The No. 4 University of Denver Pioneers (6-2-0, 3-1-0 WCHA) host Minnesota State (3-4-1, 1-4-1 WCHA) in a two-game conference series on Nov. 16-17, 2007. Puck drop is set for 7:37 p.m. MT on Friday, Nov. 16 and 7:07 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 17. Both games will be webcast live on Pioneer Vision at www.DenverPioneers.com and broadcast locally on Mile High Sports Radio AM 1510 (Friday) and AM 990 (Saturday).
THIS WEEKEND’S STORYLINES
Minnesota State is DU’s first non-ranked opponent of the season.
Denver is tied for fourth in the WCHA with Minnesota Duluth and North Dakota at six points each. Minnesota State is ninth with three points.
DU leads the all-time series against Minnesota State 12-11-4 (.519).
Pioneers are tied for second in the nation and first in the WCHA in scoring defense at 1.50 goals per game.
Senior goaltender Peter Mannino and freshman forward Tyler Bozak earned WCHA honors for Nov. 6-12.
FOR OPENERS
The Pioneers return to action after a bye week by beginning a five-week conference stretch against Minnesota State.
DU’s current No. 4 ranking marks its highest ranking of the season.
Denver’s two-game sweep at Minnesota on Nov. 2 and 4 was the team’s first since Dec. 10-11, 1994.
DU is 19-for-19 on the penalty kill in its last four games.
PLAYER NOTES
Senior goaltender Peter Mannino earned his second Red Baron WCHA Defensive Player of the Week honor and fourth career after his two-game performance at Minnesota. Mannino allowed one goal in each win, while stopping 68 of 70 shots. Mannino has started every game and leads DU with a 6-2-0 record, 1.52 GAA and .940 Sv%.
Freshman forward Tyler Bozak earned his first career Red Baron WCHA Rookie of the Week honor after tallying four goals and one assist at Minnesota. Bozak netted his first career hat trick in the 4-1 win Nov. 4 after recording a goal and an assist in the 5-1 win Nov. 2.
MINNESOTA RECAP
The Pioneers swept (5-1, 4-1) a two-game series at Minnesota their last time out. Tyler Ruegsegger netted two goals, including the game winner, and Rhett Rakhshani, Brock Trotter and Tyler Bozak added one each as DU won the opener 5-1. Mannino got the win with a season-high 36 saves. The Pioneers were outshot 37-28, but netted a season-best three power-play goals on seven attempts. DU completed the sweep with a 4-1 win behind three goals from Bozak and 32 saves from Mannino. In game two, Minnesota’s Blake Wheeler scored the game’s first goal. Bozak tied it and Rakhshani netted the eventual game-winner on the power play at 17:26 to stake Denver to a 2-1 lead after the opening stanza. After a scoreless second period, Bozak netted two shorthanded goals to complete his first career hat trick. Trotter added two assists for a five-point weekend. Denver was outshot 33-23 in the game and 70-51 in the series, but held Minnesota to an 0-for-10 effort on the power play in the two games. DU went 1-for-4 with the man-advantage in game two en route to a 4-for-11 mark for the series.
PIONEERS ALL-TIME VS. MINNESOTA STATE
The Pioneers own a 12-11-4 (.519) advantage against the Mavericks in the series that began in 1997. Denver owns a 7-5-1 (.577) record against Minnesota State in Denver, including a tie (3-3 OT) and win (5-1) last season. DU is 3-1-1 in its last five games against Minnesota State and 6-2-2 in its last 10.
MANNINO MASTERING OPPONENTS
Peter Mannino has posted a 6-2-0 mark with a 1.52 GAA and .940 Sv% as Denver’s first No. 1 goaltender since Adam Berkhoel in 2003-04. Mannino has allowed one goal or less in all six DU wins, including his 10th career shutout against Maine in the season opener. He ranks among the WCHA goaltending leaders in winning percentage (2nd), goals against average (3rd) and winning percentage (3rd). Mannino has posted a 44-20-4 career record with a 2.29 GAA and .920 Sv%. Mannino ranks second all-time at DU in saves percentage, third in goals against average and shutouts (10), and tied for ninth in wins.
TROTTER LEADS PIONEERS IN SCORING
Redshirt sophomore Brock Trotter (4-6--10) leads Denver in scoring for the second consecutive season. He has tallied at least one point in six of eight games, including a career-high tying three-point effort against Minnesota (11/2). Trotter is DU’s current career scoring leader with 23-32--53 in 55 games. Last season, Trotter became the first DU freshman to lead the team in scoring since Dave Shields in 1986-87. He tallied five points in 2005-06 before a season-ending Achilles tendon injury.
BUTLER AND THOMAS ANCHOR BLUELINE
Junior All-American candidate Chris Butler (0-4--4) and senior captain Andrew Thomas (0-2--2) anchor DU’s blueline. Thomas leads DU with eight penalties, while Butler is second with six. Junior Patrick Mullen (0-4--4) has played defense in all eight games this season after seeing action at forward and defense last season. Freshman Chris Nutini (1-0--1) has scored the defensive corps’ lone goal.
SCOUTING THE MAVERICKS
Minnesota fell to 3-4-1 overall and 1-4-1 in the WCHA after dropping two games (4-3, 5-3) to Minnesota (6-4-0, 2-4-0 WCHA) last weekend. Mick Berge (6-2--8), Trevor Bruess (1-5--6) and Kael Mouillierat (1-4--5) lead the team in scoring, while goaltender Mike Zacharias ranks 15th in the nation with a 1.92 GAA and 22nd with a .925 Sv%. Minnesota State has played seven of its first eight games on the road under head coach Troy Jutting, who has posted an 111-133-35 mark in eight seasons. The Mavericks have posted wins against Alabama-Huntsville (7-0, 4-2) and Alaska Anchorage (2-0) this season.
POWERING UP
The Pioneers tallied power-play goals in two of its first six games before a 4-for-11 effort in two games at Minnesota. Denver’s power play jumped from 8.6% (3-for-37) to 14.6% (7-for-48) after the Minnesota series. Tyler Ruegsegger leads DU with three power-play goals, while Brock Trotter has netted two.
ON THE DEFENSIVE
The Pioneers stingy defense has limited opponents to 1.50 goals per game, which leads the WCHA and ranks tied for second in the nation. DU is 6-0-0 when limiting opponents to one goal or less. The Pioneers were 18-4-0 in 2006-07 when holding opponents to two goals or less.
PENALTY KILL PERFECTION
The Pioneers are a perfect 19-for-19 on the penalty kill over the last four games. DU ranks third in the WCHA on the penalty kill for all games at 89.7% (35-for-39).
LARGEST FRESHMEN CLASS HAS CONTRIBUTED
Head coach George Gwozdecky’s largest freshmen class of 13 student-athletes has made immediate contributions. Tyler Bozak (5-2--7) leads the team with five goals and is second with a +7 plus/minus rating. Anthony Maiani has added 3-2--5, including two game-winning goals, while Kyle Ostrow and Jesse Martin have chipped in four and two points, respectively. Freshman Marc Cheverie seeks his first career start in net for the Pioneers.
FIRST GOAL = BIG GOAL
The Pioneers have tallied the first goal in seven of eight games. DU is 5-1-0 when scoring first this season. Brock Trotter has scored the first goal in two games this season.
FAST STARTS
DU has enjoyed a sizzling 88-58 shot advantage in the first period this season. The Pioneers have outscored their opponents 8-3 in the opening stanza. DU has outshot its opponents by over six shots per game and has outshot its outshot its opponents in five of eight games.
STREAKS
Rhett Rakhshani, Tyler Ruegsegger, Tyler Bozak and Brock Trotter enter this weekend with two-game scoring streak. Bozak has a team-leading five points during the past two games.
MINNESOTA CONNECTION
Four current Pioneers are from the state of Minnesota. Senior Tom May (Eagan), sophomores Brian Gifford (Moorhead) and Brandon Vossberg (St. Paul), and freshman Joey Brehm (Edina) hail from the Land of 10,000 Lakes.
DU ON OLYMPIC-SIZED ICE
The Pioneers are 2-0-0 on olympic-sized ice sheets this season. DU posted a 6-3-1 mark on olympic-sized ice surfaces last season.
DU VS. RANKED TEAMS
The Pioneers are 6-2-0 against ranked teams this season. DU finished last season with a 9-8-1 record against ranked teams and were 7-8-2 against ranked opponents in 2005-06.
COLORADO FLAVOR
The 2007-08 DU roster sports eight Coloradans. Zach Blom (Englewood), Jon Cook (Denver), Stephen Cunningham (Boulder), Chris Nutini (Centennial), Tyler Ruegsegger (Lakewood), John Ryder (Colorado Springs) and J.P. Testwuide (Vail) all hail from the Centennial State.
OH BROTHER
Freshman defenseman Jon Cook is the brother of former Pioneer Steven Cook (2005-07). Their sister, Dominique, is married to former Pioneer and Avalanche player Mark Rycroft.
NHL DRAFT PICKS
The Pioneers boast eight NHL Draft picks on this year’s roster. DU has one third round pick (Brian Gifford), three fourth round picks (Chris Butler, Andrew Thomas and Rhett Rakhshani), one sixth round pick (Tyler Ruegsegger) and three seventh round picks (Marc Cheverie, Jesse Martin and Matt Glasser).
NHL PIONEERS
Four former DU Pioneers are currently playing in the National Hockey League. Matt Carle (San Jose), Wade Dubielewicz (New York Islanders), Matt Pettinger (Washington) and Paul Stastny (Colorado) are former DU players playing in hockey’s premier professional league.
HALL OF FAME SON
Junior forward Patrick Mullen is the son of Hockey Hall of Famer Joe Mullen. Patrick’s dad tallied 1,063 points in 16 NHL seasons and helped the Calgary Flames (1989) and Pittsburgh Penguins (1991 and 1992) to Stanley Cup championships.
USHL CONNECTION
The DU roster has 11 players that honed their skills in the United States Hockey League. Chris Butler (Sioux City), Brian Gifford (Indiana), Anthony Maiani (Sioux City), Peter Mannino (Tri-City), Jesse Martin (Tri-City), Tom May (Des Moines), Patrick Mullen (Sioux Falls), John Ryder (Ohio), J.P. Testwuide (Waterloo), Andrew Thomas (Waterloo) and Brock Trotter (Lincoln) joined DU from the USHL. DU’s roster also has six players from the British Columbia Hockey League and five from the North American Hockey League.
MAGNESS MAGIC
DU has sold out 61 consecutive regular season games at Magness Arena (6,026). The streak started with a sellout crowd on Oct. 22, 2004, when the Pioneers raised their sixth NCAA National Championship banner prior to puck drop against St. Cloud State. The Pioneers are averaging 6,044 fans this season after 6,022 in 2006-07.
CHAMPIONSHIP HOCKEY
The Pioneers are tied for second in NCAA Division I men’s ice hockey with seven NCAA National Championships. DU captured national championships in 1958, 1960, 1961, 1968, 1969, 2004 and 2005.
ON THE HORIZON
The Pioneers play in-state rival Colorado College in a home-and-home series Nov. 23-24.
