Building the foundation for a season that hopefully leads to long tournament runs in March and April needs to be instilled early on in a new campaign.
 
That was the plan for head coach David Carle as he began his fourth season at the helm of the University of Denver hockey team last week with four days of training camp practices at Magness Arena.
 
The Pioneers are looking to get back to the success they have had in much of their previous 71 seasons, as the 10-13-1 record and a non-appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 2020-21 was far from the high expectations the program sets for itself every year.
 
With eight new players joining the squad for the new campaign, seven of whom being brand-new freshmen, the focus of the first week for the DU veterans was to try and assimilate the newcomers into the team's culture and making sure everyone was aware that the results of last year should not be the norm of the program.
 
"I think it is just bringing everyone up to speed," said junior forward Bobby Brink, an alternate captain on the squad. "Guys who haven't been here as long, they might not be as familiar with our structure and the way we play. I think it's important to get the freshmen into our structure and systems, and then just touching up on a few things."
 
Ryan Barrow, another alternate captain for the Pios, is entering his fifth season on the team after gaining an extra year of eligibility due to the shortened campaign last year because of COVID-19, and he has seen first-hand the importance of communication for the entire squad.
 
"I think you want to make sure all of the young guys are on the same page, that they're comfortable with our systems, how we play because the faster we can get on the same page, the faster we can play Denver hockey," Barrow said. "That's critical for us."
 
The Pioneers were allowed to begin full-team practices last Monday, which marked the first day of the new quarter for most of the students on campus. The team will have three weeks' worth of practices before hosting Lindenwood University in an exhibition contest on Oct. 2 and will then have several more days of skates in final preparation for the season-opening series against Arizona State on Oct. 8-9.
 
When the puck does drop for the new campaign, Carle expects his squad to be ready to compete and keep that high intensity for all 34-plus games.
 
"You build confidence through your preparation and your work ethic," he said. "It's having three really good weeks of good work and detailed work, so that when we go into Lindenwood—and we'll have another full week to prepare for Arizona State—that when we get to the rink for that first game, there is a lot of confidence and swagger to our group because they've looked around and they know how hard each guy battled against them for the three, four-week training camp we're having here."

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