Photo courtesy of Shannon Valerio/Denver Athletics
It’s going to happen sometime. Denver’s four-year winning streak against the University of Nebraska Omaha, dating back to January of 2015, is eventually going to end. Whether it’s because of the planet’s inevitable destruction due to climate change or because of an incredible individual performance by Omaha goalie Evan Weninger, it’s going to end. For more than 58 minutes of hockey on Saturday night, it appeared the latter was going to happen. But with just 1:21 left in regulation, Ian Mitchell scored to tie the game at 2 before Cole Guttman scored less than a minute into overtime to lift the #3 Denver Pioneers to a 3-2 overtime win over the Mavericks for the second straight night. Continue reading Denver rallies to sweep Omaha and keep four-year winning streak over Mavs alive→
No. 3 Denver brings five-game win streak home to Magness Arena this weekend when they host Omaha
It’s amazing to witness the speed at which the Denver Pioneers culture can shape young hockey players. Coming into this season, most expected a steep drop off given the amount of talent and coaching that left the program after last season, but the 2018-19 Pioneers have proven that while the names on the back have changed, the name on the front and the status that comes with it haven’t. With their fifth consecutive road win heading into the second half of the season, these Pioneers are producing at the right time with team-wide contributions. Continue reading Denver Hockey Series Preview: Omaha→
It is clear by now that the DU coaching staff and players know what the problems is – it is defense. And the stats are there for all to see. Over the past 10 games, Denver (5-13, 0-4 Summit League) has allowed 50.2% shooting from the field, 47.2% from 3-point range and 91 points per game. Denver is 294th/350 in the nation in points allowed and to make matters worse, they are 344th in turnovers.
The coaching staff has tried every floor combination possible with the same result. And, before we point fingers at the coaching staff, we all saw this roster before the season started and believed that they had the potential to be outstanding.
The issue:These Denver players are not comfortable playing fast – they are rushing on offense but, more importantly, this harried approach is bleeding over to their defense.
No. 8 Denver looks to continue its success on the road this weekend against the Wisconsin Badgers
With 2018 in the books, the #8 Denver Pioneers and head coach David Carle have to be happy with the progress the team has made thus far. Their record is 10-4-2 going into this weekend’s series at the University of Wisconsin who is tied for first place in the Big Ten Conference. The Pioneers are coming off a road sweep last weekend of Merrimack and UMass-Lowell. Continue reading Denver Hockey Series Preview: Wisconsin→
This game was a carbon copy of the recent Denver-UC Irvine contest but in reverse. DU (5-8) raced out to a 10-0 lead to start the contest. Then, DU players rained 3-point shots, 15 in all, to coast to an easy victory over Montana State (3-7) Tuesday night at Magness Arena. Continue reading Denver defeats Montana State, gets back to winning ways→
As a surprise to absolutely no one, Augustana University from Sioux Falls, South Dakota will be joining The Summit League. And we told you it was going to happen well before the announcement yesterday. As any casual follower of the Summit knows, the tiny college located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota will do nothing to elevate the conference competitively or reputationally.
As an insular conference, the Summit League just got more localized with half the conference located in the Dakotas. The move is expected to be made in 2021-22. And then Augustana will join Presbyterian College from Clinton, SC as one of the smallest Division I programs in the country. Continue reading Augustana to go Division I, will likely join Summit League→
Denver travels to Grand Forks this weekend for a series with the North Dakota Fighting Hawks
The Denver Pioneers had a week off to prepare for their series with the North Dakota Fighting Hawks, but you never know what you’re going to get when these teams collide. Last season when Denver played in Grand Forks, both games were settled in overtime ties. And as tight as the NCHC is again this season, both teams could be closely matched again. The Pioneers will have to brave the cold as there’s a high temperature of 22 degrees on Friday in Grand Forks.
Denver is entering a stretch in their schedule where they will not play at Magness Arena again until January 11th when they host Omaha. After this series, they will face Merrimack, UMass Lowell, and Wisconsin on the road which will conclude their non-conference opponents for the season. Continue reading Denver hockey series preview: North Dakota→
DU Junior Lauren Loven led the entire nation in three-pointers as of Nov. 30, 2018 Photo: University of Denver
As Denver Pioneer fans, we’re lucky that we can pop our attention from one successful DU sports program to another. All three fall DU sports (men’s and women’s soccer plus women’s volleyball) earned appearances in their respective NCAA Tournaments this fall. And DU hockey is now ranked seventh in the nation on this bye week, more successful than almost anyone thought they’d be at this point in the season with a young team. Which brings me to the next DU team worthy of more of our attention, the DU women’s basketball team, who have shot out to a 6-1 start to the season and a current national top 40 RPI (#39) ranking, including a current four-game winning streak, as of Sunday, Dec. 2. (Note: Early season RPI rankings are subject to volatile swings, as game data comparisons are still somewhat paltry.)
I would venture a guess that perhaps only 10 percent of our readership here at LetsGoDU have ever been to a live DU women’s basketball game before, and it’s hard to blame them. There is a lot to do in Denver, and the DU women’s basketball teams have been pretty terrible in recent memory, known more for single-digit win/last-place seasons, a fired coach and crowds comprised mostly of friends and family members. Apart from a surprise 2001 NCAA appearance in the early years of the Ritchie Center and a period of decent mediocrity (72-52) under former coach Erik Johnson from 2008-2012, there hasn’t been a lot to cheer about with DU women’s hoops in the last 20 years.
But this year’s DU women’s team is starting to change some of that…
The Pioneers are starting to get noticed in just the second year of the Jim Turgeon coaching era, with home wins over then-#16 RPI Lamar and the latest win, a 29-point win over Loyola Marymount, a top 100 team who had already beaten UCLA and Arizona this year.Moreover, the Pioneers are a very high-scoring bunch, averaging a stunning 90 points per game to date this season, and sport a victory margin of 16 points per game.
And Turgeon, who came to DU from CSU-Pueblo in NCAA Division II two years ago, is doing all this with many of former DU coach Kerry Cremeans’ recruits, who knew only college basketball failure before Turgeon’s arrival. Moreover, he’s done it with a wholly different philosophy of team speed, running the floor at altitude and sharing the ball, instead of Cremeans’ over-reliance on feeding key players, a coaching practice that reportedly lost the locker room and brought an end to her losing tenure at DU. This year, DU has five players averaging double-digit scoring per game, a depth which makes it harder for opponents to key on any one player, and also makes for a much happier DU locker room.
DU’s high scoring attack has been led by Lauren Loven, a junior holdover recruit from Cremeans, who is now flourishing in the ball-sharing Turgeon era, leading the entire nation in made three-pointers (30 in six games through Nov. 30), and is averaging 21 points per game overall to lead the Pioneers in scoring. Additionally, fellow Junior Madison Nelson has exploded recently, with a 20-rebound performance against Lamar and pumping in 28 points in the win over Loyola Marymount. But it’s not just upperclassmen.
Hard-working associate head coach and recruiting coordinator Kayla Ard and the rest of Turgeon’s Denver staff have also brought in some freshmen who are stepping up right away, including Sydney Mech, a local swing player out of Cherry Creek High School who can play either forward or guard, and who is shooting a scorching 50% from the field, averaging 10 points per game. Additionally, talented freshman guard Tsimba Malonga from the Chicago area, who has averaged over 20 minutes per game in the last two games, is being rewarded with more playing time as her contributions increase.
While the 6-1 early record is outstanding, it has been created with a lot of home games, and we’ll soon see what the Pioneers are really made of in the coming weeks. DU is preparing to go on the road for seven of its next eight games, including visits to Wyoming, the University of Nebraska and Colorado State, before heading into the teeth of Summit League play, where top level programs South Dakota and South Dakota State are projected to lead the Summit League.
