Starting the weekend, Denver (19-8-5, 9-7-4 NCHC) was in search of goals and steady goaltending. The Pioneers got both in a 7-0 rout of the Miami Redhawks Saturday night. Continue reading Denver Blasts Hapless Redhawks, 7-0
Monthly Archives: February 2020
Pioneer Men’s Lacrosse Destroys Winless St. Bonaventure, 16-3 in Face-Off Classic
What a difference a week makes at Barton Stadium.
Last Saturday, the Pioneers went toe-to-toe with a storied Duke program, losing 15-13.
This Saturday, before another sellout crowd of 2,000+ at Barton Stadium, Denver faced the St. Bonaventure Bonnies from New York State, representing the polar opposite side of the D-I college lacrosse spectrum — a second-year program that has yet to win a single D-I lacrosse game. The #13th-ranked Pioneers made sure it stayed that way, cruising to a 16-3 beat-down of the Bonnies behind the balanced scoring of 13 players at DU’s Barton Stadium on Feb. 22 in the annual Face-Off Classic.
The Pios, wearing black uniforms, jumped out to 5-1 lead in the first period, extended it to 10-1 at halftime, and throttled back a bit in the second half with a big lead, dominating the face-off X, winning 20 out of 23 face-offs — Alec Stathakis’ won 14 of 16, while John Boos won 6 of 7 for Denver. The Bonnies tried four different players at X to stop Stathakis and Boos, but could only win 3 of 23 faceoffs on the day. DU also won the ground ball battle, 39-19.
Freshman attackman J.J. Sillstrop led the way for the Pioneers with a 3-goal hat trick (the second such feat for the Californian in his three college games so far), Drew Erickson added two goals for DU and the Pioneers got single-goal scoring from 10 other players. The Pioneers were able to play much of the roster in the rout, with three different DU goalies getting playing time in the contest. DU played mostly reserve players in the entire fourth quarter en-route to the win.
And it certainly could have been a lot worse for the Bonnies, were it not for the heroics of SBU goalie Brett Dobson, who had an outstanding 18 saves in the contest on 34 DU shots on goal. SBU could only manage two shots on goal in the first half against DU’s best players, and finished with just eight total shots on the afternoon. Matthew DeGirolamo had two of SBU’s three markers to pace the Bonnies.
Denver moved to 2-1 on the young season. The Bonnies, who went 0-13 last year as a brand new lacrosse program, and were 0-2 coming into Denver’s Face Off Classic, fell to 0-3 this year and remain looking for the program’s first victory.
The Pios will next face the Cleveland State Vikings tomorrow (Sunday) at 4:30 PM MT in the finale of the Face-Off Classic.
Ward hat trick, Guttman’s 4 points power Pioneers past RedHawks to end losing streak
DENVER – All hat tricks are memorable. At the collegiate level, in the NCHC, netting three goals in a game against any opposition is an impressive feat by itself. Tyler Ward’s first career hat trick, though, transcended the ‘mundane’ nature of other hat tricks as he netted all three of his goals within the first 19 minutes of the #7 Denver Pioneers’ (18-8-5, 8-7-4-3, 31 pts) 7-3 victory over the unranked, 7th-place Miami University RedHawks (6-18-5, 3-13-3-2, 14 pts) at Magness Arena. Ward’s first-period effort and Cole Guttman’s subsequent four-point night gave Denver the jump they needed race past the RedHawks to increase its lead over fifth-place St. Cloud State to four points and keep pace with third-place Western Michigan in the NCHC standings. Continue reading Ward hat trick, Guttman’s 4 points power Pioneers past RedHawks to end losing streak
Denver Hockey Series Preview: Miami (OH)
It was another difficult series for the No. 7 Pioneers who fell to the North Dakota Fighting Hawks 4-1 and 3-1 last weekend. Bobby Brink and Brett Edwards were the lone goal-scorers in each game in a series where it seemed that UND was getting most of the puck luck. It was a tough environment and an even harder battle getting back into games with the Fighting Hawks who played with a lead all weekend. The Pioneers also took a too-many-men minor in each game, something you don’t usually see. It’s been clear that Denver hasn’t been able to play their game in the last two series, but there’s an opportunity to make up some ground before playoff time. The Pioneers host the Miami RedHawks this weekend who may take the brunt of some built-up frustration.
Denver Loses All-American Gymnast Lynnzee Brown for the Season
DU’s All-American gymnast junior Lynnzee Brown formally acknowledged on Twitter that she is out for the remainder of the season. A lower-body injury, reportedly an Achilles tendon, was sustained during the final floor exercise at Magness Arena this past weekend. On her final pass of the afternoon during her floor routine she landed awkwardly and was carried from the arena.
Thank you for all the well wishes! I’m excited to cheer on my team the rest of season and work towards a strong recovery! ❤️💛#meraki @ University of Denver https://t.co/rgTn4zgXFp
— Lynnzee Brown (@lynnzeeb4) February 20, 2020
Continue reading Denver Loses All-American Gymnast Lynnzee Brown for the Season
Pioneers Prevail in OT, 100-96, Versus ORU
It surely wasn’t easy. Sophomore Jase Townsend nailed three clutch free throws with a second in regulation to force overtime with Oral Roberts. Then, senior leader Ade Murkey fouled-out a minute and a half into overtime but the scrappy Pioneers still prevailed, 100-96, against the visiting Golden Eagles. Continue reading Pioneers Prevail in OT, 100-96, Versus ORU
Taking Stock of DU Hockey
Just a few weeks ago, DU was riding high on an 11-game unbeaten streak. They dominated lesser opponents like CC and Miami while demonstrating their ability to play well late in games to close them out or even come back when they had to. Everything was going about as well as Denver could have wanted it to…until it wasn’t. Now, four straight losses against Minnesota Duluth and North Dakota later and with just six games left in the regular season, the Pioneers and their championship aspirations are at a crossroads. There are some hard truths that they have to face and address if they are going to get things back on track and punch their ticket to Detroit in April. Continue reading Taking Stock of DU Hockey
Pioneer Flashback: When DU Basketball Was a Regular at Madison Square Garden (Part II)
Our own Puck Swami takes a look back through DU’s rich sports history to the eight times DU men’s basketball played at New York City’s Madison Square Garden in this two-part flashback series. In the first part (here), he covered the first four DU appearances between 1947 and 1959, while in this second part (below) he covers the second four MSG appearances, which occurred between 1959 and 1966.
Pioneer Flashback: When DU Basketball Was a Regular at Madison Square Garden (Part I)
Photo: The old Madison Square Garden (1925-1968) in New York City, seen here in 1932 taking up most of a city block, hosted the DU Pioneers Basketball team eight times between 1947 and 1966.
Our own Puck Swami takes a look back through DU’s rich sports history to the eight times DU men’s basketball played at New York City’s Madison Square Garden between 1947 and 1966 in this first of a two-part flashback series, which covers DU’s first four appearances in New York City.
While DU basketball is known today mostly on the basketball courts of Denver, and around the Summit League, there was once a time when the DU Pioneers were a New York City attraction, playing eight times at the legendary old Madison Square Garden in New York City in the 19-year span between 1947 and 1966. Continue reading Pioneer Flashback: When DU Basketball Was a Regular at Madison Square Garden (Part I)
NCAA Moving to Allow for More Flexible Student-Athlete Transfer Rules
According to a number of news sources, the NCAA is quickly moving to change their transfer policy for student-athletes, allowing a one-time transfer process for collegiate athletes with the ability to compete the following academic year. This new policy would trump the current requirements for student-athletes transferring to a four-year NCAA school who must complete one academic year in residence at the new school before they can play for the new school unless they qualify for a transfer exception or waiver – usually financial hardship or outright waiver from the departing institution. Continue reading NCAA Moving to Allow for More Flexible Student-Athlete Transfer Rules