Category Archives: Men’s Sports

Hockey, Men's Sports

Tanner Jaillet gets pro opportunity with Wolfsburg Grizzlies of top German League (DEL)

7 Comments

University of Denver Hockey

Denver Post Photo

Recently-graduated DU senior hockey goalie Tanner Jaillet is finally going to get his shot at professional hockey in Europe, as he has reportedly signed a tryout deal with German Elite League (DEL)’s Wolfsburg Grizzlies. The Grizzlies, who lost in last year’s German quarterfinals, recently lost their top netminder, Felix Bruckmann, to season-ending pelvic surgery. Jailett, an undrafted free agent, had hoped for NHL contract interest following his senior season, but the 5-10 goalie remained unsigned.

Jaillet, 24, had a long list of awards over his final two seasons as an NCAA goaltender, including all-NCHC, NCAA all-American and the 2017 Mike Richter Award winner as the top collegiate goaltender in America, when he led DU to the NCAA title. He finished his four-year DU career with an 82-27-16 record with a 2.04 GAA and a .925 career saves percentage. He leaves DU among the top DU goalies of all-time, sharing the all-time wins record with Ron Grahame (82) and remains in the career top five in a number of other statistical categories.

Jaillet will join former Pioneer defenseman William Wrenn on the Grizzlies, and will arrive in Germany on Monday, Aug. 13.

Confirmations:

http://www.grizzlys.de/news_897.html

http://www.hockeyweb.de/del/grizzlys-wolfsburg-holen-torhueter-tanner-jaillet-93956

 

Hockey, Men's Sports

PUCK SWAMI’S RAPID REACTION:  LOGAN O’CONNOR SIGNS WITH AVALANCHE

9 Comments

No. 1 Denver Pioneers hockey hosts No. 2 Minnesota Duluth at Magness Arena

Logan O’Connor has signed with the Colorado Avalanche/Denver Post Photo

National Hockey League teams have feasted on the excellence of the Denver Pioneers hockey program this off-season, taking three of DU’s top forwards (Henrik Borgstrom, Dylan Gambrell and Troy Terry) before graduation, a top defenseman (Blake Hillman) early, its head coach (Jim Montgomery), and now, DU’s captain-to-be.

Logan O’Connor, an undrafted forward from Calgary, Alberta who was slated to become DU’s captain as a senior this season, signed a two-year NHL entry-level contract as a free agent with the Colorado Avalanche on July 23, thus ending his college career a year early.  Continue reading PUCK SWAMI’S RAPID REACTION:  LOGAN O’CONNOR SIGNS WITH AVALANCHE →

Hockey, Men's Sports

Denver Hockey releases 2018-19 schedule

5 Comments
Photo courtesy DU Athletics

At long last, the wait is over. After months of patience and speculation, the University of Denver hockey program released its schedule for the 2018-19 season today. Of course, the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) released all eight teams’ conference schedules in mid-April so fans have known for months when the Pioneers would be playing conference foes. But there was still a lot of speculation about who the Pioneers would be playing outside of the NCHC.

There were rumors flying about Michigan and whether Denver would be playing the Wolverines this season. We now know for certain that at least this season, the Pioneers will not play the only program with more national titles. Even in Michigan’s absence, the Pioneers have a couple of nonconference series that, if Denver finds success in those weekends, will likely go a long way in helping their Pairwise positioning come March 2019. Continue reading Denver Hockey releases 2018-19 schedule →

Men's Lacrosse, Men's Sports

Pacific Coast Shootout with Notre Dame win-win for both programs

3 Comments

Photo: Courtesy of Newsday

When it was recently announced that Denver Pioneers lacrosse would return to Southern California to showcase one of college lacrosse’s best rivalries next season in the Sixth Annual Pacific Coast Shootout, there was some local disappointment that the duel would not resume at Peter Barton Stadium in Denver. However, both Denver and Notre Dame are taking a smart, strategic approach by scheduling their next contest in SoCal.

Notre Dame has over 7,000 California alumni while Denver boasts 8,800 alumni based in the Golden State, most of whom are located in Southen California. The matchup will offer an ideal opportunity to draw local alumni to the game. However, there is even more to this match. With a burgeoning lacrosse culture in California, this is fertile recruiting ground for both the Fighting Irish and the Pioneers. The California Interscholastic Federation reports growth in participation in overall high school athletics with lacrosse showing the largest percentage increase of any sport, a combined 7.40% or 1,245 new participants in the past year.

With both schools turning into non-east coast perennial powers, there is plenty of future lacrosse talent being developed out west for both squads. While only one girl and four boys were invited from California to the 2018 Under Armour All-America lacrosse games, the West Coast is likely to become a solid source of future stars for college lacrosse. And Denver and Notre Dame are well positioned to capitalize on that growth.

Denver and Notre Dame will square off on Saturday, March 9 at 7:00 PM (PST) at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, CA. This year’s appearance in the Shootout will mark Denver’s second and Notre Dame’s third time playing in Orange County. The Pioneers and Irish met in 2014 in the event’s inaugural game, where Denver beat Notre Dame 10-7. Notre Dame appeared again in the 2016 Shootout, beating Maryland 9-4.

Men's Lacrosse, Men's Sports

‘Rush for the Gold’: Denver Lacrosse movie released on Amazon

2 Comments

If you are a fan of Denver Lacrosse, the meteoric rise of lacrosse in the west, head coach Bill Tierney, or if you just want to relive the success of DU’s quest to repeat as national champion in 2016, this documentary film, Rush for the Gold – Pioneering Lacrosse in the West, by 7&CO Productions and directed by Ali Aboudas is for you. The film is 46 minutes long and features interviews with Bill Tierney, Matt Brown, and Paul Carcaterra.

The documentary trailer is shown below:

Continue reading ‘Rush for the Gold’: Denver Lacrosse movie released on Amazon →

Hockey, Men's Sports

Denver captain Logan O’Connor shines at Avalanche Development Camp

9 Comments

Photo courtesy of DenverPioneers.com

Forward Logan O’Connor turned heads Sunday at the Colorado Avalanche 3-on-3 rookie game scoring four goals

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – In the past couple month’s, a lot has changed for the University of Denver Pioneers hockey club.  Their head coach Jim Montgomery made the jump to the NHL signing with the Dallas Stars, their top three leading scorers left school early to turn pro, and two of their biggest leaders in Adam Plant and Tariq Hammond have graduated.  Amidst all the change, forward Logan O’Connor continues to do what he does best to be successful; work hard. Continue reading Denver captain Logan O’Connor shines at Avalanche Development Camp →

Hockey, Men's Basketball, Men's Lacrosse, Men's Soccer, Men's Sports

Puck Swami: DU and the Elusive Art of Sports Scheduling in Denver

11 Comments

desk calendar with days and dates in July 2016, flip the calendar page

Sports scheduling for the Denver Pioneers, in all sports, is often an elusive and frustrating exercise.

Being located in Denver is the largest problem, as playing here requires plane rides and hotel stays for all but a handful of DU’s D-I opponents, which is tough for non-revenue sports. We don’t have the exact figures, but it’s probably a safe bet that about 85% of DU’s opponents must fly here to play us, and likewise, DU needs to fly its own mostly non-revenue sports teams to 85% of its opponents — a dynamic that puts a lot of pressure on athletic budgets and eliminates many opponents for cost reasons.

Then there is the mile-high altitude here, a factor that still scares a number of opposing coaches from flatter places. For example, in 2004, the University of Virginia men’s lacrosse team, ranked #1 nationally at the time, came out here to play both DU and Air Force, and lost both games. The Cavaliers’ coach publicly blamed the altitude for their stumbles, and the Cavaliers have not appeared on the DU home schedule since then. Who knows how many other opposing coaches privately loathe our altitude? Continue reading Puck Swami: DU and the Elusive Art of Sports Scheduling in Denver →

Men's Sports, Women's Sports

2017-2018 a winner for Athletics, bittersweet for greater DU community

5 Comments

This past school year was an athletic success by nearly any measure – but bittersweet in other ways.

Nearly all the athletic teams or athletes represented the Crimson and Gold in various NCAA Tournaments. And DU will be taking home their 10th Directors’ Cup as the best non-football athletic department in the land. Continue reading 2017-2018 a winner for Athletics, bittersweet for greater DU community →