1994 Tournament field
Ohio State (2-11-2, 0-9-2 CCHA) is DenverUs opponent in the opening
round of the tournament... recently defeated No. 6 Bowling Green
4-3... the only other win came at the hands of Guelph, a non-NCAA
opponent... the Buckeyes are led by center Randy Holmes (15 gp,
3-10--13) and center Tyler McMillan (15 gp, 4-7--11)... goaltenders
Kurt Brown and Tom Askey combine for a 5.27 goals-against average and
.856 saves-percentage... OSU is coached by Jerry Welsh (Ohio State
U73) who is in his 20th season at the helm of his alma materUs
program... Welsh is 2-0-0 vs. Denver.
Brown University (6-2-0, 6-2-0 ECAC) is coming off a
three-week break from NCAA competition... the Bears last played Dec. 3
and lost at Harvard 4-1... on Dec. 9 they played an exhibition game
vs. CanadaUs National Team... of BrownUs two goals in the 4-2 loss,
both tallies were on power-play opportunities... former DU standout
Glenn Anderson iced CanadaUs win with a goal late in the third
period... Brown is ranked ninth in one poll and 10th in another, and
has a one-point lead over Harvard for the ECACUs top spot... Brown is
led by forward Ryan Mulher (8 gp, 7-5--12) and forward Brian Jardine
(8 gp, 1-8--9)... junior Mike Parsons (2.50 GAA, .901 svs%) is the
only goaltender who has played this season... head coach Bob Gaudet
(Dartmouth U81) is in his seventh season at Brown and owns a 68-98-17
overall record... Gaudet has never faced Denver.
Air Force Academy (7-6-1) is in its third season as co-host of
the Denver Cup... the Cadets, an independent program in college
hockey, have won their past three games... they are 2-5-1 vs. Division
I opponents... Air Force boasts the best power-play percentage of
teams in the tournament with 29.2 percent conversion rate...
defenseman Beau Bilek (14 gp, 2-15--17), a U93 Denver Cup
all-tournament team honoree, lead the team in scoring... sophomore
goaltender Pat Kielb (5-6-1, 3.94 GAA, .849 svs%) has played the
majority of the games this season... freshman Jeremy Gregoire played
his first collegiat game Dec. 10 vs. Gustavus Adolphus and recorded a
5-1 win... head coach Chuck Delich (Air Force U77) is in his 10th
season at Air Force... Delich is 0-2-0 vs. Denver.
Tournament Headquarters: Air Force, Brown and Ohio State will be
staying at the Marriott City Center at 1701 California Street, (303)
297-1300. All three teams will check in Tuesday, Dec. 27.
Norwest Denver Cup reception: A reception will be held for the
official travel parties, staff, fans, friends and families on Tuesday,
Dec. 27 at 6:30 p.m. at the Marriott City Center. Each of the four
coaches will speak briefly beginning at 7 p.m. Media are welcome to
attend. The buffet cost is $10. It is also open to the public. For
information call the DU ticket office at 871-2336.
Denver vs. 1994 tournament field
Denver is 2-2-0 vs. Ohio State. All four games took place at the DU
Arena. The teams played a two-game series November 1973 and December
1983.
The Pioneers are 1-3-0 in the all-time series vs. Brown. The
teams first met in DUUs first season, 1949-50. Brown claimed both
victories by a large margin, 16-3 and 17-0. In January 1981, DU won
its first game of the series, 5-0, and was just shy of a sweep losing
4-3 in overtime.
The Air Force/DU series has a bit more history to it with 19
meetings. DU owns bragging rights with a 17-2 record vs. Air Force.
The series began January 1972. The last time these teams met (Jan. 13,
1987) DU won 9-6 at the Air Force Academy.
Future Denver Cup participants
Invitations have been extended and accepted for the next three
tournaments. Cornell and Colorado College will join Air Force and DU
for the 1995 Denver Cup. Though no official arrangements have been
made, DU officials hope that Colorado CollegeUs participation will
continue beyond the 1995 Cup. Yale University will participate in the
U96 Cup, and Notre Dame will make its second appearance in U97.
1993 All-tournament team
Goaltender Sinuhe Wallinheimo, Denver
Defense Beau Bilek, Air Force
Defense Ian DeCorby, Denver
Forward Ian Sharp, Princeton
Forward John Joyce, Boston College
Forward Jason Elders, Denver
MVP Jason Elders, Denver
1994 Champions: University of Denver
Runner-up: Boston College
Head Coach George Gwozdecky (Wisconsin U78) is in his first year at
the University of Denver. In his ninth season as a collegiate head
coach, Gwozdecky owns a career record of 161-129-21 (.551).
Prior to his appointment in May 1994, Gwozdecky served as head
coach at Miami University (Ohio) for five seasons -- his first
Division I job. During his tenure at Miami he was twice named Central
Collegiate Hockey Association Coach of the Year and posted an 83-96-19
(.467) record. In 1992-93 his team won the schoolUs first league title
and he was named National Coach of the Year in addition to being named
CCHA Coach of the Year.
Prior to his stint at Miami, the 41-year-old coach served as
an assistant coach at Michigan State following a three-year stint as
head coach at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. At UW-River
Falls he compiled a record of 67-30-2 (.687).
Gwozdecky has been associated with national collegiate hockey
championships as a player, assistant coach and head coach. On Oct. 22
at the Dane County Coliseum he was honored as one of four new
inductees to the UW Hockey Hall of Fame. New York Ranger goalie Mike
Richter, Ron Vincent and long-time Wisconsin hockey announcer Paul
Braun were the other inductees.
His association as an assistant coach for Michigan StateUs
1986 NCAA Championship team, and as head coach of the UW-River Falls
1983 NAIA Championship team, provided him with the experience need to
succeed at Denver.
Pioneer Points: The current win streak of eight games is the longest
for a DU team since the 1977-78 season... NMU had won 18 of the past
19 seriesU meetings vs. DU prior to the PioneersU two victories this
season... the sweep at home Dec. 3-4 was a first since Feb. 4-5, 1994,
(vs. UND) and the first series win over NMU since the 1988 season...
in special-teams play the Pioneers rank 5th in the WCHA for
penalty-killing (98-118, 83.1%), and 8th for their power-play
percentage (15-99, 15.2%)... Craig McMillan leads the team with seven
(1-6--7) power-play points... Sinuhe Wallinheimo and Jim Mullin are a
goaltending tandem that has a combined goals-against average of 3.19
and a saves-percentage of .904. Wallinheimo ranks 4th in the WCHA with
a 2.94 GAA, and Mullin ranks 7th with a 3.45 GAA... Petri Gunther was
shifted to defense because Mike Corbett, one of six defensemen on the
roster, was lost for the season with an injury... Elders (29th, 130
career points) and Ricci (31st, 126 points) each rank on DUUs all-time
scoring list... the Pioneers are 9-0 when leading after two periods
and 0-5 when trailing after two... DU is 4-1 at home and 5-4 on the
road... DU is 10-0-0 when it leads after two periods and 4-0 in games
decided by one goal... DUUs 50 penalty minutes vs. Northeastern (Nov.
25) was a season high, and the six PIM vs. NMU Dec. 3 was a low... the
Pioneers had their most successful power-play record of the season vs.
Northeastern (4 of 6, 66.7%)... Chris Kenady is being considered a
Hobey Baker candidate by the awardUs selection committee... DU is
averaging 3,876 at the DU Arena (82.5% capacity).
Injuries: Junior winger Brent Cary (Indianapolis, Ind.) sustained his
fifth injury in two years during a drill in practice Monday, Oct. 10.
He collided head-on with senior defenseman John McLean at mid-ice.
Cary was diagnosed with a fracture of the left side of his seventh
cervical vertebra by team physician Dr. Robert Loeffler. Cary is
expected to return in January.
Mike Corbett (Green Bay, Wis.) sustained a torn anterior
cruciate ligament in the right knee at 6:17 into the second period of
the Wisconsin game (Oct. 22). He underwent surgery Oct. 30 and will
miss the remainder of the U94-95 season.
Reviewing the Minnesota series (Dec. 10-11):
DU swept Minnesota on the road for the first time since November 1985
to climb two places in the WCHA standings. Not only did DU never trail
in either game but it took 2-0 leads in the first period.
On Satuday night, in DUUs 4-3 triumph, goaltender Jim Mullin
had a superb game stopping 33 of 36 shots and assisting on the
game-winning goal. John McLean, Angelo Ricci and Mike Naylor each
scored for the Pioneers.
On Sunday night, Sean Ortiz and Jason Elders helped DU to a
3-2 victory. Ortiz had two goals in the first 17 minutes. Minnesota
tied up the game with a goal in the second and third periods. Elders
notched the win with a goal with just 12 seconds remaining in
regulation.
DU kept the leagueUs power-play leader to 1 of 11 in
man-advantage opportunities.
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