The Worst Seasons in the Past 25 Years Part 21: Denver

Welcome to the Worst Season in the Past 25 Years, a series in which r/CollegeHockey reviews the worst season for all 60 Division I teams over the summer to alleviate the crushing boredom known as the off-season and take a horrific tour down memory lane.

If you are interested in writing an entry for your team, please let me know via PM. I’ll be posting entries on weekdays at approximately at 6 pm Eastern time and will be going in alphabetical order. If an entry is not posted at that time, assume that “real life” has gotten in the way and that I am not able to post. If I am aware in advance that I will not post at 6 pm on a particular day, I will announce it in prior posts as a heads up.

And now.../r/CollegeHockey presents the Denver Pioneers! Denver have won the Nattie multiple times both in the early days of the NCAA era and in the past 25 years. Hell, they just won the whole thing this last summer! A lot of this success came as a part of the old WCHA (they are currently members of the recently created NCHC). Much like BC and BU, they can be called blue bloods of the sport. As previously noted, even the elite teams can have an off season…

For the Pioneers, that season is…

1997-1998 Record: 11-2-25 (W-D-L); WCHA: 8-2-18 (W-D-L; 8th/9th)

Wins: Michigan Tech, @Mankato State, Alaska Anchorage, Colorado College, @Minnesota, @Vermont, @Dartmouth, @St. Cloud St., Colorado College, @Wisconsin, @Alaska Anchorage

Ties: @Colorado College, @Alaska Anchorage

Losses: Michigan Tech, @Mankato State, Alaska Anchorage, @Nebraska Omaha (x2), @North Dakota (x2), St. Cloud State (x2), @Colorado College, @Michigan Tech (x2), Miami*, Colorado College*, @Minnesota, Wisconsin (x2), @St. Cloud State, @Wisconsin, North Dakota (x2), Minnesota Duluth (x2), @Colorado College (x2)^

*Denver Cup

^ WCHA first round

Biggest Beatdown: Colorado College 9 - Denver 1

Head Coach: George Gwozdecky In his fourth season in charge of the Pioneers, Gwozdecky lead Denver to their lowest win total in since he was hired. Paul Comrie and Anders Björk had the most goals, with 17; Comrie also had the most assists, with 23. In goal, Stephen Wagner had a save percentage of .869 and a GAA of 4.20 (lol).

The Pioneers had an exhibition game with Calgary, which they lost 2-1. The season began with a split series with Michigan Tech. Two more split series away to Mankato State and at home to Alaska Anchorage followed. Trips to North Dakota and Nebraska Omaha were sweeps, as well as a home series to Saint Cloud.

December began with a quick home-and-home series with Colorado College, which was split. A trip to Michigan Tech led to a sweep by the Huskies. A couple of weeks of rest before the Pioneers hosted the Denver Cup. There, they lost to Miami and CC. The new year began with home series with Wisconsin, a sweep for the Badgers. A trip to Minnesota led to the series being split. Another trip, this time to the east, saw the Pioneers win games against Vermont and Dartmouth. The month ended with a split series away to St. Cloud.

February started with another home-and-home with CC, this time a tie and a win were obtained by Denver. A split series away to Wisconsin was followed by a home series loss to North Dakota. The month ended with a win and a tie with Alaska Anchorage away. In March, a home series with Minnesota Duluth was fruitless. The season ended with an away series in the WCHA tournament to CC; Denver lost in two.

Denver would ebb in seasonal form until the early 2000s, getting an Ice Dance berth one year then miss out the following year. Two back-to-back national championships in 2004 and 2005 started (perhaps) the best era in Pioneer hockey. The Pioneers have made the NCAA tournament every year since 2008, winning an additional nattie in the process. Since 2013, Denver have been part of the NCHC. It is safe to say that DU will be on their perch for a bit.

For Week 5 of this series, we will look at the worst seasons in recent memory for the following school: Ferris State, Harvard and Holy Cross. Once again, if you are interested in doing the entry for your favorite school, shoot me a PM. Your school, name, and date will be added at the end of each post to serve as a reminder. So far, the following people have inquired about a spot:

School	Username	Tentative Date
LSSU	u/binkelman	7/10
UML	u/LantisEscudo	7/13
Northeastern	u/therevengeance	8/2
Penn State	u/saucysalesman	8/8
RPI	u/Nicholas1227	8/16
Union	u/azurearmor	8/22
Vermont	u/LocksTheFox	8/23

Finally, a shoutout to u/saucysalesman who inspired the idea of this series for doing one for football over at r/cfb. Additionally, thanks to r/CollegeBasketball for the idea of the sub-par MS Paint logos for each school.

Previous Entries in the Worst Seasons Series:

AHA	ECAC	Hockey East	NCHC	WCHA	Independent
USAFA	Brown	Boston College	Colorado College	UAH	ASU
AIC	Clarkson	Boston Univ.		UAA
USMA	Colgate	UConn		UAF
Bentley	Cornell			Bemidji State
Canisius	Dartmouth			Bowling Green