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Even after a tough loss to the University of Vermont, the DU hockey team still seemed to be in good spirits after the game. The locker room might have been a little melancholy, but the players were greeted after the game by hockey alumni from the 1950’s through now.
It was a surreal sight to see 60 years of DU hockey greats all piled into Hamilton Gymnasium Saturday night after the hockey game.
One of the biggest names in attendance was Mark Rycroft. After playing three seasons at DU, scoring 51 goals and finishing with 103 points, he went on to play 226 NHL games. He played with the St. Louis Blues and Colorado Avalanche. He retired after the 2007-08 seasons and now lives in Denver.
Rycroft enjoyed the ceremony and was really happy to be a part of celebrating the anniversary.
“Everything has been, 10 out of 10, first class all the way,” said Rycroft.
Recent DU alumni Matt Carle and Paul Stastny donated the jerseys to the event to make sure that all the alumni were wearing the same jersey that DU was wearing on the ice.
“It was incredibly generous of them, and kind of the icing on the cake for the weekend,” sad Rycroft.
Now that Rycroft has retired he makes sure to attend as many home games as possible.
“I love watching my brother-in-law Jon Cook. He is a junior defenseman,” said Rycroft.
He now runs a business called Scooters on Broadway.
When the entire team walked into the gym, all of the alumni stood and applauded.
Coach George Gwozdecky stood up and said a few words and then the entire DU team announced themselves so everyone could see what they looked like without their “armor on,” as Gwozdecky called it.
Coach Gwozdecky was full of nothing but praise for the alumni after that.
“I want to thank all of you for showing up here tonight. I want to thank those especially who have spoken with the team on request,” said Gwozdecky.
Captain Rhett Rakhshani also felt humbled to be there with all these alumni, he said.
“It is definitely really cool, and it gives you a sense of pride with all the guys coming back,” said Rakhshani.
“We all get some wisdom from them and seeing the tradition that has been around for years and years.”
Rakhshani and the Pioneers hit the road to Columbus, Ohio to face off against Ohio State next weekend where they will try to represent the alumni with pride on their march to another National Championship.
60th Anniversary Hockey from DU Clarion on Vimeo.
