A red hot hockey team lit the fuse on Friday night but a dynamite student section capped Saturday night to make it yet another memorable Homecoming weekend at the University of Denver.
The Crimson Classic 5k run/walk kicked-off the weekend Friday afternoon with over 1,000 participants at the DU campus. Pints with Profs followed the run/walk at the school of Education’s Ruffatto Hall Commons and gave students, alumni and fans an opportunity to connect with various DU academic departments in a casual, informal setting. The new Spirit Fund supported new arena spectator signage and helped kick-off the hockey portion of the weekend in Denver’s win, 3-0, over #6 Boston College. Head Coach David Carle called the Friday Atmosphere “the best since he has been at Denver”.
The Crimson Classic is one of our favorite homecoming events! Your Admission and Financial Aid tortoise and hares took home first place 🥇 in the costume contest! 🐢🐰#DUthis pic.twitter.com/XSERsFyl1A
— DU Admission (@DUAdmissions) October 18, 2019
But, the best was yet to come.
DU Advancement hosted Hocktoberfest at Gates Fieldhouse featuring a beer hall theme with a Bavarian Oom-pah band, lots of sausage, pretzels and beer. Advancement added student booths and upped the student engagement which brought the students and alumni together in a pregame party with introductory speeches from DU gymnastics and hockey head coach David Carle and Chancellor Jeremy Haefner.
Of course, DU hockey delivered both nights but Saturday night featured a raucous student section, DU Whiteboard, Denver cheer, and DU Pep Band creating one of the best college hockey environments DU has had in years. After the sweep, the Denver hockey team rushed the student section after the handshake line and launched themselves into the glass in a jubilant show of ‘thanks’. Following the 6-4 win and sweep, one knowledgeable hockey fan was overheard heard to say, “Denver (Magness Arena) was a very tough place to play (for BC). That is not always the case.” And, they were right.
The founding fathers were PIONEERS #PioneerTogether pic.twitter.com/7TyD75Gp6U
— DU Whiteboard (@DU_Whiteboard) October 20, 2019
The DU administration, Denver Athletics, Advancement and especially DU students made this weekend truly memorable and showed, collectively, what can be done when everyone works together
As for #1 DU hockey, a sweep against a ranked opponent doesn’t hurt either.
I am so proud of the hockey team, the student section, the new spirit signs, the band, DU whiteboard, the cheer/dance teams for making the best hockey atmosphere I’ve seen at DU in years. Even the National Anthems on both nights by DU’s Lamont School of Music Chorales were fantastic.
Having an elite opponent like Boston College in town elevated the quality of the DU hockey wins, and when you hear a post-game “Lets Go Denver” cheer on a post-game light rail train from older fans, you know you’ve hit the right notes. There was a real sense of warmth, passion and togetherness in Magness all weekend, and the school came together, which it the purpose of homecoming, after all.
I wish every weekend at Magness could be like that…
It sure helps when you win!
You got that right!
Looked like a fantastic atmosphere. So many cylinders firing and in a genuinely awesome way. Nice write up 5B and good points Swami. Something like Homecoming can be a tremendous launching point for a Freshman class to develop pride in their university. The fact that DU’s flagship sports team is #1 in the nation and won both games against a legitimately good, brand-name program also helps tremendously. Would love to see this result in some increased buzz about DU hockey locally. Proud to be a Pioneer!
Dunker watched both games on NCHCTV from NJ. I could feel the energy in the arena. Go Pios