Given the intense rivalry between the University of Denver and Colorado College hockey programs, the last thing you would want is a Pioneer and a Tiger sharing a hotel room.
But after college, it’s more reasonable to expect rivals from the schools to get along wonderfully under the same roof.
That’s what has happened with San Jose Sharks defensemen Tom Preissing and Matt Carle.
Preissing, who graduated from CC in 2003 after a stellar four-year career, has taken Carle under his wing since DU’s co-captain and reigning Hobey Baker Award winner left school as a junior March 19 to sign with the NHL club. The two are roommates on the road.
“It’s nice, having a guy like me who I can relate with, being a college guy and all,” Carle said from San Jose, Calif., where he lives in a hotel and uses a rental car when not hitching a ride with Preissing. “When I first came here we started a five-game road trip, so we were together right away.
“He’s been great, teaching me about life on the road, getting to know the guys, making sure I wasn’t being left behind, and just helping me fit in.”
Preissing said becoming buddies with Carle – one of the few NCAA players to jump immediately into the NHL and the Stanley Cup playoffs – is natural.
“If you look at the schools, they recruit pretty much the same guys,” Preissing said. “I could have gone to Denver, too. They were probably my No. 2 school. It’s a matter of a 60-mile choice, and ultimately it doesn’t change what kind of person you are.”
Preissing added, “Where Matt played for 2 1/2 years of his life doesn’t necessarily make him a bad person.”
Preissing, 27, and Carle, 21, never played against each other in college. But the argument about program supremacy never ends.
“We give each other grief (from) time to time,” said Carle, who helped DU win NCAA titles in 2004 and 2005. “When he was in college, it seemed CC kind of dominated us. When I was there, it was like we dominated them.
“Neither of us have the upper hand, but when push comes to shove I get to throw out the national championship bombs.”
Said Preissing: “All I tell him is that he can keep living in the past. But you know what? He does have a point.”
Preissing signed with San Jose as an undrafted free agent and was the club’s rookie of the year in 2004.
This season he finished fifth on the team in regular-season scoring and led all Sharks defensemen in goals (11), assists (32) and points (43). He has a team-high six assists in five playoff games.
“He plays all the important minutes – even-strength, on the first power-play unit and out there on the penalty kill,” Sharks coach Ron Wilson said on the team’s website.
Carle led the NCAA with 42 assists and was the No. 1 scorer among defensemen with 53 points. He has nine points, including three goals, in 17 career NHL games.
“He’s doing exceptional for a kid that’s played 12 regular-season games and without a speck of professional experience,” Preissing said of Carle. “You can see how good he’s going to be offensively already.”
DU coach George Gwozdecky is proud of both former Front Range stars.
“These two programs, we battle like crazy on the ice, where it’s typically very intense and emotional, but the one aspect that maybe gets hidden is the great respect we have for one another,” Gwozdecky said. “It’s a very unique rivalry because of that respect, and that’s what makes it so special.”
Preissing, who is from Rosemount, Minn., added another element to his bond with Carle, who is from Anchorage, Alaska.
“We have college roots and we’re American,” Preissing said.
“I can speak for both of us. There’s not a lot of Americans in the NHL, and we both take a lot of pride of our education and playing at the highest level as Americans.”
Mike Chambers can be reached at 303-820-5453 or mchambers@denverpost.com.
