TEAM HIGHLIGHTS
Denver won its 12th WCHA regular-season title with a 19-5-4 league record.
The Pioneers captured their 14th Wells Fargo Denver Cup and reclaimed the Gold Pan Trophy from Colorado College with a 2-1-1 mark in the four-game series.
Denver made its third consecutive and 21st overall NCAA Tournament appearance.
The Pioneers won 21 or more games for a school-record ninth consecutive season.
DU won 10 consecutive games from Jan. 29-Feb. 27, marking its longest winning streak since winning 12 straight in 2001-02.
The Pioneers swept four-game, regular-season series' against North Dakota and Minnesota for the first time in the same season.
INDIVIDUAL HIGHLIGHTS
Goaltender Marc Cheverie and forward Rhett Rakhshani became the first DU teammates to be named Hobey Baker Award Top-10 finalists in the same season.
Cheverie, Rakhshani and defenseman Patrick Wiercioch were named Reebok West First-Team All-Americans. The three All-America selections were the most for Denver since 2005 when Matt Carle, Gabe Gauthier and Brett Skinner were honored.
Rakhshani and Wiercioch joined WCHA Player of the Year Cheverie on the All-WCHA First Team. The three All-WCHA First-Team selections were the most for Denver since landing four on the team in 1973.
Tyler Ruegsegger (second team), Joe Colborne (third team) and Matt Donovan (rookie team) also earned All-WCHA accolades.
Cheverie became the first DU goaltender since Wade Dubielewicz (2002) to earn the WCHA goaltending title with a 2.05 goals against average in 25 league games.
Rakhshani became the first DU player since Paul Stastny (2005) to win the WCHA scoring title with 35 points on 15 goals and 20 assists in 28 league games.
Donovan helped Team USA to the gold medal at the 2010 IIHF World Junior Championship in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
IN THE CLASSROOM
Denver broke its own WCHA record with 19 All-WCHA Academic Team honorees in 2009-10. Cody Brookwell, Marc Cheverie, Joe Colborne, Jon Cook, Nate Dewhurst, Brian Gifford, Matt Glasser, Dustin Jackson, John Lee, Jesse Martin, Chris Nutini, Kyle Ostrow, Lars Paulgaard, Rhett Rakhshani, Tyler Ruegsegger, John Ryder, Luke Salazar, Patrick Wiercioch and Brandon Vossberg all earned a 3.0 GPA or higher this season.
The Pioneers broke their own school-record with eight WCHA Scholar-Athletes. Joe Colborne, Brian Gifford, Matt Glasser, Chris Nutini, Kyle Ostrow, Rhett Rakhshani, Tyler Ruegsegger and Patrick Wiercioch achieved a 3.5 GPA or higher in 2009-10.
IN THE POLLS
Denver finished fourth in the final USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men's College Hockey Poll. The Pioneers were ranked in the top five in both national polls the entire season. DU also returned to the top of both national polls during the regular season for the first time since 2005. The Pioneers began the season as the top-ranked team in the first USCHO.com/CBS Sports Poll. The preseason No. 1 ranking was DU's first since the start of the 2005-06. The Pioneers were predicted to win the WCHA in the 39th annual Grand Forks Herald's preseason coaches poll and Madison.com media poll. The last time Denver was picked to win the WCHA in the Grand Forks Herald poll was in 2002-03 when the Pioneers finished seventh.
IN THE COMMUNITY
Brandon Vossberg was a finalist for the prestigious Hockey Humanitarian Award, while Rhett Rakhshani was a finalist for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award.
MACNAUGHTON CUP COMES BACK TO DENVER
Rhett Rakhshani's overtime goal at Minnesota State on Feb. 27 gave Denver its first WCHA regular-season title and MacNaughton Cup since 2005. DU won the WCHA by five points over second place Wisconsin. The Pioneers' 19 wins were the most for a WCHA league winner since Colorado College had 21 in 2007-08. Denver defeated every WCHA team, including North Dakota and Minnesota four times each, at least once except Wisconsin.
RED BARON WCHA FINAL FIVE IN REVIEW
Denver went 0-2 at the Red Baron WCHA Final Five for the second time in school history on March 19-20. Denver lost 4-3 to North Dakota in the semifinals and 6-3 to Wisconsin in the third place game. The Pioneers allowed three special teams' goals against North Dakota and goaltender Marc Cheverie was pulled after allowing three goals on 11 shots in the first period against Wisconsin. Matt Donovan, John Lee and Chris Knowlton scored goals against the Sioux. Rhett Rakhshani, Jesse Martin and Nate Dewhurst (first career) scored against the Badgers, who launched 48 shots against the Pioneers, marking a season-high against for DU. Adam Murray had a career-high 34 saves in relief of Cheverie (8 saves) in the 6-3 loss against eventual NCAA runner-up Wisconsin.
NCAA TOURNAMENT REVIEW
No. 1 seed Denver dropped a 2-1 decision to No. 4 seed RIT in the first round of the NCAA East Regional on March 26 at Times Union Center in Albany, N.Y. Jared DeMichiel stopped 39 shots and Chris Tanev and Cameron Burt scored to lift RIT to the upset and eventual NCAA Frozen Four berth at Ford Field in Detroit, Mich. Joe Colborne scored and Marc Cheverie had 23 saves in the loss for Denver. Tanev scooped up a clearing attempt by Denver's Cody Brookwell and beat Cheverie unassisted with a blast from the right circle to give RIT a 1-0 lead at 5:02 of the first stanza. Burt then buried a pass from Andrew Favot into an open net on the power play for a 2-0 lead at 12:36 of the third period. Colborne scored on the power play from Tyler Ruegsegger and Patrick Wiercioch at 14:34 of the final stanza, but DU couldn't score the equalizer after pulling Cheverie for the final 1:45. DU outshot RIT, 40-25 in the game, but lost its third consecutive game overall and third straight in the NCAA tournament since claiming the national title in 2005.
WELLS FARGO DENVER CUP IN REVIEW
Tournament Most Valuable Player Rhett Rakhshani propelled the Pioneers to wins over Nebraska Omaha (7-0) and eventual NCAA champion Boston College (4-3). Rakhshani had four goals and two assists in the tournament and was named INCH National Player of the Week for his efforts. Marc Cheverie, Joe Colborne and Patrick Wiercioch joined Rakhshani on the all-tournament team.
FOUR PIONEERS TURN PRO
Marc Cheverie (Florida), Joe Colborne (Boston), Rhett Rakhshani (New York Islanders) and Patrick Wiercioch (Ottawa) all signed professional contracts following the season. Cheverie ranks first all-time in saves percentage (.926) and shutout minutes (223:51), while Rakhshani is tied for 18th on DU's all-time scoring list with 151 points in 156 career games. Colborne and Wiercioch finished their two-year DU careers with 72 and 62 points, respectively.
IN THE PROS
Tyler Bozak (Toronto), Chris Butler (Buffalo), Matt Carle (Philadelphia) and Paul Stastny (Colorado) are former Pioneers currently playing in the NHL. Bozak tallied 8-19=27 in 37 games, Butler had 1-20=21 in 59 games, Carle registered 6-29=35 in 80 games and Stastny had 20-59=79 in 81 games. Stastny helped Team USA to the silver medal at the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Winter Games. Former Pioneer Brock Trotter made his NHL debut for Montreal on Feb. 6.
CHEVY EARNS SECOND STRAIGHT TEAM MVP
Marc Cheverie earned his second consecutive Most Valuable Player honor, while senior captain Rhett Rakhshani was named Most Inspirational Player as the University of Denver celebrated its 54th Annual Hockey Awards Evening on April 23 at the Cable Center on the DU campus. Cheverie earned the Bill Masterton Memorial Award (MVP), Keith Magnuson Memorial Award for best defensive player and "Star of the Year" Award (most star of the game points). Rakhshani earned the Dr. Ralph Verploeg Award for most inspirational player and Leading Scorer Award. Matt Donovan won the Barry Sharp Memorial Award as top freshman, while Nate Dewhurst and Chris Nutini shared the Murray Armstrong Award as most improved players. Matt Glasser earned the Dr. Ken Bredesen Award for sportsmanship and shared the Dr. Art Mason Award for top scholar-athlete with Tyler Ruegsegger. Vossberg earned the Bob Martin Memorial Award for community service for the fourth consecutive season.
OFFENSE SPOKE VOLUMES
The Pioneers were led by their top line of Rhett Rakhshani (21-29=50), Tyler Ruesegger (16-25=41) and Joe Colborne (22-19=41). Rakhshani tied for fourth in WCHA overall scoring, while Ruegsegger and Colborne tied for 10th, respectively, in scoring. Colborne tied for the NCAA lead with eight game-winning goals, and ranked third in the WCHA in goals and tied for fourth with 11 power-play goals. Kyle Ostrow (16-10=26) added five game-winning goals. Rakhshani, Colborne and Ruegsegger accounted for 44% of Denver's goal scoring and 23 of DU's 41 power-play goals. Anthony Maiani added 8-26=34, while defenseman Patrick Wiercioch had 6-21=27. Ruegsegger, who enjoyed a career-best, 11-game point streak (6-11=17) from Nov. 21-Jan. 9, led the team with a +15 rating. Wiercioch quarterbacked DU's power play to a 20.1 percentage, while leading all blueliners with a +11 rating and ranked third among WCHA blueliners in WCHA overall scoring. Matt Donovan (7-14=21) and Drew Shore (5-14=19) were DU's top scoring rookies. Colborne (8), K. Ostrow (5), Rakhshani (4), Ruegsegger (2), Maiani (2), Shore (2), Jesse Martin, Matt Glasser, Brian Gifford and Luke Salazar netted DU's 27 game-winning goals.
DEFENSE NEVER RESTED
Denver's defense was led by junior goaltender Marc Cheverie (24-6-3, 2.08 GAA, .932 Sv%), who led the WCHA in wins, goals against average, save percentage, winning percentage (.773) and shutouts (6). Cheverie also led the WCHA in wins (17), save percentage (.934) and shutouts (4) in league games. He finished second in the nation in save percentage (.932) and winning percentage (.773), tied for second in wins (24) and shutouts (6), sixth in goals against average (2.08) and 11th in minutes (2,044:27). Cheverie allowed two or less goals in 24 of 35 starts. Backup goaltender Adam Murray added a 3-4-1 mark with a 3.81 GAA and .874 Sv%. Cody Brookwell led the team with 55 blocked shots, while John Ryder had a team-leading with 246 hits.
SPECIAL TEAMS WERE SPECIAL
Denver finished second in the WCHA on the penalty kill at 86.5% and fifth on the power play at 20.1%. DU was 17-7-3 when scoring on the power play and 19-1-2 when holding opponents scoreless with the man-advantage. The Pioneers were 148-for-167 (88.6%) on the penalty kill with Marc Cheverie in net.
PIONEERS IN THE 2010 POSTSEASON
Jesse Martin led DU with 3-2=5 in five postseason games, while Kyle Ostrow added 1-3=4 and Drew Shore had 0-4=4. Marc Cheverie was 2-2 with a 2.91 GAA and .891 Sv% in five games. DU's top line of Rhett Rakhshani, Tyler Ruegsegger and Joe Colborne was limited to a combined 3-4=7 in five games.
UNLIMITED MILEAGE ON THIS CHEVY
Hobey Baker Award Top 10 Finalist and WCHA Player of the Year Marc Cheverie was DU's MVP this season and was one of the top players in college hockey. The Pioneers were 25-7-3 when Cheverie started and 2-3-1 when freshman Adam Murray started. The consensus All-Amercian and four-time Red Baron WCHA Defensive Player of the Week set the DU all-time consecutive shutout minutes mark at 223:51 this season and tied Peter Mannino's school record with his third consecutive shutout at Minnesota on Oct. 24. Cheverie earned INCH National Player of the Week, Red Baron WCHA Defensive Player of the Week and AHCA National Player of the Month (October) honors after becoming the first goaltender to shut out Minnesota in back-to-back games. He has also recorded shutouts against Ohio State, North Dakota (2) and Nebraska Omaha. He was also named WCHA Defensive Player of the Week on Nov. 24, Feb. 2 and Feb. 16. Cheverie was named to the Wells Fargo Denver Cup All-Tournament Team on Jan. 2. He tied a career-high with 45 saves at Air Force on Feb. 6 and was one shutout shy of tying DU's single-season mark of seven set by Gerry Powers (1967-68) and Adam Berkhoel (2003-04). Cheverie ranks first all-time at Denver in save percentage (.926), third in goals against average (2.21), fourth in shutouts (10) and 10th in wins (48). Cheverie ranks second on DU's single-season record list in save percentage (.932), tied for third in shutouts (6), fourth in goals against average (2.08), eighth in saves (976), tied for ninth in wins (24) and games (35), and 11th in winning percentage (.773).
RAKH CLIMBING
Consensus All-American Rhett Rakhshani (60-91=151) tied for No. 18 on DU's all-time scoring list with Bill Abbott (1951-55). Rakhshani tallied a career-high 50 points this season, surpassing the 37 points he scored as a junior. The three-time Red Baron WCHA Offensive Player of the Week honoree ranked 18th in the nation with 1.22 points per game. Rakhshani tallied a team-leading 16 multi-point efforts, including five two-goal games. He also recorded 42 multi-point games in 156 career outings.
RUEGSEGGER JOINS 100-POINT CLUB
All-WCHA second-team forward Tyler Ruegsegger became the 91st member of the Pioneer Century Club for 100-point scorers with an assist on Dec. 11. Ruegsegger finished his career with 56-67=123 in 147 career games and had 35 career multi-point efforts. He is tied for No. 46 on DU's all-time scoring list with Jim Smith (1982-86).
JOE WAS JUMBO IN 2010
All-WCHA third-team forward Joe Colborne tallied 16-11=27, including a career-best 12-game point streak, in 2010. Colborne earned his second Red Baron WCHA Offensive Player of the Week honor on Feb. 2 after netting both game-winning goals at North Dakota on Jan. 29-30. Colborne had 1-4=5 en route to all-tournament honors at the Wells Fargo Denver Cup after tallying 6-8=14 in 16 games during the first half of the season. Colborne had at least one point in 23 of his last 30 games. Colborne, who broke his left index finger at Ohio State on Oct. 16, earned Red Baron WCHA co-Offensive Player of the Week honors on Nov. 24 after netting four points on two power-play goals and two game-winning assists in DU's sweep of North Dakota on Nov. 20-21. He tied a career-high with three points (2g, 1a) and had 11 shots on goal in the 3-2 win on Nov. 21. Colborne tallied his first career hat trick on Feb. 15. He had 17 career multi-point efforts and 32-40=72 in 79 career games.
WIERCIOCH MADE HIS POINT
All-American Patrick Wiercioch had 18-44=62 in 75 career games at Denver. Wiercioch had points in 20 of his last 35 games. He earned Red Baron WCHA Defensive Player of the Week honors on Jan. 5 after being named to the all-tournament team at the Wells Fargo Denver Cup. Wiercioch was named to the All-WCHA second team and All-WCHA rookie team last season.
OH YES THEY CALL IT THE STREAK
Denver outscored its opponents, 37-15, during its 10-game winning streak from Jan. 29-Feb. 27. The streak was the longest since DU claimed 12 straight from Dec. 8-Jan. 25 in 2001-02.
Marc Cheverie was 9-0 with a 1.53 GAA and .954 Sv%, while Anthony Maiani and Rhett Rakhshani each had 14 points in the 10 games.
DONOVAN HELPS USA CAPTURE GOLD
Freshman Matt Donovan and incoming recruit Jason Zucker helped Team USA to the gold medal at the 2010 IIHF World Junior Tournament. Donovan tallied 3-2=5 and a +6 plus/minus rating in seven games, while Zucker had two goals.
TWICE AS NICE
Denver has had one player record two goals in a game 13 times this season. Rhett Rakhshani led the way with five two-goal games, while Joe Colborne, Tyler Ruegsegger, Jesse Martin and Kyle Ostrow have each recorded a pair of two-goal games. Colborne tallied DU's lone hat trick on Feb. 13.
CARLE NAMED TO ALL-DECADE TEAM
Former Pioneer All-American and Hobey Baker Award winner Matt Carle was named to the College Hockey News All-Decade First Team for the 2000s .
TEAM OF THE WEEK
DU was named Team of the Week by College Hockey News on Oct. 27 for its performance at Minnesota on Oct. 23-24. Marc Cheverie had 30 saves in each 3-0 shutout and Rhett Rakhshani tallied three of Denver's six goals. Minnesota suffered back-to-back shutouts for the first time since 1930.
ROOKIE CLASS LOADED WITH TALENT
DU arguably had one of the top freshmen classes in college hockey. The class was highlighted by forward Drew Shore, defensemen Matt Donovan and William Wrenn, and goaltender Adam Murray. Shore, Wrenn and Murray were standout members of the United States National Team Development Program in Ann Arbor, Mich., while Donovan was the top scoring defenseman in the United States Hockey League. Defenseman Paul Phillips and forwards Shawn Ostrow and Chris Knowlton complete the 2009-10 recruiting class. Donovan (7-14=21), Shore (5-14=19), Wrenn (0-7=7), Knowlton (3-3=6), Phillips (0-4=4) and Ostrow (2-1=3) each registered points this season. Wrenn (SJ), Shore (FLA), Donovan (NYI) and Phillips (CHI) have all been selected in the NHL Entry Draft.
NHL DRAFT PICKS
DU's roster sported a program-high 13 NHL Draft picks. The total surpassed the 11 NHL draft picks DU had in 2006-07. Ten NHL teams have selected current Pioneers in the NHL Entry Draft from 2004-09. Sophomores Joe Colborne (16th) and Patrick Wiercioch (42nd) are the two highest drafted Pioneers in head coach George Gwozdecky's 16 years at DU. Student assistant coach David Carle was also selected in the seventh round in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft by Tampa Bay.
OH BROTHER!
Freshman defenseman John Lee is the younger brother of former North Dakota and Ottawa Senators defenseman Brian Lee. Student assistant coach David Carle is the younger brother of former Pioneer and current Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Matt Carle. Jon Cook is the younger brother of former Pioneer Steven Cook and current Pioneers Kyle and Shawn Ostrow are brothers.
TEN-FOUR GOOD PIONEERS
The DU roster had 10 players that honed their skills in the United States Hockey League and four players from the U.S. National Team Development Program. Nate Dewhurst (Des Moines), Matt Donovan (Cedar Rapids), Brian Gifford (Indiana), John Lee (Waterloo), Chris Knowlton (Des Moines), Anthony Maiani (Sioux City), Jesse Martin (Tri-City), Paul Phillips (Cedar Rapids), John Ryder (Ohio) and Patrick Wiercioch (Omaha) joined DU from the USHL. Rhett Rakhshani, Drew Shore, William Wrenn and Adam Murray joined DU from the USNTDP.
DU VS. RANKED TEAMS
DU was 11-7-2 against ranked teams and 57-41-10 against ranked teams over the last five seasons.
HOME ICE IS NICE
The Pioneers are 145-67-11 (.675) all-time in 11 years of competition at Magness Arena. The Pioneers were 15-3-3 at home this season and 15-5-3 at home in 2008-09.
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.
