The University of Minnesota Golden Gophers

Magness Arena, November 21-22, 2008

(above) Mariucci Arena is the crown jewel of hockey palaces in the "State Of Hockey"

The No. 10 Denver Pioneers (6-4-1, 4-3-1 WCHA) return to Denver host the No. 1 University of Minnesota Golden Gophers in WCHA action on Nov. 21-22 at Magness Arena. Puck drop is slated for 7:37 p.m. MT on Friday and 7:07 p.m. on Saturday. Both games will be televised live on FSN Rocky Mountain and FSN North (Minnesota).

Minnesota owns a 92-63-12 advantage in Gophers are 38-37-6 against DU in Denver. DU is 5-4-1 in its last 10 games against Minnesota and 2-2-2 in the last six meetings at Magness Arena. The Pioneers have held the Golden Gophers to one goal or less in six of ththe all-time series that dates back to 1951. The Goldene last seven meetings.

Gophers to Watch
The Minnesota Golden Gophers have yet to lose a league game at 5-0-3 in the WCHA after last weekend’s tie (2-2 ot) and win (3-0) over Michigan Tech. The 3-0 shutout was the first of goaltender Alex Kangas’ career at Minnesota. Kangas is probably the second best goalie in the league after CC’s Richard Bachman. Kangas leads the WCHA in overall goals against average (1.84) and winning percentage (.800), while ranking second to Bachman in saves percentage (.936). Junior forward Ryan Stoa, an Avalanche Draft pick, is the leader of the Gophers, and also leads the WCHA with nine goals and is tied for second in overall scoring with 9-7--16. Freshman phenom Jordan Schroeder leads the nation in rookie scoring at 1.40 points per game and Cade Fairchild has added 2-8--10 from the blueline.

About The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (Minnesota, U of M or The “U” (locally) is the oldest, largest and flagship campus of the University of Minnesota system. It sits astride the Mississippi River on two campuses in the twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. Its student body is the fourth largest in the United States according to Fall 2007 statistics, with 50,880 students. As of 2006, the university had sixteen schools and colleges.

In August 2008, US News & World Report's 2009 Rankings placed the undergraduate program of The University of Minnesota as the 61st best National University in the United States.

The university was chartered in 1851, but it did not begin enrolling students until 1857. The original Minneapolis campus overlooked the Saint Anthony Falls on the Mississippi River, but it was later moved about a mile downstream to its current location. The original site is now marked by a small park known as Chute Square at the intersection of University Avenue and Central Avenue. The school shut down following a financial crisis during the American Civil War, but reopened in 1867 with considerable financial help from John S. Pillsbury. It was upgraded from a preparatory school to a college in 1869. Today's campus has buildings on both banks of the river, but the East Bank is the main portion of the campus and covers 307 acres.

About The University of Minnesota Hockey Program
(left) Hockey legends Herb Brooks, John Mariucci & "Badger" Bob Johnson all played for the University of Minnesota

Minnesota is, in my opinion, the important college hockey program in America. While other college hockey programs are important to their state or area, Minnesota has the largest fan base, the largest TV impact, and most importantly, is vital cog for the culture of hockey in America – financing the WCHA through the hosting of the Final Five, maintaining a Big 10 presence of credibility, and enabling the growth of American hockey by setting the bar for the development of hockey in other states.

As such, it is helpful to delve in Gopher history to get a feel for how this came about. Historians Don Clark and Ross Bernstein have written much of the history of hockey in Minnesota, and their work is summarized below with a few additions and edits of my own.

Minnesota, with its thousands of lakes and ponds, was an ideal place for the newly formed game of ice hockey to prosper. Shinny, and organized game, had been played in the state since the Civil War. Ice polo had been popular in St. Paul and Minneapolis since the early 1880’s. It was a matter of time before the University of Minnesota would display an interest in the sport. Such concern manifested itself when the first University of Minnesota team, unsanctioned by the college, was organized in January of 1895 by Dr. H. A. Parkyn, who had played the game in Toronto. Prior to meeting the Winnipeg Seven, the newly formed Minnesota team played three games against the Minneapolis Hockey Club, with the collegians winning two and losing one game.

An early newspaper account of the game:
“The first international hockey game between Winnipeg and the University of Minnesota was played yesterday, and won by the visitors 11-3. The day was perfect and 300 spectators occupied the grandstand, coeds of the University being well represented… Hockey promises to become as popular a sport at the University as football, baseball, and rowing.”

Early 1900s efforts to play hockey at Minnesota were sporadic and the season of 1903 proved to be the last of ice hockey on a formal basis for a period of nearly 2 decades. In 1910 efforts were made to revive the sport and to interest the Universities of Chicago and Wisconsin in the sport, so as to furnish Big Ten Intercollegiate Conference competition. This move met with failure.

After much deliberation the U of M Athletic Board of Control finally adopted ice hockey as a varsity sport for the 1921-1922 season. The team played 10 games, winning seven and losing three. Among the club's defeated were Wisconsin, Luther Seminary, Hamline and the Michigan Mines, while losses were suffered to Hamline and the Michigan Mines. Minnesota challenged the University of Michigan to play for a Big Ten title, but the Wolverines would not meet the Gophers.

Emil Iverson, who later coached the Chicago Blackhawks of the NHL would coach the Gophers in the 1920s. Iverson's seven-year stay saw the Gophers win 70, lose 20 and tie 13 games. Captain Frank Pond and goalie Fred Schade led Iverson's first team of 1923-1924 to a 13-1-0 season, while for the following season of 1924-1925 most of the home games were played at the newly constructed Minneapolis Arena, off campus in downtown Minneapolis. Captain Ed Olson led the 1925-1926 Gopher team to an undefeated season by winning 12 and tying 4 games. The 1928-1929 six shared top National honors with Yale as they compiled an 11-2-1 record. During the six seasons of 1923-1924 through 1928-1929 they lost only 10 games, won 75 and tied 11. During this period Minnesota was consistently ranked among the very best in the nation in the day before a national tournament had been conceived.

During the 1920s the Gophers played their games at a variety of rinks, including an outdoor facility located on the campus. Early in the decade games were played at the Minneapolis Coliseum, while later many games were played at the large natural ice surface at the Hippodrome at the State Fairgrounds. While the opening of the Minneapolis Arena, which possessed artificial ice, in late 1924, the Gopher home games were played there or at the Hippodrome. A large number of Gopher players during this era came from Minneapolis, with fewer from St. Paul, Duluth and the Iron Range.

Frank Pond, a native of Two Harbors, who had captained the 1923-1924 team to a 13-1-0 record, was appointed Gopher coach in the fall of 1930. During his five-year tenure at Minnesota, he iced strong teams in 1931-1932, and 1932-1933, and 1933-1934. During the three-year period, the Gophers won 34, lost 8 and tied 1.

The 1932-1933 team, captained by a Marsh Ryman, who later became Athletic Director at Minnesota - was the first Minnesota team to meet a team from the east when they lost to formidable Harvard 7-6 in Boston. Ponds five-year stay resulted in a 46-21-4 record for a winning percentage of .676%.

Larry Armstrong, a well-known Canadian athlete and former St. Paul Saints mentor, took over the coaching duties at Minnesota for the 1935-1936 season. Armstrong held the Gopher coaching spot for 12 seasons.

Armstrong’s record was 125-55-11 for a winning percentage of .681%. He suffered only one losing campaign, that of 1937-1938. With Bud Wilkinson, later to become the famous Oklahoma football coach, was in the nets when the Gophers defeated the University of Manitoba in 1937 for the first time in 11 seasons.

In 1938 and 1939 the Gophers lost all four games played against the University of Southern California, probably the best college team in the country at that time. The previous three seasons prior to World War II (1938-1939, 1939-1940 and 1940-1941) the Gophers posted a 46-9-2 record. ‘National Championship’ honors were accorded the 1939-1940 team as they won 18 games and finished the season undefeated. Among their college victims were Michigan, Michigan Tech, Illinois and Yale. In the National AAU Championships they defeated with ease the New England All-Stars 9-4 and Connecticut’s Brock Hall 9-1. During the season the team scored 138 goals to their opponents, 25. Led by such performers John Mariucci, the 1939-1940 team was the strongest at Minnesota since the sport was inaugurated at the college in the early 1920s. Mariucci would figure as a dominant Gopher coach later in the 1950s.

During the WWII years the Gophers schedule was curtailed as many colleges did not ice teams as the Government discouraged travel. Minnesota scheduled a few college contests against Dartmouth, Michigan and Illinois, but the bulk of their schedule was against local amateur clubs such as Honeywell, Fort Snelling, Berman’s and Wold Chamberlain and Canadian junior teams from Winnipeg, Fort William and Port Arthur.

Elwyn “Doc” Romnes, a native of White Bear Lake and former Chicago Blackhawk star, followed Armstrong as Minnesota coach for the 1947-1948 season. His best season was that of 1950-1951 when the Gophers compiled a 14-12 record. The team lost several close early-season encounters, but managed to win their last nine games, barely missing a bid to the newly-inaugurated NCAA tournament.

During Romnes’ tenure the newly remodeled Williams Arena was opened for play February 17, 1950 when the Gophers swamped Michigan State 12-1 before a crowd of 3,437 fans. This was the first time that the Gophers had their own arena for practice and games. Known informally as the ‘barn’, Williams would serve as home of the Gophers until 1993. In 1985, Williams Arena was renamed Mariucci Arena in honor of the former Gopher player and coach, John Mariucci, and the Mariucci name would also become the name of the new UM arena constructed in 1993.

Athletic Director Ike Armstrong was not satisfied with Romnes’ five-year record of 53 wins and 59 losses and replaced him with former Gopher football and hockey star John Mariucci for the 1952-1953 season.

By the early 1950s hockey in the state was growing at a fast rate with large youth programs in St. Paul, Minneapolis and Duluth, and increased interest in the newly developing Twin City suburban communities and other are smaller cities in northern Minnesota. This growth, combined with winning Gopher teams during this era, resulted in record crowds at Williams Arena. For the season of 1953-1954 Minnesota led the nation in college attendance by attracting 103,000 fans for 18 home games. Season figures for other WIHL teams were as follows: Michigan State- 10,000, Michigan- 39,000, Michigan Tech-14,000 and North Dakota-54,000. Total league attendance for the following season of 1954-1955 climbed to 312,304.

Mariucci (left), a colorful individual who with his remarks and views was a newspaperman's dream, decided to recruit primarily Minnesota players for his Minnesota teams. With few exceptions the players on its teams during his 13 year stay were natives of Minnesota. In March of 1958 the WIHL dissolved over charges of recruitment of Canadian junior players, as Coach Mariucci did not like Denver and other teams’ practices of the recruiting older Canadian players. There was no league play in the 1958-1959 season, but after the bad feelings had subsided the seven teams regrouped to form the newly named WCHA for the 1959-1960 season.

Mariucci amassed a 215-148-18 record for a winning percentage of .587%. Under his guidance Minnesota was NCAA runner-up in 1953 and 1954, losing in the finals in 1953 to Michigan 7-3. In 1954 the Gophers dumped Boston College 14-1 in the opening game, and lost in the finals to RPI 5-4 in overtime. John Mayasich and Dick Dougherty each scored nine points in the two-game tourney. In 1961 the NCAA Championship was held at Denver, with Minnesota finishing in third place, and the Pioneers taking the NCAA Crown. Minnesota also captured league titles in 1953 and 1954 and placed second in 1961 and 1966, with third place finishes in 1955, 1964 and 1965.

The legendary John Mayasich led the Gophers in scoring for four consecutive seasons -- 1952, 1953, 1954 and 1955. Jim Mattson was the league's leading goaltender in 1953 and 1954. Mayasich and UM goalie Jack McCartan would later play important roles in the success of the 1960 Gold Medal winning U.S. Olympic team. Mayasich was honored by the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame as being an outstanding high/prep school hockey player in America during the first half of the present century.

During the 1955-1956 season, Marsh Ryman, captain of the 1932 Gophers, replaced Mariucci as the Minnesota mentor on an interim basis when Mariucci took over the coaching duties of the 1956 U.S. Olympic team and led the USA to a Silver Medal at the Winter Games in Cortina, Italy. Ryman, who later became Athletic Director at Minnesota, coached the Minnesota team to a fourth place finish in the WIHL.

After 13 seasons, Mariucci was fired from coaching duties and took a position with a newly formed Minnesota North Stars of the NHL. Known as the “Godfather of Hockey” in the state of Minnesota, he did more than any other individual to popularize the sport in the state. A much sought after speaker, he gave freely of his time to further advance the game in Minnesota and surrounding areas. He led the Gopher hockey team to national prominence. Attendance at home games increased greatly during his reign. The record crowd for a Minnesota game was set January 18, 1956 against North Dakota as 9,490 fans crowded into Williams Arena. Later the Minneapolis Fire Marshall reduced the allowable attendance in the rink to 7,600.

Glen Sonmor, a former professional hockey player and experienced coach, who at one time had been Mariucci’s freshman coach, became the Gophers seventh mentor. In five seasons plus part of another, Sonmor posted a 79-82-6 record. After he left early in the season of 1971-1972 to join the newly formed Minnesota Fighting Saints of the World Hockey Association (WHA), he was replaced by interim coach Ken Yackel, another former Gopher player.

With a season record 21-12, and a 18-8 finish in the WCHA, the Gophers captured the 1969-1970 season title edging out Denver and Michigan Tech. Goalie Murray McLachlan and the pint-sized Mike Antonovich led the Maroon and Gold to the league championship. In the finals of the WCHA playoffs, Michigan Tech edged the Gophers 6-5 to dash any hopes that they had of going to the NCAA tournament. In 1971 the upstart Gophers, saddled with a losing regular season of 11-16-2, advanced to the NCAA finals at Syracuse before losing to Boston University 4-2. In the semi-final game Minnesota edged Harvard, 6-5.

Former Gopher player Herb Brooks became the eight Minnesota coach when he replaced Glen Sonmor for the 1972-1973 season. Brooks, who grew up in St. Paul, came from a hockey conscious family. His father had been a well known amateur player in the 1920’s and his brother, David, had been a member of the Gophers in the early 1960’s and the 1964 U.S. Olympic team.

In addition to his playing for Minnesota in the late 1950s, he had been a member of five U.S. National teams and the 1964 and 1968 U.S. Olympic Teams, although he was famously the last player cut from the 1960 US Olympic Gold Medal team. Prior to his appointment as Gopher mentor, Brooks had coached Minnesota junior teams and had been an assistant to Glen Sonmor. Having extensive playing experience in European hockey it was only natural that he became interested in the game as played by the Russians and Czechs. He became an advocate of the Russian style of play and the coaching of Anatoly Tarasov. Brooks, who had a degree in psychology from the University of Minnesota, employed some of his learning in this field to motivate his players with the will to win and raised statewide expectations with his tremendous successes.

In his second season, that of 1973-1974, with a 22-12-6 overall record, the Gophers captured their first NCAA title at Boston by edging Boston University 5-4 in the first round and outlasting Michigan Tech 4-2 in the finals. Brad Shelstad was chosen as the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, while Les Auge and Mike Polich were placed on the All-Tournament squad. During the season Minnesota had finished second in the WCHA race to Michigan Tech.

In 1975, the Gophers won the WCHA with a 24-8-0 mark in the NCAA Tournament held in St. Louis as they defeated Harvard 6-4 behind Warren Miller’s first hat trick. In the finals, UM was flat in a 6-1 loss to Michigan Tech, which had finished second to the Gophers in the WCHA.

The following spring of 1976, the Maroon and Gold won the NCAA crown for a second time in three seasons. In the tournament held at the old DU Arena, Boston University was Minnesota’s first opponent, losing to the Gophers by a 4-2 score in a rough game that produced a serious brawl. In the NCAA final game, Minnesota edged Michigan Tech, 6-4. In the final game Gopher Tom Mohr, a seldom used goalie, replaced a sick Jeff Tscherne in the nets and proved to be the hero of the championship game. Minnesota’s Tom Vannelli, who had amassed two goals and four assists in the two games, was chosen as the tournament's Most Valuable Player.

At the NCAA finals in Detroit in 1979, Brooks led the team to their third NCAA crown in seven years of his coaching at Minnesota by edging New Hampshire and North Dakota by identical 4-3 scores. During the 1978-1979 season, the Gophers had finished second to North Dakota in the WCHA race.

After the Wisconsin Badgers joined the WCHA in the 1970s and their teams became a factor in the league races, a big rivalry built up between the two schools. When the teams met, feelings of the fans ran high and the language employed likewise. In the book “One Goal”, by John Powers and Art Kaminsky, they describe Badger coach Bob Johnson (a former Gopher player in the 1950s) and Herb Brooks as follows: “They'd both graduated from the ‘U’ and both were driven, compulsive people. But there were important differences, too. Brooks was tightlipped, a blunt, and often critical. Johnson was hyperactive, garrulous, and unabashedly boosterish. Brooks was mysterious and enigmatic, always keeping you off base. With Johnson, no guessing was necessary; if you didn't know what he was doing and why, he would tell you-a dozen times.”.

Nine players whom Brooks had coached at Minnesota were selected by Brooks as members of the 1980 Gold Medal US Olympic team. These players were Neal Broten (left), Bill Baker, Steve Janaszak, Eric Strobel, Phil Verchota, Mike Ramsey, Buzz Schneider, Rob McClanahan and Steve Christoff.

Brad Buetow, a Minnesota native who had played under Brooks and was his assistant coach at UM, took over head coaching duties at Minnesota on an interim basis for the 1979-1980 season as Brooks was at the helm of the U.S. Olympic team. Brooks never returned to the Gophers following the 1980 Olympic win, and went on to coach in Europe and the NHL.

With the losses all the Mike Ramsey, Neal Broten, Rob McClanahan, Eric Strobel and Steve Christoff to the Olympics, all of whom had eligibility remaining at Minnesota, Buetow faced a tough job of replacing them. However, the Gophers finished with an overall record of 26-15 with the help of Tim Harrer, who led the WCHA in scoring and set a new school record of 45 goals for the season. In the WCHA playoffs the Gophers defeated Michigan Tech and Colorado College, but lost to Northern Michigan 4-3 in a one-game playoff at Minneapolis, ending any chance of competing in the NCAA final four at Providence, R.I.

With an overall finish of 31-12, Buetow led the 1980-1981 team to the WCHA title. Minnesota then defeated Colgate University by 9-4 and 5-4 scores in the NCAA playoffs, thus allowing Minnesota to enter the NCAA Final Four in Duluth. The highly regarded Gophers outlasted Michigan Tech 7-2 in the opener, but were upset 6-3 in the finals by Wisconsin.

In 1982-1983, Minnesota won its second league crown in three years as they posted a 18-7-1 WCHA finish and a 33-12-1 overall season. A talented group of freshman joined the team including goalie Frank Pietrangelo, Corey Millen, Wally Chapman, Tony Kellin and Mike Anderson. In league playoffs the Maroon and Gold defeated UMD but lost to Wisconsin in the WCHA finals. However, both Minnesota and Wisconsin advanced to the NCAA first round where Minnesota outplayed New Hampshire 9-7 and 6-2. The NCAA Final Four at Grand Forks found the Gophers losing their opening game to Harvard 5-3 and to Providence 4-3 in the consolation contest.

Following the 1984-1985 season Buetow, who never experienced a losing season, and ended his six-year Minnesota coaching career with a 171-75-8 record (.689) - was released from his position by the University of Minnesota Athletic Director Paul Giel, who refused to give any official reason for Buetow's dismissal. Obviously, Minnesota’s failure to win any NCAA Championships since Herb Brooks left in 1979, was a factor in Buetow’s dismissal.

Doug Woog, another 1960s Gopher player took over the head coach position for the 1985-1986 season. Woog would be the Gophers’ coach for the next 14 seasons. Woog, a former junior coach in Minnesota, was also a big believer in Minnesota talent, and most of his teams were also culled from Minnesota’s high schools. Woog’s teams were mostly very successful in terms of wins (.664), WCHA regular season titles (four) and most importantly, he compiled 12 consecutive NCAA appearances from 1985 to 1997. But unfortunately for Gopher fans, none of Woog’s teams were able to win an NCAA title. During the Woog era, opposition fans always respected Minnesota’s success and talent levels, but jeered their seeming inability to win an NCAA title.

Woog’s closest chance for NCAA glory came in the 1989 season, when the Gophers played in the NCAA championship game at the St. Paul Civic Center against Harvard. With both teams full of returning 1988 US Olympic team members, it was one of the greatest NCAA title games in history. Tied 3-3 in overtime with 16,000 Minnesota fans screaming their hearts out, Minnesota’s Randy Skarda came within an inch of a Gopher title when his shot clanged off the goalpost. Moments later, Harvard’s Ed Krayer scored of a faceoff, ending Minnesota’s season and winning the NCAA title for Harvard. Woog also coach Hobey Baker winners such as Robb Stauber and Brian Bonin. Today, Woog is a popular color analyst on Gopher TV broadcasts, which had become a statewide media attraction under Woog’s run of successes. In 1993, Minnesota moved to a new arena (also named for John Mariucci) with 10,000 seats and modern amenities.

But by 1997, Woog’s popularity as a coach had run its course, in large part due to his failure to win a NCAA crown. In 1997, he gave way to current coach Don Lucia, a Minnesota native who had taken Colorado College to the NCAA finals in 1996. In Lucia’s third year (2001-2002), he, along with a superb team of players, did what no Gopher team had been able to do since Herb Brooks – they won an NCAA title. Minnesota won it all on a Matt Koalska overtime goal against Maine, 4-3 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, returning the Gophers to the pinnacle after a generation without an NCAA title. While the predominantly Minnesota-based crowd went delirious inside the arena, outside the arena near the UM campus, Minnesota students and fans were so excited that a riot broke out.

Lucia followed the NCAA title in 2002 with another NCAA Crown in 2003, this time an emphatic 5-1 victory over New Hampshire in Buffalo, NY, giving the Gophers their fifth NCAA title. Gopher Pride had turned to national dominance.

But since 2003, NCAA titles have remained elusive. Lucia has led the Gophers to a pair of WCHA titles in 2006 and 2007, and the Gophers have been in four straight NCAA tournaments, but have not been able to climb all the way back the top. The 2006 team won the WCHA title, but were stunned by Holy Cross in the first round of the NCAAs, and the 2007 squad also won the WCHA title, but lost to North Dakota in the NCAA quarterfinals. Last year’s squad stumbled to a seventh place WCHA finish, but still made the NCAAs.
Minnesota Traditions

Colors: Maroon & Gold
In 1880, the University of Minnesota was preparing for spring graduation. For the previous 29 years, different graduation colors were used every ceremony. In the spring of 1880, President Folwell began a tradition of common school colors at the University. He asked an English instructor, Mrs. Augusta Smith, to select proper colors to use for graduation ribbons and other occasions. She chose maroon and gold, which made a favorable impression on the students and faculty in 1880. As the years passed and without any kind of formal action, maroon and gold became the official school colors.

Ski-U-Mah
This famous Minnesota phrase, pronounced SKY-YOU-MAH, is more than 115 years old. In 1884, two Minnesota rugby players, John W. Adams and Win Sargent, tried to think of a fitting team yell. They used the word “Ski”, a Sioux battle cry meaning victory, and combined it with “U-Mah” (representing the University of Minnesota and rhyming with “rah-rah-rah”) to create a team cheer. The phrase stuck and was incorporated into both official school songs, “Hail Minnesota” and more commonly in the “Minnesota Rouser.”

Cheerleading at Minnesota
One of the most visible traditions in sports was born more than 100 years ago at the University of Minnesota. In the fall of 1898, student Johnny Campbell offered to lead organized cheers at football games. Today, the Gopher Cheerleaders are one of the few squads to include ice hockey cheerleaders on skates.

The Gopher Nickname
The Gopher mascot is a tradition as old as the state. Minnesota was tabbed the “Gopher State” in 1857 after a satirizing cartoon, depicting nine Gophers with the heads of local politicians pulling a locomotive, was published. The story was over legislative action for a $5 million railroad proposal in western Minnesota. Later, the University picked up the nickname. Today, the Mascot is known as Goldy Gopher.

The “Golden” Gophers
The “Golden” adjective has not always been a part of the Gopher nickname. During the 1930s, the Gophers wore gold jerseys and pants. Legendary KSTP-AM radio announcer Halsey Hall coined the term “Golden Gophers” in reference to the team’s all-gold attire on the field. From 1932-41, Minnesota compiled an impressive record, losing only 12 games in the 10-year span and winning seven Big Ten titles and five national championships — a true “golden” decade of Gopher football.

The Minnesota Rouser
The “Minnesota Rouser” is one of two official school songs at the University of Minnesota. It was written in 1909 by Floyd M. Hutsell in response to a contest sponsored by the Minneapolis Tribune. The contest was judged by University President Cyrus Northrop and Governor A.O. Eberhart, with the winner receiving $100. The rouser is sung at Gopher sporting events, and Gopher fans have added the spelling of the state name as a flourish at the end of the song.

Lyrics:

Minnesota, hats off to thee!
To thy colors true we shall ever be.
Firm and strong, united are we. Rah! Rah! Rah! for Ski-U-Mah.
Rah! Rah! Rah! Rah!
Rah! for the U of M.

M-I-N-N-E-S-O-T-A! Minnesota! Minnesota! Yay, Gophers!
Famous Minnesota Alumni
Academics and Business

* Saul Bellow, Faculty, English, 1946 - 1976 Nobel Prize in Literature
* Milton Friedman, Faculty, Economics, 1945-1946 - 1976 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences
* Robert Penn Warren – 3 time Pulitzer Prize Winner
* Earl Bakken - invented the battery-powered cardiac pacemaker
* Christiaan Barnard - performed the world's first heart transplant
* Michele Brekke - NASA’s first female flight director
* Walter Brattain - Nobel Laureate physicist, co-inventor of the transistor
* Seymour Cray - supercomputer architect, founder of Cray Research
* Robert W. Gore - inventor of Gore-Tex
* Ancel Keys - nutritionist, inventor of K-rations
* Izaak Kolthoff - "Father of analytical chemistry"
* C. Walton Lillehei - pioneering heart surgeon, inventor of cardiac pacemaker, "Father of open-heart surgery"
* Deke Slayton - astronaut
* Harvey Mackay - businessman, Four time New York Times bestseller author
* Robert Ulrich - Chairman of Target

Arts and entertainment

* Eddie Albert - actor
* Loni Anderson - actress
* Dave Arneson - co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons, writer, educator
* Aaron Brown - TV journalist (dropped out)
* Lila Downs - Singer
* Bob Dylan - singer/songwriter (dropped out)
* Henry Fonda - actor (did not graduate)
* Peter Graves - actor
* Garrison Keillor - author
* Jessica Lange - actress
* Kate Mulgrew - actress
* Michele Norris - host of NPR's All Things Considered
* Ron Perlman - actor
* Harry Reasoner - ABC and CBS news anchor and correspondent
* Harrison Salisbury - journalist
* Eric Sevareid - journalist
* Yanni - Grammy-nominated pianist/composer
* David Zinman - conductor

Athletes

* Marion Barber III - Running Back, Dallas Cowboys
* Bobby Bell - 1983 inductee to the Pro Football Hall of Fame
* Patty Berg - cofounder and first president of the LPGA; three-time Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year
* Randy Breuer- NBA Basketball Player 1983-1994
* Herb Brooks - Ice hockey coach, 1980 Olympic Ice Hockey Coach
* Tony Dungy - pro football player and coach
* Carl Eller - pro football player
* Greg Eslinger - All-American, Center, Denver Broncos
* Paul Giel - College Football Hall of Fame member

* Bud Grant - pro football coach
* Ben Hamilton, - Guard, Denver Broncos
* Kris Humphries - Forward, Toronto Raptors
* Bobby Jackson - Guard, New Orleans Hornets
* Mike Lehan - Cornerback, Miami Dolphins
* Tom Lehman - 1996 British Open golf champion; 1996 PGA Tour Player of the Year
* Laurence Maroney - football player (New England Patriots)
* John Mayasich - Olympic gold and silver medalist at hockey
* Kevin McHale - NBA basketball player
* Karl Mecklenburg - pro football player and Denver Bronco
* Paul Molitor - Baseball Hall of Famer
* Anthony Montgomery, Defensive Tackle, Washington Redskins
* Bronko Nagurski - 1963 inductee to Pro Football Hall of Fame; 1929 first-team all-American on offense and defense
* Leo Nomellini - 1969 inductee to Pro Football Hall of Fame
* John Roethlisberger - Three-time U.S. Olympic gymnast, five-time NCAA champion
* Flip Saunders - NBA head coach
* Bruce Smith - 1941 Heisman Trophy winner
* Matt Spaeth - Current football player
* Terry Steinbach - all-star pro baseball catcher
* Thomas Tapeh - NFL player
* Mychal Thompson - NBA basketball player
* Rick Upchurch - NFL player
* Ben Utecht, Tight end, Indianapolis Colts
* Charles "Bud" Wilkinson - pro football coach
* Dave Winfield - 2001 inductee to Baseball Hall of Fame
* Walt Jocketty - St. Louis Cardinals GM 1995-present
* Glen Perkins - Pitcher for MN TPolitics

Politics
* Wendell Anderson – Former Governor of Minnesota, U.S. Senator
* Robert Bergland - U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, U.S. Congressman
* James Blanchard – Former Governor of Michigan, U.S. Ambassador to Canada
* Warren Burger – former chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court
* Theodore Christianson – Former Governor of Minnesota, U.S. Congressman
* David Durenberger - U.S. Senator
* Donald M. Fraser - Mayor of Minneapolis, U.S. Congressman
* Orville Freeman - Governor of Minnesota, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture
* Geir Haarde - Prime minister of Iceland
* James D. Hodgson - U.S. Secretary of Labor, U.S. Ambassador to Japan
* Hubert H. Humphrey - U.S. Vice President and 1968 Democratic nominee for President
* Eugene McCarthy - U.S. Congressman, U.S. Senator, three-time presidential candidate
* Walter Mondale - U.S. Vice President and 1984 Democratic nominee for President
* Wayne Morse - U.S. Senator
* Tim Pawlenty – Current Governor of Minnesota
* Patricia Schroeder – Former U.S. Congresswoman (D-Colorado)
* Harold Stassen – Former Governor of Minnesota, presidential candidate
* Luther Youngdahl - United States District Judge and Governor of Minnesota

About Minneapolis/St. Paul
Minneapolis-Saint Paul is the most populous urban area in the state of Minnesota, United States, and is composed of 186 cities and townships. Built around the Mississippi, Minnesota and St. Croix rivers, the area is also nicknamed the Twin Cities for its two largest cities, Minneapolis and Saint Paul, the former the larger and the latter the state capital.

The area is part of a larger metro area with an estimated population of 3.5 million people in 2006, ranked the 13th most populous in the U.S.

To remind everyone there were actually two cities, people started using the phrase Dual Cities around 1872, which evolved into Twin Cities. Despite the "Twin" moniker, the two cities are independent municipalities with defined borders and are quite distinct from each other. Minneapolis, with its broad boulevards, easily navigable grid layout, and modern downtown architecture, has been referred to as the "first" (i.e. furthest east) city of the American West; Saint Paul, which sports narrower streets laid out much more irregularly, clannish neighborhoods, and a vast collection of well preserved late-Victorian architecture, is considered to be the "last" (i.e. farthest west) of the Eastern cities.[ Also of some note is the differing cultural backgrounds of the two cities: Minneapolis being affected by its early (and still influential) Scandinavian/Lutheran heritage, while St. Paul was touched by its early Irish and German Catholic roots.

Often, the area is referred to as simply "The Cities," both within Minnesota, but generally outside the metropolitan region, and even in the bordering states of Iowa, Wisconsin, and the Dakotas. Areas of Minnesota outside of the Twin Cities are collectively referred to as "outstate" by people from the Twin Cities metro area. Today, the two cities directly border each other and their downtown districts are about 9 miles (14 km) apart. The Twin Cities are generally said to be in "east central" Minnesota.

Minneapolis and Saint Paul have competed since they were founded, resulting in duplication of efforts such as building bigger or more extravagantly. Both cities have campuses of the University of Minnesota, and after Saint Paul completed its elaborate Cathedral in 1915, Minneapolis quickly followed up with the equally ornate Basilica of St. Mary in 1926. In the late 19th and early 20th-centuries the rivalries became so intense that an architect practicing in one city was often refused business in the other. The 1890 United States Census even led to the two cities arresting and/or kidnapping each other's census takers, in an attempt to keep either city from outgrowing the other.

The rivalry could occasionally erupt into inter-city violence, as happened at a 1923 game between the Minneapolis Millers and the St. Paul Saints, both baseball teams of the American Association. In the 1950s, both cities competed for a major league baseball franchise (which resulted in two rival stadiums being built), and there was a brief period in the mid-1960s where the two cities could not agree on a common calendar for daylight saving time, resulting in a period of a few weeks where people in Minneapolis were one hour "ahead" of anyone living or traveling in Saint Paul.

The cities' mutual antagonism was largely healed by the end of the 1960s, aided by the simultaneous arrival in 1961 of the Minnesota Twins of the American League and the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League, both of which identified themselves with the state as a whole (the former explicitly named for both Twin Cities) and not with either of the major cities (unlike the earlier Minneapolis Lakers). Since 1961, it has been common practice for any major sports team based in the Twin Cities to be named for Minnesota as a whole, with the Twins and Vikings followed by the Minnesota North Stars (1967–93), Minnesota Muskies (1967–68), Minnesota Moose (1994–1996), Minnesota Pipers (1968–69), Minnesota Fighting Saints (1972–77), Minnesota Kicks (1976–81), Minnesota Strikers (1984–88), Minnesota Timberwolves (1989–present), Minnesota Thunder (1990–present), Minnesota Lynx (1999–present), Minnesota Wild (2000–present) and Minnesota Swarm (2005–present). In terms of development, the two cities remain distinct in their progress, with Minneapolis absorbing new and avant-garde architecture while Saint Paul continues to carefully integrate new buildings into the context of classical and Victorian styles

About The Series
While Denver is not a primary rival for the Gophers, Denver is always excited to play Minnesota, as all WCHA teams always circle the Gopher game dates on the calendar as something special. With Minnesota undefeated in league play and sporting the top national ranking, the target is now clearly affixed the Gophers.

The good news for Denver is that the Pioneers are Pioneers are 5-1-1 against ranked opponents and 6-1-1 at Magness Arena this season. The bad news is the DU team lost two games to then unranked St. Cloud last weekend, and may be without the services of Patrick Wiercioch, who has emerged as the Pioneers’ best overall rookie and top defender, who got hurt last weekend.

The speedy Pioneers have averaged 4.7 goals per game in their six wins and 2.0 gpg in their four losses, which clearly shows that DU would love to play run and gun with Gophers. For Denver, the offensive key is Tyler Bozak, who is DU’s leading scorer against Minnesota with 7-3--10 in five career games, but who has been held pointless in his last three games. For Denver to have a chance at points, it’s fairly imperative that he play a key role this weekend.

The Pioneers come into the series with the nation’s seventh best offense (3.45 GPG), but the Gophers are better balanced with the nation’s 10th best offense (3.4 GPG) and ninth best defense (1.9 GPG), as well as much better special teams play – the Gophers are ranked sixth on the power play with 20.8% and the fourth best PK at 93.8%. The Pioneers are not in the top 20 in anything but offense, so DU will need to likely score to be successful. Minnesota’s defense is a good unit, and with the Gopher’s team speed likely equal to that of the Pioneers, goaltending will also be crucial.

On paper, the Gophers are just flat out better than DU is right now, but the WCHA games are played on the ice. I think the Gophers are likely due for at least one down performance this weekend and I think the Pioneers are probably due for a win at home. However, without the DU students (who are on Winter break – DU is on the quarter system) and if Weircioch does not play, DU will have a hard time winning a game this weekend.

Prediction: Split series. Denver wins 3-2 on Friday; Minnesota wins 5-1 on Saturday.

The St. Cloud State University Huskies (5-4, 0-3 WCHA)

National Hockey Center, St. Cloud, Minn.,
November 14-15, 2008

(above) The National Hockey Center in St. Cloud, Minnesota

The #4 Denver Pioneers (6-2-1, 4-1-1 WCHA) leave Colorado for the first time this season with a two-game WCHA series at unranked St. Cloud State (5-4, 0-3 WCHA) on Nov. 14-15.

Denver owns a 35-27-4 advantage over St. Cloud State in the series that dates back to 1988. The Pioneers are 18-10-2 all-time against the Huskies in St. Cloud. DU is 3-2 in its last five meetings against the Huskies and 7-3 in its last 10. The winning team has netted two or more goals in the last 17 meetings.

Huskies to Watch
The Huskies have had solid start in non-league play, but have yet to win a conference game. They return some of the nation’s finest offensive players, sophomore Garrett Roe (left) and junior Ryan Lasch. Roe leads the team with 4-11--15, while Lasch recently tallied his 100th career point and has added 1-7—8. SCSU is solid in goal with Jase Weslosky at 3-3 record, 2.52 GAA and .921 saves percentage.

About St. Cloud State University (SCSU)
St. Cloud State University (SCSU) is part of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) system, located in St. Cloud, Minnesota on the banks of the Mississippi River. Currently, there are nearly 17,000 students enrolled, making it the second largest university in Minnesota. Over 13,000 of the students are Minnesota residents, and about 1,000 students are international, representing 80 countries.

The university was created in 1869 as St. Cloud State Normal School, a teacher training institution, and in 1921, it became St. Cloud State Teachers College. By 1957, it had added more programs and became St. Cloud State College and was elevated to full university status in 1975, when it became St. Cloud State University. It has since grown into a comprehensive university and now awards bachelor’s degrees in over 60 programs and Masters Degrees in over 40 programs. With the school growing larger in tune with the metro area, there are plans to offer PhD degrees in the future.

The 100-acre campus is between downtown St. Cloud and the Beaver Islands, a group of more than 30 islands that form a natural maze for a two-mile stretch of the Mississippi river.

The current president is Earl Potter, III.

About the SCSU Program:
The SCSU program is another Minnesota-based program that has benefitted from the growth of hockey culture in the state, established itself with solid to excellent regular season performances, but has struggled at the NCAA tournament level, where multiple appearances have yet to yield a tournament victory. If the Huskies ever do get that monkey off their proverbial back, SCSU may become a dominant power.

While SCSU’s history since the mid 1980s elevation NCAA Division I is well known, far fewer hockey fans know about the early days of SCSU hockey in the 1930s, which played a formative role in the development of our sport.

"No institution did more for collegiate hockey in the '30's and '40's than St. Cloud," said Minnesota hockey great John Mariucci.

The St. Cloud program started poorly in 1931 with a 1-7 season, but for the next 10 years, St. Cloud never had a losing season. The pinnacle was the 1934 season, when the school went 25 -2, but in those days, there was no national tournament.

St. Cloud’s 1930s successes were sparked by two well known hockey goalies, Frank Brimsek (left) and Sam LoPresti. Brimsek was the goalie on the 1934 Saint Cloud squad and only played 11 college games, but would later become one of the most famous American hockey players of his era. Brimsek made the rare jump from collegiate to the pro level with NHL's Boston Bruins. He earned the nickname 'Mr. Zero' as a rookie for the Bruins when he led the NHL in victories, goals-against average and shutouts, won the Calder Trophy and led the Bruins to victory in the Stanley Cup playoffs. He played nine seasons with the Bruins and one with Chicago before retiring in 1950, and holds the distinction of being the only St. Cloud alumnus to be inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame and the International Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.

LoPresti played for the Huskies in 1935 and later spent two years at Duluth State Teacher’s College (now the University of Minnesota Duluth). After LoPresti graduated from UMD, he played for the Chicago Black Hawks where he flourished as a goaltender. His NHL career culminated with induction into the United States Hall of Fame. If the name sounds familiar to Pioneer fans, it’s because Sam’s son, Pete Lo Presti, would become a goalie at Denver in the 1970s, and went on the NHL career with the Minnesota North Stars and Edmonton Oilers

St. Cloud had no indoor rink in the early days, and during WWII, the program was dropped. After the war, the program was revived on a Division II level in the Municipal arena, where St. Cloud would play until the late 1980s.

Enter Minnesota (and American) hockey legend Herb Brooks, who had won a gold medal coaching the “Miracle on Ice” 1980 US Olympic Team and had gone on to coach the NHL’s New York Rangers after the 1980 Olympics. Brooks was looking for a new challenge, and creating the 1980s groundwork for St. Cloud State to become a Division I hockey school became Brooks’ passion.

In Brooks' first and only season as head coach in 1986-87, St. Cloud State broke or tied 45 school records on the way to a 25-10-1 record and a third place finish at the Div. II national championships. As the season progressed, so did the excitement of Husky fans, who filled the Municipal Ice Arena. During the 1987 session of the Minnesota Legislature, St. Cloud State University (prodded by Brooks) proposed an $8.6 million multi-purpose sports facility that would include a hockey arena and football field, with the goal of admission into the prestigious Western Collegiate Hockey Association. The arena proposal was ultimately approved in May, 1987 and the doors opened for the first game on Dec. 16, 1989. At the time, the 6,000 seat National Hockey Center was a one-of-a-kind - the only facility that featured two Olympic sheets under one roof. The NHC is still home of the Huskies, and recently-approved multi-million renovation plans should elevate the building into the upper half of WCHA arenas.

SCSU made the Division I commitment during the 1986-87 season and the Huskies joined as an Independent in '87-88. SCSU then played an Independent schedule for three seasons, under coach Craig Dahl, highlighted by an NCAA tourney appearance in 1989 when SCSU took the independents’ slot and lost to Lake Superior State in a two-game, total goals series, 10-5.

After some strong teams in the 1990s but no league hardware to show for it, the 1999-2000 season was the breakthrough year for SCSU, and opened up a strong run of NCAA appearances in the early years of the decade. The Huskies made the 2000 NCAA tournament, losing 5-3 to BU the East Regional in Albany, NY. Successes followed SCSU in 2000-01, as the Huskies stormed to a school-record 31-9-1 overall record and were second in the WCHA at 20-8-0. SCSU also claimed its first-ever Broadmoor Trophy, defeating North Dakota 6-5 (ot) in the Final Five title game, SCSU also gained its second consecutive bid to the NCAAs, receiving a first-round bye as the No. 2 West seed, but the Huskies lost to Michigan, 4-3 at Grand Rapids.

In 2001-02, the Huskies continued their pattern of success with a strong 29-11-2 overall record and another second place finish in the WCHA at 19-7-2. SCSU gained it’s first-ever No. 1 ranking in the Div. 1 polls during the season and held that position for much of the winter. Forward Mark Hartigan firmly established himself as a Husky legend with a school-record 37 goals, 38 assists and 75 points. He went on to become the first player in SCSU history to gain WCHA MVP honors, first team All-American status and a spot among the top three finalists for the Hobey Baker award, but in what has become something of a disturbing pattern for Husky fans, SCSU fell again in the NCAA tournament, this time by a 4-2 count at Yost Arena in Ann Arbor.

In 2003, the Huskies had a 17-16-3 season and squeaked into the NCAA tourney, only to be crushed by New Hampshire, 5-2 in the NCAA East Regional. One again, the NCAA well was empty.

Craig Dahl retired in 2005, and former Denver assistant Bob Motzko became coach of the Huskies. Motzko took the Huskies to a 22-11-7 record in 2007, but once again, NCAA tourney success was not to be, as the Huskies fell 4-1 to Maine in Rochester, NY.

In 2008, the Huskies went 19-16-5 and again found themselves in the NCAA tournament, and this time, Clarkson ended the quest for the Huskies’ first NCAA win with a 2-1 victory.

Nickname and Mascot
St. Cloud State's nickname has gone through several changes over the years. Early nicknames included "Normals," "Teachers," "Bear Cats," "Peds," and "Flying Clouds."

There are several theories about how the nickname "Huskies" began to be used. One says that it is a result of a student contest. Another suggests that the name originated with the football team. There was a story in the February 4, 1938, edition of the College Chronicle (school newspaper) which referred to the "football huskies." Since Huskies was not capitalized in the story, the author could have been referring to the team's size and this possibly led to the nickname.

Another theory is that the nickname originated within the football team. "I think it occurred during Coach Kasch's days as football coach (1935-42)," said John Weisman, former SCSU Dean of Men and former coach. "The team just started calling themselves the "Huskies."

Why the name was chosen or who exactly selected it remains unclear. The name could have been intended to mean "burly, robust or large," "one that is husky," or "a heavily coated working dog of the arctic region."

Perhaps the nickname was meant to encompass all three meanings. Regardless of its origin, the Husky nickname continues to represent SCSU as a symbol and image of strength. The current Husky Mascot is named “Blizzard”.

Fight Song

The SCSU Rouser
Oh, here we are, the gang and all,
to cheer our team to victory.
SCSU has heard the call,
We're here to show our loyalty, RAH! RAH!
Come on team fight, We'll win this game,
and to our colors we'll be true.
We'll sing our song, both loud and long,
to victory -- S.C.S.U.

Famous SCSU Alumni
Richard Dean Anderson - Actor, star of MacGyver television series.
John Stumpf - Chief Executive Officer of Wells Fargo
David Swanson - Chief Executive Officer of R.H. Donnelley Publishing
Tyler Arnason – NHL Hockey player
Todd Bouman - NFL Quarterback 1997-present
Dick Bremer - Minnesota Twins Television play-by-play
Matt Cullen - NHL Hockey player, Stanley Cup winner
Jim Eisenreich - Former MLB outfielder/first baseman with Tourette syndrome
Bret Hedican - NHL Hockey player, Stanley Cup winner
Bonnie Henrickson - University of Kansas Women's Basketball Head Coach
Leo Kottke - Musician
Nicole Linkletter - Winner of America's Next Top Model, Cycle 5
Ryan Malone – NHL Hockey Player.
Andreas Nödl - NHL Hockey Player
Mark Parrish – NHL Hockey Player

About St. Cloud, Minnesota
St. Cloud is the largest population center in the Minnesota’s central region about an hour drive north of the Twin Cities, and the country seat of Stearns County. The city population was 59,107 at the 2000 census, making it the third largest city in the state outside the Twin Cities metropolitan area, with 167,392 residents in the metro area. The city sits on the Mississippi River.

St. Cloud was named after Saint-Cloud, the Paris suburb, by John Wilson, a Maine native with French Huguenot ancestry. Wilson later said that his decision came from his interest in Napoleon, whose favorite palace was located in Saint-Cloud, France.

Historically, St. Cloud was a waystation on the Middle and Woods branches of the Red River Trails between the Canadian border at Pembina and St. Paul. The St. Cloud area had been opened to legal ownership by non-Native Americans following treaty negotiations with the Winnebago tribe in 1851 and 1852, and the City of St. Cloud was incorporated in 1856.

St. Cloud Normal School opened in 1869, and since then, St. Cloud has always been a college town as well as the country seat.

Steamboats once docked at St. Cloud, although river levels were not reliable. Granite quarries have operated in the area since the 1880s, giving St. Cloud its nickname, "The Granite City."

Today, St. Cloud has enjoyed some brief moments in pop culture. Courtroom scenes in the Disney Film The Mighty Ducks were filmed in St. Cloud, and in-game hockey scenes were filmed at the National Hockey Center at St. Cloud State University.

The acclaimed 2007 film Juno was partially set in St. Cloud, however, none of the shooting actually took place in the city. The song "On A Bus To St. Cloud", by Gretchen Peters, is on Trisha Yearwood's 1995 album "Thinkin' About You".

The Series
DU loves to play in St. Cloud, as the Pioneers are 7-1 in the last eight meetings against the Huskies at National Hockey Center, including a pair of 3-2 wins last season. With DU tied for second in the WCHA and St. Cloud State winless after three league games, the pressure is clearly on the Huskies to get into the league win column, while the Pioneers look to establish some road credentials this season.

DU and St. Cloud both have plenty of offense and solid goaltending, but question marks remain on the defensive side of both teams. On paper, SCSU has the third best offense in the country at 4.00 GPG, however, the Huskies have not played a very difficult schedule to date, while the Pioneers are fourth ranked at 3.89 GPG have played tougher opponents. With the big ice and defensive question marks on both teams, we can expect a fairly high scoring series. SCSU’s Garrett Roe is one of the most dynamic offensive players in all of college hockey, and the Pioneers counter with Tyler Bozak, who will be looking to elevate his game on the big ice at the usually buzzing National Hockey Center.

SCSU has the better power play at 20.6% but with DU coming out of their own power-play blues with a solid 4-for-13 (30.7%) effort in the two-game series against Minnesota Duluth, Denver will be looking to exploit the struggling penalty kill of SCSU (78.9%).

If you are a Pioneer fan, you need to be aware that Pioneer freshmen and sophomores have accounted for 77% of the team’s goal scoring and 70% of the team’s total points. Freshman and sophomores have accounted for five of six game-winning goals. Sophomore Anthony Maiani (4-7--11) has 0-4--4 during his current two-game point streak and Joe Colborne (2-2--4) netted 1-1--2 in the 2-1 win over Minnesota Duluth, and how the young players respond on the road is likely the key to success.

Prediction
DU is top to bottom, a better team than SCSU is right now, and on talent alone, a DU sweep is very possible. That said, this is the WCHA, SCSU is hungry and at playing home, and the Pioneers are not a proven road team as yet. I am going to predict a split. 5-3 SCSU on Friday, 6-2 Denver on Saturday.

The University of Minnesota -Duluth Bulldogs (4-1-2, 1-1-1)

(above) Duluth Entertainment & Convention Center

Magness Arena, Denver
November 7-8, 2008

The #20 University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs (4-1-2 Overall, 1-1-1 WCHA) come to Denver to take on the #6 Pioneers and close out a long Pioneer Colorado-based “homestand” to start the 2008-2009 season.

Denver owns a 101-69-9 advantage in the series that dates back to 1961. The Pioneers are 66-32-4 against the Bulldogs in Denver, including a 4-2 mark in the last six meetings at Magness Arena. DU is 3-2 in its last five games against UMD and 6-4 in its last 10.

The Bulldogs are off to a good start at 4-1-2 overall and 1-1-1 in the WCHA. Minnesota Duluth started the 2008-09 season 3-0-1 and snapped a two-game winless streak with a 5-1 win over St. Cloud State in the inaugural State of Minnesota Hockey Showcase last weekend.

Bulldogs to Watch
The Bulldogs are led by junior goalie Alex Stalock, who is 4-1-2 with a 2.09 GAA and .914 Svs %. Justin Fontaine (5-6--11) shares the WCHA overall scoring lead with DU’s Tyler Bozak, while veteran MacGregor Sharp has added 5-5--10 and freshman Mike Connolly 3-6--9. Head coach Scott Sandelin, who guided the Bulldogs to the 2004 NCAA Frozen Four, has posted a 126-161-39 mark in nine seasons at Duluth.

About the University of Minnesota-Duluth (UMD)
The University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) is a regional branch of the University of Minnesota with about 11,000 students on campus. As Duluth's public research university, UMD offers 12 bachelor's degrees in 75 majors, graduate programs in 20 fields, a two-year program at the School of Medicine, a four-year College of Pharmacy program, and a Doctor of Education program. The chief executive officer of UMD is Chancellor Kathryn A. Martin. She has been Chancellor since November 1995.

Although the University of Minnesota Duluth didn’t officially make its appearance until 1947, its roots date to the Duluth Normal School, founded in 1896 to train women as teachers. In 1921, the Duluth Normal School was renamed to the Duluth State Teachers College, also known as DSTC. Shortly after the renaming, bachelor’s degrees and four-year degree programs were added to the school. In 1929 men began to come to the DSTC, and along with them, the first sports teams including hockey, football, and basketball. By 1937, the locals were fighting to make DSTC a University of Minnesota branch to increase funding and the overall reputation of the school. It was not until 1947 the DSTC became part of the University of Minnesota system and was again renamed, this time to the University of Minnesota Duluth, or UMD.

Today, the UMD campus consists of more than 50 buildings on 244 acres overlooking Lake Superior. Most UMD buildings are connected by concourses or hallways due to the climate. UMD is also home to the Tweed Museum of Art, the Marshall W. Alworth Planetarium, Weber Music Hall, and the Marshall Performing Arts Center. Other UMD facilities include the Research and Field Studies Center, Glensheen Historic Estate, the Lower Campus, Minnesota Sea Grant, the Large Lakes Observatory, and the Natural Resources Research Institute.

UMD has experienced a revamping of student amenities and subsidized research facilities over the past seven years, beginning in 2000 with the completion of a new library. Additional buildings built since 2000 include the Weber Music Hall, Swenson Science Building, Sports and Health Center addition, and the new Labovitz School of Business.

About the UMD Program:
(left) Brett Hull

The Bulldogs are the classic underdog program –with the more glamorous Big 10 University of Minnesota a few hours away in the Twin Cities with a huge statewide following for the Gophers, the Bulldogs, based in the working-class port city of Duluth, have always had to scratch, claw and work for every advantage they could get.

The varsity hockey program dates to December of 1930, when Duluth State Teacher's College announced that intercollegiate ice hockey will be added to the institution's varsity sports program. Things got off to a really rough start when DTSC lost its first game to Duluth Central High School by a 3-0 score at the old Duluth Amphitheater, enroute to a winless 0-3 inaugural campaign under Coach Frank Kovach. The next year, DSTC did manage to beat Two Harbors High School by a goal 3-2 for a first victory, but the sport vanished for 14 years until reinstated in 1949, when the school, now known as the University of Minnesota-Duluth, beat Carleton College of Duluth to close out a 7-0 undefeated season against lower division schools as an independent.

By 1949 the program had joined the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (small schools) and scored the first win over a D-I opponent in 1957 when the Bulldogs beat Michigan Tech. UMD had become a dominant power in the MIAC in the 50s, with six consecutive titles, setting the stage for elevation to full Division I status in 1961 under coach Ralph Romano, helped in part by Denver’s Murray Armstrong, who helped recruit UMD first D-I teams. The Bulldogs took their lumps at first; including a still-NCAA record of 77 saves performance in a loss against Michigan in 1964. Romano later became the school’s athletic director, and died tragically of heart failure while watching a UMD-DU game in Duluth in the mid 1980s.

UMD continued to make progress in the mid 1960s, when the city built a new $6 million Duluth Arena-Auditorium complex with 5,600 seats, know known as the DECC (Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center) in downtown Duluth, which still serves as the home of the Bulldogs, but will soon be replaced by a new arena in 2010.

With the new arena, was admitted to the WCHA in 1965, but did not win the first 14 WCHA games until an overtime victory over North Dakota in 1966. The tough games also stretched into eras, as the Bulldogs had only three winning seasons between 1965 and 1982.

By 1971, UMD got perhaps its biggest program win (at the time) with a 15-3 win over rival Minnesota in Minneapolis, a game which set 12 school records, paced by all-American centers Walt Ledingham and Pat Boutette.

Mike Sertich took over as UMD coach for Gus Hendrickson in 1982, and produced some of the best WCHA teams of the mid 1980s. In 1983, the Dawgs went to the NCAAs for the first time, but lost to Providence at Schneider Arena in Providence, 10-5 in a two game total goals series. The next year, the Bulldogs won their first WCHA regular season title on Bob Lakso’s hat trick against Wisconsin in February, and were then forced to play a “home” WCHA playoff series in Minneapolis, as the Duluth Arena was already pre-booked with a boat show. The Bulldogs drew 7,000+ fans in Minneapolis and ran North Dakota out the building with an 8-1 victory in game 1, and later beat the same North Dakota team in overtime the NCAA semi-finals in Lake Placid 12 days later. UMD then faced Bowling Green in the NCAA title game, which went four overtimes before BGSU edged UMD for the title. Defenseman Tom Kurvers won the Hobey Baker Award that year as the first Bulldog to do so.

In 1985, the Bulldogs repeated as WCHA Champions, but fell to eventual NCAA Champion RPI, 5-4 in triple overtime at the Frozen Four, but the loss was sweetened with a victory over Boston College in the third place game the next day. Leading scorer Bill Watson became UMD’s second Hobey Baker Award Winner, and Mike Sertich was named WCHA Coach of the Year for the third year in a row.

In 1986, the Bulldogs were in a tooth and nail battle with Denver and Minnesota for WCHA supremacy, but when forward Matt Christenson had a stroke during a boot hockey game in the stretch run, the shocked Bulldogs faded. Sophomore Brett Hull had a 50 goal season, but the Pioneers aced out the Bulldogs in the WCHA semi finals.

After a couple of good years in the early 1990s with 1994 Hobey Baker winner Chris Marinucci scoring the goals including a WCHA title in 1993, the Dawgs did not reach the NCAA tournament again until 2004 in Boston, when the Pioneers bounced the Bulldogs and their talented 2004 Hobey Baker winner Junior Lessard from the Frozen Four.

Nickname and Mascot
The University of Minnesota Duluth mascot is the bulldog, named Champ. When UMD was the Duluth State Teachers College, the traditional designation was "peds" for pedagogues or teachers, but this did not suffice as an appropriate image for UMD's athletic teams. In the spring of 1933 the athletes themselves picked the bulldog as the school's mascot. Originally named "Killer," the mascot's name was changed to "Champ" in 1997 to present a less violent image.

School Colors
Because the University's colors varied during the early years, William Watts Folwell, first president of the University, appointed English instructor Augusta Norwood Smith to choose permanent school colors. Smith, "a woman of excellent taste," according to Folwell, chose maroon and gold. First used sometime between 1876 and 1880, the colors weren't officially approved by the regents until March 1940. The original school colors of UMD were green and gold, when UMD was the Duluth State Teachers College. The colors were changed to maroon and gold after the campus became part of the University of Minnesota System in 1947.

School Songs
"Hail! Minnesota" was written by Truman Rickard, class of 1904, for use in a class play. University student Arthur Upson wrote a second verse in 1905. In 1945, the song became the official state anthem. The "Minnesota Rouser," sung at most University athletic events, was written by Floyd M. Hutsell in 1909 in response to a contest sponsored by the Minneapolis Tribune. The spirited "UMD Rouser" is a variation of the "Minnesota Rouser."

The words to the UMD Rouser were submitted by Mike Dean, 2007-08 Alumni Board President:

"UMD Rouser"

Now let us praise UMD

Ever strong, and true we will be

And to the Bulldogs name

Maroon and Gold's our fame

We hail University, Rah, Rah, Rah

"U"-"M"-"D", Always with our loyalty

Sing and cheer to be victorious UMD!

B-U-L-L-D-O-G-S. Hey, BULLDOGS.

Famous UMD Alumni
Politics
* Michael S. Berman - Longtime Washington lawyer and lobbyist, deputy chief of staff for Walter Mondale
* Mike Hatch - former Minnesota Attorney General and 2006 candidate for Governor
* Donny Ness - current mayor of Duluth

Business
* David Oreck - Founder of the Oreck Corporation
* Robert Senkler - President and CEO of Securian Financial Group, Inc.

Sports
* Mark Pavelich and John Harrington were members of 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey gold-medal team that beat the USSR in the Miracle on Ice game.
* Dan Devine - head Football coach for the Missouri Tigers, Green Bay Packers and Notre Dame Fighting Irish
* Jay Guidinger - former center for the Cleveland Cavaliers
* Brett Hull - former NHL Player
* Tom Kurvers - Hobey Baker Award winner and long-time NHL player
* Junior Lessard - Hobey Baker Award winner, right wing for Tampa Bay Lightning
* Chris Marinucci - Hobey Baker Award winner
* Jeff Monson - Grappling and MMA fighter
* Derek Plante - former NHL Player
* Bill Watson - Hobey Baker Award winner and former NHL player

Other
* Jim Brandenburg - renowned National Geographic nature photographer
* Lorenzo Music - the voice of Garfield and Carlton the Doorman on Rhoda


Duluth, Minnesota
Duluth is a port city on the north shore of Lake Superior, which is linked to the Atlantic Ocean 2,300 miles (3,700 km) away via the Great Lakes and Erie Canal/New York State Barge Canal or Saint Lawrence Seaway passages.

Duluth forms a metropolitan area with Superior, Wisconsin. Called the Twin Ports, these two cities share the Duluth-Superior Harbor and together are one of the most important ports on the Great Lakes, shipping coal, iron ore (taconite), and grain.

As the county seat of St. Louis County, Duluth is the fourth largest city in Minnesota had a total population of 86,918 in the 2000 census. The metropolitan census including outer suburbs and villages was estimated to be roughly 184,000.

As a tourist destination for the Midwest, Duluth features America's only all-freshwater aquarium, the Great Lakes Aquarium, the Aerial Lift Bridge which spans the short canal into Duluth's harbor, "Park Point", the world's second longest freshwater sandbar, spanning 6 miles, and is a launching point for the North Shore.[5]

The city is named for Daniel Greysolon, Sieur du Lhut, the first known European explorer of the area. Native American tribes had occupied the Duluth area for thousands of years, trading and cultivating wild rice. In 1659, Pierre Esprit Radisson and Médard Chouart des Groseilliers went searching for furs in the Lake Superior region, and visited the area that became today’s Duluth. Sieur du Lhut, the city's namesake, arrived in 1679 to settle rivalries between two Indian nations, the Dakota and the Ojibwa, and to advance fur trading missions in the area.

Interest in the area was piqued in the 1850s as rumors of copper mining began to circulate. A government land survey in 1852, followed by a treaty with local tribes in 1854, secured wilderness for gold-seeking explorers, sparked a "land rush," and led to the development of iron ore mining in the area.

Around the same time, newly-constructed channels and locks in the East permitted large ships to access the area. A road connecting Duluth to the Twin Cities was also constructed. Eleven small towns on both sides of the St. Louis River were formed, establishing Duluth's roots as a city.

By 1857, copper resources became scarce, and the area's economic focus shifted to timber harvesting. A nation-wide financial crisis led to nearly three quarters of the city's early pioneers leaving but the Lake Superior and Mississippi Railroad extension from St. Paul to Duluth opened areas due north and west of Lake Superior to iron ore mining. Duluth's population on New Year's Day, 1869 consisted of fourteen families; by the Fourth of July, 3,500 people were present to celebrate.

In the 1900s, the city's port passed New York City in gross tonnage handled, elevating it to being the leading port in the United States. Meanwhile, there were ten newspapers, six banks, and an eleven-story skyscraper, the Torrey Building, already present in the town. In 1907, U.S. Steel announced that a $5 – $6 million plant would be constructed in the area. Although steel production only began eight years later, predictions held that Duluth's population would rise to 200,000 to 300,000. With the Duluth Works steel plant came Morgan Park, a once-independent company town that now stands as a city neighborhood.

In the early twentieth century, Duluth was home to one of the largest Finnish communities in the world outside of Finland. The area was also settled by Immigrants from Ireland, Poland, Serbia, Italy, Ukraine, Romania, Norway, Hungary, Denmark, Sweden, Bulgaria, Austria, Croatia, England, and Russia.

During much of the twentieth century, the city was an industrial port town, with a cement plant, nail mill, wire mills, and the Duluth Works plant. In 1916, during World War I, a shipbuilding plant on St. Louis River produced eight vessels simultaneously. A neighborhood was formed around this operation, today known as Riverside. Similar industrial operations were heightened during the Second World War. Population growth continued after the war, with a peak of 106,884 reached in 1960.

Due to foreign competition, the U.S. Steel plant of the Duluth Works closed in 1981, presenting a major blow to the city. Duluth is often cited as "where the Rust Belt begins," and other industrial activity followed suit with more closures, including shipbuilding, heavy machinery, and the Air Force base. With the decline of the city's industrial core, the local economic focus shifted to tourism. The downtown was renewed with red brick streets and skywalks, and old warehouses along the waterfront were converted into cafés, shops, and restaurants, forming Canal Park as a largely tourism-oriented district. The city's population, for years experiencing a steady decline, has stabilized to around 85,000 in recent years.

Duluth once fielded a National Football League team called the Kelleys (officially the Kelley Duluths after the Kelley-Duluth Hardware Store) from 1923-1925 and the Eskimos (officially Ernie Nevers' Eskimos after the early NFL great, their star player) from 1926-1927. The Eskimos were then sold and became the Orange Tornadoes (Orange, New Jersey). This bit of history became the basis for the 2008 George Clooney/Renee Zellweger movie, "Leatherheads."



The Series
This should be interesting.

The Bulldogs has some firepower with the one-two punch of Justin Fontaine and MacGregor Sharp, two of the leading scorers in the WCHA so far, and they have some very promising freshman including Mike Connelly, with nine points already. The Dawgs also have one of the WCHA’s most exciting and capable goalies in Alex Stalock, who is no stranger to Pioneer fans, having shut out DU last year. The question marks for UMD are primarily on defense, where there are capable players, but no real standouts.

DU should be a bad mood after dominating CC last week in all but scoring. DU is averaging just 2.33 goals per game in its last three games after averaging 5.25 in its first four, but the Pioneers are 3-1-1 against ranked opponents and 4-1-1 at Magness Arena. Pioneer freshmen and sophomores have accounted for 81% of the team’s goal scoring and 67% of the team’s total points. Freshman and sophomores have accounted for all four game-winning goals, and for DU to continue to develop, more is expected of the upperclassmen. The Pioneers also have had mostly decent, but not standout goaltending from Cheverie so far.

Coach Scott Sandelin’s team is off to a good start, but they have yet to see a team with the Pioneers offensive capabilities. If the Pioneers play as they did against CC, generating 40 shots per night, they should score enough goals to sweep.

Prediction: Denver 4, UMD 2 Friday, Denver 3, UMD 1 on Saturday.

The Colorado College Tigers (4-0-2)

Magness Arena, Denver November 1
Colorado Springs World Arena, November 3

The No.4 ranked University of Denver Pioneers (4-1) host the nation’s top-ranked Colorado College Tigers, coached by Scott Owens (left), in the renewal of one of college hockey’s best rivalries -- the pursuit of the Gold Pan Trophy. As usual, sellout crowds are expected in both arenas.

Denver holds a 152-105-10 (.588) advantage over Colorado College in the storied rivalry that dates back to 1950. CC has held possession of the Gold Pan Trophy the last two seasons and owns a 6-2-2 advantage over DU in the last 10 contests. The Pioneers are 89-46-4 against CC in Denver and 60-59-5 against the Tigers in Colorado Springs. The Pioneers are 1-3-1 in their last five games against the Tigers overall and 1-3-1 in their last five games against CC in Denver.

Tigers to Watch
The Defending MacNaughton Cup Champion Tigers are led by goaltender Richard Bachman, and forwards Chad Rau, Eric Walsky (left) and Bill Sweatt. Bachman, the 2007-08 WCHA Rookie and Player of the Year, is 3-0-2 with a 0.97 GAA and .963 Sv% in 2008-09. Bachman, who has two shutouts, allowed three total goals in CC’s two ties last weekend at Clarkson. Rau leads the Tigers with 10 points on five goals and five assists and has long been a proverbial thorn in the Pios’ side with his ultra quick release and penchant for bagging shorties, while former UAA Seawolf Eric Walsky has eight points and speedster Sweatt five. Colorado College ranks No. 2 in the nation on the penalty kill at 97.7% (43-for-44). Head coach Scott Owens has posted a 227-121-27 mark in 10 seasons at CC.

About Colorado College:
The Colorado College (familiarly known as CC) is a private, selective liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It was founded in 1874 by General William Palmer. The college enrolls approximately 2,000 undergraduates at its 90-acre campus, 70 miles south of Denver. While it shares many similarities with the arch rival University of Denver (Both private and expensive, both have national student bodies and both student bodies love skiing and hockey) the major difference is the orientation of the schools. CC focuses solely on liberal arts and is mostly undergraduate, while DU is a medium sized university with business, liberal arts and professional schools and a 50/50 undergraduate balance. Also, CC is a famously liberal school (albeit in a conservative city) while DU is more conservative as a school but situated in a more liberal city.

Colorado College is known for its unusual "block plan," which divides the year into eight academic terms; a single class is taken during each block. Students study only one subject for three and a half weeks, which advocates say allows for more lab time, field trips, and other more intensive learning experiences. Blocks are only three weeks long in summer school, during which there are also graduate blocks of differing lengths. In parallel with the students, professors teach only one block at a time. Classes are generally capped at 25.

The current President of the college is Richard Celeste, former Governor of Ohio, ambassador to India, and Director of the Peace Corps.

Colorado College was instituted as a liberal arts college which would foster Christian outreach by its graduates and faculty in the New England tradition. Like many U.S. colleges and universities that have endured from the 19th century it now is secular in outlook, though it retains its liberal arts focus.

The college's first building, Cutler Hall, was occupied in 1880; the first bachelor's degrees were conferred in 1882. Phi Beta Kappa was chartered in 1904. Under President William F. Slocum, who served from 1888 to 1917, the campus took the shape it held until the 1950s. Since the mid-1950s, the campus has been virtually rebuilt. New facilities include three large residence halls, Worner Campus Center, Tutt Library, Olin Hall of Science and the Barnes Science Center, Honnen Ice Rink, Boettcher Health Center, Schlessman Pool, Armstrong Hall of Humanities, Palmer Hall, El Pomar Sports Center, and Packard Hall of Music and Art. Bemis, Cossitt, Cutler, Montgomery, and Palmer Halls are some of the remaining turn-of-the-century structures on the National Register of Historic Places, along with the William I. Spencer Center.

CC’s sports programs are primarily NCAA D-III, except for hockey and women’s soccer, which are Division I. CC and DU were once fierce rivals in many sports, and the two schools played the first football game west of the Mississippi River back in 1885. CC won 12-0, but the victory was tarnished when CC later revealed that a number of players on that team were not CC students.

About the CC Program:
Colorado College started playing hockey in the late 1930s when the Broadmoor Hotel converted its seldom-used indoor riding academy into an ice rink. The Broadmoor World Arena, originally called the Broadmoor Ice Palace, served as CC's home for 55 seasons before being demolished at the conclusion of the 1993-94 campaign.

CC has done a remarkable job in building a powerhouse program when one consider the size of the school, the distance from hockey hotbeds (far) and the strong academics and liberal arts nature of the college . Making it even more special is the fact that the program almost went bust in 1994, when many years of losing seasons and escalating costs put the program at a crossroads. After brushing aside faculty members who called for the end of hockey, CC made a great hire in then coach Don Lucia, who took the Tigers back to the NCAA finals in just a couple of seasons, built a new arena with the help of the city and USA Hockey, and today, have enjoyed strong contender status in the upper echelons of the NCAA. Lucia went on to Minnesota, but CC has remained a contender ever since.

However, ask many Denver Pioneer fans when CC won its last NCAA title and the answer “1957” comes quickly. Yes, Ike was still President when the Tigers brought home the hardware that year in beating Michigan, and the CC fans have been waiting ever since. The Tigers won the NCAA Division I championship twice during the formative years (1950 and 1957) of the NCAA tournament when it was always played in Colorado Springs, were runners up three times (1952, 1955, 1996) and made the NCAA Tournament eighteen times, including every year since 1995 except 2000, 2004 and 2007. In 2005, CC played in the ­Frozen Four against Denver in Columbus, but suffered a 6-2 setback when they could not stop the Denver power play that April afternoon.

While the Tigers have been a strong program since the mid 1990s, there were many years of disappointing hockey between the 1957 NCAA title and Lucia’s arrival in 1993, as the Tigers had just four winning seasons and one NCAA appearance in that time span .

Tiger Hockey officially made its debut on January 21 of 1938 in an 8-1 loss to a team sponsored by Giddings Department Store in Colorado Springs. Colorado College finished the campaign with three victories and nine defeats under playing coach and team captain John Atwood of Watertown, Conn.

The program made significant strides forward the following season under new coach Garrett Livingston, whose leadership the next four years helped vault CC to national prominence. While several New England students with backgrounds in high school hockey joined the team, the strongest addition was Ernie Young of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. When Young returned in the fall of 1939 for his second year at the school, he brought four more Canadian players with him - Jack Chamney, John "Chick" Ross, Wilmer "Spike" Wilson and Harold McClay -all from his home province.

With Livingston at the helm, those players helped the Tigers sweep the University of Michigan, 4-2 and 4-3, in their first-ever intercollegiate series early during the 1939-40 season. Colorado College also played games against Colorado Mines, the Montana School of Mines and the University of Southern California, champion of the Pacific Coast League, that season. Enthusiasm reached a feverish pitch among CC hockey supporters for the next few years, with games at the World Arena selling out on a regular basis. By winter of 1942, the Tigers had earned a reputation as one of college hockey's "Big Four," along with USC, the University of Illinois and Dartmouth.

Due to World War II, no games were played in 1942-43 or '43-44, but the sport was rejuvenated at Colorado College and nationwide in 1944-45. With the return of former players and the addition of seven more Canadians, the Tigers quickly were on the rise again. Cheddy Thompson, who came to Colorado Springs when he was assigned to 2nd Air Force Headquarters here, took over the coaching duties in the fall of 1945 and held the position for the next decade.

In cooperation with the Broadmoor Hotel, Colorado College sponsored the first National Collegiate Athletic Association Hockey Championships at the end of the 1947-48 season. The tournament would be held at the Ice Palace for the next 10 years, with CC participating seven times - in 1948, '49, '50, '51, '52, '55 and '57. Thompson was at the helm when CC won its first NCAA championship in 1950 and finished as runner-up in 1952 and '55. He was named national Coach of the Year in 1952 by the United States Hockey Coaches Association.

In 1951, Colorado College helped found the Mid-West Collegiate Hockey League, which changed its name to the Western Intercollegiate Hockey League in 1953. Other charter members were the University of Denver, Michigan, Michigan State, Michigan Tech, Minnesota and North Dakota. The WIHL evolved to become the Western Collegiate Hockey Association in November of 1959, with the present-day WCHA consisting of five of its original seven teams plus the University of Wisconsin, Minnesota-Duluth, St. Cloud State University and Alaska Anchorage.

Four Colorado College coaches - John Matchefts (1968-69), Jeff Sauer (1971-72 and '74-75), Brad Buetow (1991-92) and Don Lucia (1993-94 and '95-96) - have earned WCHA Coach of the Year honors. Matchefts (2007) and Sauer (2003) both have been named recipients of the prestigious John “Snooks” Kelley Founders Award for their contributions to the overall growth and development of ice hockey nationwide. Lucia (1993-94) and Tony Frasca (1962-63) each were named national Coach of the Year by the U.S. Hockey Coaches Association. Still another, Bob Johnson (1963-66), went on to the National Hockey League where he guided the Pittsburgh Penguins to the Stanley Cup championship in 1991. Johnson earlier had served as head coach of the 1976 United States Olympic Team and of the NHL's Calgary Flames, as well as a three-year stint as executive director of USA Hockey.

More than 20 former Tigers actually have played in the NHL, including recent Tigers Noah Clarke, Mark Cullen, Jack Hillen, Curtis McElhinney, Toby Petersen, Richard Petiot, Tom Preissing, Peter Sejna, Brett Sterling, Mike Stuart, Colin Stuart and Mark Stuart, who was a first-round draft pick of the Boston Bruins in 2003. Two Colorado College products – Red Hay with the Blackhawks in 1961 and Doug Lidster with the New York Rangers in 1994 and Dallas Stars in 1999 have had their – names engraved on the Stanley Cup.

University Traditions:
Nickname – Tigers
College lore has it that in the late 19th century, the CC Trustees made the decision in homage to Princeton University's tiger emblem. Nearly a hundred years after in 1994, a group of CC students began a campaign to change the mascot from the tiger to the greenback cutthroat trout, the Colorado state fish. When the subject came to a vote, the tiger won by a narrow margin: 468 for, 423 against. The Tiger mascot is named “Prowler.

School Colors
Black and Gold

Motto:
Scientia Et Disciplina (Science or Knowledge and Discipline)

Famous CC Alumni
Diana De Gette, US House (D-Colo.)
Ken Salazar, US Senator (D-Colo.)
Lynne Cheney, Wife of US Vice President Dick Cheney
Steve Sabol, President, NFL Films
Dutch Clark, NFL Hall of Fame (Detroit Lions, New York Giants)
Red Hay, NHL Player and administrator
Peggy Fleming, US Gold Medalist Figure Skater

The City of Colorado Springs
Colorado Springs is the county seat and most populous city of El Paso County, Colorado. At 372,437, it is the second most populous city in the State of Colorado behind Denver and the 47th most populous city in the United States. In 2007. the Colorado Springs area had population of 609,096. The city is situated near the base of one of the most famous American mountains, Pikes Peak, at the eastern edge of the southern Rocky Mountains.

While noted for its exceptional natural beauty and climate, Colorado Springs is not exempt from the problems that typically plague cities that experience tremendous growth: overcrowded roads and highways, crime, sprawl, and government budget issues. Many of the problems are indirectly or directly caused by the city's difficulty in coping with the large population growth experienced in the last 20 years.

It is a well known as a conservative city, as it is dominated by large military installations including Fort Carson, NORAD and the United States Air Force Academy, which make up the largest employers in the city. Also, a large percentage of Colorado Springs' economy is also based on high tech and manufacturing complex electronic equipment, second to the military in terms of total revenue generated and employment.

Additionally, a large number of religious organizations such as Focus on the Family and churches make their headquarters here, particularly Evangelical Christians, as well as serving as the headquarters for the US Olympic Committee and many national sports governing bodies.
Colorado Springs was founded in August 1871 as a residential community by General William Palmer (who also founded CC and co-founded the Denver and Rio Grand Railroad), with the intention of creating a high quality resort community to benefit from the mountain location, the railroad and the proximity to mining affluence from a previous gold strike at nearby Colorado City. The flow of gold and silver ebbed as the decades passed, and Colorado City's economic fortunes faded with it; the miners and those who processed the ore left or retired. Because of the healthy natural scenic beauty, mineral waters, and extremely dry climate, Colorado Springs became a tourist attraction and popular recuperation destination for tuberculosis patients.

Famous Colorado Springs Residents
* Silent film star Lon Chaney
* Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Rich ‘Goose’ Gossage
* Focus on the Family founder James Dobson
* Cassandra Peterson (better known as Elvira, Mistress of the Dark)
* Automobile racer Bobby Unser
* Former British ice dancer Christopher Dean

The Series:
While CC has gotten the better of DU in the last few years in regular season action, DU still likes to point out that in the last DU/CC meeting in WCHA and NCAA playoff tournaments, it is the Pioneers who have emerged victorious. All of it fuels the long-held rivalry, which has taken on even greater fervency as both programs are nationally ranked.

The Tigers like a fast up-tempo style of play with some very experienced and dangerous forwards, and with the high quality of goaltending and defense on the squad, there is no question why they were a consensus pick to win the WCHA. So far this season, the goaltending and defense have been fine, but the offense power everyone expected from CC has been largely fueled by the top line of Sweatt, Rau and Walsky, while the second and third lines have been less productive than expected. DU needs to particularly contain Rau and Mike Testuide (brother of Pioneers’ captain JP Testuide) who always seem to play exceptionally well against Denver. CC is going to be tested defensively, as they have not seen an offense this year as potent as Denver.

The Pioneers on the other hand, have had great offensive success on three lines and from the defense, while the defensive and goaltending have been a little less stout than expected. Accordingly, DU hopes it can tighten up a bit on the backline, and CC is going to try and upgrade and balance the scoring output. Both teams have plenty of speed.

All that said, emotion plays a big role in the series, and DU in recent years has not played at the same emotional level as CC has, and I am sure that coming off a tough loss to Ohio State and trying to get the Gold Pan back should help the Pioneers play at a higher emotional level. I also think the Tigers will come into the series with a high level of emotion as they have for the last few years.

Looking at the quality of players on both benches, I think we’re in for a split, with the Pioneers getting the first one in Denver and CC getting revenge at home. I am predicting a 3-2 Pioneer victory on Friday and a 4-2 CC win on Sunday. CC this year seems to have a little more trouble on the smaller rink, while Denver has yet to play on a large surface this year.