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All Things Denver XXXVII

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Stick it in your ear. I'll ask again: didn't Maine used to have a nationally significant hockey program? The fact that you no longer do is not ameliorated by trolling here.

It's possible for someone to bring up a valid, informed criticism without being a troll... I found it an interesting, if not overly pleasant insight about our coach. But that's just me. :rolleyes:
 
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Re: All Things Denver XXXVII

There are 59 teams which play division 1 college hockey. Twenty-two teams averaged 3.00 goals or more per game during the season. Of those 22 teams eleven earned berths in the NCAA tourney.

There are 37 teams in division 1 college hockey who averaged fewer than 3.00 goals per game. Only five of those teams earned a berth in the NCAA tourney. Those five teams are: Providence College [2.95 goals per game], Lowell [2.83], Colgate [2.77], Vermont [2.76] and Denver [2.67]. Denver ranked 36th in the nation in terms of goals scored per game.

Said in slightly different words, no team qualifying for this season's NCAA tourney scored fewer goals per game than Denver. No goalie entering the tournament stopped more shots in the regular season than Sam Brittain. Yes, Sam Brittain was a central reason--perhaps the central reason--for Denver's participation in the tourney. An overriding truth of Denver's season was that Brittain carried the team as far as he was able to carry it. He got next to no help in the form of scoring from the team's forwards. I assume at some level Brittain knew he had to be "spot on" each game since there was little reason to believe his teammates would bail him out by winning a shootout game with a 4-3, 5-4, 6-5 final score. The combination of allowing so many shots to opposing teams while not scoring many goals itself is a scenario which Denver must address and correct.

In preparing for seasons to come, I think it's incumbent upon Jim Montgomery and his staff to successfully recruit players who are capable of being 15 to 18 goal scorers for Denver. Evan Cowley--or whomever plays the lion's share of minutes in goal for the Pioneers next season--will be hard pressed to duplicate Brittain's performance from the recently concluded season, thereby accentuating the need for Denver to score more goals and ease the burden on the Pioneers' goaltenders. Montgomery took the job late in the "recruiting season" last spring so, as far as I'm concerned, this will be his first class of recruits. It would be unfair and unwise to grade a coach on just one year's worth of recruits. I hope he and his staff are effective in identifying and convincing "scorers" to come to the University of Denver.
 
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Good comments, old pio and shot. As to the gwoz comment, some truth to it, but this team snuck into the tourney and was not one of gwoz's one or two seeds. So comment a bit off point. Just give credit to the bc first line for an absolutely epic game. That wrap around goal was a thing of beauty, and Sam was not himself today, either. Good to see Cowley with a solid game in relief.

My Gwoz quote was based on the riduculous rationale for sacking Gwoz. Single elimanation is tough and to base decisions on this is crazy IMO. Gwoz was a stellar guy who didn't deserve what he got. Although a die hard RPI guy I root for you guys because of the deep roots in your program to Troy (Monty and Appert). Monty will win, no doubt because he is a good talent evaluator and recrutiter. All my my best to you guys. Go Pios.
 
Re: All Things Denver XXXVII

BC dressed 3freshmen defensemen, 5 freshman forwards and an 18 year old freshman goalie last night.
Do you hear that whooshing sound? I'm not sure, but I think that was the point flying just over your head.

If I read it correctly, HoosierPioneer wasn't explaining why Denver lost, he was explaining why there is hope for the future. Our team is 40% freshmen, and those guys don't just sit out. One of them came in to play in goal, and did reasonably well. One of them led the team in scoring this season.
It's possible for someone to bring up a valid, informed criticism without being a troll... I found it an interesting, if not overly pleasant insight about our coach. But that's just me. :rolleyes:

While I agree with you, I do think that Fishman is trolling here, and I believe the telling phrase in his comment was "undeserved AQ." There's no such thing. The team that earns the AQ, by beating the teams that they play in the conference tournament, deserve their AQ. Period. You may not like the rule, but it's the rule. I wonder to what degree Fishman's bitterness is related to a certain goal that was waved off because of a rule that was changed shortly thereafter. Round about 10 years ago, as I recall.
In preparing for seasons to come, I think it's incumbent upon Jim Montgomery and his staff to successfully recruit players who are capable of being 15 to 18 goal scorers for Denver. Evan Cowley--or whomever plays the lion's share of minutes in goal for the Pioneers next season--will be hard pressed to duplicate Brittain's performance from the recently concluded season, thereby accentuating the need for Denver to score more goals and ease the burden on the Pioneers' goaltenders. Montgomery took the job late in the "recruiting season" last spring so, as far as I'm concerned, this will be his first class of recruits. It would be unfair and unwise to grade a coach on just one year's worth of recruits. I hope he and his staff are effective in identifying and convincing "scorers" to come to the University of Denver.

ASaaG, I try not to be negative about posters right here on the DU threads (I'll give Old Pio a minute to stop laughing at that statement :) ) but seriously, the horse is dead; it's ok to stop beating it now. I'm pretty sure of 2 things: every DU fan on the board knows that you believe our problem was lack of scoring, and every DU fan on the board (or very nearly every fan at any rate) agrees with you.

Oh, also, if I'm not mistaken, "whomever" is a subject in your sentence, and not an object. As such, the correct word is "whoever." I have also been trying not to be such a grammar nazi, but when people use whom when it should be who or I when it should be me, it sets my teeth on edge. :)
 
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Do you hear that whooshing sound? I'm not sure, but I think that was the point flying just over your head.
While I agree with you, I do think that Fishman is trolling here, and I believe the telling phrase in his comment was "undeserved AQ." There's no such thing. The team that earns the AQ, by beating the teams that they play in the conference tournament, deserve their AQ. Period. You may not like the rule, but it's the rule. I wonder to what degree Fishman's bitterness is related to a certain goal that was waved off because of a rule that was changed shortly thereafter. Round about 10 years ago, as I recall.

Fair enough. It definitely was an unexpected, but not undeserved AQ. It's what conference tournaments are for.
 
Re: All Things Denver XXXVII

Fair enough. It definitely was an unexpected, but not undeserved AQ. It's what conference tournaments are for.

I agree wholeheartedly with the adjective "unexpected." I also agree with you that knowing Monty has a history of sportsmanship issues is interesting. I have just noticed that Fishman has contributed to this thread a couple of times recently, and each time there seems to be an undertone (or possibly even an overtone) of troll about his posts.

That said, I think Montgomery did a good job this year, I am optimistic about the future, and I hope he doesn't earn a reputation as a dick. (My own reputation for being a dick concerns me less. :) )
 
Re: All Things Denver XXXVII

DU has a great program. Looking forward to making the trip to a BC-Denver game some day. Gaudreau was just unreal yesterday....freight train. BC has been on the receiving end of those beatdowns a few times.
 
Re: All Things Denver XXXVII

It's possible for someone to bring up a valid, informed criticism without being a troll... I found it an interesting, if not overly pleasant insight about our coach. But that's just me. :rolleyes:

Right. It's just you. I'm wondering if that jerk was wearing his Carnac turban when he speculated about what was in Montgomery's mind many years ago during the Hobey presentation ceremony. The merest coincidence that he picks the day DU suffers a humiliating NC$$ defeat to off load his concerns about Montgomery's "character issues?" And talk about "undeserved" AQ? All of this shiza strikes you as "thoughtful?" This a*shole can offer no more insight on Jim Montgomery than Robert Montgomery. Or even Elizabeth Montgomery.
 
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All right. While we wait for next season, who do we have going in the pros?
 
Re: All Things Denver XXXVII

All right. While we wait for next season, who do we have going in the pros?

Will be interesting to see what happens with 21 and 4. Young forwards figuring it out was a big theme of the year, and we know Sam and Makowski are gone, so the biggest unknown is the well-regarded defensemen. Gotta figure Butcher has some potential to replace Makowski somewhat, he's got some good offensive instincts, but we don't really have much in the way of a big, physical presence, and losing Didier would really hurt in that regard.
 
Re: All Things Denver XXXVII

I would have liked to be a fly on the wall in the Mermis household yesterday. There's something to be said for Jimmy Montgomery, who don't forget, coached back to back USHL Championships... and his then-crown jewel, Boudreau - headed to the FF with BC. I'd shake Jim's hand for that. That kid is like Jason Zucker and Rhett Rakshani on steroids. Very talented. Are we going to have an outdoor game next season? If the Avs and Stan Keronke will foot the bill, I'd say it's a done deal. That will be pretty wild. Friday night under the lights at Coors Field. And it will be cold. I actually feel invigorated as to where this DU program is headed. We have the right Coach - end of story. Rebuilding year?? Let me tell you something - Colorado College, the United States Air Force and The Michigan Wolveriens WISH they had a season like Denver had!
 
Re: All Things Denver XXXVII

Right. It's just you. I'm wondering if that jerk was wearing his Carnac turban when he speculated about what was in Montgomery's mind many years ago during the Hobey presentation ceremony. The merest coincidence that he picks the day DU suffers a humiliating NC$$ defeat to off load his concerns about Montgomery's "character issues?" And talk about "undeserved" AQ? All of this shiza strikes you as "thoughtful?" This a*shole can offer no more insight on Jim Montgomery than Robert Montgomery. Or even Elizabeth Montgomery.

Holy c-r-a-p Old Pio! It looks like your meds have stopped working again!
 
Re: All Things Denver XXXVII

Holy c-r-a-p Old Pio! It looks like your meds have stopped working again!

If you want to extend the benefit of the doubt to some pr*ck who clearly doesn't deserve it, knock yourself out.

Note: among certain hebephrenics who post here, that trope about "meds" is funny, no matter how many hundreds of times they mention it. But in the real world, not so much. I stand up for DU, its teams, players and coaches against trolls. Sue me.
 
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1. Old Pio was right to call me out as a troll, if just on the basis of referencing the AQ issue; I had no reason to go there on the Pioneers' thread. (It's on me that I hate the inequity of granting arbitrary AQs, and not on Denver.)

2. Yes, Maine hockey has been pretty-much irrelevant for years now... No argument there.

3. I am certainly not in Monty's head, but I did watch his years at Maine, and how he reacted to this and that on the ice (eg. turning his back on Kariya after PK had just delivered the NC-GWG directly onto Jimmy's stick.) More recently, I dug-up some "Back In The Woods" YouTube video from '93, and saw how he behaved in the locker room between periods... Then, I read on here about his (allegedly) losing it during the BC game.

All little things that might well amount to nothing; I was just thinking aloud that he could possibly have certain ego-issues that get in his way.

I wish a good off-season to you all.
 
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1. Old Pio was right to call me out as a troll, if just on the basis of referencing the AQ issue; I had no reason to go there on the Pioneers' thread. (It's on me that I hate the inequity of granting arbitrary AQs, and not on Denver.)

2. Yes, Maine hockey has been pretty-much irrelevant for years now... No argument there.

3. I am certainly not in Monty's head, but I did watch his years at Maine, and how he reacted to this and that on the ice (eg. turning his back on Kariya after PK had just delivered the NC-GWG directly onto Jimmy's stick.) More recently, I dug-up some "Back In The Woods" YouTube video from '93, and saw how he behaved in the locker room between periods... Then, I read on here about his (allegedly) losing it during the BC game.

All little things that might well amount to nothing; I was just thinking aloud that he could possibly have certain ego-issues that get in his way.

I wish a good off-season to you all.

No alleged about it, you could hear it in the stands. I heard him ranting, but couldn't make out what he was saying, only that he was saying it loudly. My friend sitting closer to the bench area said he yelled at York when he ran out the top line on the PP: "It's ********** 6-1!!!!"

Take it for what you will.
 
Re: All Things Denver XXXVII

Season ending wrap-up from Montgomery.


One quick addendum: one year ago tomorrow George Gwozdecky was fired.

Interesting quote from Viva Larraza.

"This is the biggest base of a group of guys since I've been here. The last two years, we've lost quite a few guys, but this year it looks like almost everybody will be staying," Larraza said. "It hurts (to bow out) right now, but we have a good foundation to build on for next year."
 
Re: All Things Denver XXXVII

Interesting quote from Viva Larraza.

Watching BC demolish the Pioneers, and Minnesota, it's clear DU has some work to do to get comparable again with those programs. This has been going on now for several years and has been the source of frustration for us all. Each season is different, of course, but there's been an early out pattern for the past several years that needs to be addressed. I wish there were some obvious answer, but DU needs to get back to the Frozen Four, period.

As for Montgomery, to apply intuition about facial expressions from 20 years ago to a blow up this past weekend and draw negative conclusions about his "mental" fitness for the job is profoundly unfair. My God, he "turned his back on Kariya." Without genuflecting? And he wasn't arrested? How did that happen? In the same way the Sioux diks keep bringing up Gwoz on the dasher. That wasn't him. And I suspect this weekend wasn't Montgomery. Let's face it, DU was getting killed. 6 zip in the 2nd period, for Chr*st's sake! Under those circumstances, Mother Theresa could be forgiven for blowing off a little steam.

Gwoz was the very definition of buttoned up. Montgomery may not be. There have been quite a few emotional coaches over the years who've had great success. So let's not be so quick to generalize about Montgomery. That was one of the worst a*s kickings in modern DU history. And I'm not expecting too many more drubbings on that scale in the future. Let's not give any credence whatsoever to Maine "fans" who've got nothing better to do than come here and talk smack. Their phony concerns are so much piffle and should be ignored.
 
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