LetsGoDU has released its 18th annual hockey Super-Poll™ for the 2022-23 season. A host of statistics are fed into the supercomputer at Goddard Computing Center in Houston. The program runs ten thousand Monte Carlo simulations and places the Pioneers in their rightful place and Colorado College in the cellar. The results are then tabulated by Deloitte, hermetically sealed, and sent to Denver via Brinks truck to reveal the results. For the eighteenth consecutive season, DU claims the top spot.
Logan O’Connor became the latest Denver Pioneer to become a Stanley Cup Champion: Photo: Sportsnet Canada
The Colorado Avalanche’s third Stanley Cup Championship was won in Tampa, Florida with a 2-1 victory in Game Six over the Tampa Bay Lightning, making Denver into the new “Hockeytown USA”, as the Avalanche joined the 2022 NCAA Champion University of Denver and USA’s Hockey High School Division II National Champion Denver East High School for a troika of Denver hockey titles in 2022. Continue reading Former DU Pioneers Help Power Avalanche to NHL’s Stanley Cup Championship→
There have been a lot of great goalies at the University of Denver over the years, and one of the best of them, George Kirkwood, passed away last month at age 84 in his native Edmonton, Alberta.
Kirkwood’s passing is surely sad news for his surviving family, former teammates, friends, and associates. And the Pioneer Nation — even those younger Pio fans who never had the chance to know him personally or watch him play — will remember his name and exploits for as long as hockey players skate for the University of Denver. Continue reading Legendary DU Goaltender George Kirkwood Passes Away at 84→
College hockey scheduling isn’t easy. There are now 63 teams playing Division I college hockey, and DU as a 72-year-old program has played most of them over the years. Non-conference scheduling is a particular kind of art form, requiring just enough potential home wins to keep the fans (and bean-counters) happy, but not too many cupcakes either, or it can hurt your national Pairwise ranking, especially if there is an upset.Continue reading Puck Swami: Non-conference Opponents That DU Hockey Should Schedule→
As one of the “elders” in the extensive and inspiringLetsGoDU stable of writers, I thought I’d jot down some of my own musings after cheering on DU’s epic NCAA hockey championship weekend in Boston.
So much has already been written about how talented and clutch this Denver team was (and they were indeed that), but I think it’s important to state a few other things that don’t appear in the media as often as they should… Continue reading Puck Swami: Five Musings From a DU Fan in Boston→
Juho Olkinuora (lying on ice at lower right next to Olympic sign) is the first DU athlete to win an Olympic gold medal in 70 years. Photo:IIHF
University of Denver ice hockey alumnus Juho ‘Jussi’ Olkinuora (attd. DU 2011-13) won a 2022 Olympic gold medal for his native Finland on Feb. 20. It took 70 years, but it was the first gold medal won by a DU athlete since Jerome Biffle’s gold medal for Team USA in the long jump in the 1952 Olympic Summer Games in Helsinki, Finland – ironically, Olkinoura’s home city. Continue reading Juho Olkinuora is first DU Olympic Gold Medal Athlete Since 1952→
Following Denver’s decisive sweep of Colorado College in which they outscored the Tigers 9-0 this past weekend, Damien Goddard doubled down on his effort to bolster the lagging CC hockey program. “I put my flight suit on eBay for a reason – the Tigers need our help. Let’s bring adequate Division I men’s hockey back to the Springs!” Continue reading Damien Goddard Makes 11th Hour Plea For CC Hockey→
The original Damien Goddard flight suit featured in LetsGoDU on December 31st, 2021 is up for auction on eBay along with a signed Certificate of Authenticity. The auction ends in eight days. The public auction comes with a twist – all auction proceeds will go to Colorado College Athletics for hockey player recruitment. Continue reading LetsGoDU Founder Damien Goddard Auctions Flight Suit to Benefit CC Hockey→
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→
