At least eight current or past University of Denver athletes have been named to national teams participating in the 2022 Beijing Olympic Winter Games, scheduled to begin in February. Two DU athletes are slated to represent Team USA – current DU ski team member Katie Hensien and DU hockey alumnus Nick Shore. Additionally, DU hockey alumnus Juho Olkinoura and cross-country ski alumna Jasmi Joensuu will represent Team Finland; three DU skiing alumni have been named to the Canadian ski team (Amelia Smart, Trevor Philp and Erik Read); and skiing alumna Andrea Komšić will ski for Croatia. This group of eight athletes is the largest contingent of Pioneers to go the same Olympic Games since 10 Pioneers participated in the 1972 Winter Games in Sapporo, Japan.
All of college hockey’s best teams always seem to find a way to get hot over the course of the second half of the season. Remember Denver’s 13-game winning streak leading up to the Frozen Faceoff in 2017? We are now well into the second half of the 2021-2022 season and the #5 Denver Pioneers (16-5-1, 9-3-0 NCHC, 27 pts) are in the midst of a 5-0-1 stretch since their loss at Minnesota Duluth in December. The fifth victory over that stretch, though, might have been the latest, a second straight thrashing of the Colorado College Tigers (6-13-3, 3-8-1 NCHC, 11 pts), this time by a score of 4-0, in their first-ever trip to Ed Robson Arena, CC’s new on-campus hockey facility. With the victory, the Pioneers not only swept the first home-and-home series of the season between the two archrivals, but they clinch the Gold Pan by virtue of being the current holders of the trophy. Even if CC finds a way to sweep the regular-season finale series, CC cannot earn enough points to win the trophy outright. Continue reading Pioneers Earn Third Consecutive Shutout to Clinch Gold Pan in First-Ever Game at Ed Robson Arena→
Denver (8-14, 4-5) looked back at their recent past Saturday afternoon and instead, raced forward against the outmanned Omaha Mavericks (3-17, 2-7) at Hamilton Gym. Just a season ago, DU was them and they were DU. Saturday, DU looked straight ahead en route to a decisive 92-63 win. Omaha was 3-16 coming into the game but Denver never played down or gave the Mavs a chance to find hope all afternoon. Continue reading Denver Thrashes Omaha to Earn Second Consecutive Conference Win→
The #5 Denver Pioneers (15-5-1, 8-3-0 NCHC, 24 pts) are a good hockey team. But we knew that. The Colorado College Tigers (6-12-3, 3-6-1 NCHC, 11 pts) are not a good hockey team. But we knew that as well. As a result, on a late Friday night, in front of a loud, packed house at Magness Arena, the obvious happened. The Pioneers dominated the Tigers, as they have done so many times for the better part of the last decade, in a 5-0 rout with head coach David Carle still in Covid-19 protocol. It wasn’t a particularly competitive game at any point as Denver outshot its archrival 40-19 but the Pios certainly put on a great show for the largest crowd of the season to this point. Continue reading Pioneers Open 2021-2022 Battle for the Gold Pan with Dominant Shutout of Tigers→
The original Damien Goddard flight suit featured in LetsGoDU on December 31st, 2021 is up for auction on eBay along with a signed Certificate of Authenticity. The auction ends in eight days. The public auction comes with a twist – all auction proceeds will go to Colorado College Athletics for hockey player recruitment. Continue reading LetsGoDU Founder Damien Goddard Auctions Flight Suit to Benefit CC Hockey→
Few can argue that the current edition of Denver men’s basketball appears to be on the right track. The team has some excellent young talent, solid coaching staff, and appears to be trending up – assuming they can retain their core players and recruit more talent. The same cannot be said of its attendance, which has collapsed in the past eleven seasons from an average of 5,460 fans per game in 2011-2012 to an average of 787 fans in eight home games this season. While we have seen a season and a half of COVID impacts, the attendance slide was apparent before Covid-19 was even discovered. Continue reading Sliding Men’s Basketball Attendance a Sign of Bigger Issues→
Denver men’s basketball (7-14, 3-5) erased four seasons of bad road memories Monday night. The win occured at Swinney Center in Kansas City where the Pioneers defeated the UMKC Kangaroos (8-8, 2-3) and halted a 42-game road losing streak. It took sharp shooting from the free-throw line (30 of 36), dominant rebounding (35 vs. 18) and 51.7% shooting from the field to earn the final margin. Continue reading Denver Snaps 42-Game Road Skid Against Roos→
Last night, a whopping 16 penalties were called between the #6 Denver Pioneers (14-5-1, 7-3-0 NCHC, 21 pts) and the #15 Omaha Mavericks (14-8-0, 4-5-0-1 NCHC, 11 pts). Tonight though, referees Brian Hankes and Timm Walsh decided 16 wasn’t enough, upping the amount to 20 and 36 total on the weekend. It was a weekend of ugly, disjointed hockey due to a severe lack of five-on-five play but on the scoreboard, where it matters most, Denver came out of the weekend with a sweep of their surprise opponent in the Mavs. Goaltender Magnus Chrona shined in a chippy game two on Sunday night to earn the 4-0 shutout in the Pios’ 14th victory of the season, their 10th at Magness Arena this year. Continue reading Magnus Chrona Steals Show from Officials as Denver Completes Sweep of Omaha→
Just a week ago, the #6 Denver Pioneers (13-5-1, 6-3-0 NCHC, 18 pts) were beginning their preparation for the then-#4 St. Cloud State Huskies after being given a bye due to Covid-19 protocols within the #15 Omaha Mavericks program. Now, with Covid causing problems within the Huskies’ program, the Pios emerged from their unscheduled bye week to play Omaha (14-7-0, 4-5-0 NCHC, 12 pts), just a week later than expected and in Denver rather than in Omaha. Then, before the game, it was announced that head coach David Carle would not be with the team this weekend due to his own edition of the Covid protocols. Given all of this turbulence and uncertainty over the past two weeks, it would have been at least a bit understandable if the Pios stumbled a bit out of the gate. But they didn’t. They did the exact opposite as they welcomed the Mavs back to Denver with a 5-2 victory at Magness Arena. Continue reading Pioneers Emerge from Unexpected Covid Bye Week with Victory over Mavericks, Not Huskies→
Denver men’s basketball (6-14, 2-5) continued their South Dakota swing Saturday afternoon against Summit League blue blood South Dakota State University (15-4, 6-0). The game was held in conjunction with the 30th annual Lamb Bonanza where sheep are auctioned off at halftime. Before tipoff, spectators were served lamb sliders and lamb spread crackers by the South Dakota Sheep Growers Association. The Pioneers were carved up and served as the main course, falling 80-62 to the Jackrabbits. Continue reading Jackrabbits Gobble Up Pioneers→
