Photo by: Greg Lau
Nearly seven months after missing out on playing in the NCAA tournament, the DU men’s hockey team finally got a chance to take its frustration out on someone.
The Pioneers played their first exhibiton game of the season, facing off against the Dinos of the University of Calgary, last Satruday night.
Eager to prove that they are still among the elite in college hockey, the Pioneers outshot the Dinos 38-27, while cruising to a 6-3 victory.
The Pioneers received impressive performances from their older players, as senior forward Steven Cook scored two goals, while captain and fellow senior forward Adrian Veideman added four assists.
After falling behind 2-0 early in the second period, the Pioneers caught fire, scoring six unanswered goals.
The Pioneers broke onto the scoreboard at 12:09 of the second period when sophomore forward Brock Trotter picked off a weak UC breakout pass and buried his shot past Dinos’ goalie Scott Talbot.
Cook then got the Pioneers even when he finished off a rebound with less than two minutes left in the second period.
Taking the lead 45 seconds into the third period on a goal from junior forward Ryan Dingle, the Pioneers then dominated the rest of the period.
The Pioneers got a power-play goal on a hard shot from the point by sophomore defenseman Chris Butler, then, less than four minutes later, Cook chipped in his second of the night off of a UC defenseman’s skate.
Sophomore forward Patrick Mullen finished the Pioneer scoring with an unassisted, shorthanded goal at 13:03 of the third period.
DU’ goalies, junior Peter Mannino and senior Glenn Fisher, split time in the game, combining for 24 saves. Mannino was credited with the win.
The 6-3 win was a good starting point for the ninth-ranked Pioneers, who finished in second place in an extremely talented WCHA conference.
Though the Pioneers, winners of seven NCAA titles, did lose three of their top four scorers from a year ago to the NHL, they return a strong core of experienced and talented players.
Dingle, the team’s top returning scorer, was named to the preseason All-America second team by College Hockey News. Dingle led the Pioneers a year ago with 27 goals.
The Pioneers also bring in a very impressive recruiting class of seven freshmen, five of whom have already been drafted by NHL teams.
The Pioneers will need to utilize their talented roster this season, as the WCHA is once again stacked with national contenders.
The University of Wisconsin, University of Minnesota, and University of North Dakota all are ranked in the top six in the country, with defending NCAA champion Wisconsin sitting atop the poll.
It will not be long before the Pioneers find out just how good they are. The Pioneers start their regular season this weekend as they travel to Oxford, Ohio, for the Ice Breaker Tournament.
The Pioneers will face off against No. 8 Miami (Ohio) University on Friday at 6:05 p.m. MT. Then DU will face either No. 14 Colgate or Vermont at 2:05 Saturday afternoon. Both gamed will be televised on ESPNU.
