Aug. 24, 2001
If defense wins championships, the University of Denver may need to pack its bags for St. Paul, Minn. The first thing the University of Denver hopes opponents take note of this season is that defense. After finishing last season ranked 18th in the country in scoring defense, the 2001-02 Denver Pioneer squad is ready to improve on that mark. And, with the talented tandem of netminders in junior Wade Dubielewicz (Invermere, British Columbia) and sophomore Adam Berkhoel (Woodbury, Minn.), Denver's last line of defense could be the best one-two combination in the country.
GOALTENDING
Dubielewicz, an all-America candidate, had one of the best seasons ever by a Denver goalie last year. He earned the WCHA's goaltending title with a 2.24 goals against average in league action, and was named to the All-WCHA second team. He also posted a .921 saves percentage in his second season, the best single-season saves percentage in Pioneer history. He is on track to break Denver's all-time career marks in both saves percentage and goals against average, a testament to his ability between the pipes.
Dubielewicz's counterpart is also a very talented young goaltender. Adam Berkhoel had a very good rookie campaign and continued to improve each day last season. A traditional butterfly goalie, Berkhoel's improvement was evident late in the season as he defeated Colorado College (Feb. 10) and earned a tie against North Dakota (Feb. 16), both coming on the road.
DEFENSE
The Pioneers' two netminders will be policed by a solid veteran staff of defensemen. Denver lost just one defender to graduation last season and will field a returning defense of four seniors, two juniors and one sophomore. That experience along the blueline will prove vital to the success of the Pioneers. Denver closed the 2000-01 season strong, finishing third in league-action in scoring defense and second on the penalty kill.
Seniors Bryan Vines (Oakville, Ontario), Jesse Cook (Englewood, Colo.) and Erik Adams (Thunder Bay, Ontario) will anchor the defense. Vines, the 2001-02 captain, is a true defensive defenseman but stepped up his offensive output last season as well. He led all Denver blueliners as a sophomore in plus/minus and returned last year to tie for the team lead in that category. Vines also managed to post career-bests in goals (3) and points (10) during his junior campaign. Cook, an alternate captain, possesses the perfect combination of defensive and offensive talent. He tied Vines last season for the team's best plus/minus and was second among defensemen with 17 points. He also managed career-highs in assists (15) and points. Adams, Denver's third senior defenseman, is another solid blueliner that will not yield many points, but will not make many mistakes either. Adams is a physical defenseman that patrols the crease with a fierce mentality.
Junior Aaron MacKenzie (Terrace Bay, Ontario) is another blueliner that will take every opportunity to deliver a big hit. If an opponent is camping out in front of his crease, he will take measures to clear his netminders' field of vision. Perhaps Denver's most physical defender, MacKenzie learned last season how to play his style and stay out of the penalty box, drastically reducing his stops in the "sin-bin" as the year progressed. As a junior, MacKenzie will help lead the Pioneers as an alternate captain.
Sophomore Ryan Caldwell (Deloraine, Manitoba) is Denver's most talented offensive threat from the blueline. Caldwell tied for the team lead last season with 20 assists and led all defensemen in assists and scoring (23) and tied for the lead among that group with three goals.
The Pioneers' coaching staff will have a solid base to pull from to replace Judd Stauss on the blueline. Although it will not be easy to replace the team captain, senior James Armstrong (International Falls, Minn.), junior Jason Grahame (Denver, Colo.), sophomore Matt Laatsch (Lakeville, Minn.) and freshman Nick Larson (Moorhead, Minn.) will do their best to work into the lineup. Armstrong is the smallest of the group and has been plagued with injuries throughout his career. He missed most of the 1999-00 season after knee surgery and, after rehabing, was unable to crack the lineup last season. He may, however, be the most offensively talented of the three, but lacks the physical style Grahame and Laatsch will bring.
Grahame is the most fiery of the bunch and seems to enjoy the physical game as much as MacKenzie and Adams. His action has been limited due to the strength of Denver's blueline in the past, but he has worked hard and may be ready to step right into a defensive position. Laatsch saw action in one game last season and performed well. He did not score, but was a plus-2 in a 5-2 loss to North Dakota. Because of personal reasons, Laatsch left the University after Christmas. He continued to work on his hockey game with the Dubuque Fighting Saints of the USHL. He is a very talented blueliner that could also step into that sixth slot for the Pioneers.
Freshman Nick Larson will also try to break into the lineup. He is a solid defenseman who will add good size (6-foot-4, 200) to the blueline and will bring leadership after serving the Dubuque Fighting Saints of the USHL as captain last season.
OFFENSE
For the second consecutive season, the Denver Pioneers will have to find ways to replace two solid offensive forwards. Denver lost Mark Rycroft and Matt Pettinger after the 1999-00 season to the NHL and now must replace Kelly Popadynetz and Bjorn Engstrom, who graduated in 2001. With the talent returning along Denver's front line, the Pioneers will be prepared to challenge opposing defenses in the 2001-02 campaign.
Senior Chris Paradise (St. Paul, Minn.) will carry most of the load and help lead the team as alternate captain for the second straight season. He proved last season that he could lead the team, scoring a team-best 17 goals and 33 points. Despite the production, Paradise could get better. He came to Denver as a wing as a freshman. After injuries left the Pioneers depleted along the blueline, Paradise moved to the unfamiliar position of defense as a sophomore and played exceptionally well. Last season, Paradise was asked to play another unfamiliar position, but at least this one was along the front line as Paradise centered Denver's first or second line as a junior. He will be expected to remain at center and should settle in to his leadership role.
Sophomore Connor James (Calgary, Alberta) is Denver's most talented offensive player and perhaps one of the most talented offensive players in the country. He started his rookie campaign slowly last season, but came on strong, leading the Pioneers in scoring with 20 points in Denver's final 20 games. He closed the year fourth in the team in points with 27, while adding eight goals and 19 helpers. In his final five games last season, James added 10 points, including an incredible four-assist outing against Alaska Anchorage.
Junior Matt Weber (Binghamton, N.Y.) will be counted on again to force the issue with the puck. An exceptional skater, Weber used his speed and puck sense to score 14 goals in just his first full collegiate hockey season. He also added nine assists to finish fifth on the team with 23 points.
Denver will also count on juniors Kevin Doell (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan) and Greg Barber (Kelowna, British Columbia). Both skaters had slow starts last season but really stepped it up down the stretch. Doell finished the year with 19 points on nine goals and 10 assists, scoring 13 of those points in the second half of the 2000-01 campaign. Barber is also a talented offensive player who took some time to get going last season. However, once it all came together, he finished strong, contributing seven goals and eight assists on the year.
Sophomore Lukas Dora (Lednice, Czech Republic) will be another key to Denver's success in 2001-02. Dora showed glimpses of greatness last season, finishing with six goals and six assists in his first collegiate season. One of the quickest skaters on the squad, Dora also possesses one of the hardest slapshots.
Coach Gwozdecky and his staff will also search for ways to get junior Jordan Bianchin (Nanaimo, British Columbia) and J.J. Hartmann (Colorado Springs, Colo.) into the mix. Both are talented skaters who are capable of providing solid offensive numbers, as they proved during their freshman seasons.
Denver's physical presence up front will be led by senior David Neale (Victoria, British Columbia) and sophomores Greg Keith (Delta, British Columbia) and Max Bull (Faribault, Minn.). These three are capable of putting up good offensive numbers, but are just as valuable leading the physical play as well as leading the Pioneers on the penalty kill. In his third season last year, Neale posted a career-high six goals and tied his career-best with nine points.
Also expected to see playing time this season is sophomore forward Scott McConnell (Colorado Springs, Colo.). McConnell is another of Denver's big, strong, physical skaters who will add to the Pioneers' depth.
Four freshmen will be in the mix for the 2001-02 season as well. Luke Fulghum (Colorado Springs, Colo.), Jeff Drummond (Leduc, Alberta), Jon Foster (Suffern, N.Y.) and Kevin Ulanski (Madison, Wis.) will add speed and scoring to the Pioneers' offensive zone. Fulghum and Foster will team up again after spending part of last season as linemates with the Dubuque Fighting Saints of the USHL. Foster led the Saints with 51 points in 54 games (26g, 25a). At mid-season, Fulghum was traded by the Waterloo Black Hawks to the Saints. He posted 19 points (7g, 12a) in 21 games with Waterloo before closing the season with 31 points (16g, 15a) in 34 games with Dubuque. Drummond played center for the Fort McMurray Oil Barons, scoring 93 points (44g, 49a) in 73 games during the regular season and the playoffs. Ulanski played last season for the Billings Bulls of the AWHL. In 60 games, Ulanski registered 69 points (29g, 40a), placing him second on the team and seventh in the league in scoring.
