2008 Woodie Awards
Frozen Four tourney starts minus DU
DU hosts Frozen Four this weekend
Brooks Kirchheimer
Issue date: 4/8/08 Section: Sports
What was supposed to be the dream-come-true Frozen Four for the DU hockey team will instead be a weekend of hosting and watching for the Pioneers at the Pepsi Center this week.
Denver fell at Wisconsin 6-2 on March 29 in the first round of the NCAA tournament to end DU's dreams of playing in front of a home crowd for the national championship.
"We feel that we really didn't get the bounces against Wisconsin and that is the difficult part of the national tournament, that no matter how well your team is playing you have to get a little lucky and we didn't have much luck in our regional," said senior defenseman Andrew Thomas. "It would have been a blast playing in front of a home crowd at the Pepsi Center."
Thomas and senior goaltender Peter Mannino will be two of 32 male and female hockey players that will compete in the third annual NCAA skills competition on Friday at the Pepsi Center. Thomas and Mannino were originally two of 33 athletes that were finalists for the 16 west team spots and were voted in by fans from around the country.
"It means a lot to me, not only because so few seniors are selected annually but also because I have never been looked upon for flashy skills. I am very proud to represent the University of Denver along with Peter Mannino, especially because it is being held here at the Pepsi Center and the Frozen Four is always a first class venue," said Thomas.
The first semi-final game will take place on Thursday at 4 p.m. between Boston College and North Dakota, with the second at 7 p.m. between Notre Dame and Michigan. The Hobey Baker Award, given annually to the best college hockey player, will be given out at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, with the skills challenge following at 7 p.m.
Notre Dame will be making the 40-year programs first ever appearance in the Frozen Four after defeating New Hampshire and Michigan State in the West Regional. Michigan and the Irish have met 114 times and both hail from the CCHA conference. The Wolverines won both games between the teams this season, 3-2 and 5-1, back in January. By winning the West Regional, Notre Dame became the first No. 4 seed to advance to the Frozen Four since the tournament went to four regional's in 2003.
Denver fell at Wisconsin 6-2 on March 29 in the first round of the NCAA tournament to end DU's dreams of playing in front of a home crowd for the national championship.
"We feel that we really didn't get the bounces against Wisconsin and that is the difficult part of the national tournament, that no matter how well your team is playing you have to get a little lucky and we didn't have much luck in our regional," said senior defenseman Andrew Thomas. "It would have been a blast playing in front of a home crowd at the Pepsi Center."
Thomas and senior goaltender Peter Mannino will be two of 32 male and female hockey players that will compete in the third annual NCAA skills competition on Friday at the Pepsi Center. Thomas and Mannino were originally two of 33 athletes that were finalists for the 16 west team spots and were voted in by fans from around the country.
"It means a lot to me, not only because so few seniors are selected annually but also because I have never been looked upon for flashy skills. I am very proud to represent the University of Denver along with Peter Mannino, especially because it is being held here at the Pepsi Center and the Frozen Four is always a first class venue," said Thomas.
The first semi-final game will take place on Thursday at 4 p.m. between Boston College and North Dakota, with the second at 7 p.m. between Notre Dame and Michigan. The Hobey Baker Award, given annually to the best college hockey player, will be given out at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, with the skills challenge following at 7 p.m.
Notre Dame will be making the 40-year programs first ever appearance in the Frozen Four after defeating New Hampshire and Michigan State in the West Regional. Michigan and the Irish have met 114 times and both hail from the CCHA conference. The Wolverines won both games between the teams this season, 3-2 and 5-1, back in January. By winning the West Regional, Notre Dame became the first No. 4 seed to advance to the Frozen Four since the tournament went to four regional's in 2003.
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