Photo by: Sports Media Relations
THE DENVER PIONEERS, ranked number two in the nation, will be skating against unranked University of Alabama-Huntsville Oct. 25 at 7:35 p.m. and Oct. 26 at 7:05 p.m. Tickets to the Oct. 25 homecoming game are on sale at the Pioneer box-office.
The Pioneers can only strengthen their position if they win, but losing could drop them in the national rankings.
So far the team is doing well. A strong team took the first steps on their way to winning a national championship last Monday, beating Michigan State and the University of Omaha-Nebraska at the Stampede Tournament and most recently destroying the University of Windsor in an exhibition game on the ice of Magness Arena.
Fans that missed the Oct. 14 game missed a 12-1 win over the University of Windsor (Ontario) and a dominating performance by the Pioneers.
Luke Fulghum, who netted four goals in the win, and Kevin Doell who scoredtwice led the Pioneers. Also on the scoring card were Conner James, who scored a goal and added two assists, Greg Barber, Greg Keith, Scott McConnell, Aaron MacKenzie and freshman Gabe Gauthier.
Goalies Wade Dubielewicz and Adam Berkhoel shared net minding duties, turning away 17 of Windesor’s 18 shots. The Pioneers had 55 shots on the evening.
Greg Barber scored the Pioneers first goal at the 2:07 mark of the first period. Connor James netted the second goal and eventual game winner halfway through the first period. Greg Keith opened second period scoring with a goal three minutes into play to put the score at 3-1. Gareth Hopes scored the lone goal for the University of Windsor a minute later, to cut the Pioneer lead to two. Ten more Pioneer goals, five each in both the second and third periods, served to ice the game and build confidence in the Pioneers’ offensive attack.
The Pioneers already have two regular season wins under their belts. They faced the sixth ranked Michigan State Spartans and the University of Nebraska-Omaha the weekend of Oct. 11 in the Stampede tournament in Omaha, Neb. The first game was 5-0 shut out against a tough Spartans team. The Pioneers won the tournament with a 3-2 win over UNO in the finals.
Goalie Wade Dubielewicz was awarded the WCHA Defensive Player of the Week award for his goaltending in the Stampede tournament, recording the first opening day shut out in the Pioneer’s 54 year history.
Head Coach George Gwozdecky attributes “an experienced team of returning athletes,” to their early season success as well as the fact that “over the last two summers, the majority of the team stayed on campus and trained together resulting in good chemistry . . . At this level everyone is talented, but it takes more than talent and [their on campus training] shows that the players are also committed.”
Although the Pioneers scored on the power play during the exhibition against the University of Windsor, they have only converted one of their 10 regular season power play chances. Addressing the Pioneers .100 power play conversion rate Gwozdecky said, “the power play comes along the slowest . . . some key people from last year are gone and new people are coming in so we will experiment with different combinations over the next month or so to see what works.”
After two regular season games sophomore John Foster and junior Connor James share the team lead in goals scored with two apiece. Forward Kevin Ulanski is the points leader with four assists. Twelve Pioneers have recorded at least one point in the two games.
Gwozdecky thanked the fans and student support for making the Ritchie Center a “difficult place to play” and hopes students will continue to show the same kind of support this year and “fill the student section to the brim.” 3,645 people attended the game against Windsor University.
