In April, Colorado’s three Division I hockey teams made the 16-team NCAA Tournament, marking the first time all three had a chance to win the national championship in the same season. This week, the three squads will begin official practice hoping to duplicate the feat.
This time, however, the University of Denver, Colorado College and Air Force don’t want to combine to go 0-3 in the national tournament.
“All three teams have great potential of duplicating and improving on what we did last year,” DU coach George Gwozdecky said.
The Pioneers are the defending Western Collegiate Hockey Association playoff champions, winning that trophy two weeks after CC clinched the WCHA regular-season crown. Upstart Air Force is the two-time defending Atlantic Hockey Association playoff champion and the preseason pick to win the AHA regular-season title.
The season starts in earnest Saturday, the first “official” day of practice, but each team has been in practice mode since Sept. 15. According to NCAA rules, coaching staffs can be on the ice with their teams for only two hours per week from Sept. 15 to Friday. Outside of that time, however, the players have held “captain’s practices,” which typically are drawn up by the coaches and merely carried out by the team captains.
So the fact that DU plays an exhibition game Saturday night against the University of Alberta doesn’t mean the Pioneers won’t know what they have.
“As a coaching staff, we’ll use our two hours of ice time with our team on Thursday and Friday, one hour apiece, and then work with the guys Saturday morning,” Gwozdecky said. “We will have an idea about line combinations and stuff and will have established a little bit of what we’ll be up against Saturday.”
The puck will drop at 7 p.m. at Magness Arena. Alberta will then travel south, playing Air Force on Sunday and CC next Monday.
In Denver circles, all eyes will be on freshman forward Joe Colborne, who in June was selected by the Boston Bruins in the first round (16th overall) of the NHL draft. The 6-foot-5 Colborne — Canada’s 2007-08 junior-A player of the year — will wear the No. 12 sweater for the Pioneers.
“He’s certainly a very talented young player,” Gwozdecky said of the program’s first No. 1 NHL draft pick since 1984 (Craig Redmond). “He does a lot of things very well. He can pass the puck very well. He sees the ice very well. And he shoots the puck very well.
“And I’ve spent a lot of time with Joe outside of the rink. I know what his attitude is like, and I can tell you he’s a terrific young man who understands the patience and development process he must go through.
“We’re not expecting him to go out and dominate, but like all our freshmen, we’ll give him an opportunity to be in the lineup and grow through trial, and I’m sure error. But we think he’s going to be a terrific player for us.”
Mike Chambers: 303-954-1357 or mchambers@denverpost.com
Big fight looming in Broomfield
Denver’s Duane Ludwig headlines Friday’s Ultimate Fighting Championship card at the Broomfield Event Center. Ludwig, who owns the UFC knockout record of 11 seconds, will take on Sam Morgan in the main event. The card — billed as “Strikeforce: Payback” — begins at 6:30 p.m., with Ludwig and Morgan going at it around 8.
ULTIMATE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP
What: Strikeforce: Payback
When/site: Friday, Broomfield Event Center
Tickets: Ticketmaster (303-830-TIXS) or BEC box office
Main event
170 pounds: Duane “Bang” Ludwig (16-8) vs. Sam “The Squeeze” Morgan (19-11)
Preliminary bouts
185: Frank Trigg (16-6) vs. Falaniko “Niko” Vitale (26-8)
170: Phil Baroni (12-10) vs. TBA
170: Pete “The Secret Weapon” Spratt (18-14) vs. Donnie Liles (11-5)
205: Patrick Barry (3-0) vs. Andre “The Silencer” Walker (2-3)
155: Billy Evangelista (7-0) vs. Luke “Lil Hulk” Caudillo (14-11)
140: Michelle “The Karate Hottie” Waterson (3-2) vs. Brandy Nerney (1-1)
TV game of the week
Buffaloes tangle with Longhorns.
FSN will televise Saturday’s Big 12 game between Texas and Colorado in Boulder. It will be a day-night dandy, with the opening kickoff at 5 p.m.
The game might start just as Air Force concludes its battle with rival Navy at Falcon Stadium. That blockbuster military affair will begin at 2 p.m. and will be carried by Versus.
Avs in action
Dallas and Chicago coming to town.
The Avalanche trimmed its roster Sunday as it prepares for its final week of preseason games. Colorado will host the Dallas Stars on Wednesday and the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday at the Pepsi Center.
The Avs visit Chicago on Sunday to conclude the preseason.
Colorado’s regular-season opener is Thursday, Oct. 9, against Boston at the Pepsi Center.
Steel Town
Ravens, Steelers on “MNF.”
Before Sunday, the Ravens (2-0) and Steelers (2-1) were the only teams to produce wins in the AFC North. That makes tonight’s meeting particularly important, because division foes Cleveland (1-3) and Cincinnati (0-4) don’t appear to be going anywhere.
The “Monday Night Football” game begins at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN.
Baseball playoffs
White Sox and Twins the only unknowns.
Major League Baseball’s playoffs begin Wednesday, with the Brewers, Phillies, Dodgers and Cubs making up the National League race. The Angels, Rays and Red Sox have clinched American League spots, but the Rays won’t know their first opponent until Tuesday, at the latest.
The White Sox must play Detroit today to make up a Sept. 13 rainout, and if Chicago wins, it will face the Twins on Tuesday for a one-game playoff to decide the AL Central title.
The White Sox or Twins will open against the Rays on Thursday.
Down to three?
NASCAR playoffs resume at Talladega.
The Chase for the Championship appears to be a three-man race. Among the 12 eligible playoff drivers, Jimmie Johnson, above, Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle have separated themselves from the other nine. Johnson, the two-time defending champion, captured Sunday’s race at Kansas, nipping Edwards at the line, with Biffle coming in third. With seven races to go, Johnson leads Edwards by 10 points and Biffle by 30.
