All Things Denver XXX

[Red Cows]

Re: All Things Denver XXX

Naked dude makes an interview appearance at the Qwest tonight:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZ6Fn...layer_embedded

At the 17 second mark.

[Old Pio]

Re: All Things Denver XXX

You get a little wind in your face and your going to pack it up for the year? DU is still in great position for an at large bid. Home ice is locked up for the WCHA 1st round. If I were you I rather deal with the McNaughton cup slipping away rather than to win it and exit in the first round of the NCAAs. Just saying, your team is in a pretty good spot to do some great things.

A "little" wind? Thanks for the pep talk. But we've been experiencing more than a "little" wind. The way they're playing now I wouldn't rule out getting eliminated at home in the WCHA playoffs. And advancing to the FF strikes me about as highly unlikely. I've been wrong before and would welcome being proven wrong again, but I'm not expecting it.

[JW Tigers]

Re: All Things Denver XXX

I have to ask you guys what your honest and realistic expectations were for DU this year. You lost your top line, a great goaltender, etc. I know this late season play has been frustrating, but the team is young, and I think has performed admirably this season. To lose the players you did, and to have a shot at the MacNaughton, is pretty impressive, IMO. DU is a shoo-in for the tourney, and could do some damage if they are on their game. Even after losing a ton of talent, this is a better TEAM than last year, and still has a lot of potential.

[Old Pio]

Re: All Things Denver XXX

I have to ask you guys what your honest and realistic expectations were for DU this year. You lost your top line, a great goaltender, etc. I know this late season play has been frustrating, but the team is young, and I think has performed admirably this season. To lose the players you did, and to have a shot at the MacNaughton, is pretty impressive, IMO. DU is a shoo-in for the tourney, and could do some damage if they are on their game. Even after losing a ton of talent, this is a better TEAM than last year, and still has a lot of potential.

On the other hand, one would have expected all the inexperience to show up earlier (as it did with BC) rather than after a nearly full season. They appear to be going backward. It's hard to attribute that to injuries and I've always been reluctant to use them as an excuse except in the most serious cases. How does a team go a month being scored on first? How does that happen? The law of averages would suggest that once or twice during that stretch they would have scored first. How does a team give up four shorties in three games, including two to a team with two conferernce wins? I'm on record as having predicted they'd do better than the consensus predictions, but I'm just an old die hard alumnus, completely out of touch with reality. The desert heat has caused my brain to shrink.

I understand that a case can be made that this team has dramatically exceeded expectations and that Gwoz has done one of his best jobs. They were weeping in the locker room after Jesse went down and somehow got it together to beat CC at home. But I think they had a pretty significant emotional collapse on Saturday. But the savage beating they took at the hands of Minnesota and the complete embarrassment at the hands of MTU are just hard to explain and even harder to accept, particularly at this time of year. Maybe we're just victims of our inflated expectations. Maybe all of us have been reading the press clippings too much.

[du78]

Re: All Things Denver XXX

Overall, this team has exceeded expectations with regards to being in contention for the MacNaughton. However, it played its best hockey during its midseason run. At that point the team was still making mistakes but always found a way to win. The confidence was there that no matter what the circumstances, the team was able to dig deeper and find that extra gear needed to overcome the other team. We haven't seen that the last few weeks just as the most important time of the year approaches. The goaltending has done a 180, the defense struggles to get the puck out of their own zone and turnovers are the soup du jour. There is too much individual play and not enough team play. This does not bode well with the playoffs looming. This team has the talent to do damage in the playoffs and could make a run at the big one; however, that is not happening if they continue to play as they have the past few weeks. They will not go into the post season as the odds on favorite like last year so it is time for the boys just to relax, go out and play hockey just as they have done since they were little kids. They appear to be over thinking everything on the ice. They need to just go out and have fun playing the game. Make the safe play in their own end, shoot on net instead of making a dozen passes, make sure someone is back in case a d-man gets caught up the ice, get the dirty goals in front of the net and stop playing so much on the perimeter. It is doing all the little things right that make good performances and lead to wins. Most importantly, they need to get their confidence back.

[breed]

Re: All Things Denver XXX

Geez guys this is a lot of anguish after one game - I know there has been high expectations but the DU team I saw out there last night is pretty darn good and a few turns one way or the other and it would be a 5-2 score in the other direction. UNO is good and have only lost 3 games at home this year - Might keep it in perspective.

If UNO wins tonight then I can see some hand wringing but don't jump the gun. DU could easily be among the best standing at the end of the year. DU loses to MT and the ski falls - UNO loses to Huntsville and the sky falls - DU gets clobbered by Minnesota and life is over - UNO gets swept by Quinnipiac and season is toast - Well, maybe not...

[du78]

Re: All Things Denver XXX

Gwoz Post-Game Interview - Omaha took advantage of DU's mistakes and DU couldn't take advantage of theirs. Undecided last night who would play in goal tonight.

[du78]

Re: All Things Denver XXX

Geez guys this is a lot of anguish after one game - I know there has been high expectations but the DU team I saw out there last night is pretty darn good and a few turns one way or the other and it would be a 5-2 score in the other direction. UNO is good and have only lost 3 games at home this year - Might keep it in perspective.

If UNO wins tonight then I can see some hand wringing but don't jump the gun. DU could easily be among the best standing at the end of the year. DU loses to MT and the ski falls - UNO loses to Huntsville and the sky falls - DU gets clobbered by Minnesota and life is over - UNO gets swept by Quinnipiac and season is toast - Well, maybe not...

DU has also only lost 3 games at home; however, they are 6-6-3 on the road with no road sweeps this season. If they lose tonight they will fall below .500 on the road. After next weekend's home series, they will host a first round WCHA series. Then all bets are off as the rest of the playoffs are road games. At that point you lose and you are out in the WCHAs and NCAAs. Tonight's game is really important for DU to win on the road and get ready for the playoffs where you need to be road warriors.

[Puck Swami]

Re: All Things Denver XXX

DU can still salvage some confidence with a win and a road split, but honestly, this team is now in a bad funk at the wrong time of year. Raw talent and resilience could mask some flaws early, but no longer. The team is regressing. Team confidence starts with good goaltending, and the reality is that both DU goaltenders are playing below the level of play needed for sucess in this league right now, and that lack of confidence in the goalies makes for poor confidence defensively and up front. There is also no on-ice leadership without Ostrow.

This DU team was expected to finish fourth and be life and death to make the tourney, and that may be where things end up.

[Chris]

Re: All Things Denver XXX

This pathetic display by some of our Pio "fans" is total crap.

On a positive note, some other REAL Pio fans and I crossed the Nebraska state line an hour ago. GO DU!!!

[vizoroo]

Re: All Things Denver XXX

It seems like we, diehard fans, are just as fragile as the team right now. Youth and inexperience is raising its ugly head. The surprising offensive production has out weighed the defensive lapses until recently. IMHO, Kyle Ostrow's absence has been crucial. He took over in the midseason both in leadership and determination. Now is the time for the "still standing" upperclassmen to lead.

And Chris is right, the team needs our support. Go DU!

Remember, a win tonight puts us back into 2nd place in the WCHA.

[Puck Swami]

Re: All Things Denver XXX

This pathetic display by some of our Pio "fans" is total crap.

On a positive note, some other REAL Pio fans and I crossed the Nebraska state line an hour ago. GO DU!!!

I disagree, Chris. It's not crap. It's genuine frustration. Being occasionally critical of our team does not make anyone less of a "real fan" than someone who never expresses negativity. I would argue that 'real' fans have a responsibility to point out their frustrations when the team isn't performing well, and those frustrations should help to motivate the team.

As fans, we provide the financial and emotional support that makes the whole D-I hockey enterprise possible, and as key stakeholders in Pioneer hockey, our voices should matter. As Division I athletes, 80% of DU's team will play some level of pro hockey after this, and they (and the parents/coaches) need to develop thicker skins if they can't take some fan criticism every now and then. For six years now, DU fans have watched a similar movie - a good regular season with a bad flameout ending. The actors in the DU jerseys may change but the result seems to be the same, and if six years of the similar ending sounds frustratiing to fans, that's because it is.

Let's say you go to a good restaurant 15 times a year that you really like. You usually love the food and the service, but every March, they serve you a turd for dessert instead of the usual good dessert. You still love the restaurant, but after 5-6 years of spring turd desserts, wouldn't you tell the manager that you'd like to see some improvement? Or do you just keep paying full pop, eating the turds and saying "great meal?"

[Old Pio]

Re: All Things Denver XXX

This pathetic display by some of our Pio "fans" is total crap.

On a positive note, some other REAL Pio fans and I crossed the Nebraska state line an hour ago. GO DU!!!

I've been a DU fan since before you were born. You're entitled to take me to the woodshed if you think I need it for my expressing frustration with this club. But your enthusiasm and die hard support for the team doesn't give you the right to read me or anybody else out of the fan base. Without knowing for certain, I think I've been a DU fan longer than anyone who posts here. And I think that establishes my bona fides. The problem here is not me. The problem is a team that has gone badly off the rails and is running out of time to get it together. I'm frustrated, and for the past couple of weeks have expressed that frustration. However, paraphrasing Rycroft, there is no one on the planet who loves DU more than me. I AM a "real" fan. You're frustrated too and I appreciate that. But please don't beat me up for saying what many of us are thinking. Deal?

[vizoroo]

Re: All Things Denver XXX

Mike Chambers addresses the Power Play woes--youth and inexperience.
http://blogs.denverpost.com/sports/2...er-play/16090/

[dggoddard]

Re: All Things Denver XXX

Mike Chambers addresses the Power Play woes--youth and inexperience.
http://blogs.denverpost.com/sports/2...er-play/16090/

Chambers is on point on these issues. Having four fowards out there is the culprit. Doubtful that Gwozdecky will change the plan.