DU update: Chevy is probable and Wiercioch questionable...

Here is the latest on DU top players that are on the mend, I would expect Chevy to play this weekend unless the doctor doesn't allow him to play. If Cheverie plays this weekend I would hope that UND get to him early and often because I would expect him to be a little rusty after missing three weeks of hockey. If Wiercioch and Brookwell don't play that would be a big loss for DU because both are very good defensmen. Wiercioch is a stud defenseman that will probably be in the NHL or the AHL next season.

Senior defenseman Cody Brookwell is another question mark for third-ranked Denver, which hosts No. 2 North Dakota this weekend in the country’s premier series.

Brookwell, DU’s biggest defenseman at 6-foot-4 and 220-pounds, is sick. He hasn’t practiced this week (thru Wednesday) and is probably not going to play in Friday’s opener. That means the Pios will go with John Ryder, the third-year sophomore who is probably the team’s “meanest” D-man.

The big news, of course, is the status of junior goalie Marc Cheverie and sophomore defenseman Patrick Wiercioch. From what I gathered at Wednesday’s practice, Chevy is probable and Wiercioch questionable.

Chevy, who on Friday will be three weeks out from absorbing a deep gash from a skate blade to his left calf, told me he feels 100 percent and is good to go. He has been taking shots since Monday, and his practice time has increased daily, but has been “kicked off” the ice after about an hour.

DU coach George Gwozdecky said team doctors remain in control and will continue to monitor the wound after each practice. “Once they clear him to play, it will be in our hands,” Gwoz said. Translation: If the doctors clear him to play, he will play. [DU Hockey Blog]