These are 3 articles I found on two Denver on-line newspapers.  The
first 2 are from the Denver Post and the third from the Rocky Mountain
News. The first one talks about the DU game, second about Martin
Kariya, and the third about the DU game.  I don't know if any of these
three are what Coach Walsh was referring but here they are anyway.  As
you can see they are all from January 1 or 2.  And sorry about the
spacing but it lost the paragraph formatting in the copying/pasting
process. -Jake
 
Pioneers feel pain from Maine
By Mike Chambers
Special to The Denver Post
Jan. 2 - The majority of the University of Denver's hockey players came
out of their McNichols Sports Arena locker room with a bag of ice on a
knee, elbow or shoulder. For the few Pioneers who didn't sport ice
packs after Friday's 4-3 nonconference loss to No. 4 Maine, the pain on
their faces said it all.
Coming off a 4-3 upset over No. 6 Boston College on Monday, DU
continued to play inspiring hockey and at times dominated what some
believe is the best team in the East.
But no matter how hard they tried and how well they played, the
Pioneers couldn't get a fourth goal on Black Bears goalie Alfie
Michaud.
At the other end, DU goalie Stephen Wagner wasn't as tough. Granted, he
could have taken a nap without Maine scoring at large stretches of the
second and third periods. But down the stretch in a 3-3 game, he
couldn't prevent Steve Kariya's one-timer from the low slot.
Kariya's goal, witnessed by 2,857 at Big Mac, came with 3:57 to play
and killed an aggressive DU rally from a 3-1 deficit.
"I'm real proud of the team tonight,'' DU captain Paul Comrie said. "I
thought we played a real strong game. But give them credit. They took
advantage of their opportunities. Good teams do that.''
Hockey East power Maine improved to 12-1-3. The Black Bears, who were
outshot 9-4 in the second period and 27-21 for the game, haven't lost
in their last 10 games (7-0-3).
Denver fell to 9-8-0.
Comrie paced DU's attack with another spectacular play-making
performance. But after scoring DU's first goal to tie the game at 1-1
late in the third period, the senior center from Edmonton was held
scoreless, thanks to a few big Michaud saves and some errant
point-blank shots.
"In the second and third periods, we created many more opportunities
than we gave up,'' DU coach George Gwozdecky said. "It was a matter of
finishing, and at times we didn't do that well. At other times I though
Michaud played very well.''
Trailing 3-1, the Pioneers got a break when Michaud let James
Patterson's long-range slap shot zip through his legs at the 6:05 mark
of the second period. Gavin Morgan then tied it 3-3 when he followed a
Joe Murphy shot and buried the rebound past Michaud 3:15 into the
third.
From Morgan's goal until Kariya's goal, DU skated roughshod over the
Black Bears, who were missing two seniors because of injuries and two
others who are playing in U.S. World Junior Team.
"Their forwards are great,'' Maine coach Shawn Walsh said of the
Pioneers. "They could play with anybody. They're a solid team, and
obviously well-coached. This was just a great win for us on the road
with so many guys out.''
Kariya's game-winner came after a turnover behind Wagner. Maine's
Brendan Walsh helped cough up the puck with a forecheck before making a
behind-the-net feed to Kariya.
"It was a great forecheck by Brendan Walsh,'' said Kariya, the younger
brother of former Black Bears All-American and Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
star Paul Kariya. "I saw him come up with the puck on the other side of
the net and skated hard to the net. It was a great individual play by
Brendan.''
With Wagner on the bench in favor of a sixth attacker in the final
1:23, DU continued to swarm Michaud with grade-A shots in the low slot.
But both Swedish sophomore Bjorn Engstrom, who quickly has become one
of DU's best two-way forwards, and Comrie were stoned by Michaud on
back-to-back attempts for the equalizer.
"We faced a lot of adversity today,'' Kariya said of staving off DU's
attack. "We got into penalty trouble and they were taking the play to
us at times. But for the most part we were poised. We got a huge goal,
and it (turned) into a great, sweet victory.''
Pioneer points
Three stars: 1, Steve Kariya, Maine. 2, James Patterson, DU. 3, Alfie
Michaud, Maine.
The game-winning goal: With 3:57 to play Kariya took a behind-the-net
feed from Brendan Walsh and one-timed the puck past Stephen Wagner from
the low slot.
What you might have missed: In attendance was David McNab, assistant
general manager for the NHL's Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. McNab was in
Denver to visit Gwozdecky, and scout DU and Maine players.
Next: No. 5 New Hampshire, 7:05 p.m. Sunday at McNichols Sports Arena.
Final thought: With one game to go in this crucial four-game nonleague
stretch, DU was oh-so close to being 3-0.
 
Another Kariya still eyeing DU
By Mike Chambers
Special to The Denver Post
Jan. 1 - Blue-chip recruit Martin Kariya likes what he sees in the
University of Denver. Yet he won't sign with the Pioneers just because
of DU freshmen and former teammates Matt Pettinger and David Neale, or
current teammate and incoming Denver freshman Greg Barber.
Similarly, Kariya likes what he sees in the University of Maine, but he
won't go there just because of his brothers, current star Steve Kariya
and former Black Bears All-American Paul Kariya.
Martin Kariya also doesn't care about current affairs. Thus, any
decision to sign wi th either DU or Maine won't have anything to do
with today's nonleague meeting between the Pioneers and No. 4 Black
Bears (11-1-3) at McNichols Sports Arena (2:05 p.m., KRRF 1280 AM).
"It won't have anything to do with any of that,'' Kariya said Thursday
from his home in Victoria, British Columbia. "The same with Maine and
my brothers; I'm not going to DU because of (Pettinger, Neale and
Barber).''
What matters most to Kariya, who in just 38 games has 52 assists and 66
points for the Victoria Salsa of the British Columbia Junior Hockey
League, is to sign with a program that will develop him into what his
brothers have become. And despite the success that his brothers have
had playing at Maine, DU remains at the top of his list.
"I had a great visit there,'' Kariya, 18, said of his Nov. 20-21 trip
to Denver. "It's totally different than Maine. There's so much more to
do, whereas Maine is out in the woods.''
Kariya, who at 5-foot-8 and 160 pounds lacks size but is regarded as
one of the quickest high-school seniors in Canada, said he might take a
trip to Harvard next week before choosing. He previously trimmed
Princeton, Boston University, Cornell, Colorado College, North Dakota
and Michigan, among others, off his list.
"If I don't take a flydown to Harvard, I'll pick soon,'' he said.
Meanwhile, today's rare matinee will be DU's second of three straight
games against a nationally ranked team from Hockey East. The 9-7-0
Pioneers, who on Monday upset No. 6 Boston College 4-3 in overtime for
the Denver Cup championship, will entertain No. 5 New Hampshire
(12-3-1) at Big Mac on Sunday.
No. 2 Colorado College (14-4-0) also will host Maine (Saturday) and New
Hampshire (Sunday). Both games are at World Arena.
"Every team involved in this series is excited and pleased to have this
happen,'' DU coach George Gwozdecky said. "One of the key things that
the NCAA Tournament committee looks at is strength of schedule. So
these games are important. Everybody realizes that.''
The games also will be a showcase of four of the best offensive players
in the country. CC's Brian Swanson and UNH's Jason Krog rank 1-2 in
NCAA scoring with 40 and 32 points. And Steve Kariya and DU's Paul
Comrie are tied for 10th with 25 points.
"You have four of the marquee players in the country going
head-to-head,'' Gwozdecky said. "All four are legitimate Hobey Baker
Award candidates. In fact, you may have the (Hobey Baker) final four
with those guys. These games could go a long ways in determining who
becomes a (top10) finalist. That makes for great entertainment.''
 
Maine wins on late goal by Kariya
Denver's Gwozdecky philosophical about loss to No. 4 visitors after
rally ties the score
By K.W. Meyers
Special to the News
 
Steve Kariya redeemed himself.
Having helped allow the University of Denver hockey team to tie up
Friday's non-conference game at McNichols Sports Arena, the University
of Maine senior set out to right his wrong through the latter stages of
the third period.
With 3 minutes, 57 seconds left in regulation, Kariya did just that by
flipping a rebound over a sprawling Stephen Wagner and giving Maine a
4-3 victory against the Pioneers in front of a matinee crowd of 2,857.
"I caused their third goal with a turnover at their blue line, so I
felt I owed the team something," said Kariya, one of the top forwards
in college hockey. "So I just went out there and worked at getting one
back."
The loss droped DU to 9-8-0 with a Sunday date against No. 5 New
Hampshire looming. Fourth-ranked Maine headed off to a Sunday showdown
with Colorado College with a 12-1-3 record in tow.
Despite a sluggish start and some misplays around the net on Friday,
the Pioneers proved last Sunday's victory against sixth-ranked Boston
College wasn't an aberration. DU peppered the Maine net with 13 shots
during the third period, forcing Black Bears goaltender Alfie Michaud
to come up big to preserve the win.
"I can accept the outcome of any game as long as we're playing up to
our standards, and I thought we did that tonight," DU coach George
Gwozdecky said. "We were playing against a quality team and if the
polls are accurate, the outcome tells us an awful lot about what kind
of team we have."
Kariya's game-winner snapped the 3-3 tie Denver created on a Gavin
Morgan score 3:15 into the final period. The senior banged in a rebound
of Joe Murphy's initial shot during a two-on-two break.
The goal completed a rally from a 3-1 deficit the Pioneers faced early
in the second period. James Patterson began the climb back with a goal
6:05 into the middle period.
"I don't know what it was but we seemed to skate with no direction in
the beginning of the game," Morgan said. "Then it's not like too
little, too late, the way we came back, but when you're not getting the
bounces or the calls, that won't get it done."
The Pioneers opened slowly -- Maine jumped ahead 62 seconds into the
game on a Marcus Gustafsson goal -- and trailed 2-1 at the end of the
first period. Maine went up 3-1 on a Niko Dimitrakos goal 1:57 into the
second period.
"I think what you're seeing there is the reaction of a team that has to
create its energy from within," Gwozdecky said. "On a weekend like this
where the students aren't in town and it's a smaller crowd in a big
building, you aren't going to get a lot of energy from the crowd."
DU skated without freshman forward Matt Pettinger, who is suffering a
hip flexor injury and is questionable for New Hamsphire. Also, winger
Jon Newman spent most of the third period on the bench in Gwozdecky's
doghouse.
Maine was missing four skaters -- first-line center Cory Larose (flu),
forward Bobby Stewart (knee) and forward Barrett Heisten and defenseman
Doug Janik, who are competing with the U.S. Junior National Team in the
World Junior Championships.
"With four key guys out of the lineup, this was a huge win for us,"
Maine coach Shawn Walsh said. "But Kariya's a player. He didn't play a
great game and his turnover led to their their third goal, but he
atoned for it."