinders.

We weren't the only ones who noticed. DU Student Reporter Arianna Ranahosseini wrote in her Clarion article entitled "DU Checks Notre Dame."

Despite a scoreless second period, the student section was roaring as the fans chanted, "Bring back Boone," following the pre-game pep rally held at Spanky's Bar & Grill.

With 10 minutes to go in the game the students started chanting "Over-Rated". DU's TV commentators had this exchange.

Charlie Host: The fans have started chanting "over-rated." As an opposing team, you hate to hear that, particularly in the first game of the season.

Jay Stickney: Notre Dame had huge expectations heading into the season.

Charlie Host: Yeah. Notre Dame came in with huge expectations and have been shown the door by DU.

Longtime fan, Gene Lake, who has listened to DU games for years on the internet commented that the students were coming in loud and clear on the radio broadcast.

Midway through the first period, DU had sold out the student allotment of tickets. We were told this had never happened before at Magness except during Homecoming and Colorado College games. The ticket sellers, didn't know what to do, and began charging students $30 for tickets. Luckily an alert Magness supervisor was summonded and was able to override the system and sold remaining tickets at the student rate.

After the game we spoke to a graduate student who had just attended her first ever hockey game. She was from California and had graduated from the University of Loyola-Marymount in Los Angeles. She said that she loved the game, couldn't believe all of the unified cheers and would definitely be there next week against Wisconsin.