Denver Pioneers men's ice hockey

Denver Pioneers Men's Ice Hockey
University	University of Denver
Conference	NCHC
Head coach	Jim Montgomery 4th year, 74–42–14 (.623)
Captain	Will Butcher
Alternate captain(s)	Matt VanVoorhis Matt Marcinew Evan Janssen
Arena	Magness Arena Capacity: 6,026 Surface: 200' x 85'
Location	Denver, Colorado
Colors	Crimson and Gold
NCAA Tournament Champions
1958, 1960, 1961, 1968, 1969, 2004, 2005
NCAA Tournament Frozen Four
1958, 1960, 1961, 1963, 1964, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1986, 2004, 2005, 2016
NCAA Tournament Appearances
1958, 1960, 1961, 1963, 1964, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1986, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016
Conference Tournament Champions
1960, 1961, 1963, 1964, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1986, 1999, 2002, 2005, 2008, 2014
Conference Regular Season Champions
1957–58, 1959–60, 1960–61, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1967–68, 1971–72, 1972–73, 1977–78, 1985–86, 2001–02, 2004–05, 2009-10
Current uniform

The Denver Pioneers men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents the University of Denver. The Pioneers are a member of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC). They play at Magness Arena in Denver, Colorado. The Pioneers rank third in all-time NCAA National Hockey Championships with seven (1958, 1960, 1961, 1968, 1969, 2004, 2005) after Michigan and North Dakota with nine and eight championships, respectively. Since the creation of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association in 1959, the Pioneers have won 9 WCHA Regular Season Championships (now the recipients of the MacNaughton Cup) and 14 WCHA Playoff Championships (now the recipients of the Broadmoor Trophy). About 75 Pioneers have gone on to play in the National Hockey League, including Keith Magnuson, Kevin Dineen, Matt Carle (2006 Hobey Baker Award winner) and Paul Stastny.

Denver/Colorado College rivalry

Of all the rivals that the Denver Pioneer's hockey program play against the most intense rivalry is that from Colorado College. Since Denver's hockey program started in 1949 the two schools have always met during the hockey season. In the 1993-94 season a gold pan trophy was added as a reward for the winning team thus the rivalry has been dubbed the Battle for the Gold Pan.

Current head coach

Jim Montgomery ^[1]

• Played six seasons in the NHL
• Montgomery was an assistant coach for Notre Dame for the 2005–2006 season.
• On April 12, 2010 he was named head coach of the USHL expansion franchise Dubuque Fighting Saints.

Coaching records

Coach	Years	Wins	Losses	Ties
Murray Armstrong*	1956 to 1977	463	215	31
George Gwozdecky'	1994 to 2013	311	195	40
Ralph Backstrom	1981 to 1990	182	174	14
Marshall Johnston	1977 to 1981	89	63	7
Neil Celley	1951 to 1956	82	43	6
Jim Montgomery	2013 to Present	69	40	14
Frank Serratore	1990 to 1994	49	92	9
Vern Turner	1949 to 1951	15	24	1

"*Ranks 18th All-Time in NCAA Division I Wins"

Current roster

As of July 26, 2016.^[2]

#	S/P/C	Player	Class	Pos	Height	Weight	DoB	Hometown	Previous team	NHL rights
2		Fear, ErichErich Fear	Freshman	D	6' 5" (1.96 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	1997-05-08	Winnetka, Illinois	Springfield (NAHL)	—
3		Hammond, TariqTariq Hammond	Junior	D	6' 2" (1.88 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	1993-12-05	Calgary, Alberta	Okotoks (AJHL)	—
4		Butcher, WillWill Butcher (C)	Senior	D	5' 10" (1.78 m)	186 lb (84 kg)	1995-01-06	Sun Prairie, Wisconsin	USNTDP (USHL)	COL, 123rd overall 2013
5		Borgström, HenrikHenrik Borgström	Freshman	F	6' 3" (1.91 m)	176 lb (80 kg)	1997-08-06	Helsinki, Finland	HIFK U20 (Nuorten SM-liiga)	FLA, 23rd overall 2016
6		VanVoorhis, MattMatt VanVoorhis (A)	Senior	D	5' 7" (1.7 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	1993-01-19	Edina, Minnesota	Sioux Falls (USHL)	—
7		Gambrell, DylanDylan Gambrell	Sophomore	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	179 lb (81 kg)	1996-08-26	Bonney Lake, Washington	Dubuque (USHL)	SJS, 60th overall 2016
9		McLellan, TysonTyson McLellan	Freshman	F	5' 9" (1.75 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	1996-02-17	San Jose, California	Madison (USHL)	—
10		Conley, KevinKevin Conley	Freshman	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	1997-02-17	Wausau, Wisconsin	Youngstown (USHL)	—
12		Cole, JustinJustin Cole	Freshman	F	6' 3" (1.91 m)	198 lb (90 kg)	1996-05-01	Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania	Cedar Rapids (USHL)	—
13		Finlay, LiamLiam Finlay	Freshman	F	5' 7" (1.7 m)	154 lb (70 kg)	1997-02-18	Kelowna, British Columbia	Vernon (BCHL)	—
14		Lukosevicius, JaridJarid Lukosevicius	Sophomore	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	186 lb (84 kg)	1995-02-05	Squamish, British Columbia	Powell River (BCHL)	—
15		Ritt, EvanEvan Ritt	Senior	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	182 lb (83 kg)	1993-01-20	Lakewood, Colorado	Jersey (USPHL)	—
17		Junda, RudyRudy Junda	Junior	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	193 lb (88 kg)	1993-02-13	Denver, Colorado	Wichita Falls (NAHL)	—
18		Romig, EmilEmil Romig	Senior	F	5' 9" (1.75 m)	178 lb (81 kg)	1992-09-19	Vienna, Austria	Corpus Christi (NAHL)	—
19		Terry, TroyTroy Terry	Sophomore	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	167 lb (76 kg)	1997-09-10	Denver, Colorado	USNTDP (USHL)	ANA, 148th overall 2015
21		Davies, MichaelMichael Davies	Freshman	D	5' 8" (1.73 m)	155 lb (70 kg)	1997-01-26	St. Louis, Missouri	Waterloo (USHL)	—
22		O'Connor, LoganLogan O'Connor	Sophomore	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	1996-08-14	Calgary, Alberta	Sioux Falls (USHL)	—
23		Marcinew, MattMatt Marcinew (A)	Senior	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	192 lb (87 kg)	1993-10-07	Calgary, Alberta	Olds (AJHL)	—
24		Staub, ColinColin Staub	Sophomore	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	203 lb (92 kg)	1996-03-26	Colorado Springs, Colorado	Wichita Falls (NAHL)	—
25		Hillman, BlakeBlake Hillman	Sophomore	D	6' 1" (1.85 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1996-01-26	Elk River, Minnesota	Waterloo (USHL)	CHI, 173rd overall 2016
26		Janssen, EvanEvan Janssen (A)	Senior	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	188 lb (85 kg)	1993-03-31	Green Bay, Wisconsin	Dubuque (USHL)	—
27		Mostrom, SeanSean Mostrom	Sophomore	D	6' 3" (1.91 m)	201 lb (91 kg)	1994-03-26	Wayzata, Minnesota	Fargo (USHL)	—
28		Plant, AdamAdam Plant	Junior	D	5' 10" (1.78 m)	163 lb (74 kg)	1995-05-09	Penticton, British Columbia	West Kelowna (BCHL)	—
29		Hawkinson, BradBrad Hawkinson	Junior (RS)	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	188 lb (85 kg)	1995-09-04	Aurora, Colorado	Lincoln (USHL)	—
30		Ogard, GregGreg Ogard	Senior	G	6' 2" (1.88 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1991-06-21	Wilmette, Illinois	Bay State (EJHL)	—
31		Cowley, EvanEvan Cowley	Senior	G	6' 5" (1.96 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	1995-07-31	Evergreen, Colorado	Wichita Falls (NAHL)	FLA, 92nd overall 2013
33		Munson, PatrickPatrick Munson	Sophomore (RS)	G	6' 2" (1.88 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	1995-04-25	Hugo, Minnesota	Vermont (HEA)	—
36		Jaillet, TannerTanner Jaillet	Junior	G	5' 11" (1.8 m)	174 lb (79 kg)	1993-08-18	Red Deer, Alberta	Fort McMurray (AJHL)	—

NHL alumni

Retired NHL players

(Note: This is partial list - 75 DU players have played in the NHL)

Forwards/Defenseman
Name	Team	Seasons	GP	Goals	Assists	Points	+/-	PIM
Keith Magnuson	Chicago Blackhawks	10	589	14	125	139	170	1442
Cliff Koroll	Chicago Blackhawks	11	814	208	254	462	109	376
Bill Masterton*	Minnesota North Stars	1	38	4	8	12	(4)	4
Peter McNab	Buffalo/Boston/Vancouver/New Jersey	15	954	363	450	813	130	179
Kevin Dineen	Hartford/Philadelphia/Carolina/Columbus	21	1188	355	405	760	(23)	2229
Vic Venasky	Los Angeles Kings	7	430	61	101	162	(17)	66
Glenn Anderson	Edmonton/Toronto/NY Rangers/St. Louis	18	1,129	498	601	1,099	201	1,120
Mike Christie	California Seals/CO Rockies/Cleveland/Vancouver	9	412	15	101	116	(97)	550
Marshall Johnston	Minnesota North Stars/California Seals	7	251	14	52	66	(73)	58
Antti Laaksonen	Boston/Minnesota/Colorado	8	483	81	87	168	(-9)	152
Rich Preston	Chicago/New Jersey	8	580	127	164	291	(35)	348
Ed Beers	Calgary/St. Louis	6	250	94	116	210	19	256
Mark Rycroft	St. Louis/Colorado	4	226	21	25	46	(-9)	113
Bruce Affleck	St. Louis/Vancouver	7	280	14	66	80	(82)	86
Craig Patrick*	Washington/California Seals	9	401	72	91	163	(131)	61
Craig Redmond	Los Angeles/Edmonton	5	191	16	68	84	(57)	134
Erik Andersson	Calgary	1	12	2	1	3	(8)	134
Goalies
Name	Team	Seasons	GP	Min	W	L	T	OT	GAA
Ron Grahame	Boston/LA Kings/Quebec	5	114	6,472	50	43	15	0	3.79
Pete LoPresti	Minnesota North Stars/Edmonton	6	175	9858	43	102	20	0	4.07

• Bill Masterton, on January 13, 1968, fell to the ice, hitting his head. He died two days later of massive head injuries, becoming the first player to die as a direct result of an injury during an NHL game. The Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy is awarded annually to the NHL player who best personifies perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to the game of hockey
• Craig Patrick was the GM of 1991 & 1992 Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins

Active players

• as of 2/26/16

Forwards/Defensemen
Name	Team	Seasons	Games Played	Goals	Assists	Points	+/-	PIM
Paul Stastny	Colorado Avalanche/St. Louis Blues	10	656	182	351	533	5	320
Matt Carle	San Jose/Tampa Bay/Philadelphia/Tampa Bay	10	704	44	231	275	74	245
Tyler Bozak	Toronto Maple Leafs	7	425	105	158	263	(-74)	122
Joe Colborne	Boston Bruins/Toronto Maple Leafs/Calgary Flames	6	210	28	56	84	(-12)	102
Chris Butler	Buffalo Sabres/Calgary Flames/St. Louis Blues	7	382	13	71	84	(-35)	181
Jason Zucker	Minnesota Wild	5	156	41	19	60	(-3)	44
Patrick Wiercioch	Ottawa Senators/Colorado Avalanche	5	211	12	50	62	13	115

Arenas

University of Denver Arena (1948–97)

University of Denver Arena (DU Arena) was a 5,237-seat multi-purpose arena in Denver. In addition to serving as the Pioneers' home rink, it hosted several Frozen Fours. It was razed in 1997 to make room for the $75 million Magness Arena, (part of the Ritchie Center for Sports and Wellness) which opened in 1999.

Originally a Naval Drill Hall built during World War II in Farragut, Idaho, the DU Arena was donated to the University after the war and reassembled on the Denver campus in 1948–49 to house the University's then-new ice hockey program. The arena was refurbished in 1972–73 when the roof needed repairs, and 14 seven-ton steel trusses were added to shore up the roof. Additional patchwork renovations were added in the 1990s, prior to razing in 1997.

The best known features of the arena were the steep bleacher balcony at the south end, and the 1970s rainbow painted on the north end wall. Famous hockey games held there include the NCAA ice hockey finals in 1961, 1964 and 1976.

Magness Arena (1999–present)

Magness Arena is a 7,200-seat multi-purpose collegiate sports arena in Denver, Colorado. It was built in 2000 as part of the Daniel L. Ritchie Center for Sports & Wellness, a $75 million, 400,000-square-foot (37,000 m²) sports complex at the University of Denver. It is home to the University of Denver Pioneers ice hockey and basketball teams. The Ritchie Center replaced the former DU Arena and DU Fieldhouse, which were razed in 1997 to make way for the Ritchie Center. The basketball team also plays smaller games at Hamilton Gymnasium, located in the Ritchie Center.

The arena is named after cable television pioneer Bob Magness, who donated $10 million towards construction costs.

Magness Arena looking northwest

Magness arena looking north/northeast

Game between the Denver Pioneers and Colorado College Tigers (Magness Arena - December 2016)

The Ritchie Center is home to many DU Pioneers athletics programs

See also

Battle for the Gold Pan

References

1. George Gwozdecky - Denver Pioneers Official Athletics Site
2. "2016–17 Roster". Denver University. Retrieved July 26, 2016.

External links

• Denver Pioneers men's ice hockey