Mario Lucia, Don's son and a junior foward at Wayzata, will play in exhibition games against Denver on Saturday night and Colorado College on Sunday night.

Mario, early this week, was asked if he wanted to join the under-18 U.S. national development team, based in Ann Arbor, Mich., on a short-term basis to replace an injured player.

Senior defenseman Max Everson of Edina also has joined the u-18 national team for this weekend's game because of another injury.

DU MEDIA DAY ON TUESDAY

The very quotable coach George Gwozdecky will preside over the Denver Pioneers' media day on Tuesday. The news conference will be at 1 p.m. with GG and captain Kyle Ostrow.

It will be streamed live FREE on Pioneer Vision at www.DenverPioneers.com

Here are other ways to find out more about the Pios: Follow DU athletics on the web at www.DenverPioneers.com Follow DU athletics on Twitter at www.twitter.com/DU_Pioneers Become a fan of the Denver Pioneers on Facebook. Denver plays the Gophers at Mariucci on Feb. 11-12. Minnesota does not play at DU this season. BEAVERS ALMOST IN NEW HOME Bemidji State will have its first practice at 10 a.m. on Saturday -- the Gophers hit the ice at Mariucci at 8:30 a.m. The Beavers will be at their usual practice rink, the Neilson-Reise Arena, an old cavernous facility, half of which is used for curling. But they are there only for a short time. Sometime late next week, BSU will move into its new hockey arena, the Bemidji Regional Events Center. The Beavers will hold a free scrimmage -- Green vs. White -- at 7:07 p.m. at the BREC. Doors open at 6 p.m. for the public to get a look-see.
"What we want to do as we get practice underway is to develop our
habits and make sure we have good structure," BSU coach Tom Serratore. "We
start with that mentality from the get go.

"It's been a tough year and a really tough summer from the
standpoint that it's been morning to night. There has been a lot on our plates. Not only were we trying to
prepare for a new league [the WCHA], but our new building has consumed a lot of us,
so it's really a breath of fresh air to skate onto that ice.
"Ultimately that's what we are. We are hockey coaches--that is our
passion and love."

Serratore has 20 players back from a team that won the 2009-10 College Hockey America regular-season championship. One of them is RBK second team all-america forward Matt Read, a senior from
Ilderton, Ontario.

Bemidji State was 23-10-4 overall last season, 14-3-1 in the CHA. WCHA preseason favorite North Dakota will play Bemidji State on Oct. 15-16 in the first series at the BREC.
Potential season ticket holders can take a look at season-ticket package locations that remain
5 to 7 p.m.Tuesday.

Single-game tickets for the upcoming hockey season will go on sale to
the general public at 10 a.m. on Oct. 18 at the BREC box office
and online at www.ticketmaster.com.

The Beavers will play in the Gophers' holiday tourament, it's called the Mariucci Classic this season, on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1, but will not face the Gophers. Minnesota will face BSU later, at Bemidji on March 4-5 on the last weekend of the regular season.