Boston University

(above) BU's Agganis Arena is one of the finest in college hockey

Wells Fargo Denver Cup
Magness Arena, Denver, Colo.
January 3, 2009

The No. 5 Denver (13-5-1, 9-4-1 WCHA) Pioneers may host the #3 Boston University Terriers from Hockey East in their Denver Cup Championship or Consolation Game on Saturday, Jan 3. Puck drop is set for either 4:07 or 7:37 p.m. MT on Saturday, depending on Friday’s DU result. If DU beats Holy Cross on Friday, The DU vs. BU/RPI game can be seen live at 7 pm MT on FSN Rocky Mountain which can be found on DirecTV channel 683 and Dish Network channel 414. Live Audio: Friday-www.denverpioneers.com. If DU does not advance to the title game, the 4:00 pm consolation game will shown by FSN tape delayed at 7pm MT
The series

Denver is 12-12-2 all-time against Boston University. DU last met BU on Nov. 25, 2005, when the Terriers edged DU, 1-0 at Agganis Arena in Boston.DU last beat BU in Denver in 2004.
Terriers to Watch

BU was picked to finish second in the Hockey East. The Terriers will be without leading scorer Colin Wilson (7-14--21) and defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk (3-9—12), who are competing for Team USA at the IIHF World Junior Championship in Ottawa. BU will lean on its strong blueline with Colby Cohen and Matt Gilroy and the goaltending of Kieran Millan (8-1-1, 1.79 GAA, .922 GAA). BU’s top goal scorer is Chris Higgins, and top power play producer Jason Lawrence will try to provide the offensive spark.

About BU
Boston University (BU) is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts, Although chartered by the Massachusetts Legislature in 1869, Boston University traces its roots to the establishment of the Newbury Biblical Institute in Newbury, Vermont in 1839. The University organized formal Centennial observances both in 1939 and 1969.

With nearly 4,000 faculty members and more than 30,000 students, Boston University is the fourth-largest private university in the country and the city's fourth-largest employer. The University offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees through 18 schools and colleges and operates two urban campuses. The main campus is situated along the Charles River in Boston's Fenway-Kenmore and Allston neighborhoods, while the Boston University Medical Campus is in Boston's South End neighborhood.

History
On 24–25 April 1839 a group of Methodist ministers and laymen at the Old Bromfield Street Church in Boston elected to establish a Methodist theological school. Set up in Newbury, Vermont, the school was named the Newbury Biblical Institute.

In 1847, the Congregational Society in Concord, New Hampshire, invited the Institute to relocate to Concord and made available a disused Congregational church building with a capacity of 1200 people. Other citizens of Concord covered the remodeling costs. One stipulation of the invitation was that the Institute remains in Concord for at least 20 years. The charter issued by New Hampshire designated the school the "Methodist General Biblical Institute", but it was commonly called the "Concord Biblical Institute."

With the agreed twenty years coming to a close, the Trustees of the Concord Biblical Institute purchased 30 acres (120,000 m2) on Aspinwall Hill in Brookline, Massachusetts as a possible relocation site. The Institute moved in 1867 to 23 Pinkney Street in Boston and received a Massachusetts Charter as the "Boston Theological Institute."

In 1869, three Trustees of the Boston Theological Institute obtained from the Massachusetts Legislature a charter for a university by name of "Boston University." These three were successful Boston businessmen and Methodist laymen, with a history of involvement in educational enterprises and became the Founders of Boston University. They were Isaac Rich (1801–1872), Lee Claflin (1791–1871), and Jacob Sleeper (1802–1889), for whom Boston University's three West Campus dormitories are named. Lee Claflin's son, William, was then Governor of Massachusetts and signed the University Charter on 26 May 1869 after it was passed by the Legislature.

The Boston Theological Institute was absorbed into Boston University in 1871 as the BU School of Theology.

In January 1872 Isaac Rich died, leaving the vast bulk of his estate to a trust that would go to Boston University after ten years of growth while the University was organized. Most of this bequest consisted of real estate throughout the core of the city of Boston and was appraised at more than $1.5 million. Kilgore describes this as the largest single donation to an American college or university to that time.

By December, the Great Boston Fire of 1872 had destroyed all but one of the buildings Rich had left to the University, and the insurance companies with which they had been insured were bankrupt. The value of his estate, when turned over to the University in 1882, was half what it had been in 1872. As a result, the University was unable to build its contemplated campus on Aspinwall Hill and the land was sold piecemeal as development sites. Street names in the area, including Claflin Road, Claflin Path, and University Road, are the only remaining evidence of University ownership in this area.

That year BU admitted women to all programs and became more and more non-sectarian over time.

Boston University established its facilities in buildings scattered through the less fashionable parts of Beacon Hill, and later expanded into the Boylston Street and Copley Square area before building the Charles River Campus after 1937. The University's main Charles River Campus follows Commonwealth Avenue and the Green Line, beginning near Kenmore Square and continuing for over a mile and a half to its end near the border of Boston's Allston neighborhood. The Boston University Bridge over the Charles River into Cambridge represents the dividing line between Main Campus, where most schools and classroom buildings are concentrated, and West Campus, home to several athletic facilities and playing fields, the large West Campus dorm, and the new John Hancock Student Village complex, of which Agganis Arena (2005) is the 6.300 seat showpiece and home to Terrier hockey.

Rankings
The School of Management and its MBA program are ranked highly among domestic schools.

U.S. News & World Report ranks Boston University 60th among national universities. Boston University was also ranked 21st among U.S. law schools, 34th among medical schools, 41st among business schools, and 68th among education schools.

About the BU Hockey Program
Boston University is one of America’s premier hockey programs, with a long period of national excellence, particularly in the 1970s and 1990s. In all, BU has won 4 National Championships and 5 runner-up trophies since the NCAA hockey tournament began in 1948. BU has also appeared the second most NCAA Frozen Fours - 20 times in 27 tournament appearances.

Every year the four major Boston area schools, BU, BC, Northeastern and Harvard meet at the TD Banknorth Garden for a mid-season tournament called the Beanpot. The televised tourney is a local institution, and a fierce battle for bragging rights. As of 2008, the Terriers have won 28 of 56 Beanpots and 11 of the last 14.

The BU program began in 1918, as one of several Boston schools that shared ice and game slots at the old Boston Arena, America’s oldest indoor arena, which was built in 1909 and now is known as Matthews Arena, the home of the Northeastern University Huskies. Like many schools of the era, the early BU teams played a limited schedule of mostly local opposition. BU lost its first ever game to crosstown rival Boston College 3-1, setting the stage for one of the bitterest rivalries in all of college hockey.

After winning only three games in the first five years of play and trying to get a program going under three different coaches (and a year with no coach at all), BU decided to get serious and hired George Gaw as coach, who had previously been coach at Princeton and Dartmouth for the 1924-25 season. BU went 7-5 under Gaw in that first season, including BU’s first-ever win over Boston College, marking the beginnings of a winning tradition, and Gaw’s 1928-28 campaign was his final and best year, as the Terriers went 6-2-1.

In 1928, BU hired Wayland Vaughan to take over for Gaw, and incredibly, Vaughan remains one of only four men to coach the Terriers since 1928. In the old New England League, Vaughan built the true foundation of the program, with 8 winning season in his 12 prewar years as coach. His debut year in 1928 saw the Terriers beat BC twice, enroute to a 9-2 record behind the ace goaltending of Sidney Silberberg.

In 1935, BU was led by seniors Johnny Lax and Paul Rowe, who were paired as an explosive line combination, leading BU to good stretch run to win five of the team’s final seven games, and whose play was so impressive that the two were named to the 1936 U.S. Olympic Team and paired for three game-winning goals in the US’s Bronze Medal performance in Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Hitler’s Germany the next year.

By 1938, Vaughan fashioned BU’s first team to hit double digits in wins, as forward Al Carvelli led the Terriers to a 10-4 season, including two victories over Boston College and the team’s first victory over Harvard. Carvelli put up 84 points in 36 career games.

After World War II in 1946, Harry Cleverly (BU Class of 1937 and a three sport athlete at BU), took over the program as coach, and set a very high standard right off the bat, with seven consecutive winning seasons. In 1947-48, BU posted a 20-4 record, the best ever at the school to that point, narrowly missing out on an NCAA tourney berth, as the Terriers were led by the line of Ben Forbes, Don Cleary and William Kirrane with 88 points between them.

In 1949-50, All-American Jack Garrity re-wrote the BU record books, with 51 goals and 84 points (Still BU records today). Garrity, a returning WWII veteran, led the Terriers to their first two NCAA appearances in Colorado Springs. The first in 1950, saw the Terriers beat Michigan 4-3 in the National semis behind the goaltending of All-American Ike Bevins, but in the NCAA final, the Terriers fell to Colorado College in the Championship Game. In 1951, The Terriers returned to The NCAAs in Colorado Springs behind a 16-5 final record, but Michigan got revenge on BU for the previous year with 8-3 win in the semi-final.

Cleverly’s 1952-53 team also made it to the NCAAs in Colorado Springs on the basis on an 11-2 stretch enroute to a 14-7-1 final record, but the Terriers fell to Michigan once again (14-3). BU’s season success was keyed by the goaltending of Paul Kelley (the brother of BU teammate Jack Kelley, who would become BU’s next coach) and the scoring of Dick Rodenhiser’s 49 point season. Rodenheiser also scored the first ever goal in the new “Beanpot Tournament” at Boston Garden in 1952, and also later won a goal medal for the USA as a member of the 1960 U.S. Olympics Team. BU had dominated the Beanpot in the years since it’s inception.

Despite a few strong teams in the later part of the 1950s, BU did not return to the NCAA tournament until 1959-60, when the Terriers were led by two-time all-American and team captain Bob Marquis from Montreal, who finished his career as the top goalscorer (98), assist man (66) and point producer (161) in the era of three year eligibility. Cleverly’s 1960 squad went 18-9 and was excited to play on the home ice of Boston Arena as a the host of the 1960 NCAA Tournament, but the Pioneers of Denver, gunning for their second NCAA title, shot down the Terriers 6-4 in the semi final. DU went on to beat Michigan Tech in the final 5-3, while BU was able to salvage third place with a 7-6 win over St. Lawrence.

Cleverly left BU as coach in 1962 with a record of 211 wins, 144 losses and 10 ties, and Jack Kelley (BU Class of 1952) took over as coach for the next 10 years of BU Hockey. Kelley’s third BU team won the ECAC regular season title in 1965 at 25-6, but was not selected for the NCAA tournament. However, Kelley’s next team in 1966 finished 27-8 and made the NCAAs in Minneapolis, only to fall to eventual champion Michigan State 2-1 in the semis. BU then fell to Denver 4-3 in the third place game. Kelley got revenge in 1967, when his 25-5-1 team won the ECAC title and beat Michigan State 4-2 in the NCAA tournament in Syracuse to advance to the NCAA Championship game, but BU could not get more than one goal past the great Ken Dryden in the Championship game, with Cornell winning the title 4-1. A crowd favorite on the ‘67 team was 5-foot-5 Herb Wakabayshi, a Canadian of Japanese descent, who had 51 assists that year, an ECAC record, who would become an all-American and BU Hall of Famer.

The 1971 season was a breakthrough for Kelley and BU, as the Terriers went 28-2 and won the first NCAA title in school history in their seventh visit to the NCAA tournament. BU beat the Denver Pioneers by a 4-2 count in the semis and punched through in the title game against Minnesota, 4-2 in Syracuse, N.Y behind the all-tourney play of forwards Don “Toot” Cahoon and Steve Stirling, both of whom would become college hockey coaches later in life.

The next season was even more special as the Terries were to become back to back NCAA Champions, as BU player David Warner recalls:

“We (BU) were edged by Cornell, 3-2, at the Syracuse Holiday Tournament final as the Big Red avenged the previous season’s 6-5 ECAC consolation game loss, which put BU into the 1971 NCAA tournament. Later, Cornell came into our new Walter Brown arena for the season finale and beat us again, 3-2, for our only home defeat that season. That win earned Cornell the top seed in the upcoming ECAC tournament at Boston Garden. Going into the 1972 ECAC tournament, we had only lost four games all year, two of those to Cornell. Everything that was to happen from here on out was magical and would impact hockey at BU for the next 35 years.

“Those two losses were enough for us to remember and, as a group, rise up and smother Cornell, 4-1, in the ECAC final and shut them out 4-0 in the NCAA championship game. The 1971-72 BU team was like no other. There was a confident locker room attitude that carried out to the ice surface. This team was explosive on offense and stingy on defense. There were 18 players that had been on both NCAA teams. It might just have been the greatest collegiate team ever assembled.”

With a second NCAA title under his belt, Kelley left BU for a job in pro hockey, and BU hired Leon Abbott from RPI. Abbott lasted not even a year and half, and a young former BU player, Jack Parker, took over as coach of the team six games into the 1973-74 season. He’s been there ever since, and has become one of the great coaching legends in college hockey history.

Parker’s next four teams would win the ECAC tournament and his next five BU teams would all make the NCAA tournament. The 26-5-1 1974 squad lost to Herb Brook’s Minnesota team 5-4 at the Boston Garden in the NCAA semis, setting the stage for a heated 1970s rivalry with Minnesota. In 1974-75, Terriers went 26-5, winning the ECAC tourney, but fell in the NCAA semis to Michigan Tech 9-5 in St. Louis, only to beat Harvard in the third place game.

Once again in 1975-76, the Terriers were excellent, cruising to a 25-5 record, a league title, an ECAC tourney title and another NCAA Frozen Four appearance in Denver, where they got into a huge first period brawl with Minnesota in a game won by the Gophers, 4-2, ending another great season with bitter disappointment.

In 1976-77, Parker’s Terriers went 22-11 and once again won the ECAC tournament, and found themselves with another NCAA Frozen Four chance, but this time Michigan, with a crowd advantage in the old Detroit Olympia, ended BU’s chances for the NCAA title with a 7-5 victory.
Finally, in 1977-78, the Terriers broke through for their third NCAA title, but did not have a chance to play the nation’s top team that year. Denver (33-6-1) was ranked #1 for much of the year, was denied a chance at the NCAA tournament due to a NCAA rules infraction involving Canadian junior expenses situation, similar to the situation involving BU’s Bill Buckton and Peter Marzo that was throw out of court in 1974.

BU, behind the excellent goaltending of future U.S. Olympic hero Jim Craig, went on defeat Wisconsin 5-2, and arch-rival Boston College, 5-3, for the NCAA title that year in Providence.

The Terrier program entered a relatively quiet period in the 1980s, with only one league tournament championship and only two NCAA tournament appearances in 1984 and 1986, where the Terriers were bounced on home ice twice, first by eventual champion Bowling Green in 1984, and by Minnesota in 1986 in two-game total goals series.

But Parker’s teams of the 1990s set another standard of excellence at BU, with nine consecutive NCAA appearances in the decade, backed by 5 League titles and 4 league tourney titles.

In 1989-90, the Terriers, with three 50+ point scorers Tony Amonte, Joe Sacco and Shawn McEachern, went 25-17 and earned an NCAA berth with a #4 seed. BU faced North Dakota at home, and won the three game series after dropping the first game. BU was awarded a trip to East Lansing to face top seeded Michigan State on its home ice, and beat the Spartans in the three game series, coming back once again to win the final two games after dropping the opener. BU then returned to Michigan for the Frozen Four, this time facing Colgate in the National semifinal at Joe Louis Arena. The Red Raiders held on for a 3-2 win over BU, ending the fairy tale playoff run in the NCAA semis.

The next season in 1990-91, the Terriers were determined to get back to the Frozen Four, beating Michigan and Clarkson to earn a berth in the NCAA final in St. Paul, where they faced the Northern Michigan Wildcats in the title game. BU had four players with 60 points or more that season (Amonte, McEachern, Dave Sacco and Dave Tomlinson) and an offensive explosion in the title game was not unexpected. In fact, BU scored 7 goals in the game, but Northern Michigan scored 8, the last one coming in the firth hour of play in triple overtime off the stick of Darryl Plandowski to win it for the Wildcats - another difficult game for the Terrier faithful.

Three years later in 1994, BU once again racked up another Hockey East title and Tournament Championship with a 34-7 record and the 54 point scoring of Mike Pomichter, BU returned to another Frozen Four in St. Paul after dispatching Wisconsin in the East Regional 6-3 in Albany. Facing the University of Minnesota before at least 15,000 Gopher fans in St. Paul, the Terriers whipped the Gophers by a 4-1 score to reach the title game, only to run into a buzz saw of Lake Superior State, who won the NCAA title over BU by a 9-1 final score.

Stinging from that loss, BU got revenge the next season in 1994-1995, crushing Lake Superior State 6-2 in the NCAA Regional in Worcester, Mass before a delighted local crowd and earning a ticket to the Frozen Four just down the road in Providence, R.I. The Terriers easily beat Minnesota 7-3 to advance to the title game, where Hockey East rival Maine awaited them. This time the Terriers rose to the occasion and beat Maine 4-2, and won the school’s fourth NCAA crown. That Terrier team went 31-6-3, winning the Hockey East Regular Season and Playoff Championship as well, led by three 50+ point scorers, Chris O’Sullivan, Mike Grier and Jacques Joubert.

Hopes were high for the 1996 BU edition, who were led by Jay Pandolfo and Chris Drury, each with 67 points. BU waltzed to a 30-7-3 record and a Hockey East regular season title. Entering the Albany Regional as a top seed, the Terriers edged Clarkson 3-2, sending BU to the Frozen Four once again, but Michigan ended the Terrier season 4-0 on the slushy ice of Cincinnati’s Riverfront Coliseum in the national semifinals. The Wolverines went on to beat Colorado College for the title.

The 1997 season was the last time the Terriers played in the Frozen Four, and for Denver fans, the moment of BU’s ascension to Milwaukee is burned into memory, as Denver’s Paul Veres hit the pipe in the 3-3 overtime game and BU’s Chris Drury scored moments later to end the Pioneers’ season and win the regional 4-3 in Worcester before a partisan BU crowd. BU went on the Frozen Four, beating Michigan in overtime to secure another chance for an NCAA title. But North Dakota ended BU’s dream with a 6-4 win at the Bradley Center in the title game.
Since that 1997 season, the Terriers have made seven more NCAA appearances but have been unable to emerge from the Regionals, prompting some notes of dissatisfaction from some of the BU faithful. Among the more recent disappointments was the 2005-2006 season, where the Terriers won both the Hockey East regular season and tournament, but fell 5-0 to arch-rival Boston College in the Regional in Worcester.

BU Traditions
Rhett is the official costumed mascot of the Boston University Terriers and has been the BU mascot since 1922. The often snarling, bi-pedal black and white Boston Terrier was named after the male lead in Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind, because "No one loves Scarlett more than Rhett" referencing Rhett Butler's affection for Scarlett O'Hara (scarlet being BU's primary color). In recent years Rhett has frequented Boston University games, events, and dining halls wearing his scarlet and white double-zero hockey jersey. Like all mascots, Rhett and the terrier logo are ubiquitous at athletic events. Rhett has participated in several ESPN "This is SportsCenter" commercials and competed three times in the Universal Cheerleading Association's mascot nationals, placing as high as fourth in 2002.

Fight song: "Go B.U."
Go BU, Go BU!

Sing her praises loud and true!

We'll fight for our alma mater,

On to sure victory!!

Fight! Fight! Fight!

Go BU, Go BU!

Down the field (ice) to score anew!

Our hearts are with you as you meet the foe.

We hail you, Ole BU!

Famous BU alumni

Business
· Norman Barron, Founder, Marshalls Department Stores

· Alessandro Benetton (SMG BSB 1988) Chairman of 21 Investimenti S.p. A, and Duty Chairman of Benetton Group

· Fred Bronstein, President, Dallas Symphony Orchestra

· Mickey Drexler, (MBA 1968), Chairman & CEO, J. Crew

· Susan Evans, Co-Founder, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

· Kenneth Feld (SMG 1970 BSB), CEO, Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus

· Sidney Feltenstein, (BA 1962), CEO, A&W and Long John Silvers restaurants

· Paul Fireman, founder, Reebok

· Bonnie Hammer, President, Sci-Fi Channel

· Ted Harbert, President, E! Networks

· Edgar J. Helms, founder of Goodwill Industries

· Toshimasa Iue, (MBA 1989), President & COO, Sanyo

· Bruce Karatz, (BA 1967), CEO, KB Home

· Damian Kozlowski, (MS), CEO, Citigroup Global Wealth Management

· Mitchell Modell, CEO, Modell's Sporting Goods

· Edward Zander, (MBA 1975), Chairman & CEO, Motorola, former President Sun Microsystems

Public Service
· Martin Luther King, Jr. (STH PhD 1955), 1964 Nobel Peace Prize; Civil Rights Leader

· William Cohen, (JD), former U.S. Secretary of Defense, former U.S. Senator, former U.S. Congressman

· David Mulford (MA GRS 1962), U.S. Ambassador to India

Governors
· Lincoln Almond, (JD 1961), former Governor of Rhode Island

· John Lewis Bates (CLA A.B. 1882, LAW LL. B. 1885), former Governor of Massachusetts.

· Albert O. Brown, (LL.B. 1884), former Governor of New Hampshire

· Fred H. Brown, (attended LAW 1904/06, no degree), former Governor of New Hampshire, former U.S. Congressman

· Paul Dever, (JD 1926), former Governor of Massachusetts

· Samuel D. Felker, (LL.B. 1887), former Governor of New Hampshire

· Judd Gregg, (JD), U.S. Senator, former Governor of New Hampshire

· Gary Locke (JD 1975), former Governor of Washington

· J. Howard McGrath, (JD 1929), former U.S. Senator, former Governor of Rhode Island

· William Russell, (LL.B. 1879), former Governor of Massachusetts.

· David I. Walsh, (LL.B. 1897), former U.S. Senator, former Governor of Massachusetts

United States Senators
· Edward Brooke III, (JD), first African-American U.S. Senator since Reconstruction (MA), Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient

· William M. Butler, (LL.B 1884), former U.S. Senator (MA)

· William Cohen, (LL.B. 1965), former U.S. Secretary of Defense, former U.S. Senator, former U.S. Congressman

· J. Howard McGrath, (JD 1929), former U.S. Senator (see Governors)

· Thomas J. McIntyre, (JD 1940), former U.S. Senator (NH)

· Robert Upton, (LL.B. 1907), former U.S. Senator (NH)

· David I. Walsh, (LL.B. 1897), former U.S. Senator (see Governors)

United States House of Representatives
· Joseph E. Casey, (JD), former U.S. Congressman (MA)

· Antonio Colorado, (BS 1962) Resident Commissioner in US Congress from Puerto Rico

· Paul Cronin, former U.S. Congressman (MA)

· John Crosby, (JD), former U.S. Congressman (MA)

· Emilio Q. Daddario, (law), former U.S. Congressman (CT)

· Norman D'Amours, (JD), former U.S. Congressman (NH)

· Louise Day Hicks, former U.S. Congresswoman (MA)

· Brian J. Donnelly, (BS 1970), former U.S. Congressman (MA), former US Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago,

· Charles Douglas III, (JD), former U.S. Congressman (NH)

· Forrest Goodwin, (JD), former U.S. Congressman (ME)

· Daniel Granger, (JD), former U.S. Congressman (RI)

· Arthur Healey, (JD), former U.S. Congressman (MA)

· John Patrick Higgins, (JD), former U.S. Congressman (MA)

· Barbara Jordan, (JD), former U.S. Congresswoman (TX)

· Charles Joyce, (Newbury Seminary, pre-1850), former U.S. Congressman (VT)

· Ambrose Kennedy, (JB LAW 1906), former U.S. Congressman (RI)

· James Maloney, (JD), former U.S. Congressman (CT)

· Jim Marshall, (JD), U.S. Congressman (GA)

· Connie Morella, former U.S. Congresswoman (MD), former Maryland State Senator

· Frank Morse, former U.S. Congressman (MA)

· Henry Naphen, (JD), former U.S. Congressman (MA)

· Jeremiah O'Connell, former U.S. Congressman (RI)

· Ernest W. Roberts, (JD), former U.S. Congressman (MA)

· Ferdinand St. Germain, (JD), former U.S. Congressman (RI)

· Charles Sprague, (JD), former U.S. Congressman (MA)

· Robert Stafford, (JD), former U.S. Congressman (VT)

· Walter Stiness, (JD), former U.S. Congressman (RI)

· John Sullivan, (JD), former U.S. Congressman (MA)

· Joseph Walsh, (JD), former U.S. Congressman (MA)

· Edward Wason, (JD), former U.S. Congressman (NH)

· George Williams, (JD), former U.S. Congressman (MA)

Film, performing arts, television, radio, popular culture
· Joan Baez, folk singer

· John Cazale, Golden Globe Award nominated actor, best known for role as "Fredo" in The Godfather

· Michael Chiklis, Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award winning actor

· Geena Davis, (SFA'79)Academy Award winning actress

· Rocco DiSpirito, Chef, restaurateur, television personality The Restaurant

· Olympia Dukakis (SAR BS 1953, SFA MFA 1957), Academy Award winning actress

· Faye Dunaway, Academy Award winning actress

· Paul Michael Glaser, actor (Starsky and Hutch)

· Norman Greenbaum, musician, "Spirit in the Sky"

· Mariel Hemingway, Academy Award nominated actress, granddaughter of Ernest Hemingway

· David E. Kelley, (JD), television producer, husband of Michelle Pfeiffer, His father, Jack Kelley, coached BU Hockey

· Tom Magliozzi, (MBA, PhD) co-host of Car Talk

· Julianne Moore, Academy Award nominated and Emmy Award winning actress

· Kevin O'Connor, (GSM MBA '99) host of This Old House

· Rosie O'Donnell (dropout), actress, comedian

· Paul Reubens (dropout), actor. (Pee Wee Herman)

· Howard Stern, (CGS non degree program 1974, COM BS 1976), controversial radio host and self-declared "King of All Media"

· Marisa Tomei (attended CFA 1983, Hon. DFA 2002), Academy Award winning actress

· Alfre Woodard, Emmy Award winning and Academy Award nominated actress

Journalism, non-fiction film and broadcasting
· Mike Barnicle, Journalist, Radio Host

· Joe Concannon, (deceased), Sports writer, Boston Globe

· Erica Hill, anchor, CNN Headline News

· Bill O'Reilly, (MS '75), Radio & Television personality

· Anthony Tommasini, Chief Music Critic, New York Times

· Nina Totenberg, (COM 1965) correspondent for National Public Radio

· Gary Tuchman, (COM 1982 BS) reporter, CNN

Sports
· Harry Agganis, professional baseball player

· Tony Amonte, NHL hockey player

· Shawn Bates, NHL hockey player

· Raja Bell (transferred to Florida International University), NBA basketball player

· Rocco Benetton former chief executive of the Benetton Formula One team.

· Cindy Blodgett, Former WNBA Player, Assistant Basketball Coach

· Billy Brooks, NFL's Buffalo Bills '93-'95

· Tom Burke, (Law LL.B. 1897) Olympic Champion

· Butch Byrd, Professional Football Standout

· Mickey Cochrane, Hall of Fame Baseball player

· Jim Craig, 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team

· Rick DiPietro, NHL hockey player

· Andy Dorman, Major League Soccer soccer player

· Chris Drury, NHL hockey player, Hobey Baker Award winner

· Mike Eruzione, Captain, 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team

· Dick Farley, College Football Hall of Fame coach

· Foge Fazio, NCAA football Coach, NFL football coach

· Mike Grier, NHL hockey player

· Mike Jarvis, NCAA Basketball Coach

· Jim "Crash" Jensen, Former NFL football player

· Shawn McEachern, NHL hockey player

· Freddy Meyer, NHL hockey player

· Jack O'Callahan, 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team

· Jay Pandolfo, NHL hockey player

· Gary Plummer, NBA player

· Rick Pitino, NCAA & NBA Basketball Coach

· Tom Poti, NHL hockey player

· Ed Ronan, NHL hockey player

· Travis Roy, Hockey player paralyzed and now a leading activist for spinal cord injury

· Dave Silk, 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team

· Mike Sullivan (hockey), NHL Hockey Player, NHL Coach

· Keith Tkachuk, NHL hockey player

· Ryan Whitney, NHL hockey player

· Scott Young, retired NHL player

Miscellaneous
· F. Lee Bailey, (JD '60), Renowned lawyer

· Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, late wife of John F. Kennedy, Jr.

· Tipper Gore, Former 2nd Lady of the United States

· Hadassah Lieberman, wife of U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman
About Boston

Boston is the capital and largest city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is considered the economic and cultural center of the region, and is sometimes regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England."

Boston city proper had a 2007 estimated population of 608,352, making it the twenty-first largest in the country. Boston is also the anchor of a substantially larger metropolitan area called Greater Boston, home to 4.4 million people and the tenth-largest metropolitan area in the country. Greater Boston as a commuting region includes parts of Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Maine; it includes 7.4 million people, making it the fifth-largest Combined Statistical Area in the country.

In 1630, Puritan colonists from England founded the city on the Shawmut Peninsula. During the late eighteenth century Boston was the location of several major events during the American Revolution, including the Boston Massacre and the Boston Tea Party. Several early battles of the American Revolution, such as the Battle of Bunker Hill and the Siege of Boston, occurred within the city and surrounding areas. Through land reclamation and municipal annexation, Boston has expanded beyond the peninsula. After American independence was attained Boston became a major shipping port and manufacturing center, and its rich history now attracts 16.3 million visitors annually. The city was the site of several firsts, including America's first public school, Boston Latin School (1635), and first college, Harvard College (1636), in neighboring Cambridge. Boston was also home to the first subway system in the United States.

With many colleges and universities within the city and surrounding area, Boston is a center of higher education and a center for medicine. The city's economy is also based on research, finance, and technology – principally biotechnology. Boston has been experiencing gentrification and has one of the highest costs of living in the United States, though remains high on world livability rankings.

The Game
Should Denver face BU, it should be a great game between a pair of top 5 teams. BU will be missing two of its top players in Colin Wilson and Kevin Shattenkirk, who are with the US Junior Team in Ottawa, while the Pioneers will be missing their top player, Tyler Bozak, due to injury.
DU has done well against ranked teams, and I expect BU is the one team DU wants to play in this tournament.

DU has the slightly better offense (second nationally at 3.89 GPG vs. BU’s #5 offense at 3.56 GPG. Slight Edge Denver.

BU has a statistical edge on defense at 2.12 GPG (10th) while DU is whisker behind at 2.16 (12th nationally). Slight edge BU.

Special teams see BU with a far better power play (third nationally at 22.9%, but DU has a better PK at 88.3%.

Prediction: BU may be a slightly better team, but with Denver playing at home, I think were going to have a 3-3 tie, followed by a shootout to decide the winner (assuming the teams actually play each other, of course). In that case, I think BU will edge the Pioneers.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI)

(above) RPI's Houston Fieldhouse

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI)
Wells Fargo Denver Cup
Magness Arena, Denver, Colo.
January 3, 2009

The No. 5 Denver (13-5-1, 9-4-1 WCHA) Pioneers may host the RPI Engineers from the ECAC 3-13-1 overall, 2-5-0 ECAC) in their Denver Cup Championship or Consolation Game on Saturday, Jan 3. Puck drop is set for either 4:07 or 7:37 p.m. MT on Saturday, depending on Friday’s DU result. If DU beats Holy Cross on Friday, The DU vs. BU/RPI game can be seen live at 7 pm MT on FSN Rocky Mountain which can be found on DirecTV channel 683 and Dish Network channel 414. Live Audio: Friday-www.denverpioneers.com. If DU does not advance to the title game, the 4:00 pm consolation game will shown by FSN tape delayed at 7pm MT

The Series

DU is 11-1 against RPI dating back to 1954 when the two teams first met. The only Pioneer loss to RPI in history came in RPI coach Seth Appert’s coaching debut game in Denver in 2006, when Appert turned the tables on his old team behind Jordan Alford’s 38-save performance.
Engineers to Watch

Sophomore forward Chase Polacek leads Rensselaer in scoring with four goals and 11 assists for 15 points in 17games. Freshman Patrick Cullen (7 goals, 5 assists) and sophomore Tyler Helfrich (3 goals, 7 assists) are right behind with 12 and 10 points, respectively. However, Helfrich was diagnosed with a sprained MCL in his knee, and will miss this weekend's Denver Cup. Helfrich suffered the injury in the first period the Engineers' 3-1 loss to Miami (Ohio) on Dec. 13. Sophomore Bryan Brutlag (1 goal, 3 assists) leads the team’s defensemen with four points. In goal, Senior Mathias Lange has played 68.3% of the games, posting a 3.08 goals against average with a .910 save percentage and a 2-9-1 record, while freshman Allen York is 1-4-0 with a 4.17 average and an .881 save percentage.

About Rensselaer
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, known as Rensselaer or RPI, is a private research university located in Troy, New York. The Princeton Review remarks, “Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is simultaneously the oldest technological school in the country and the most modern school of technology in the U.S. It’s like George Jetson meets Archimedes.”

RPI was founded in 1824 by statesman, soldier, land-owner and New York Lt. Governor Stephen Van Rensselaer for the "application of science to the common purposes of life", and is the oldest technological university in the English-speaking world. The institute is known for its success in the transfer of technology from the laboratory to the marketplace, and has over 6,000 students on its main campus in Troy, part of the Capital District of Albany, N.Y. on the Hudson River.

Stephen Van Rensselaer established the Rensselaer School November 5, 1824 with a letter to the Rev. Dr. Samuel Blatchford, in which van Rensselaer asked Blatchford to serve as the first president. Within the letter he set down several orders of business. He appointed Amos Eaton as the school's first senior professor and appointed the first board of trustees. On December 29 of that year, the president and the board met and established the methods of instruction, which were rather different from methods employed at other colleges at the time. Students performed experiments, explained their rationale, and gave their own lectures rather than listening to lectures and watching demonstrations.

The school opened on Monday, January 3, 1825 at the Old Bank Place, a building at the north end of Troy. The opening was announced by a notice, signed by the president, and printed in the Troy Sentinel on December 28. The school attracted students from New York, Massachusetts, Vermont, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. The fact that the school attracted students from afar is attributed to the reputation of Eaton. Fourteen months of successful trial led to the incorporation of the school on March 21, 1826 by the State of New York. In its early years, the Rensselaer School had greater resemblance of a graduate school than of a college.

During this period, the Rensselaer School, renamed the Rensselaer Institute in 1832, was a small but vital center for technological research. The first Civil Engineering degrees in the United States were granted by the school in 1835, and many of the best remembered civil engineers of that time graduated from the school. Important visiting scholars included Joseph Henry, who had previously studied under Amos Eaton, and Thomas Davenport, who sold the world's first working electric motor to the institute.

In 1847, alumnus Benjamin Franklin Greene became the new senior professor. Earlier he had done a thorough study of European technical schools to see how Rensselaer could be improved. In 1850 he reorganized the school into a three-year polytechnic institute with six technical schools. In 1861 the name was changed to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

RPI enjoyed a period of academic and resource expansion under the leadership of President Palmer Ricketts. During Rickett's tenure, enrollment increased from approximately 200 in 1900 to a high of 1700 in 1930. Another period of expansion occurred following World War II. Enrollment for the 1946 school year was so high that temporary dormitories had to be constructed. Fifty surplus metal military barracks, each housing 20 students, were arranged into a trailer-park like camp over a mile from campus nicknamed "tin town.” This arrangement was used by students until new freshman residence halls were opened in 1953.

RPI is known for the following “firsts”
* 1824 - The institute is founded and eventually becomes the first continually existing technological university in the English-speaking world
* 1835 - The institute awarded the first civil engineering degree in the United States
* 1898 - The first association of Latin American students in the United States was formed at RPI, called the Union Hispano-Americans. This organization would later merge with other like-minded organizations and form the first Latin American fraternity in the United States, Phi Iota Alpha, in 1931.
* 1909 - Alumni of Pittsburgh, PA provide funds for the Pittsburgh Building. This was the first time in American history that the alumni of a single city raised enough money to build a building on a college campus
* 1961- The institute awarded the first accredited environmental engineering degree in the United States.
* 1980 - The institute founds the first business incubator wholly sponsored and operated by a university.
* 2007 - The institute is possibly the first university to start an undergraduate major in Video Game Design.

In 1999, RPI gained attention when it was one of the first universities to implement a mandatory laptop program.

1999 also saw the arrival of President Shirley Ann Jackson. A graduate of MIT,. She brought with her the "The Rensselaer Plan" an ambitious plan to revitalize the institute. While Jackson had had some tough times with the faculty, many advances have been made under the plan, and Jackson has enjoyed the ongoing support of the RPI Board of Trustees.

The Newsweek/Kaplan 2007 Educational College Guide proclaimed Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute one of the 25 "New Ivies", an elite group of 25 schools that provide an education equivalent to schools in the Ivy League. RPI ranks among the top 50 national universities in the United States according to US News & World Report. The same source ranks RPI 24th for "Best Value" in undergraduate education. In 2005, the School of Engineering was ranked 18th in the nation for undergraduates, and 34th in the nation for graduates. Four of the graduate engineering programs are ranked in the top 20 (electrical engineering, materials science and engineering, industrial engineering and mechanical engineering), seven of 11 are ranked in the top 25, and all are ranked in the top 40 in the nation. U.S. News also put the graduate applied mathematics program at 20th.

About the RPI Hockey Program
RPI first laced up the skates around the turn of the century, and the beginnings of the program were rough. For the first 14 seasons of the hockey program, RPI never had a coach, and up until 1938, didn’t play more than 6 games per year. There were also only three winning seasons – 1903-04 (1-0), 1906-07 (2-1) and 1927-28 (2-1-1). Prior to 1912, RPI played in different outdoor locations in nearby Cohoes, NY and Albany. In 1912 an outdoor rink was constructed on what is now RPI’s Anderson Field in Troy. It had no formal name, but was usually called the RPI Hockey Rink. There was also a rink on what was then Avenue B (now Sage Avenue). This outdoor rink was constructed and used each year until the program was suspended after 1938, with the exception of the 1936-37 season. That year the rink was built on the tennis courts that were formerly on the west end of '86 Field.

The RPI hockey program was resumed in 1949, when RPI was able to procure a surplus WWII Naval Warehouse from the US Government that had stood in Rhode Island during the war, and re-puposed it into a on-campus 5,000 seat hockey arena. If that story sounds familiar to Denver fans, it’s because Denver’s old DU arena (1949-1997) was also a Naval WWII surplus drill hall (from Idaho), that DU also re-purposed into a hockey arena. RPI’s Houston Fieldhouse still stands today as the home of RPI hockey, named after then RPI president Livingston Houston.

Ned Harkness, who came to Rensselaer as an assistant lacrosse coach in 1945, convinced Houston that he would be the right man to guide a men’s hockey team. Harkness focused on building tight bonds with his players, not intimidating them. In those days, however, RPI had no athletic scholarships or residence halls to lure student athletes – players lived in apartments or houses in town. Harkness’ first two RPI teams had losing records, but by 1951-52, the Engineers stormed out to a 15-3 record and a second place finish in the Tri-State League (4-1), but not quite good enough for an NCAA bid.

The 1952-53 season saw the Engineers improve in the league to 4-0-1 to win the league title and fashion a 12-game unbeaten streak down the stretch that was a strong enough performance to earn one of the two Eastern bids to the NCAA tournament in Colorado Springs, the first such bid in school history. However, John Mariucci’s Minnesota team downed RPI, 3-2 in the semi final to end title hopes. RPI was able to beat up on BU, 6-3 for third place, with RPI finishing 15-4-1.

The 1953-54 season began with seven consecutive victories. But in the championship game of the Rensselaer Invitational Tournament, the Engineers lost 4-1 to St. Francis Xavier of Canada. However, in league competition in the Tri-State League, Rensselaer was rolling right along, sweeping the season series against Clarkson, Hamilton, Princeton, and Middlebury.

Then came a disastrous trip west with three non-league games against the University of Denver and Colorado College. Rensselaer limped home after losing all three by a combined score of 19-8. On Feb. 12, 1954, Rensselaer dropped its fifth game, a costly 5-4 decision to St. Lawrence at Appleton Arena in Canton.

But St. Lawrence still had to come to Troy. The teams were scheduled to meet on the last night of the regular season, March 5, 1954. Tickets were impossible to find. The game had been sold out for months. The game exceeded the high expectations. Reports from the time claimed it was one of the most exciting, closely contested games ever staged at the Field House. With Rensselaer’s 4-2 triumph, the two teams wound up tied atop the league standings. A vote by coaches and officials would determine which of the two teams would represent the Tri-State League at the NCAA Tournament in Colorado Springs. Boston College, as champion of its league, had already earned its berth as the other Eastern college to qualify for the tournament.

To the surprise of many, Rensselaer received the invitation over St. Lawrence.

That only seemed to make the team more of an underdog. The team was seeded fourth in the four-team field.

“I know one thing, they weren’t calling us ‘RPI’ when we went out to Colorado Springs,” Captain Frank Chiarelli said. “They were calling us ‘RIP’ for ‘Rest in Peace.’ ’’

Michigan, top seed in the tournament and three-time defending national champion, discovered Rensselaer’s talent firsthand. After all, Boston College, the East’s top team, had been flattened 12-1 by Minnesota in the other semifinal game. What could poor little Rensselaer do against mighty Michigan?

On that night, March 12, Rensselaer left Michigan on the short end of a 6-4 defeat. Winger Gordie Peterkin ’55 got the winning goal and a hat trick for emphasis in the upset victory. The victory marked a milestone for the Rensselaer hockey program. It was the first time it had ever beaten a Western school, and it wiped out the bitter taste of the three-game battering they had taken at the hands of Denver and Colorado College earlier in the season.

Rensselaer jumped out to a 3-0 lead over Minnesota in the championship game March 13. But the Golden Gophers rallied. And, when they took a 4-3 lead in the third period, it appeared as though the RPI fairy tale was about to end.

But RPI had other ideas. Chiarelli dug the puck out of the corner and centered it to Peterkin in the slot. The 5-foot-6 winger snapped off a shot, which slipped through the Minnesota goalie’s pads and into the net.

“It’s still the single most exciting moment of my life,’’ said Peterkin, a retired engineer living in Ottawa. “You go through life with your ups and downs but nothing ever really comes along like that again. I was so close to the goalie I couldn’t see the puck go in,- I didn’t know what was happening until Magadini tackled me. Then I threw my stick away and started screaming.’’

Despite another tri-state league title in 1957, the Engineers would not return to the NCAA tournament until 1960-61 in Denver, when St. Lawrence knocked the Engineers out at the DU arena by a 6-3 score. However, the 30-1-1 Pioneers demolished St. Lawrence 12-2 in the most lopsided NCAA title game ever, so perhaps RPI was fortunate not to face the Pionees that year. The Engineers then joined the ECAC (as well as playing the Tri-State League) in 1961-62) where they’ve been ever since.

In 1963-64, Harkness went to Cornell and Rube Bjorkman took over the RPI program, and in his 18-8 lone year in Troy, he didn’t win any league hardware, but his team did secure another NCAA bid, as the Engineers once again returned to Denver and the DU Arena, site of the 1961 and 1964 NCAA tournaments. This time the Pioneers beat RPI 4-1, and RPI went on to beat Providence 2-1 for third place. Michigan, behind Red Berenson’s leadership beat DU in the final to win the title. Bjorkman left for UNH the next season, and RPI settled into 20 year period dry period without another NCAA bid, and never finishing higher than third place in the ECAC. A succession of coaches including Garry Kearns, Leon Abbott and Jim Salfi were unable to get RPI back to ECAC or NCAA prominence.

Enter new Coach Mike Addesa in 1981, who in just a few years, built RPI’s greatest era of hockey in the early and mid-1980s. Addessa recruited a nucleus of fine players including RPI career assist and points Adam Oates (who went on to a stellar NHL career), John Carter, a goal scorer who benefitted from Oates’ passes, and a host of other supporting players who went on to NHL careers including Ken Hammond, Mike Dark, George Servinis, Mike McPhee, Darren Puppa and Kraig Nienhaus.

RPI’s 1983-84 team went 32-6 and 17-3 in ECAC play, with 5 of the 6 losses by only one goal, and winning the ECAC title, the first in school history, rolling to ECAC tourney victories over rival Clarkson and BU in the Boston to clinch a home NCAA bid to host a quarterfinal series. North Dakota spoiled the fun with a 9-6 two game total goal series victory. The bar had been set very high for the next season, and RPI delivered the greatest performance in school history in 1984-85.

The Engineers started play in November with a pair of wins over Canadian schools, but dropped their ECAC opener to St. Lawrence 5-3 on home ice, rebounding to beat rival Clarkson the next night 5-3. The next week, the Engineers flew to Grand Forks to face the always powerful fighting Sioux of North Dakota. RPI dropped the first game in overtime to the Sioux, 7-6, but played their best game of the young season the next night, waxing the Sioux 8-2 on UND’s home ice. That game would be the turning point of the season, as RPI would not lose another game all season en-route to a 35-2-1 record and the school’s second NCAA title. With Oates dishing passes to scorers like Carter and Servinis, and Darren Puppa in the nets, no one could stop RPI. The Engnineers waltzed the rest of the way undefeated to an ECAC regular season title, then thumped Cornell 5-1 and Harvard 3-1 to win the ECAC tournament in Boston. With home ice in the first round of the NCAA’s secure, RPI dispatched Lake Superior State 10-6 in the two game total goals series to earn a trip to Joe Louis Arena in Detroit to face Brett Hull, and Hobey Baker winners Bill Watson and Tom Kurvers and their Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs in the NCAA semis. RPI eeked out a 6-5 victory in triple overtime, as Carter’s power-play slap shot ticked the stick of a UMD defenseman and beat UMD goalie Bob Mason to send the Engineers to the finals against Providence within 24 hours.

Providence was a solid team but had fought their way to the NCAA’s behind the superlative goaltending of Chris Terreri, whose second half of the season carried his team to the brink of glory. But RPI was patient, and when George Servinis finished off a second period shorthander to send RPI up 2-0, it was just enough. Puppa held off the Friars the rest of the way for the school’s second NCAA crown, 2-1. RPI had established a modern era benchmark for excellence that dominated the middle part of the decade, and unfortunately for RPI fans, 28 years have passed since Servins scored the last NCAA goal for RPI.

Addessa was never able to get his subsequent RPI teams to the mid-80s level of excellence (or an NCAA tournament berth, and left under difficult circumstances in 1989. Buddy Powers became coach in 1989, and was able to get RPI back to a 3rd place finish in the ECAC and an NCAA tournament berth by 1994, but UNH blanked the Engineers 2-0 in RPI’s Albany backyard regional. The next season in 94-95, Dan Fridgen took over the coaching reins, and despite a 6th place finish in ECAC play, his RPI squad caught a little lighting in a bottle, and won the ECAC tournament in Lake Placid, beating Colgate and Princeton to earn an NCAA auto bid and a trip to Madison, Wis, where Minnesota bagged a little revenge for 1954 with a 3-0 shutout of RPI.

Fridgen had some more 20 win teams, but without any further serious playoff successes, Fridgen left in 2006, when Denver assistant Seth Appert, fresh off two NCAA titles in 2004 and 2005 , took over the program in 2006-2007. While Appert’s early teams have struggled on the ice, the foundation of success is being laid in Troy, as Appert is landing strong recruits and generating some campus enthusiasm.

RPI Traditions
The official nickname of some of the school's Division III teams was changed in 1995 from the Engineers to the Red Hawks. However the hockey, football, cross-country, tennis, and track and field teams all chose to retain the Engineers name. The Red Hawks name was, at the time, very unpopular among the student body; a Red Hawk mascot was frequently taunted with thrown concessions and chants of "kill the chicken!" In contrast, the official 80’s hockey mascot known as The Puckman has always been very popular. The Puckman is an anthropomorphic hockey puck with an engineer's helmet.

The hockey team plays a significant role in the campus's culture, drawing thousands of fans each week to the Houston Field House during the season. The team's popularity even sparked the tradition of the hockey line, where students line up for season tickets months in advance of the on-sale date. Another tradition since 1978 has been the "Big Red Freakout!" game held close to the first weekend of February. Fans usually dress in the schools colors Red and White, and gifts such as tee-shirts are distributed en masse.

Fight Song
Hail, Dear Old Rensselaer
Words & Music by Charles S. Root '34

Hail, dear old Rensselaer, the college of our heart.
For dear old Rensselaer, each man must do his part.
True sons of Rensselaer, we'll always strive to be.
Now, dear old Rensselaer, hail to thee.
Hear the tramp, tramp, tramp of marching feet.
Hear the rat-tat-tat of drums that beat.
Hear the voices ringing loud and sweet.
Hear that mighty shout of...
Hail, dear old Rensselaer, the college of our heart.
For dear old Rensselaer, each man must do his part.
True sons of Rensselaer, we'll always strive to be.
Now, dear old Rensselaer, hail to thee.

Famous RPI alumni
Business
* Marshall Brain, founder of HowStuffWorks.com
* Gary Burrell, founder of Garmin
* Bruce Carbonari, President of Fortune Brands, CEO from January 2008
* James Crowe, (1972), co-founder and current CEO of Level 3 Communications [1]
* Nicholas M. Donofrio, (1967), director of research at IBM, trustee.
* J. Erik Jonsson, (1922), co-founder and former president of Texas Instruments Incorporated, and mayor of Dallas.
* Joseph Gerber, (1947), founder of Gerber Scientific.[2]
* George Knapp, (1876), industrialist, founder of the Union Carbide Company.
* William Mow, (1959) Founded apparel maker Bugle Boy in 1977.
* Curtis Priem, (1982) NVIDIA co-founder, architect of first PC Video Processor, and many that followed, trustee.
* John Rigas, co-founder of Adelphia Communications.

Humanities, arts, and social sciences
* Bobby Farrelly, director, writer and producer of such films as Shallow Hal and There's Something About Mary
* James Flaherty, actor and stand-up comedian.

Invention and Engineering
* Milton Brumer, (1923), chief engineer for the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge and George Washington Bridges in NYC.[5]
* Leffert L. Buck, (1968), civil engineer and a pioneer in the use of steel arch bridge structures, including the Williamsburg Bridge in NYC.
* Dr. Allen B. Dumont (1924), perfected the cathode ray tube and is considered the "father of modern TV"
* George W. G. Ferris (1881), inventor of the Ferris wheel
* Frederick Grinnell, (1855), inventor of the modern fire sprinkler.
* Walter Lincoln Hawkins, (1931), African American inventor of plastic telephone wire.
* Marcian Hoff, (1958), the "father of the microprocessor"
* Emil H. Praeger, (1915), designer of Shea and Dodger Stadiums, Tappan Zee Bridge, Arecibo Telescope and a renovation of the White House
* Washington Roebling, (1857), chief engineer of the Brooklyn Bridge.
* James Salisbury, (1844), physician and inventor of the Salisbury Steak.
* Raymond Tomlinson, (1963), inventor of the electronic mail (email) system.

Politics and public service
* Truman H. Aldrich, (1869), United States Representative from Alabama (1896-1897)
* J. Frank Aldrich, (1877), United States Representative from Illinois.
* Myles Brand, (1964), president of the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association).
* George R. Dennis, was a United States Senator from Maryland
* Lincoln D. Faurer, (1964), director of the National Security Agency and chief, Central Security Service from 1981 to 1985.
* Richard Franchot, US Representative from New York, (1861-1863).
* John Hammond, US Representative from New York, Civil War veteran and iron manufacturer [8]
* Walter F. Lineberger, US State Representative of California, 1917-1921.
* George Low, manager of NASA for the Apollo 11 project. Low was president of RPI from 1976 to 1984.
* John Olver, (1958), Massachusetts State Representative (D), since 1991.
* Ario Pardee, Jr., (1858), Commander during the civil war
* Ely S. Parker, Civil War Statesman, author of Appomattox Courthouse agreement.
* Clarkson Nott Potter, (1843), US Representative from New York, surveyor, lawyer and President of the American Bar Association
* Ivar Giaever, (1964), shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1973 for discoveries on tunneling phenomena in Semiconductors.
* John L. Swigert Jr. (1965), an Air Force fighter pilot and test pilot, earned a master’s degree in aerospace science from Rensselaer’s Hartford campus in 1965 and in 1966 was selected by NASA in its 5th astronaut class. Member of Apollo 13. Recipient of Presidential Medal of Freedom,1970. State Representative for Colorado,1982.

Sports
* John Carter, (1986), NHL forward from 1986 - 1993.
* Erin Crocker, (2003), female NASCAR driver.
* Kevin Constantine, (1980), ice hockey coach - Head Coach of the San Jose Sharks from 1993 - 1995, the Pittsburgh Penguins from 1997 - 2000, and the New Jersey Devils from 2001 - 2002.
* Don Cutts, (1974), NHL and International Hockey League (1945–2001) goaltender from 1974 - 1984.
* Tim Friday, (1985), NHL defenseman for the Detroit Red Wings from 1985 - 1986.
* Joé Juneau, (1991), NHL forward from 1991 - 2004, top scorer at the 1992 Winter Olympics while playing for the Canadian Olympic hockey team.
* Ken Hammond, (1985), NHL defenseman from 1985 - 1993.
* Eric Healey, (1998), free agent, played in NHL with the Boston Bruins.
* Michael E. Herman, (1962), President of the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball from 1992 - 2000.
* Mike McPhee, (1982), NHL forward from 1983 - 1994, won the '85-86 Stanley Cup with the Montreal Canadiens.
* Matt Murley, (2002), NHL forward from 2003 - 2008.
* Kraig Nienhuis, (1985), NHL forward from 1985 - 1988.
* Adam Oates, (1985), NHL forward from 1985 - 2004, 6th on the NHL's all-time assists list.
* Matt Patricia, (1996), Linebackers Coach for the New England Patriots.
* Brian Pothier, (2000), NHL defenseman for the Washington Capitals.
* Daren Puppa, (1985), NHL goaltender from 1985 - 2000.
* Brad Tapper, (2000), NHL forward for the Atlanta Thrashers from 2000 - 2003.
* Graeme Townshend, (1989), Player Development Coordinator for the San Jose Sharks, NHL forward from 1990 - 1994.

About Troy, NY
Troy the county seat of Rensselaer County. As of the 2000 census, the population was 49,170. Troy is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties with the nearby cities of Albany and Schenectady, forming a region popularly called the Capital District. This area makes up the bulk of the Albany-Schenectady-Troy Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) with a population of 850,957.

The site of the city was a part of the Van Rensselaer grant of 1629. Dirck Van der Heyden was one of the first settlers. In 1707, he purchased a farm of 65 acres (26 ha) which in 1787 was laid out as a village.

A local legend that a Dutch girl had been kidnapped by an Indian male who did not want her to marry someone else gained some credence when two skeletons were found in a cave under Poestenkill Falls in the 1950s. One skeleton was female and Caucasian with an iron ring. The other was Native-American and male.

The name Troy (after the legendary city of Troy, made famous in Homer's Iliad) was adopted in 1789, and the region was formed into the Town of Troy in 1791 from part of the Rensselaerwyck Manor. The township included the current city and the town of Brunswick. Troy became a village in 1801 and was chartered as a city in 1816. In 1900, the city of Lansingburgh was merged into Troy.

In the post-Revolutionary War years, as central New York was first settled, there was a strong trend to classical names, and Troy's naming fits the same pattern as the New York cities of Syracuse, Rome, Utica, Ithaca, or the towns of Sempronius, Manlius, or dozens of other classically named towns to the west of Troy.

Northern and Western New York was a theater of the War of 1812, and militia and regular army forces were led by Stephen Van Rensselaer of Troy. Quartermaster supplies were shipped through Troy. A local butcher and meat-packer named Samuel Wilson supplied the military, and, according to an unprovable legend, barrels stamped "U.S." were jokingly taken by the troops to stand for "Uncle Sam" meaning Wilson. Troy has since claimed to be the historical home of Uncle Sam.

Through much of the 19th and into the early 20th century, Troy was not only one of the most prosperous cities in New York State, but one of the most prosperous cities in the entire country. Prior to its rise as an industrial center, Troy was the transshipment point for meat and vegetables from Vermont which were sent by the Hudson River to New York City. The Federal Dam at Troy is the head of the tides in the Hudson River and Hudson River sloops and steamboats plied the river on a regular basis. This trade was vastly increased after the construction of the Erie Canal, with its eastern terminus directly across the Hudson from Troy at Cohoes in 1825.

Troy's one-time great wealth was produced in the steel industry, with the first American Bessemer converter erected on the small Postenkill river in a small valley near the middle of the city. The industry first used charcoal and iron ore from the Adirondacks. Later on, ore and coal from the Midwest was shipped on the Erie Canal to Troy, and there processed before being sent on down the Hudson to New York City. The iron and steel was also used by the extensive federal arsenal across the Hudson at Watervliet, New York, then called West Troy. After the American Civil War, the steel production industry moved west to be closer to raw materials. The presence of iron and steel also made it possible for Troy to be an early site in the development of iron storefronts and steel structural supports in architecture, and there are some significant early examples still in the city.

On December 23, 1823, The Troy Sentinel was the first publisher of the world-famous Christmas poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas" (also known as "The Night Before Christmas" or "Twas the Night Before Christmas"). The poem was published anonymously. Its author has long been believed to have been Clement Clarke Moore, but its author is now regarded by a few to have been Henry Livingston, Jr.

Troy was an early home of professional baseball, and was the host of two major league teams. The first team to call Troy home was the Troy Haymakers, a National Association team in 1871 and 1872. One of their major players was Williams H. "Bill" Craver, a noted catcher and Civil War veteran, who also managed the team. Their last manager was Jimmy Wood, reckoned the first Canadian in professional baseball. The Troy Haymakers folded, and Troy had no team for seven seasons. Then, for four seasons, 1879 to 1882, Troy was home to the National League Troy Trojans. The Trojans were not competitive in the league, but they did have the biggest hitter in professional baseball, Dan Brouthers.[1] For the 1883 season, the Trojans were moved to New York City where they became the New York Gothams, better know later as the Giants. The Gothams had the same ownership as the New York Metropolitans of the rival American Association. As a result classic Met players became Giants, including Hall of Fame Pitcher Tim Keefe. Troy was also the birthplace of the famous player Michael Joseph "King" Kelly.

Troy has been nearly destroyed by fire three times. The Great Troy fire of 1862 burnt the W. & L. E. Gurley, Co. factory, which was later that year replaced by the new W. & L. E. Gurley Building, now a National Historic Landmark.

When the iron & steel industry moved to Pennsylvania and beyond, and with a similar downturn in the collar industry, Troy's prosperity began to fade. After the passage of Prohibition, and given the strict control of Albany by the Daniel P. O'Connell political machine, Troy became a way station for an illegal alcohol trade from Canada to New York City. Likewise, the stricter control of morality laws in the neighboring New England states, left Troy with openly operating speakeasies and brothels. Gangsters such as Legs Diamond conducted business in Troy. This gave Troy a somewhat colorful reputation through World War II. A few of the finer houses have since been converted to fine restaurants, such as the former Old Daly Inn. Like many old industrial cities, Troy has had to deal with not only the loss of its manufacturing base, but a drainage of population and wealth to suburbs and other parts of the country. Troy's population in 1910 was over 75,000, this is more than 50% higher than today. These factors have lead to a sizable degree of dilapidation and disinvestment, although numerous efforts have been made to preserve Troy's architectural and cultural past.

The Game

RPI is struggling this year to score goals, and while the defense and goaltending for RPI are improving, they simply don’t have the team speed or depth of firepower to hang with Denver, especially without Helfrich in the lineup. For RPI to have a chance for an upset, they are going to need great goaltending from Lange or York, and some further inside magic from Appert, who recruited many of the Denver players.

Denver should be able to work in transition with three better lines than RPI, and wear them down at altitude.

RPI hung with BU earlier in the season but have not yet beaten a ranked team, and I don’t expect it to be the Pioneers. I think Denver is playing strong hockey, has greater depth of talent at all positions, and should handle RPI if the teams should meet.

Prediction: Expect the Pioneers to beat RPI, 4-1.

Holy Cross

(above) Holy Cross' Arena

The College of the Holy Cross Crusaders
Wells Fargo Denver Cup

Magness Arena, Denver, Colo.

January 2, 2009

The No. 5 Denver (13-5-1, 9-4-1 WCHA) Pioneers host the Holy Cross Crusaders from Atlantic Hockey (5-11-1 overall, 5-8-1 AHA) in their Denver Cup opener on Friday, Jan 2. Puck drop is set for 7:37 p.m. MT on Friday. The game can be seen live on FSN Rocky Mountain which can be found on DirecTV channel 683 and Dish Network channel 414. FSN’s Dan Kelly & Charlie Host call the action with Alanna Rizzo as rinkside reporter. Live Audio: Friday-www.denverpioneers.com.

Note: The Pioneers will play either Boston University of RPI on Saturday in the second game of the Wells Fargo Denver Cup – those two teams are previewed in a separate story.
DU has never played Holy Cross before, and as such, there is no series history.

Crusaders to Watch
Junior Brodie Sheahan (Lethbridge, Alberta) has five goals and nine assists for 14 points this season. He currently leads the team in assists and points, while he is second in goals. His 0.82 points per game are tied for 16th in Atlantic Hockey. Sheahan recorded five assists in the two games against Mercyhurst earlier in the season. He has 23 goals and 37 assists for 60 points in 82 career games played.

Sophomore forward Jordan Cyr (Winnipeg, Manitoba) leads the team in goals with eight, while his 13 points are second and his five assists are tied for third. He was named the Atlantic Hockey Player of the Week for his four-goal performance in the two-game series against Mercyhurst. Cyr is seventh in the league and is tied for 22nd in the country in goals per game with 0.50. Cyr, who transferred from RPI, is in his first season. Junior Rob Forshner (Sundre, Alberta) has been a major contributor so far on offense as he has three goals and seven assists for 10 points. His seven assists this year are second on the team and his 10 points are third. In 82 career games, he has 13 goals and 32 assists for 45 points.

Sophomore goalie Adam Roy (Feeding Hills, Mass.) has 1,151 career saves which are already second on Holy Cross' all-time Division I saves list. Also his 12 career victories are fifth all-time on the Division I list. Roy recorded his first collegiate shutout as he made 17 saves in the 3-0 victory over AIC on Nov. 22. Last year, he set a Holy Cross freshman record for most saves in a single-season with 771 and is ranked second on the school's Division I all-time single-season saves list. This year, he has made 380 saves and has a 4-10-1 record.

About The College of the Holy Cross
Founded in 1843, The College of the Holy Cross has become the oldest Roman Catholic college in New England and one of the oldest in the United States. Committed to an undergraduate liberal arts education for its nearly 2800 students, Holy Cross is a Jesuit institution located in Worcester, Mass, about 45 miles west of Boston.

Opened as a school for boys under the auspices of the Society of Jesus, it was the first Jesuit college in New England. Holy Cross was founded by Benedict Joseph Fenwick, SJ, second Bishop of Boston, after his efforts to found a Catholic college in Boston were thwarted by the city's Protestant civic leaders. Fenwick decided to leave the Boston school and instead opened the College of the Holy Cross in central Massachusetts where he felt the Jesuits could operate with greater autonomy. The site of the college, Mount Saint James, was originally occupied by a Roman Catholic boarding school, run by the Rev. James Fitton, with his lay collaborator, Joseph Brigden, since 1832.

The school opened in October of 1843 with the Rev.Thomas F. Mulledy, S.J., former president of Georgetown University, as its first president, and on the second day of November, with six students aged 9 to 19, the first classes were held. Within three years, the enrollment had increased to 100 students. The first class graduated in 1849, led by valedictorian James Augustine Healy, the son of a former slave who would go on to become the first African-American bishop in the United States.

The school had some difficult struggles in the early years. Fenwick Hall, the school's main building, was completely destroyed by fire in 1852. Funds were raised to rebuild the College, and in 1853, it opened for the second time.

Additionally, petitions to secure a charter for the college from the state Legislature were denied in 1847 for a variety of causes, including anti-Catholicism on the part of some legislators. Initially, Holy Cross diplomas were signed by the president of Georgetown University. After repeated denials, a charter was finally granted on March 24, 1865, by Governor John A. Andrews. Since that time, the campus has grown to nearly 2800 undergraduates as a highly selective liberal arts college.

Holy Cross had traditionally drawn many of its students from a pool of historical Catholic high schools and private boarding schools, though a slight majority of current undergraduates come from public schools, mostly from the Northeastern US.

In its 2008 edition, U.S. News & World Report ranked Holy Cross 33rd in the U.S. among liberal arts schools. Holy Cross is also the only Catholic college among the top 50 liberal arts schools on the U.S. News list. Additionally, in its 2008 edition of The Best 361 Colleges, the Princeton Review awarded Holy Cross a 98/100 academic rating, the highest of any Catholic college or university.

Holy Cross has 299 faculty members, who teach 2,790 undergraduate students .It offers 28 majors mainly focused on a liberal arts curriculum, each of which leads to the completion of the bachelor of arts (B.A.) degree. Of particular note is the Classics department at Holy Cross, which has ten faculty members, making it the largest classics program of American liberal arts colleges.
Holy Cross has embraced sometimes controversial schools of theological thought, including liberation theology and social justice. As a result, in 1974, Time Magazine referred to Holy Cross as the "cradle of the Catholic Left" because it educated Philip Berrigan and socialist leader Michael Harrington, author of the influential book on poverty, The Other America. Today, Holy Cross, similar to the religious order of the Jesuits as a whole, has been criticized by some parties for being overly liberal and deviating substantially from official Church teaching and papal directives, especially on such issues as abortion, homosexuality, liberation theology, and in its sponsorship of events such as the Vagina Monologues.

Holy Cross' 175 acre campus, a registered arboretum, is situated on the northern slope of a very steep hill named Mount Saint James or more commonly, “The Hill” which offers it a panoramic view of the city of Worcester.

Holy Cross has a few shining moments in American pop culture
• Ernest Hemingway mentions Holy Cross in his novel The Sun Also Rises.
• In the 2001 film Harvard Man, Sarah Michelle Gellar plays a Holy Cross cheerleader named Cindy Bandolini.
• Holy Cross' Fitton Field provided the scenery for the climatic football scene in the Disney movie, The Game Plan. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson plays football for the fictional Boston Rebels in the film.
• Ten Things I Wish I'd Known Before I Went Out Into The Real World, a book by Maria Shriver, published in 2000, evolved from commencement address she had given at Holy Cross in 1998
• In episodes #21 and #26 of The Sopranos, Holy Cross is mentioned as a potential college for Tony's daughter, Meadow.

About the Holy Cross Hockey Program
For most college hockey fans around the country, the very mention of the words “Holy Cross” instantly conveys the greatest upset in the 60 years of the NCAA Division I tournament, when the underdog Crusaders topped mighty Minnesota in the 2006 NCAA West Regional in Grand Forks, N.D. – the high water mark of a Holy Cross varsity hockey program that has been in place since the mid 1960s, and in Division I since the late 1990s.

As sportswriter John Gearan wrote in a 2006 recap, powerhouse Minnesota, ranked No. 3, had reigned five times as NCAA hockey champs, including winning back-to-back titles in 2002 and 2003. Herb Brooks, who coached the USA to its 1980 "Miracle on Ice" victory over the Soviet Union, guided Minnesota to three NCAA crowns in the 1970s.

Holy Cross, ranked No. 19 and representing the upstart Atlantic Hockey Association, had never won a single game in the 58-year history of the NCAA hockey tourney. Minnesota had 14 players on its roster who had been drafted by the National Hockey League. Holy Cross had none. Minnesota-Twin Cities is a supersized university, with an enrollment of 51,000; Holy Cross has about 2,700 undergrads. Minnesota uses all 18 scholarships, Holy Cross, as member of cost-containment league Atlantic Hockey, uses far less than the NCAA maximum of 18.
In plain-speak, Holy Cross didn't have a prayer against Minnesota.

"I couldn't believe it. Here I was, in front of a sellout crowd (11,000+) of cheering North Dakota fans [known for their hatred of rival Minnesota], on national TV (ESPN-U) playing goalie against the one team I've always dreamed of playing,'' remarked Holy Cross’ Tony Quesada, whose mother, Strandy, and her family are Minnesota natives.

What unfolded was "surreal," the one-word summary provided by Holy Cross forward Tyler McGregor.

"Once we got in that arena, we absorbed the atmosphere," said McGregor. "Right off, we heard no heckling, just cheering. On paper we were no match. Minnesota recruits the elite of the elite. But we had a genuine belief that we belonged."

The momentum built. A scoreless first period demonstrated the Crusaders were no pushovers, definitely more seasoned than the HC team that lost 3-0 to North Dakota in the 2004 NCAA first round… Holy Cross scored first, and managed to keep step with the Gophers, forcing a 3-3 tie game in the third period. The Sioux fans, sensing they may be witnessing perhaps the greatest upset in college hockey history, were going bonkers. Twice in period three, Holly Cross shut down Minnesota's power play, ranked No. 1 in the country. Indeed, the Crusaders shut out the Gophers for more than 13 minutes during Minnesota's seven power-play opportunities as Quesada chalked up 15 of his 37 saves during those sieges.

Sudden-death overtime arrived, and 11,000 screaming fans energized the Crusaders. Just 53 seconds into overtime, McGregor would send shock waves through the world of hockey. In a nanosecond, the Man from Ajax (Ontario) would be dubbed a SportsCenter hero.

Spotting Blair Bartlett roaring up the middle, McGregor tried centering a sly pass to Bartlett. That maneuver drew Gopher goalie Kellen Briggs towards the center of the net. The puck caromed off the left skate of Minnesota's defenseman P.J. Atherton and skittered back toward McGregor. From a near impossible angle, rocketed a right-handed wrister through the narrow opening between the right post and Briggs. Lightning had struck. McGregor found himself buried by teammates. "Pierre was on top of me, and if we weren't wearing cages, we would have been kissing," commented McGregor. "I was just trying not to get killed.''

On the other end, Quesada raised his stick in victory while staring at the mayhem in disbelief. "Tyler shot, and it seemed to take forever for the goal light to blink on," he said. "I think I blacked out until I hit the lockers."

Back on the Holy Cross campus, bedlam broke out at the Crossroads pub, jammed with students watching the stunner on ESPN-U. At Worcester's downtown DCU Center, where Boston College was battling Boston University, the message board flashed: Holy Cross 4, Minnesota 3. Terrier and Eagle fans roared with delight. Sports fans everywhere had to blink, disbelieving the cable TV crawl lines that delivered the shocking news.

While Holy Cross bowed out of the NCAA tournament the next day against the host UND Sioux, the upset triggered a wave of respect for not only Holy Cross, but for the Atlantic Hockey conference.

Holy Cross had informal and club hockey on campus for many years, but the first varsity team laced up the skates in 1966 under Coach Bill Kane, who would guide the Crusaders for the next 10 years. Playing mostly against ECAC Division II-III schools from New England, Holy Cross had some success in the first three seasons, with records of 16-8, 16-8 and 16-6, and sweeping the post-season WCHL tournament (as far as HC could go in those days) in each of the first three years. In 1975, Holy Cross moved the newly-built 1,500 seat Hart Recreation Center on campus, and it has been home to Crusader hockey ever since. Kane finished out his 10-year HC career with a .550 winning percentage in 1976, but with no further post season play. In fact, Holy Cross, despite a number of strong teams with good records, would go the next 30 years without any league hardware at all.

Mike Addessa, who would later coach RPI to the 1985 NCAA Championship, took the reigns of the Holy Cross program in 1976, and in his three seasons in Worcester, racked up a .610 winning percentage (still the highest in Holy Cross history) and took the Crusaders to a pair of ECAC DII-DIII playoff appearances in 1978 and 1979, falling to Salem (Mass.) State and Merrimack, respectively. Addessa moved on to RPI in 1979, and Holy Cross hired Peter Van Buskirk to be the next head coach.

Van Buskirk’s first team went 21-9 and beat Salem State for Holy Cross’ first ECAC playoff win in 1980, but despite ECAC playoff appearances in 1981, 82, 83, 85 and 87, the Crusaders won just one more playoff game in that era, beating Bowdoin in 1983. The highlight of Van Buskirk’s career was probably the January 7, 1985 game when Catholic athletic powerhouse Notre Dame paid a rare visit to Worcester to play a then lower division Holy Cross program. The Crusaders stunned the Irish in a wild 9-6 victory, marking Holy Cross’ first win over a major Division I school.

In the late 1980s, Bill Bellerose became coach and managed just one winning season in 1991-92 (13-12) in his four years at the helm, giving way to current coach (and former Crusader player) Paul Pearl in 1994, who in his 14 seasons, has guided the Crusaders from a middle of the road D-II-DIII program to a Division I program that has tasted a bit of NCAA success, as well as winning the program’s first conference championships.

In fact, Pearl’s first true Division I Crusader team went 22-9-4 in 1999, and won the newly-formed MAAC tournament over Sacred Heart, Connecticut and Canisius, but Holy Cross was not eligible for NCAA tournament consideration, as that was the first year for the conference at the D-I level.

In the summer of 2003, while the MAAC was going though governance changes that would see the end of the conference’s D-I hockey existence and the emergence of its successor conference (Atlantic Hockey), Pearl decided to leave Holy Cross for a position at Milton (Mass.) Academy, but five days after announcing his departure, he returned to Holy Cross, saying he had a change of heart. He recommitted himself as coach of Holy Cross, and his players responded with a commitment of their own, going 22-10-4 and winning the first regular season conference title in school history, winning the first-ever Atlantic Hockey tournament, and winning the school’s first-ever NCAA tourney bid to the West Regional in Colorado Springs. Many Denver Pioneer fans saw that first Holy Cross NCAA Game live in Colorado Springs, (when HC lost 3-0 to top-ranked North Dakota), while awaiting the Pioneers’ NCAA game against Miami.

Of course Holy Cross would go on to NCAA fame again in 2006, when the team went 27-10-2 and won both the Atlantic Hockey regular season and playoff championships, en-route to the memorable upset of Minnesota, as described earlier.

Probably the best known Former Holy Cross hockey player is Patrick Rissmiller, now with the New York Rangers organization, who played 180 NHL games with the San Jose Sharks from 2004-2008. Rissmiller is the only HC player to appear in an NHL game.

Holy Cross Traditions
Holy Cross's athletic teams for both men and women are known as the Crusaders. It is reported that the name "Crusader" was first associated with Holy Cross in 1884 at an alumni banquet in Boston, where an engraved Crusader mounted on an armored horse appeared at the head of the menu

The name was rediscovered by Stanley Woodward, a sports reporter for the Boston Herald, when he used the term "Crusader" to describe the Holy Cross baseball team in a story written in 1925. The name appealed to the Holy Cross student body, which held a vote later in that year to decide whether this cognomen or one of the other two currently in use - "Chiefs" and "Sagamores"- would be adopted. On October 6, 1925, The Tomahawk, an earlier name of the student newspaper, reported that the results of the ballot were: Crusaders 143, Chiefs 17, Sagamores 7.

The school color is purple. There are two theories of how Holy Cross chose purple as its official color. One suggests it was derived from the royal purple used by Roman Emperor Constantine the Great (born about 275 A.D., died in 337 AD) as displayed on his labarum (military standard) and on those of later Christian emperors of Rome.

The other version is attributed to Walter J. Connors, an 1887 HC graduate, and was printed in the October 1940 issue of the Holy Cross Alumnus. According to the account, there was a disagreement during the 1870s between Holy Cross students from Massachusetts and Connecticut concerning the schools' baseball uniform colors. Those from Massachusetts purportedly favored the crimson of Harvard, while those from Connecticut favored the deep blue of Yale. Legend has it that a fellow student with a sense of diplomacy resolved the dispute in the chemistry lab, where he mixed copper sulphate (blue) with iron oxide (red) to produce the color of deep purple.

Holy Cross Fight Song
In 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt arrived to speak at Holy Cross’ first commencement held at Fitton Field (site of the current football stadium).An HC priest described the scene in his book: “As he came into sight students gave him a college cheer: Hoiah, hoiah, Choo Choo, Rah-Rah, Choo-Choo Rah-Rah, Hoiah Roosevelt Rah.’’ In time, such cheers were turned into lyrics and music. J. Leo Gorman, a teacher and 1904 Holy Cross graduate, penned “Chu! Chu!” with B.J. Shandley composing the music in the late 1920s. “Ring out with your Hoiah and a Chu! Chu! Rah! Rah!’’ is how the song begins, according to the lyrics appearing on the back of a 1979 album, Songs of Holy Cross. It also makes plain that Chu! Chu! is not spelled Choo-Choo.
It is suspected that the references to “Hoia” may well be a reference to Georgetown University’s
“Hoya” nickname, as Georgetown conferred early Holy Cross degrees in before Holy Cross was chartered in Massachusetts.

Chu, Chu, Rah, Rah!
Ring out then your Hoiah with
A Chu, Chu, Rah, Rah,
A Chu, Chu, Rah, Rah!
A Chu, Chu, Rah, Rah!
Give another Hoiah and a Chu, Chu, Rah, Rah!
A Chu, Chu, Rah, Rah, for Holy Cross!
March on as knights of old
(With hearts as) loyal and true and bold,
And wage the bitter fight with all your might,
Fight hard for Holy Cross!
You'll know when battle's done,
(It was for) her that the fight was won,
Oh, may it never die, that battle cry,
On, on for Holy Cross!

Famous Holy Cross alumni
Arts and literature
• Philip Berrigan 1950, author and activist
• Billy Collins 1963, former Poet Laureate of the United States
• Michael Harrington 1947, socialist historian and author of The Other America, which is believed to have inspired Lyndon Johnson's Great Society social programs.
• Edward P. Jones 1972, 2004 Pulitzer Prize winner in fiction for writing The Known World
• Paul LeClerc 1963, President of the New York Public Library
• Joe McGinniss 1964, bestselling author of The Selling of the President, Fatal Vision, and other books
• Barry Reed 1949, Boston trial lawyer and author of The Verdict, which was made into the Oscar-nominated 1982 film starring Paul Newman
Business
• James E. Burke 1947, former CEO of Johnson & Johnson; named one of the ten greatest CEOs of all time by Fortune Magazine
• Charles H. Eppinger 1970, CEO of International Financial Data Services
• Frederick H. Eppinger 1981, President and CEO, The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc.
• Richard B. Fisher 1947, Chairman of Federated Securities Corp. and Vice Chairman of Federated Investors, Inc.
• Pedro Heilbron 1979, CEO of Copa Airlines
• Mark Holowesko 1982, noted investor and CEO of Templeton Capital Advisors
• John J. Issa 1960, Founder and Chairman of SuperClubs Resorts
• James W. Keyes 1977, Chairman and CEO of Blockbuster, Inc.
• Edward J. Ludwig 1973, Chairman, President, and CEO of Becton Dickinson
• William J. McDonough 1956, former President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and current Vice Chairman of Merrill Lynch
• Arthur J. Mirante II 1965, President of Global Client Development and former CEO, Cushman & Wakefield
• James David Power III 1953, founder of J.D. Power and Associates
Entertainment
• Leigh Anne Brodsky 1980, President of Nickelodeon and Viacom Consumer Products
• Dave Holmes 1994, MTV host
• Peter Jankowski 1986, Executive Producer, Law & Order
• Kevin O'Connor 1990, host of PBS's This Old House
• Bartlett Sher 1981, director of Tony Award winning Broadway musicals South Pacific and Light in the Piazza
Law, politics, and public service
• Tim Bishop 1972, United States Congressman
• Joseph A. Califano 1952, Jr., former U.S. Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare and current Chairman and President of the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse
• Bob Casey Sr. 1953, Governor of Pennsylvania from 1987-1995
• Bob Casey, Jr. 1982, his son, Pennsylvania treasurer and U.S. Senator
• Edward D. DiPrete 1955, Governor of Rhode Island from 1985-1991
• John Durkin 1959, U.S. Senator for New Hampshire from 1975 to 1980
• Joseph Daniel Early 1955, represented the third district of Massachusetts in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1975 to 1993.
• Jon Favreau 2003, chief speechwriter for Barack Obama
• Michael R. McNulty 1969, United States Congressman
• John William Middendorf II 1945, former U.S. Ambassador to the Netherlands
• James P. Moran 1967, United States Congressman
• Clarence Thomas 1971, United States Supreme Court Justice
• Harry K. Thomas, Jr. 1978, Director General of the Foreign Service, of the U.S. Department of State and former U.S. Ambassador to Bangladesh
• David I. Walsh 1893 First Irish Catholic Governor and U.S. Senator for Massachusetts
• Peter F. Welch 1969, the United States Representative for the U.S. state of Vermont's at-large congressional seat.
• Edward Bennett Williams 1941, famed trial attorney who also owned the Baltimore Orioles and the Washington Redskins
• James Assion Wright 1923, lawyer from Pennsylvania who served in the U.S. Congress from 1941 to 1945.
Media and communication
• Dave Anderson 1951, New York Times sports columnist, 1981 winner of the Pulitzer Prize for commentary
• Chris Matthews 1967, host of MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews and NBC's The Chris Matthews Show
• Dan Shaughnessy 1975, sports columnist for the Boston Globe
• Bill Simmons 1992, ESPN sports columnist
Science, technology, and medicine
• Joseph P. Kerwin, M.D. 1953, astronaut who spent 28 days in space for the Skylab 2 mission
• Joseph E. Murray, M.D. 1940, Nobel Prize in Medicine for the first successful kidney transplant
• James A. Shannon 1925, first Director of the National Institutes of Health
Sports
• Bob Cousy 1950, Basketball Hall of Fame member and former Boston Celtics player and coach
• Joseph "Jumping Joe" Dugan 1920, late Major League Baseball player
• Gill Fenerty 1986, award winning all-star running back with the CFL Toronto Argonauts and later with the NFL New Orleans Saints
• Paul Harney 1952, professional golfer and golf course owner; in 1995, enshrined into the PGA Golf Professional Hall of Fame.
• Tom Heinsohn 1956, Basketball Hall of Fame member and former Boston Celtics player and coach
• Jon Morris 1964, All American center; named to the second team, All-Time All-AFL for his years playing for the Boston Patriots.
• Bill Osmanski 1939, Chicago Bears fullback, member of the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team, the College Football Hall of Fame, and a licensed dentist
• James F. "Jimmy" Quinn 1928, winner of gold medal in 4x100m relay at the 1928 Summer Olympics.
• Patrick Rissmiller 2002, center for the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League
• Louis Sockalexis, 1897, the first Native American player in major league baseball
Other
• Timothy Leary, the LSD-pioneering Harvard Professor, who attended Holy Cross before transferring to West Point

About Worcester, Mass.
Holy Cross is located in the College Hill section of Worcester, one of the "seven hills" that distinguish the topography and different neighborhoods of the city. Considered a struggling, post-industrial mill town by many, a 2006 estimate put the population at 175,898, making it the estimated second-largest city in New England, after Boston. It is the county seat of Worcester County.

The Pakachoag tribe of the Nipmuc nation of Native Americans were the indigenous settlers of Quinsigamond, now known as Worcester. For the Pakachoag, Worcester's Lake Quinsigamond offered fine hunting and fishing grounds a short distance from their main village near a spring on Pakachoag Hill in what is now Auburn.

Worcester was first settled by the English in 1673, but the modest settlement of six or seven houses was burned to the ground during King Philip's War on December 2, 1675, and the English settlers were either killed or driven off. The town was subsequently resettled and was incorporated in 1684. On September 10 of that year, Daniel Gookin and others petitioned to have the town's name officially changed from "Quinsigamond" to "Worcester”. In 1713 Worcester was re-settled for the third time, permanently, by Jonas Rice, whose farm was located atop Union Hill. Named after the historic city of Worcester, England, Worcester was incorporated as a town in 1722 and chartered as a city in 1848.

As political tensions rose in the months before the American Revolution, Worcester served as a center of revolutionary activity. Because it was an important munitions depot, Worcester was targeted for attack by Loyalist general Thomas Gage. However, officers sent secretly to inspect the munitions depot were discovered by Patriot Timothy Bigelow. General Gage then decided to move on to the second munitions depot, in Lexington. In 1775 determining that Boston was too dangerous, Isaiah Thomas moved his newspaper, the Massachusetts Spy, to Worcester. The Massachusetts Spy was one of the few papers published continuously during the Revolution.
Known for innovation in commerce, industry, education, and social thought, Worcester and the nearby Blackstone Valley claim their historic role as the birthplace of the American Industrial Revolution. Ichabod Washburn, an early industrialist, developed a process for extruding steel wire. His company, Washburn & Moen, founded in 1831, was "the company that 'barbed-wire fenced the American West, and held the battle lines during the First World War. In 1840, Loring Coes invented the monkey wrench. In the 1850s, George Crompton and LJ & FB Knowles founded companies that manufactured the textile looms that fueled the Industrial Revolution. Another Worcester innovator, physician Russel Howes, invented the first envelope folding machine in 1856. His machine could produce 25,000 envelopes in ten hours, using three operators.

An innovative form of affordable housing appeared in the 19th century: the three-decker. Hundreds of these houses were built, affording capacious, comfortable apartments for a homeowner and two tenants. Many extended families settled in these houses, developing strong, safe, and stable neighborhoods for the city's factory workers.

In December 1999, the Worcester Cold Storage Fire received national attention. Two homeless people, deemed mentally disabled, accidentally knocked over a lit candle in an abandoned cold storage warehouse, igniting a conflagration. Six firefighters lost their lives in an attempt to rescue the homeless people. Less than two years before the attacks on the World Trade Center on 9/11/2001, this fire was one of the worst firefighting tragedies of the late 20th-century. President Bill Clinton, Vice President Al Gore, and other local and national dignitaries attended services and a memorial program.

In April 2006, the Worcester Common Outlets, a 1,000,000 square foot mall that occupies a large swath of downtown Worcester was planned to be demolished as to make way for the long-planned "City Square". A multi-use collaboration of several downtown buildings for commercial, retail, and residential use.

"Worcester" is correctly pronounced with two syllables, not three However, some varieties of the local dialect pronounce "Worcester" roughly to rhyme with "mister" or occasionally, since the English of some people in Worcester is non-rhotic. Occasionally, the city's name is misspelled and mispronounced as "Worchester".

Successive waves of immigrants have in the past formed coherent ethnic enclaves, some of which continue to contribute to the rich ethnic texture of Worcester today. Swedes settled in Quinsigamond Village and Greendale, Italians settled along Shrewsbury Street, Irish and Polish settled around Kelly Square, Lithuanians settled on Vernon Hill, and Jews built their first synagogue on Grafton Hill. The African-American community has existed since colonial times. Since the late 1800s, Grafton Hill and Vernon Hill have been points of entry for immigrants from all over the world: Irish, Italians, Lithuanians, Poles, Syrians, Lebanese, Puerto Ricans, French Canadians, and more recently, Albanians and Brazilians. Other prominent groups include Russians, Armenians, Greeks, Vietnamese, Liberians, and Congolese.

Today, Worcester has a diversified economy. The largest employer is the University of Massachusetts Medical School. The adjacent biotech park is host to many innovative companies, including Advanced Cell Technology, which focuses on the development of effective methods to generate replacement cells from stem cells, and Abbott Laboratories, a leading pharmaceutical research and manufacturing firm.

The Game
With fifth ranked Denver coming into this tournament at home and as the hottest team in the country, it’s easy to project a Pioneer victory against a 5-11-1 Holy Cross team that is currently tied for fifth in the Atlantic Hockey conference, roughly where it was projected to finish by the league’ coaches in preseason polls.

However, Denver is coming off a 18-day holiday break and is shaking off the shock of losing its best offensive player, Tayler Bozak, to a torn knee meniscus injury that may see him out of the lineup until the post season. How Denver reacts to losing Bozak will be crucial to the team’s second half prospects, and coach Gwozdecky also knows all too well how non-conference losses in tournaments like this can be devastating to playoff hopes and seedings. For the Pioneers, the depth of the team will need to focus and meld closer together to mitigate the loss of Bozak and keep the Pioneers among the upper echelon teams in college hockey.

Prediction: Expect the Pioneers to have enough depth and motivation to beat Holy Cross, 4-1.