The smell of a fresh sheet of ice hits the olfactory like a long lost friend. The sound of sticks and pucks rings in the air. Training camp has come and gone, the preseason is getting under way and the season is just around the corner. The Avalanches’ opener is just days away when they will take on the Boston Bruins Oct. 9 at 8 p.m. at the Pepsi Center.

And like every other year, just before the start of the pre-season, the Avalanche treat their fans to a special Burgundy-White game, giving them an opportunity to see stars of the past, present and future all together on the ice competing for spots on the team and shaking off the rust of summer. For the second straight year the event was held at Air Force’s Cadet Ice Arena, and for the second straight year there was a great show and a great showing.

All 2,502 seats in the rink were full and some people settled for standing room. There wasn’t even room for all the media to fit in the press box. Yet it was hard to find a reason to complain when the auxiliary press tables were set up along the glass, directly behind one of the goals.

In fact, it was a great spot to watch a healthy Jordan Leopold share the spotlight with 24-year-old phenomenon David Jones, who spent 27 games up with the big club in his rookie season in 07-08. Jones, who was all over the ice in the first two periods, tallied three goals in the third, one more than he did all of last year, as he helped the White to a 9-0 win, making it easy to see why the organization is so high on him.

Leopold, who has not been completely healthy since joining the Avalanche in 2006, said afterwards he feels great both mentally and physically. After putting the puck in the net twice on Peter Budaj in the first to give the White an early lead, there is no doubt that he is just that and that he could well be a key contributor on the club this year.

“He’s certainly a guy that when we acquired him we knew what kind of upside he had,” Coach Tony Granato said. “We’ve only seen bits and pieces of him, but he would definitely add a lot to our hockey team (if he stays healthy).”
Andrew Raycroft, who brings in a career 2.87 GA in 199 NHL games spanning eight seasons, looked like the veteran goaltender the Avs so desperately needed to pick up in the offseason. He was completely solid in the one period of action he saw, allowing zero goals on seven shots.

“I think we have a great team and the sky’s the limit,” Raycroft said afterwards. “I’m happy to move on and to be here. We (my wife and I) are really excited things worked out the way they did and now I just have to go out and prove myself.”
All is well that ends well and despite the score being 9-0 the fans were still treated to a shootout at the end. Those who stood outside by the team bus afterwards collected autographs on their own burgundy and white jerseys and got to realize that these Avs are proud to be their team, just as much as they are proud the Avs are theirs.

Side note: The previous eight Burgundy/White games have generated in excess of $450,000 for various charitable causes throughout Colorado. Proceeds from this year's game went to benefit military families and the Colorado Avalanche Youth Hockey program.