COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – If you read last night’s recap, the one that summed up the #8 Denver Pioneers’ shutout of the archrival Colorado College Tigers, you could have copied and pasted that into this space right here. And I did indeed think about doing that. But last night’s game was a shutout for Denver and this one wasn’t. But CC’s goal was about the only difference between Friday and Saturday night as Denver traveled south to the World Arena to close out 2019 and the first half of the 2019-2020 Battle for the Gold Pan with a 3-1 win and clinch the sweep. The sweep puts Denver in full control of the Gold Pan series as just another win or tie in the second half of the series in March will guarantee the trophy’s return to Denver. Continue reading Pioneers take down Tigers in dominating fashion to sweep weekend & take commanding Gold Pan edge→
Photo courtesy of Shannon Valerio/Denver Athletics
DENVER – Mired in a 1-4-3 slump, the #8 Denver Pioneers were in need of a spark, anything at all that might give them some extra motivation. After an underwhelming two games in the desert against Arizona State that saw Denver lose to and tie the Sun Devils, the Pioneers – thanks to a stellar shutout performance by goaltender Devin Cooley – got back on track in the first game of the season against the unranked archrival Colorado College Tigers with a 3-0 victory at Magness Arena. The win gave Denver the early edge in earning back the coveted Gold Pan trophy, awarded annually to the winner of the DU-CC series. Continue reading Pioneers hold serve in first Gold Pan matchup as Devin Cooley shuts out rival CC Tigers→
Surprised by the news of Jim Montgomery’s sudden dismissal by the Dallas Stars, the hockey world is still awaiting word on what, exactly, happened. Sometimes, Twitter can be cruel and other times, it can provide some much-needed comic relief. Here is the latter, as Stars fans and Hockey Twitter reacted to the unexpected change behind the Dallas Stars bench. Continue reading Twitter Reacts to Jim Montgomery Dismissal→
Photo:Colorado College hockey players revel in last season’s ‘championship moment’
“We’ve added the 2018-2019 Gold Pan banner to our 43 other participation banners,” said hockey head coach Mike Haviland in a Colorado College press release earlier this year. The announcement outlined a year-long celebration commemorating last season’s series win against Denver. Continue reading Colorado College Enjoying Season-Long Gold Pan Celebration→
Denver Boone flew in for the DU tailgate and the Denver vs Arizona State game in Glendale, Arizona to cheer the Pioneers. Photo: Damien Goddard
GLENDALE, Ariz. — So the score lines from DU’s first-ever foray into the Arizona desert for hockey weren’t very pretty – #20 Arizona State 4, #4 DU 1 in the first game and ASU 2, DU 2 in overtime in the second game. Continue reading Puck Swami’s Musings from the Arizona Desert→
A night after #20 Arizona State completed the upset for the Sun Devils’ first-ever victory over a top-5 team, it took a goal from Cole Guttman with 40 seconds left for the #4 Denver Pioneers to avoid a sweep and secure a 2-2 tie at Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona. Since starting the season 8-0-0, the Pioneers have gone 1-4-3 against Minnesota Duluth, North Dakota, Western Michigan, and now Arizona State. Continue reading Late Cole Guttman goal saves Pioneers from desert sweep→
While social media and fans from Denver and Arizona State battled during the week, it was ultimately Arizona State hockey players who defeated the Denver Pioneers on the ice at tiny Oceanside Arena Friday night. It was the Sun Devils forward Johnny Walker with the first two goals. DU’s Jaakko Heikkinen scored in the third period to pull within one goal, 2-1. A penalty on Lliam Finlay with three minutes left in the third period led to a Sun Devils power play goal when a Jack Judson blast caromed off teammate Johnny Walker, past DU goalie Magnus Chrona, and into the net for the ASU’s third goal – which all but sealed the game. The Sun Devils Brett Gruber hammered home the fourth and final dagger on an empty net goal to finish off the Pioneers in the waning seconds. Continue reading ASU Gets the Last Laugh in 4-1 Win→
Welcome back Pioneer fans! We hope everybody had a great thanksgiving with their families this past week. Your pumpkin pie probably tasted much sweeter after Denver defeated Western Michigan 6-1, earning their ninth win of the season. After some time off to recollect, the No. 4 Pioneers hit the road again and will play No. 20 Arizona State for the first time on the Sun Devils home ice. And if the competition is anything like the social media battle that led up to this weekend, we should expect a high-intensity series.
