Denver @ Nebraska-Omaha - February 25-26

[dubbie31]

Should be a very interesting series. The Mavs still in the hunt for the League, The Pioneers in 2nd.

After...cough cough....splitting with Michigan Tech, the Pioneers take their show on the road to face a very good Omaha squad.

My pick....SPLIT...

Denver Wins Friday...
Mavs take Saturday...I hope not though.

 

[gomavs#1]

Re: Denver @ Nebraska-Omaha - February 25-26

This should be a great series....it will be interesting to see what kind of crowd shows up. Not sure if we can pack it in like we did against Wisconsin. I could see a split as well. I just hope Faulkner has been practicing against the "200 foot shot off the face-off on the opposite end" play. That was unbelievable.

 

[vizoroo]

Re: Denver @ Nebraska-Omaha - February 25-26

Gwoz's weekly press conference will be on at Noon MT.
http://www.denverpioneers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=18600&ATCLID=205101309

Womder if Makowski has been practicing his 190 foot shot?
In case you haven't seen it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=18600&v=6a79Ej7WK5Q

 

[5thYearFreshman]

Re: Denver @ Nebraska-Omaha - February 25-26

Should be a very interesting series. The Mavs still in the hunt for the League, The Pioneers in 2nd.

After...cough cough....splitting with Michigan Tech, the Pioneers take their show on the road to face a very good Omaha squad.

My pick....SPLIT...

Denver Wins Friday...
Mavs take Saturday...I hope not though.

If they split, I think it would be the other way around, with UNO winning the first night at home and Denver taking the Saturday Night tilt. I have a lot of confidence in UNO to take 3 this weekend, as they are very tough at home. My prediction is UNO wins 4-2 on Friday and they skate to a 3-3 tie on Saturday.

 

[co14ers]

Re: Denver @ Nebraska-Omaha - February 25-26

Unfortunately, the DU's performance the last three weeks doesn't inspire a ton of confidence in me in looking for a good result this weekend. Even in our win against mighty Tech last Saturday, many of the same problems still seemed to plague the Pioneers. And I'm talking stuff that shouldn't be happening with a team that was then one of the top 4 in the country. Things like dumb passes in front of their own net in their own zone. Letting the other team get behind our defense on ill-advised plays to keep the puck in our offensive zone and Zucker seemingly needing his skates to be sharpened yet again as evidence by his many "blow outs" during the last few weeks.

That said, I was encouraged by Gwoz's "keep is simple stupid" approach to last Saturday's game. I hope they take that approach into this weekend. As has been mentioned on a few threads the last couple of weeks, DU has had zero success of late in getting the first goal of the game. It seems to me this is essential to accomplish this weekend, as the Corncows are very impressive when they get that first goal.

So, in letting the optimist in me come out, I'll be very happy with a split this weekend. Three points would be cause for a celebration. Go DU!

 

[Puck Swami]

Re: Denver @ Nebraska-Omaha - February 25-26

Unfortunately, the DU's performance the last three weeks doesn't inspire a ton of confidence in me in looking for a good result this weekend. Even in our win against mighty Tech last Saturday, many of the same problems still seemed to plague the Pioneers. And I'm talking stuff that shouldn't be happening with a team that was then one of the top 4 in the country. Things like dumb passes in front of their own net in their own zone. Letting the other team get behind our defense on ill-advised plays to keep the puck in our offensive zone and Zucker seemingly needing his skates to be sharpened yet again as evidence by his many "blow outs" during the last few weeks.

That said, I was encouraged by Gwoz's "keep is simple stupid" approach to last Saturday's game. I hope they take that approach into this weekend. As has been mentioned on a few threads the last couple of weeks, DU has had zero success of late in getting the first goal of the game. It seems to me this is essential to accomplish this weekend, as the Corncows are very impressive when they get that first goal.

So, in letting the optimist in me come out, I'll be very happy with a split this weekend. Three points would be cause for a celebration. Go DU!

What he said!

I think the other elephants in the DU room is a new uncertainty about the quality of DU's goaltending down the stretch. Since coming back from the x-mas break, Sam Brittain has visibly tailed off from his early season dominance. Adam Murray, while much better now than his abysmal start, still has yet to inspire complete confidence. Finally, with both Martin and Ostrow out of the lineup, DU's on-ice leadership has suffered a serious blow. I think any serious DU fan has to understand that the team is somewhat young and fragile right now. They must respond to the recent dip in performance, and how well they respond to it will a tell us a lot about what kind of contender the Pios are. Right now, this team does not look like Frozen-Four material. This weekend, against a good and motivated team in a hostile environment, will tell us much about how serious the Pioneers are about a post-season run...

 

[dave29]

Re: Denver @ Nebraska-Omaha - February 25-26

Huskers sweep!

 

[co14ers]

Re: Denver @ Nebraska-Omaha - February 25-26

What he said!

I think the other elephants in the DU room is a new uncertainty about the quality of DU's goaltending down the stretch. Since coming back from the x-mas break, Sam Brittain has visibly tailed off from his early season dominance. Adam Murray, while much better now than his abysmal start, still has yet to inspire complete confidence. Finally, with both Martin and Ostrow out of the lineup, DU's on-ice leadership has suffered a serious blow. I think any serious DU fan has to understand that the team is somewhat young and fragile right now. They must respond to the recent dip in performance, and how well they respond to it will a tell us a lot about what kind of contender the Pios are. Right now, this team does not look like Frozen-Four material. This weekend, against a good and motivated team in a hostile environment, will tell us much about how serious the Pioneers are about a post-season run...

Yep, I can't believe I didn't mention the elephant in the room. But, you are indeed correct. Part of the reason our expectations rose quickly at the beginning of the season was the sensational play of Sam Brittain. Since that time a few things have happened in my eyes. Sam definitely came back down to earth which was almost expected due to his rather unbelievable start. I didn't think he's be able to play like that the whole season and he wasn't able to. The other part is the decline of our team defense. It seems that since Jesse's injury, the effectiveness of our team defense concept has declined. And in recent weeks, it has been just gawd-awful. The defensemen need to take some of that blame, but our forwards are equally responsible. And given this rather new inconsistent part of our play, the confidence of the goaltenders has to go down as well. Our netminders have been hung out to dry on several occasions in recent weeks. Finally, the abundance of first or second shot on net goals is disturbing, especially going into this weekend. The softy against Sam Friday almost made me choke on my beer. Let's hope the goaltenders come in focused as do our players when it comes to their defensive responsibilities.

 

[breed]

Re: Denver @ Nebraska-Omaha - February 25-26

A challenge for UNO are injuries - Top forward Terry Broadhurst is likely out and top defenseman Young is also uncertain along with Tony Turgeon - So will have short lines on both sides of the puck if none of them can play.

All freshman line is a hoot to watch and along with seniors have made a great combination for the Mavs

Faulkner in net is solid so will come down to execution and penalities

 

[vizoroo]

Re: Denver @ Nebraska-Omaha - February 25-26

DU can keep the sioux from claiming the MacNaughton at the Ralph with a sweep of UNO and even better if Bemidji's Beavers gnaw into the lead.

 

[vizoroo]

Re: Denver @ Nebraska-Omaha - February 25-26

Can we have some noise here?
This is an important series for both teams.

 

[unomavfan]

Re: Denver @ Nebraska-Omaha - February 25-26

This is a huge series for both teams, basically it's a battle for second place. Unfortunately I think it's going to be a split so neither team is going to gain any ground. The Mavs who were on the team last year are going to be looking to avenge that awfull beatdown DU handed them last year. Looking forward to an exciting weekend of hockey.

 

[du78]

Re: Denver @ Nebraska-Omaha - February 25-26

If DU has any aspirations of post-season success, they have to get on a roll beginning this weekend. The teams that are going to be vying for the big hardware start to dominate now. Injuries are not excuses and the players who get called upon to take some of those spots need to leave it all on the ice. Anything less than a 60 minute game by all of the players is not acceptable. It is time for a veteran player to put the DU team on his back and say follow me boys. Think Ryan Caldwell in 2004. The guy was injured enough that he couldn't practice yet when the puck dropped he left everyting on the ice on that magical run to the first of back-to-back championships. Think of Brett Skinner separating his shoulder early in the national championship game in 2005, missing a few shifts to get worked on and returning to play the rest of the game at an extremely high level. That is what is takes to win the big one.

I remember what Wayne Gretzky said when falling to the Islanders when the Isles won their 4th Stanley Cup in a row. He looked in the Isles dressing room after the final game. The champs were in there with ice packs all over their bodies and bloody cuts with stitches on their faces. They paid the price and all of the pain was worth it to skate the Cup one more time. Wayne realized at that point that in order to get the Holy Grail you had to give more than you thought you were capable of. The next year Wayne put the Oilers on his back and won the big one.

It is up to the players now to decide if they want to make a strong post-season run or not. Gwoz and the coaches have put all of the systems in place. There is no changing them now. The freshman aren't freshman anymore as they have almost played a full season. The team needs to focus 100% on the game making sure they win all of the little battles on the ice. They need to play as a a team and not as a bunch of individuals. It is up to the captains and veterans to say this is how you do it boys, follow me.

 

[Puck Swami]

Re: Denver @ Nebraska-Omaha - February 25-26

If DU has any aspirations of post-season success, they have to get on a roll beginning this weekend. The teams that are going to be vying for the big hardware start to dominate now. Injuries are not excuses and the players who get called upon to take some of those spots need to leave it all on the ice. Anything less than a 60 minute game by all of the players is not acceptable. It is time for a veteran player to put the DU team on his back and say follow me boys. Think Ryan Caldwell in 2004. The guy was injured enough that he couldn't practice yet when the puck dropped he left everyting on the ice on that magical run to the first of back-to-back championships. Think of Brett Skinner separating his shoulder early in the national championship game in 2005, missing a few shifts to get worked on and returning to play the rest of the game at an extremely high level. That is what is takes to win the big one.

I remember what Wayne Gretzky said when falling to the Islanders when the Isles won their 4th Stanley Cup in a row. He looked in the Isles dressing room after the final game. The champs were in there with ice packs all over their bodies and bloody cuts with stitches on their faces. They paid the price and all of the pain was worth it to skate the Cup one more time. Wayne realized at that point that in order to get the Holy Grail you had to give more than you thought you were capable of. The next year Wayne put the Oilers on his back and won the big one.

It is up to the players now to decide if they want to make a strong post-season run or not. Gwoz and the coaches have put all of the systems in place. There is no changing them now. The freshman aren't freshman anymore as they have almost played a full season. The team needs to focus 100% on the game making sure they win all of the little battles on the ice. They need to play as a a team and not as a bunch of individuals. It is up to the captains and veterans to say this is how you do it boys, follow me.

I agree 100%. This has been a great coaching job by Gwoz and Co. to get them into this position with a young team and a .500 start to the season. However, teams (and coaches) are remembered by how they finish, and not by the mid-seasons they have.

There is still a lot of proving to do by this team and the coaching staff. Would like to see some leadership and committment by the boys to leave it all on the ice and see where it takes them...

This weekend will tell us alot about this DU team:

Sweep UNO: Best possible result. DU is probably a team with Frozen Four potential.
3 points: A great result and a viable WCHA top 3 team. Probably good enough for an NCAA regional win, maybe even 2.
Split: Solid WCHA road result, but likely still plenty of questions ahead. Roll the dice and see what happens.
1 point: This team is likely regressing at the wrong time. Don't see much NCAA success ahead. Hope someone rises up in the final push...
0 points: Definite regression. A team that has lost confidence in itself and likely headed for another post-season flameout.

 

[du78]

Re: Denver @ Nebraska-Omaha - February 25-26

Mike Chambers in the Denver Post is reporting that Adam Murray will start Friday night's game in goal. Depending on how he does will determine who plays in net on Saturday.

 

[dubbie31]

Re: Denver @ Nebraska-Omaha - February 25-26

Mike Chambers in the Denver Post is reporting that Adam Murray will start Friday night's game in goal. Depending on how he does will determine who plays in net on Saturday.

Not a Surprise

 

[MagnessMan]

Re: Denver @ Nebraska-Omaha - February 25-26

I think PS nailed it. Missing Kyle has been ugly--created a super big leadership void and no one has stepped up. "Young and fragile" for sure. Good coaching can only go so far. Glad to hear he's skating. Let's hope he's back next weekend.

 

[Red Cows]

Re: Denver @ Nebraska-Omaha - February 25-26

An intangible here, that I suppose will make DU fan laugh, but, I am not exaggerating, is that this is the biggest league series than UNO has EVER played in.

In fact, I will repost here a post from the Mavpuck board giving credit to the original poster, hockey player 02-03, that nicely sums this series up:

"Honestly, I don't think there has been a bigger series in team history. These four points might be the most important four points on the line EVER. We could take over 2nd place in the WCHA against the number six team in the country, and be within one point of the WCHA if NoDak were to get swept (highly unlikely but...) We get four points this weekend, and we've sealed ourselves a nice spot in the big dance, and everyone in the WCHA will hate us forever because we DOMINATED just about every team at least once this season."

Looks like well over 10,000 for Saturday night. Not so sure about Friday night. Attendance both nights will be helped some by the Boat, Sports, and Travel Show which will be going on at the same time at the Qwest in the Convention Center and I am sure there will be people who go with the idea of doing both. Here's the seating available for Friday:

http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/060044F7DE1BCB0E?artistid=838151&majorcatid=10004&minorcatid=9

And for Saturday:

http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/060044F7DE1CCB11?artistid=838151&majorcatid=10004&minorcatid=9

DU fan, sections 201, and, 217 though 232, inclusive, are not for sale. This seats are "draped off" except when needed. That effectively cuts Qwest Center hockey capacity from 16,680 down to around the 12,000 mark. The presale for Saturday night is the biggest I have ever seen, save our "Sellout Ohio State" night last year or our "Sellout Wisconsin" night this year.

I like to think that UNO will play well this series. Be advised that, under Coach Blais, since he took over, UNO is 29-7-3 at the Qwest Center. Throw in 2 exhibition games and you can make that 31-7-3. In there, among other sweeps, are sweeps of Ohio State, Michigan, St. Cloud State, and Wisconsin. There's a win against RIT thrown in there for good measure in the Championship game of the Maverick Stampede this season. They are about to wrap up the Atlantic Hockey Association Championship. The better the opponent, the better we have been. I think Coach Blais will have us there with game faces on.

Get ready for cowbells. And Taco Girl. Between the 2nd and 3rd periods they dress a chick up in a taco costume and have a contest whereby two individuals have to find her in the stands. I swear I am not making this up. The frat boy contestants have been the best at this for obvious reasons. Funniest by far was the night earlier in the season that two chicks were the contestants and THEY disappeared. They went to buy a beer, first, after being given their marching orders and embarking on their qwest and the emcee found them in line at a concession stand. Hilarious. Longest "Find Taco Girl" contest of all time. "Where the hell did the contestants go?" LOL.

Yup, they serve alcohol at the Qwest, being a city owned facility. There is a ginormous full bar at one end of the arena that has a sweeping view of the ice.

 

[Mike Rane]

Re: Denver @ Nebraska-Omaha - February 25-26

An intangible here, that I suppose will make DU fan laugh, but, I am not exaggerating, is that this is the biggest league series than UNO has EVER played in.

In fact, I will repost here a post from the Mavpuck board giving credit to the original poster, hockey player 02-03, that nicely sums this series up:

"Honestly, I don't think there has been a bigger series in team history. These four points might be the most important four points on the line EVER. We could take over 2nd place in the WCHA against the number six team in the country, and be within one point of the WCHA if NoDak were to get swept (highly unlikely but...) We get four points this weekend, and we've sealed ourselves a nice spot in the big dance, and everyone in the WCHA will hate us forever because we DOMINATED just about every team at least once this season."

Looks like well over 10,000 for Saturday night. Not so sure about Friday night. Attendance both nights will be helped some by the Boat, Sports, and Travel Show which will be going on at the same time at the Qwest in the Convention Center and I am sure there will be people who go with the idea of doing both. Here's the seating available for Friday:

http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/060044F7DE1BCB0E?artistid=838151&majorcatid=10004&minorcatid=9

And for Saturday:

http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/060044F7DE1CCB11?artistid=838151&majorcatid=10004&minorcatid=9

DU fan, sections 201, and, 217 though 232, inclusive, are not for sale. This seats are "draped off" except when needed. That effectively cuts Qwest Center hockey capacity from 16,680 down to around the 12,000 mark. The presale for Saturday night is the biggest I have ever seen, save our "Sellout Ohio State" night last year or our "Sellout Wisconsin" night this year.

I like to think that UNO will play well this series. Be advised that, under Coach Blais, since he took over, UNO is 29-7-3 at the Qwest Center. Throw in 2 exhibition games and you can make that 31-7-3. In there, among other sweeps, are sweeps of Ohio State, Michigan, St. Cloud State, and Wisconsin. There's a win against RIT thrown in there for good measure in the Championship game of the Maverick Stampede this season. They are about to wrap up the Atlantic Hockey Association Championship. The better the opponent, the better we have been. I think Coach Blais will have us there with game faces on.

Get ready for cowbells. And Taco Girl. Between the 2nd and 3rd periods they dress a chick up in a taco costume and have a contest whereby two individuals have to find her in the stands. I swear I am not making this up. The frat boy contestants have been the best at this for obvious reasons. Funniest by far was the night earlier in the season that two chicks were the contestants and THEY disappeared. They went to buy a beer, first, after being given their marching orders and embarking on their qwest and the emcee found them in line at a concession stand. Hilarious. Longest "Find Taco Girl" contest of all time. "Where the hell did the contestants go?" LOL.

Yup, they serve alcohol at the Qwest, being a city owned facility. There is a ginormous full bar at one end of the arena that has a sweeping view of the ice.

Oh man. Wait till dg gets ahold of this one...

 

[vizoroo]

Re: Denver @ Nebraska-Omaha - February 25-26

Get ready for cowbells. And Taco Girl. Between the 2nd and 3rd periods they dress a chick up in a taco costume and have a contest whereby two individuals have to find her in the stands. I swear I am not making this up. The frat boy contestants have been the best at this for obvious reasons. Funniest by far was the night earlier in the season that two chicks were the contestants and THEY disappeared. They went to buy a beer, first, after being given their marching orders and embarking on their qwest and the emcee found them in line at a concession stand. Hilarious. Longest "Find Taco Girl" contest of all time. "Where the hell did the contestants go?" LOL.

Yup, they serve alcohol at the Qwest, being a city owned facility. There is a ginormous full bar at one end of the arena that has a sweeping view of the ice.

And what do the winners get for finding Taco Girl? No longer have to stand in line for Beer?