The University of Denver has reached out to a familiar hockey face to lead the Pioneer Athletic Department and named Josh Berlo as its new Vice-Chancellor for Athletics and Ritchie Center Operations. The announcement will be made this morning at 10:45 at Ritchie Center on the DU campus. Berlo has been the University of Minnesota-Duluth’s Athletic Director since 2013 and had just signed a three-year contract extension at UMD just a couple of weeks ago. The Pioneers, however, were able to pry him away from Duluth. Continue reading Breaking: UMD’s Josh Berlo Tabbed as DU’s Next Athletic Director
Tag Archives: College Hockey News
A Five Point Fan Wish List for DU’s Next Athletic Director
As DU winds down the current athletic year and Denver Vice Chancellor for Athletics and Recreation Karlton Creech prepares to depart for the next chapter in his career, we die-hard fans at LetsGoDU have our wish list for the next athletic director, whomever it may be.
Here are our wishes, in rough order of priority: Continue reading A Five Point Fan Wish List for DU’s Next Athletic Director
Damien Goddard: First in Space for DU
The inimitable Damien Goddard, the founder of LetsGoDU, was recognized Wednesday by the University of Denver as the first DU graduate venturing to space. Following in the footsteps of Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and William Shatner, Goddard will be blasting into the great unknown on January 15th, 2022. Goddard’s travel was booked through Elon Musk’s Space Perspective company at a cost of $125,000. Continue reading Damien Goddard: First in Space for DU
Ian Mitchell Returning to DU for Junior Year
Denver Pioneer hockey defenseman and alternate captain Ian Mitchell will return for his junior year in the Pioneers’ 70th anniversary season, Mitchell announced on Wednesday. Mitchell’s decision to return ended speculation that second-round draft pick of the Chicago Blackhawks would end his college career early to sign an NHL contract.
“In the past few days since our season ended, I have had the chance to reflect on the year and the season our team had,” Mitchell, a Calahoo, Alberta native, said in a DU press release. “It became clear to me during that time that I did not feel ready mentally or physically to leave Denver. I believe this is the best place for me to become a better hockey player and as a team we have an opportunity to do something very special next year. I would like to thank the Chicago Blackhawks organization for being so supportive and respectful of my decision to remain in school and continue my development. I am looking forward to next season.”
Mitchell has eight goals, 49 assists and 32 penalty minutes through 80 career games with the Pioneers. The Chicago Blackhawks prospect registered six goals, 21 assists and 18 penalty minutes through 39 games during the 2018-19 season, leading Denver defensemen in points and leading all Pioneer skaters with 12 power-play points and 66 blocked shots to earn Second-Team All-NCHC honors. In January, Mitchell represented Canada at the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship where he posted one goal and two assists in five games.
Mitchell is a two-time member of the NCHC Academic All-Conference Team and a two-time NCHC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete. Prior to coming to Denver, Mitchell tallied 14 goals and 50 assists in 109 games with the Spruce Grove Saints (AJHL) from 2015-17. He represented Canada at the 2016 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup, 2015 World U-17 Hockey Challenge and 2015 Winter Games.
Pioneers’ slumping offense threatens postseason hockey hopes
It’s not a secret.
The #7 University of Denver hockey team’s offensive production has slumped, from scoring 3.5 goals per game in first 18 games of the season to 2.0 goals per game in the last 16 games (all of the last 16 were vs. NCHC opponents). In short, this is a bad time of year to be slumping, and the recent loss of the Gold Pan to rival Colorado College, getting swept with only a single goal to show for last weekend’s nearly 60 DU shots-on-goal, has brought the current DU offensive problems into high relief. Continue reading Pioneers’ slumping offense threatens postseason hockey hopes
DU Takes Five of Six NCHC Points in Omaha, Clinches Home Ice for NCHC Playoffs
The Denver Pioneers got some solid results in the last full road weekend of the NCHC regular season, defeating the University of Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks 4-1 on Friday night, and tying the Mavericks 3-3 on Saturday night, with a bonus standings point for an NCHC overtime 3-on-3 winning goal at Baxter Arena in Omaha. The win and tie extended DU’s undefeated streak against Omaha to 16 games, dating back to 2015.
The #6-ranked Pioneers (19-8-5 overall, 11-8-3 NCHC) were outshot (and often outplayed) in both games by a more desperate Omaha team (9-20-3), ranked #44 in Pairwise. That said, the Pioneers were able to take more advantage of their higher skill level on scoring chances to secure the five-point weekend, putting seven regulation goals behind Omaha netminder Evan Weninger, plus the extra NCHC overtime winner, over the two games. Continue reading DU Takes Five of Six NCHC Points in Omaha, Clinches Home Ice for NCHC Playoffs
Pioneers Squeeze-Out Road Split With Minnesota-Duluth Behind Cooley’s 1-0 Shutout
DULUTH, Minn. — DU Goaltender Devin Cooley returned to the Denver lineup after missing 10 games for an injury, just in time to turn away all 27 shots he faced from the fourth-ranked Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs for a 1-0 shutout in Saturday’s second game of the two-game NCHC series, before over 6,400 fans at Amsoil Arena.
The No. #7 Pioneers were able to get just 16 shots on goal in the game, but were able to ride a single first-period goal from Slava Demin and held on to salvage an important split in a hostile road environment.
The Saturday night DU win over UMD avenged a 5-2 loss to the Bulldogs on Friday night, when DU was badly outplayed in the third period.
With the road victory, the Pioneers vaulted into fourth place in the National Pairwise ranking system, which mimics the process used to select teams for the NCAA tournament next month, and also moved the Pioneers into fourth place in the NCHC standings.
“I’m really proud of our guys’ effort and their resilience to be able to stick together and gut out a tough road win,” said DU Coach David Carle said after the game. “It hasn’t been easy as of late. We’ve been in a lot of wars and a lot of low scoring games. We haven’t had success on the road and to be able to come into this building is a feather in our cap.”
The Pioneers lone marker of the game came at the 8:04 mark of the first period, when DU’s Emilio Peterson passed the puck to Slava Demin, who launched a 50-foot point shot through traffic to beat UMD net minder Hunter Shepard for Demin’s fourth goal of the season.
The Pioneers then survived a furious Minnesota-Duluth comeback when the Bulldogs outshot Denver 13-2 in the third period, but Cooley remained steadfast for his third shutout of the season as the Pioneers won only their second road conference game of the season. Cooley’s shutout was his second over UMD this season, with the first one coming back in November at Magness Arena in Denver.
The Pioneers (16-7-4, 8-7-2-2) will face Miami (Ohio) next weekend in a two game series at Magness Arena.
Fighting Hawks fans begin annual trek to Denver
Photo: Courtesy of Courtyard by Marriott Cherry Creek
North Dakota fans are sure to enjoy their stay in the Mile High City – just like last season. North Dakota fans will be making their annual pilgrimage to Denver next weekend to watch the North Dakota – Denver hockey series. And, as usual, we are following their stories closely. Continue reading Fighting Hawks fans begin annual trek to Denver
Denver Hockey Weekend Preview: Air Force & Alabama-Huntsville
Photo courtesy of DenverPioneers.com
The Denver Pioneers start the 2018-19 season on the road with a tough game against the Air Force Falcons
Welcome back Pioneers fans! After a long summer, college hockey is finally back and it couldn’t have come any sooner. There have been several questions surrounding the Denver Pioneers this offseason regarding their new leadership behind the bench and on the ice, but only time will tell how the young group transitions.
In the first USCHO poll of the season, the Pioneers are ranked #10 in the country. They are joined in the top 20 by fellow NCHC members #3 Minnesota-Duluth, #5 St. Cloud State, #13 North Dakota, and #18 Western Michigan. It’s safe to say the NCHC will be uber-competitive yet again this year. Continue reading Denver Hockey Weekend Preview: Air Force & Alabama-Huntsville
2017-18 Denver Hockey: Comprehensive freshman class profile
Photo credit: Robert Murray/Fort McMurray Today
Summer is finally over and Fall is upon us once again. Rather than waking up to the bright, piercing sun, we’re waking up to cool, crisp mornings. The Pumpkin Spice Latte is back and Major League Baseball playoff races are heating up (the Rockies are still in it!) and we’ve reached the final days of September. All of this means only one thing. College hockey is finally right around the corner. Continue reading 2017-18 Denver Hockey: Comprehensive freshman class profile