Division I Men :      February 23, 2003 [ The Game Story]
Denver 8 Duke 11 Scoring: Scoring: Andrew Huelskoetter Scott Davidson Adam Goodwin Mike Kenlay Matt Brown Geoff Snider Darren Sasaki-scanlon Greer Hanlon (2, 1) (2, 0) (1, 1) (0, 1) (0, 1) (1, 0) (1, 0) (1, 0) Kevin Cassese Matt Rewkowski Matt Monfett Dan Flannery Kevin Brennan Ben Fenton Taylor Wray (3, 2) (3, 0) (1, 1) (1, 1) (2, 0) (1, 0) (0, 1) Saves: Saves: Jeff Nunziato 9  (0.450) Aj Kincel 14  (0.636) Current Record :     (2-1) Current Record :     (2-0) Team Page For 2003 Team Page For 2003       The Game Story:

Duke vs Air Force

Duke came out for their season opener, at the Pioneer Classic, looking like they were prepared to immediately set the stage for what was to become of the next two hours by scoring their first of 13 goals in the first 2 minutes. It looked like a good start for Duke's season opener, but after a couple minutes of some sloppy play, Air Force's Greg Dangler was able to penetrate Duke's defense with a pass thru the middle to Kyle Warf who then ripped one from about 12 yards out.

Duke was finally able to regain possession (and control) of the game, but after being called for their second personal foul, a trip by Duke's John Wendling, Air Force was then able to capitalize on the EMO and scored their second goal of the game. Duke followed up with two more shots and the first quarter came to an end when Air Force's Dave Brown scored off the rebound from Eric Lederer's shot on goal.

Duke again came out strong in the second quarter, scoring with a beautiful line drive shot right off of the original face-off, only 9 seconds in and then again after only one team possession change. Air Force was completely shut out the entire second quarter.

The second half proved to be a different story when, as expected, the Blue Devils came out ready to go and scored the first goal of the half, 3 minutes in, but this time, Air Force came back by scoring two goals in the third quarter and then three consecutive goals in the fourth, making it look like we might have a game on our hands. It appeared though that it was just too little, too late, and in the end, Duke won it, 13-8.

According to Duke goalie AJ Kincel, "AF played well today, so we're glad for the victory", and even more importantly, said sophomore attacker Matt Monfett, "We're excited for another win tomorrow; it'll be nice starting off the season 2-0".

Manhattan vs Denver

There were no big surprises in the University of Denver vs. Manhattan game at the Denver Pioneer classic on Saturday. Probably the biggest surprise was the change in weather in the hour before the start of their game. DU's trounce of Manhattan in their only previous meeting mirrored Saturdays match up, when DU beat Manhattan, 14-5.

Matt Brown was on fire, leading off the DU romp with his first of four goals within the first five minutes with a shot from five yards out. When Manhattan's goalie made the mistake of coming out too far, Erik Swanson from DU was able to gain possession and score on that opportunity, and then three minutes later, Swanson notched the assist for Geoff Snider's clear open, 10 yard bullet.

It wasn't until the final seven seconds of quarter one that Manhattan was able to get on the board, from a goal picked up by sending a save on DU's Mike Kenlay the other way.

Manhattan came out for quarter two with momentum from their late, first quarter goal and scored when Justin Otto looped around from behind the goal, to nail a winning shot from the crease. The remainder of quarter two was much of the same, with DU having no problem establishing control and finishing on it.

In addition to the impressive face off win, charge on goal score by Scott Davidson, DU racked up a couple more goals and once again, Manhattan got a taste of another goal, right at the end of quarter two. Essentially, the game's outcome was determined during the first half, and for the remainder of the game DU was either clearly maintaining or easily regaining possession. After a goalie change for both teams and the addition of a crop of players off the bench, both teams were able to score some more points, but DU remained in control throughout and in a completely mild fashion won it 14-5.

Duke vs Denver

Duke beat Denver 11-8 in the final game of the Third Annual Pioneer Face-Off Classic played at Pioneer Field in Denver Sunday. Duke's win sets them at 2-0 to start the season, while Denver falls to 2-1.

Duke dominated Denver in the first quarter as senior Kevin Cassese started the scoring 1:36 into the game. The Blue Devils didn't let up, scoring on their first four shots and finishing the period with 6 goals on 9 shots. Denver's only goal of the first quarter came on a man-up situation with 2:20 left.

Cassese of Duke justified his award of the event's MVP by collecting his own shot off the post and finding the back of the net to start the scoring in the second quarter. Cassese finished the two game event with 6 goals and 3 assists. The speed of the game slowed dramatically in the second, with 11 minutes passing before Denver's Andrew Huelskoetter scored to break the offensive struggle with 3:20 left. Denver scored on a man-up possession and again 8 seconds later as sophomore Scott Davidson won the face off and sprinted in unchallenged, closing the first half scoring with Duke leading 7-4.

Duke started the third quarter when Cassese fed Dan Flannery 11 seconds in for his only goal of the game. Darren Sasaki-Scanlon and Scott Davidson attempted to rally by scoring the next two goals for Denver, but Duke's Matt Rewkowski scored 2 of his 3 goals to close out the third.

Denver Pioneer Adam Goodwin scored first in the final period after collecting a field-long pass from Mike Kenlay during a man-up possession, but Cassese scored Duke's only goal of the quarter one minute later. Denver scored once more to make the final score of 11-8 in favor of Duke. Defense was the key in this game, as Duke shutdown Denver's best offensive player, Matt Brown, keeping him from being effective as he recorded 0 goals and 1 assist. Duke's fast start proved too much for Denver to overcome as Duke's defense punished anyone who stepped in front of the goal. Goalie AJ Kincel of Duke also played very strong, frustrating Denver's offense with 14 saves.

Duke assistant coach Dave Klarmann commented on the Blue Devils quick start saying, "We wanted to come out fast because we know Denver wasn't going to go away. (Denver) is a good club and it was a battle for 60 minutes."

Duke's next game is against the fifth-ranked Maryland Terrapins next Saturday, while Denver travels to West Point, NY to face Army.