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Although the early season lacked good snow, itcould not be said that the Pioneer skiers lackedanything in depth or talent. In fact, the 1971Ski Team was probably the best ever to be seen onthe Hiltop. The Alpine squad did not lose aman from the previous year, while the Nordic teamlost only one jumper.The first meet of the season, the Aspen Intercollegiate,included only a downhill with D.U.and Western State competing, and gave no indicationof the fantastic talent hidden in the depthsof the skiers. The New Year's meet at Terry Peak,South Dakota brought out the best, however, asthe Pioneers easily cleaned up. For the rest of theseason winning was a way of life.The Rocky Mountain Regional qualifying meetproved the depth of the two squads, as man afterman finished at or near the top. And at the NCAAmeet, also held at Terry Peak, Denver won by thelargest margin ever.When Murray Armstrong said at the beginningof the season, "This is one year I'm not optimisticat all", it is obvious he couldn't see into the future.The 1970-71 hockey season definitely warrantedmore confidence.Coaching a team described by the Denver mediaas "infants, babies, kids, and youngsters," Armstrongand the inexperienced pucksters went on totake second place in the WCHA with a tremendousmid-season rally that included a two game homesweep over league champs Michigan Tech.After sputtering during the opening third of theseason, the Pioneers put it all together duringthe quarter break and continued their winningways most of the rest of the season. AlthoughJohn McWilliam didn't get a shutout all year,he led the team through a great season.Coach Armstrong did say, " ... it could be a yearof surprises. If there are some, who knows whatcould happen." At least that part of his predictionwas correct.Peder Pytte176