Review of the Lightning Classic from CC Athletics

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Tigers fall to UMass in overtime
Sitting on a two-goal lead after 20 minutes of play, Colorado College made things hard on itself in Sunday’s championship game of the Lightning College Hockey Classic. This time, there was no happy ending. Matt Burto scored for the University of Massachusetts at 1:55 of overtime, giving the Minutemen a 5-4 victory and tournament title at the St. Pete Times Forum. CC wasted not only its early advantage, but also a pair of dramatic tallies by junior center Chad Rau that rallied his team from one-goal deficits. But UMass prevailed, winning on its 44th shot on goal of the contest when senior left wing Burto picked up a loose puck in front of the net and buried it past netminder Drew O’Connell, who had no chance. Rau’s first red lighter, a shorthanded effort, came just 19 seconds after Massachusetts scored the third of three consecutive goals in the second period to grab a 3-2 edge. His second tied the game at 4-4 midway through the final frame. O’Connell finished with a career-high 39 saves. Rau, along with Jimmy Kilpatrick and Nate Prosser, were named to the all-tournament team.

Schultz

CC stages furious rally to stun Engineers
The rabbit jumped out of yet another hat on Saturday, turning Colorado College’s debut in the state of Florida into a very memorable one. Freshman right wing Stephen Schultz (who played for the Lincoln Stars last season) scored on a deflection with 7.6 seconds left in regulation, lifting the shorthanded Tigers to a 3-2 come-from-behind victory over Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in the opening round of the Lightning College Hockey Classic in Tampa. CC shoots for a fifth regular-season tournament title in its last six tries on Sunday, meeting the University of Massachusetts in the championship game at the St. Pete Times Forum. UMass defeated host Notre Dame, 4-3, in Saturday’s other first-round match-up. Senior winger Jimmy Kilpatrick made Schultz’ heroics possible, striking twice earlier in the third period to wipe out a 2-0 deficit. Kilpatrick’s first red lighter, set up by Andreas Vlassopoulos, cut RPI’s lead in half at 2:47 of the frame. His second, off a nice set-up by Erik Walsky, pulled the Tigers even with just 3:39 remaining. Schultz’ game winner came during CC’s fourth power play of the contest, after defenseman Brian Connelly took a shot from along the right boards. Defenseman Nate Prosser also assisted on both of the last two goals, while freshman netminder Richard Bachman finished with 16 saves in the triumph.

Tigers lose in OT in tourney final

from USCHO

UMass Tops Colorado In OT:Burto Notches Game Winner
Compiled by USCHO Staff

TAMPA, Fla. (Dec. 30) — Massachusetts defeated Colorado College 5-4 in overtime Sunday evening to win the Lightning College Hockey Classic. Matt Burto scored the game winner 1:55 into overtime to propel the Minutemen to their first tournament championship in team history. UMass is now 5-1-1 against nationally ranked opponents this season, and have won their last three games against top-10 teams.

UMass trailed by two goals after the first period, but rallied with three goals in the second period. With the score tied after two periods, UMass took the lead early in the third period on a goal from Cory Quirk. Colorado College answered with a goal of their own to tie the score and set up the game-winner by Burto.

After the Minutemen took a penalty just one minute into the first period, Colorado went to work on the ensuing power play, but was unable to get one past UMass netminder Paul Dainton.

The Tigers struck first five minutes into the opening frame when Jack Hillen skated around a UMass defenseman and fired a shot on goal. The puck hit Dainton on his shoulder and trickled into the net.

The lack of discipline by UMass continued, as the Minutemen took another penalty just after the goal. While on the penalty-kill, Alex Berry had a shorthanded chance as he skated down the right side and shot five-hole on O’Connell, but the Tigers’ goalie closed up his pads to refute the scoring opportunity.

Midway through the period, the Tigers increased the pressure in the Minutemen defensive zone and forced UMass into icing the puck constantly. UMass had a chance to get back into the game when they were awarded a five-on-three power play, but the aggressive penalty killing of the Tigers did not allow the Minutemen to set up their power play, as the Tigers got their sticks in the passing lanes and blocked shot attempts by the UMass defensemen.

The Tigers extended their lead to two when Eric Walsky scored his seventh goal of the season on a great individual effort. Walsky skated into the UMass zone, spun around a UMass defenseman and threw the puck past Dainton.

UMass turned up the heat in the second period, scoring three goals in the middle frame, but a late Tigers’ goal tied it 3-3.

The Minutemen began the period on the power play, and Mike Kostka nearly got UMass on the board when he hit the post after some good puck movement by the UMass power play unit.

Just after the penalty expired, Berry scored his third goal of the season when he ripped a shot from the point that got through traffic and past O’Connell.

The line of Burto, Brian Keane and Scott Crowder put lots of pressure on the Tigers’ defense and threw multiple shots on net throughout the middle stanza.

UMass tied the score with five minutes to play in the frame when Mike Lecomte netted his fifth goal of the season, banging home a rebound. Two minutes later, the Minutemen took their first lead of the game while on a five-on-three power play. P.J. Fenton took a pass and fired a shot from the left faceoff dot that beat O’Connell top corner.

The Tigers answered right back, however, as Chad Rau scored a shorthanded goal just 14 seconds after UMass had taken the lead.

UMass continued their offensive explosion early in the third period, as Cory Quirk scored his sixth goal of the season just 48 seconds into the period to give UMass the 4-3 lead. The Minutemen continued to pressure the Tigers, peppering O’Connell with shots. Burto looked to extend the lead when he streaked down the left side of the ice and deked to the right, but O’Connell made a glove save to keep his team in the game.

After the Minutemen took another penalty, the Tigers scored to tie the game at four when Rau took a pass from the corner of the rink and rocketed a shot that beat Dainton to the right side. The teams traded chances for the rest of the period, but neither squad could score and the game headed into overtime.

Looking to avoid a shootout to decide a winner, the Minutemen set to work in hopes of taking home the Championship trophy. The Tigers opened the overtime with tons of pressure in the UMass end, and Dainton did his best to scramble around the net to prevent the puck from crossing the goal line. The Minutemen ended the game when Marcou took a pass from Lecomte and fired a shot from the right. The initial shot was saved by O’Connell, but he left the rebound out to the left, where Burto crashed in and buried the puck for the game winner.

The Minutemen will take next weekend off before they return to action on January 11 and 12 for a home-and-home series against UNH.

Saturday Reading

The Tigers start out their holiday tournament tonight against Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 6 p.m. down in Tampa Florida and will be without some key members of the team as they take on an unfamiliar team.

Take a look at the overview of the Lightning Classic Tournament

If you haven't heard, 2 Tigers have been suspended, the biggest being Cody Lampl who has been suspended until January 2009 for a violation of student conduct, the school has been tight-lipped regarding just what occurred to deserve a year long suspension.

The US Junior team jumps to 2-0 after beating Switzerland 4-2

Tigers ready to rock

The Colorado College Tigers get ready to return to action after their Christmas break
From CC Athletics

Florida-bound Tigers return to the ice
Christmas has come and gone, and it’s back-to-business time for Tiger Hockey. Colorado College, tied for first place in the WCHA halfway through its 2007-08 league schedule, puts its No. 4 national ranking on the line this weekend with a pair of non-conference outings at the Lightning College Hockey Classic in Tampa, Fla. Playing in that state for the first time ever, CC takes on Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in an 8:05 p.m. (EST) first-round contest at the St. Pete Times Forum on Saturday, then meets either the University of Massachusetts or Notre Dame on Sunday. The championship game, featuring Saturday’s winners, is scheduled for 8:05 p.m., shortly after completion of the 5:05 p.m. consolation tilt. Notre Dame, a member of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association, is ranked No. 6 in the national polls. UMass, of Hockey East, is No. 9, while ECAC member RPI is No. 17 in one poll and has received votes in the other. The Tigers practice at the World Arena on Wednesday and Thursday before flying to Florida on Friday.
More here

NHL is cool with screwing over college hockey and Universities

I have always felt like NHL commish Gary Bettman is a little sleazy and his latest comments about Minnestoa's Kyle Okposo haven't exactly calmed my feelings. Basically, he said that its ok for a player to leave his school hanging to go chasing after a big paycheck at any time during his career. Never mind the commitment he made to his school, teammates, fans and, oh yea, getting a degree. To me it seems like a disgrace that an NHL team would actively pursue an amateur player to leave early. Granted, the draft status of many players is decided early in college, if not before, but they still have pledged loyalty to their program and hopefully to themselves to get an education. There aren't enough Billy Sweatts in this world I guess.
Read the complete story and Bettman's comments here

Could Colorado teams dominate the Tourney?!

Mike Chambers of the DenverPost wrote an awesome article about the 3 thriving Colorado teams this season and the possibilities that lay ahead. Can you imagine having the 3 major hockey programs in Colorado all playing at the World Arena and/or Pepsi Center this post season?!!
Here is the full story:

Nation's best feel Front Range power

DU, Tigers and Falcons could forge a Colorado connection in the NCAA postseason fields

By Mike Chambers The Denver Post

Article Last Updated: 12/24/2007 11:52:26 PM MST

The NCAA Tournament West Regional will return to Colorado Springs in March, and two weeks later Denver (Pepsi Center) will host the Frozen Four for the first time since 1976.

So naturally, this season began as a big one for Front Range college hockey.

At the midway point, however, it has grown bigger — given that all three of Colorado's Division I teams appear to be NCAA Tournament contenders.

Air Force, the University of Denver and Colorado College are a combined 34-13-3 and each sits atop its league standings. Never before have the Falcons, Pioneers and Tigers made the NCAA Tournament field in the same year. But this could be that year.

Air Force (9-4-3), the defending Atlantic Hockey Association tournament champion, leads the AHA with 17 points, and DU (14-4) and CC (11-5) are tied for first in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association with 22 points — nine ahead of third-place Minnesota-Duluth.

The Falcons, because of a weaker schedule, likely would have to win the AHA tournament — same as last season — to get into the 16-team national field.

The Pioneers and Tigers have thrived while playing two of the country's three most difficult schedules, and both likely will be among the top five in the all-important Pairwise Rankings when that poll — which mimics the formula of the NCAA selection committee — makes its annual debut in a few weeks.

Each Front Range team returns from the Christmas break with holiday tournaments this weekend. Air Force goes to Minneapolis, CC to Tampa, Fla., and DU hosts the Denver Cup.

Heading into the season's second half, The Post offers its all-Front Range first team for the first half:

F Brock Trotter, DU, So. — Leads the Pioneers in goals (10), assists (11) points (21) and game-winning goals (three). He has 66 points in 63 career games and will only get better.

F Eric Ehn, AFA, Sr. — Has amassed a modest team-leading 21 points (six goals) despite playing without injured linemate Mike Phillipich for all but four games.

F Chad Rau, CC, Jr. — Has team-highs in goals (10), points (19), game-winning goals (four) and short-handed goals (two). He had a hat trick in a win over DU on Nov. 23.

D Chris Butler, DU, Jr. — He surprisingly hasn't scored a goal this season after producing a combined 17 in his first two seasons, but has otherwise been the best two-way defenseman in the WCHA.

D Nate Prosser, CC, So. — Has two power-play goals and leads the team with a plus-10. He's been the best among the Tigers' four underclassmen on the back line.

G Peter Mannino, DU, Sr. — CC freshman Richard Bachman has slightly better numbers, but Mannino (14-4, 1.80 GAA, 93.2 saves percentage) has a huge edge in experience and size.

Mike Chambers: 303-954-1357 or mchambers@denverpost.com

Recent Tiger News for the holidays

Hope everyone is having a great December! Even though it is a dead-period for the college hockey season there is still plenty of interesting news.

As if Minnesota's struggles weren't enough already, they learned this week that they have seen the last of sophomore Kyle Okposo as he chose, in a rare move, to bypass the rest of the season and collegiate career to sign with the NY Islanders. He was the team's 1st overall pick in the 2006 draft.
Read the Full Story

In CC news, Kate Crandall wrote a great article about Billy Sweatt joining the US Junior National team for the second time around and the oddities of being teammates with some of your fiercest WCHA rivals.
Complete Story

Also, Jack Hillen earned the weekly WCHA honor (story from CC Athletics Site)
Senior defenseman Jack Hillen, who had an assist in both games of last week’s split at St. Cloud State, has been named WCHA Defensive Player of the Week. After setting up sophomore defenseman Nate Prosser’s early go-ahead tally in Friday’s 3-1 victory, Hillen helped Colorado College hold the Huskies to just 22 shots on goal in Saturday’s 4-2 loss. He currently is CC’s top-scoring blue-line specialist with 12 points (2g,10a) for the season, and his 10 assists represent a career high. He is the third Tiger to win league POW honors so far in 2007-08, joining freshman goalie Richard Bachman and junior center Chad Rau, who have combined for five earlier awards.

And finally, I hope everyone is enjoying the seasonal blog colors. I decided to have a little Christmas fun with it last night and tweaked it, banner and all! I'm debating about the background though, that white tree has rendered the text unreadable so it's very likely that, by the time you all are reading this, you will have no idea what tree I'm talking about. Also, look for a new blog color scheme in 2008. I've had the black background for a full year now and am looking for a slight change. Don't worry, nothing drastic! As always, any inputs to the future and the blog itself are always welcome!

CC drops

Apparently the voters felt that CC should easily sweep St. Cloud this weekend as they fell to #4 with a split of the weekend series. Rival DU has moved into CC's former spot at #3. Read more from USCHO below

RedHawks Reign Resumes

Sweep of No. 16 RPI Retakes Crown, Idle Michigan Falls to No. 2; Denver Wins and CC Split Shakes Up Top Five but Rest of Top 20 Remains Relatively Unchanged

by Nicholas Jon Wood/Contributing Editor

MINNEAPOLIS (Dec. 17) — As much as things change … . Undoubtedly a common sentiment around the country as for the past couple of months a CCHA team has sat atop the national rankings. Three weeks ago it was Miami, last poll Michigan. Now again the RedHawks reign supreme. Not without some fight from the idle Wolverines, however.

Previously No. 1 Michigan garnered one more first place vote — 24 to 23 — but four fewer total tallies to cede the top ranking to a Miami team who convincingly swept No. 16 RPI on the road, 7-3 and 5-1. Also fresh off a road sweep (of the Seawolves in Anchorage), new No. 3 Denver nabbed the other three first place votes, leaping over conference (and in-state) brethren Colorado College, who split a series with host No. 17 St. Cloud.

Michigan State rounds out the top five.

Proving that last year’s meteoric rise was no fluke, Notre Dame, 16-4-0 on the season in a conference that features four of the top six teams, remains at No. 6 while idle schools North Dakota, Clarkson, and Massachusetts also remain in place at seventh, eighth, and ninth, respectively.

No. 10 New Hampshire remained motionless, too, despite shutting out arch rival Maine, 2-0.

Teams 11 through 13 — Northeastern, Minnesota, and Wisconsin — did not take the ice this week, but in an early Beanpot preview on Wednesday, No. 15 Boston College’s Nathan Gerbe put on a show, scoring four times including three on the power play and one 4-on-4, as the Eagles easily handled No. 14 Harvard, 7-2, in Cambridge.

After splitting a home series against then-third-ranked Colorado College, new No. 16 St. Cloud moved up a rung while Rensselaer’s sweep at the hands of Miami demoted to them to No. 17.

Minnesota-Duluth, Bowling Green, and UMass-Lowell round out the top 20.

Tigers Stopped Cold

From USCHO

ST. CLOUD, Minn. (Dec. 15) — Behind two goals by senior Nate Dey, No. 17 St. Cloud State broke their six-game losing streak, beating No. 3 Colorado College. The victory got the Huskies back above .500 as they head into the break.

The Huskies notched three first-period tallies to take control of the game, then held on against a determined Tigers onslaught. relied on three first period goals to ice the game against CC. Sophomore Andreas Nodl started the scoring with his ninth goal of the season at 4:20 on a power play. It was the sixth consecutive game that Nodl earned a point; he now has 19 on the season.

CC tied the game at 11:48 on a goal by Addison DeBoer, but the Huskies regained the lead when freshman Nick Oslund posted his second goal of the season at 16:32. Oslund’s first shot was blocked by Tigers’ netminder Richard Bachman, Oslund pounced on the rebound and pushed it past Bachman for the score.

Dey notched the eventual game winner at 17:55 of the first period.

In the second period, Tigers’ forward Chad Rau notched a power play goal to close the gap. The Tigers’ momentum was halted at 12:37 when Dey scored his second of the game. Ryan Lasch got his second assist of the game, and he leads the team with 26 points, averaging 1.44 ppg.

Huskies’ sophomore Jase Weslosky finished with 30 saves, making several key stops as the Tigers outshot the Huskies 32-22. Bachman made 18 saves for the Tigers.

The Huskies return to action at the Ohio State Tournament on December 29 against No. 2 Miami, while CC will play No. 16 Rensselaer in the Lightning Classic in Tampa Bay on December 29

Tigers smack St. Cloud

So here's something interesting. The article in the Gayzette today spoke of the Tigers living on the edge of doom, committing stupid penalties and being on the edge of disaster. The USCHO speaks of CC dominating the entire game, what's the deal? If Kate is writing in the paper's notorious gloom-and-doom style she's an idiot (by the way, she was the one who released the "blackface" incident that was blown ridiculously out of proportion). How can the "home" paper be more negative than the national media? Doesn't make sense so, like always, I will not post her article and let you read about what really happened, not what some lame wanna-be journalist thought of the game.



The HEADLINE article on USCHO
In their first action since being passed over for the nation’s number one ranking, the now No. 3 Colorado College Tigers stated their case. Emphatically. Going into the always tough National Hockey Center in St. Cloud, CC dominated from the outset, getting two first period goals — including the game winner from freshman defenseman Ryan Lowery — to knock off the No. 17 Huskies, 3-1. Now 11-4-0 overall and a scintillating 11-2-0 in the WCHA, the high-octane Tigers are garnering at least initial comparisons to the Don Lucia-helmed squads who ran roughshod over the conference in the late 1990s. The two top 20 squads will face off again tomorrow evening.

CC Athletics:
Tigers keep rolling with 3-1 victory at SCSU
Whatever cobwebs Colorado College may have developed from a weekend away from competition, the WCHA-leading Tigers shook off very quickly on Friday. They picked up right where they left off 13 days earlier, winning their third consecutive road decision with a 3-1 victory over St. Cloud State University at the National Hockey Center. A pair of young defensemen – sophomore Nate Prosser and freshman Ryan Lowery – clicked for first-period goals that were enough for freshman goalie Richard Bachman, who again was superb between the pipes. Bachman made 26 saves, allowing only a power-play tap-in by SCSU’s Ryan Lasch in the final minute of the second period. Lowery’s game winner, a bouncing shot from the right boards and the first point of his collegiate career, came with 2:22 left in the opening frame after Prosser gave CC a 1-0 lead at the 9:03 mark. Senior left wing Scott McCulloch added an insurance tally at 14:10 of the third period, firing high over the shoulder of Huskies goalie Dan Dunn after Chad Rau won a faceoff in the St. Cloud State end. Dunn had relieved starter B.J. O’Brien after the opening stanza. The two combined for 32 saves, as the Tigers out-shot SCSU by a 35-27 margin. Third-ranked Colorado College, which has won nine of its last 10 outings, improved to 11-4 overall and 11-2 in league play.

Tigers win 3-1

CC came out of their bye week with a strong performance and beat St.Cloud State 3-1 firing off 35 shots in the first game of their series. More to come

New Polls out

Oddly enough, CC actually dropped a place in this week's USCHO poll to #3 while remaining at #3 in the USA Today poll. No matter, the Tigers will have to play tough this weekend to take out St. Cloud State.

USCHO POLL

1	Michigan	(27)	16-2-0	953	3
2	Miami	(15)	14-2-0	933	1
3	Colorado College	( 6)	10-4-0	905	2
4	Denver	( 2)	12-4-0	862	4
5	Michigan State		12-3-2	803	5
6	Notre Dame		16-4-0	770	6
7	North Dakota		8-6-1	658	7
8	Clarkson		10-5-0	614	9
9	Massachusetts		7-3-5	599	11
10	New Hampshire		8-4-1	590	8
11	Northeastern		7-4-2	483	12
12	Minnesota		9-8-1	366	15
13	Wisconsin		7-7-2	358	10
14	Harvard		6-3-2	330	13
15	Boston College		5-4-5	278	17
16	Rensselaer		8-5-3	243	19
17	St. Cloud State		7-7-2	175	14
18	Minnesota-Duluth		6-6-4	133	16
19	Bowling Green		8-6-0	99	18
20	Mass.-Lowell		7-4-4	96	NR

USA TODAY

1	University of Michigan	479	(21)	2	16-2-0
2	Miami (Ohio) University	470	(10)	1	14-2-0
3	Colorado College	448	(3)	3	10-4-0
4	University of Denver	424		5	12-4-0
5	Michigan State University	380		4	12-3-2
6	University of Notre Dame	359		6	16-4-0
7	University of North Dakota	269		8	8-6-1
8	Clarkson University	253		9	10-5-0
9	University of Massachusetts	243		10	7-3-5
10	University of New Hampshire	238		7	8-4-1
11	Northeastern University	152		13	7-4-2
12	Harvard University	99		12	6-3-2
13	University of Minnesota	91		NR	9-8-1
14	University of Wisconsin	80		11	7-7-2
15	Boston College	39		NR	5-4-5

Tigers have big weekend, without setting foot on the ice

The CC hockey club could wake up Monday morning to a #1 ranking in the USCHO poll as Miami OH lost to Alaska-Fairbanks Saturday night, leaving the number one ranking up for grabs. As for CC's next series, DU swept St. Cloud this weekend leaving a tough team reeling. It will set up an interesting battle next weekend.

#2 Tigers ready to roll on

The Tigers get an A+ grade on this week's WCHA report card

Here are some other stories from the CC website, including Bachman being the Rookie of the Month

Bachman named National Rookie of the Month
Freshman goaltender Richard Bachman, who backstopped WCHA-leading Colorado College’s six-game winning streak against nationally ranked opponents in November, has been named National Rookie of the Month by the Hockey Commissioners’ Association. He was a unanimous selection for the honor, earning all five first-place votes. Now 9-2 overall for the season, Bachman finished with a 6-1 record, 1.72 GAA and .944 saves percentage in seven starts against North Dakota, Wisconsin, Minnesota Duluth and Denver last month. He won his first eight league outings before finally losing 3-2 to the Pioneers at Magness Arena on Nov. 24. He earlier posted his first career shutout with 34 saves in a 3-0 triumph over UMD on Nov. 10 and has allowed one or fewer goals in seven of his 11 starts. The Highlands Ranch, Colo., native already has earned three Player of the Week awards in the WCHA, including Rookie of the Week recognition twice in November after the Tigers swept Duluth and split with DU. He also picked up a pair of assists – on a key shorthanded tally by Scott Thauwald in a 4-1 victory at North Dakota on Nov. 3, as well as on Chad Rau’s game-winning goal against UMD in a 5-3 home-ice triumph on Nov. 9.

Sweatt to play at World Juniors again
Sophomore left wing Bill Sweatt, who helped the United States claim a bronze medal at last year’s IIHF World Junior Championship, is one of 12 forwards named to Team USA for the 2008 version of the event scheduled for Dec. 26 through Jan. 5 in the Czech Republic. The American roster, which includes 22 players in all. was announced live during Versus’ national telecast of the Detroit Red Wings-Montreal Canadiens NHL game on Tuesday evening. Due to his participation in the tournament, Sweatt will miss CC’s two games at the Lightning College Hockey Classic in Tampa, Fla. (Dec. 29-30) as well as its series at the University of Wisconsin the following weekend (Jan. 4-5). He collected 15 (5g,10a) of his 26 points as a freshman in 2006-07 in 14 outings after returning from the international competition a year ago. A second-round draft choice of the Chicago Blackhawks last summer, he currently ranks second among the Tigers with 13 points (4g,9a) overall this season and is tied for fifth among WCHA players with 11 (3g,8a) in league play.

Tigers climb the ranks again

CC used it's weekend sweep of UAA to jump into the #2 spot in the USCHO polls this week, 98 points behind #1 Miami Ohio. Pretty sweet! The WCHA still holds 7 of the top 20 teams

More from CC Athletics
Tigers climb to No. 2 and No. 3 in polls
Colorado College, which skated to its fourth series sweep of the season with a pair of victories at Alaska Anchorage last weekend, continues to gain plenty of attention from voters in the national rankings. While idle Miami University remained No. 1 in both polls released on Monday, the WCHA-leading Tigers climbed from No. 4 to No. 2 in one (U.S. College Hockey Online/CSTV) and No. 3 in the other (USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine). They are No. 4, behind Miami, Michigan and Michigan State of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association, in the weekly power rankings conducted by Inside College Hockey. CC, which leads its own league standings by six points over second-place University of Denver, takes this weekend off before resuming action at St. Cloud State on Dec. 14 and 15.

USCHO

	Team	(First Place Votes)	Record	Points	Last Poll
1	Miami	(48)	13-1-0	998	1
2	Colorado College	( 1)	10-4-0	900	4
3	Michigan	( 1)	14-2-0	886	2
4	Denver		10-4-0	841	3
5	Michigan State		10-3-2	819	5
6	Notre Dame		14-4-0	771	7
7	North Dakota		7-5-1	675	8
8	New Hampshire		8-3-1	668	6
9	Clarkson		10-5-0	532	9
10	Wisconsin		7-6-1	503	13
11	Massachusetts		6-3-5	486	11
12	Northeastern		7-4-1	387	16
13	Harvard		6-2-1	381	15
14	St. Cloud State		7-5-2	361	10
15	Minnesota		8-7-1	286	14
16	Minnesota-Duluth		6-5-3	268	12
17	Boston College		5-4-5	251	19
18	Bowling Green		8-4-0	134	NR
19	Rensselaer		7-5-3	101	18
20	Michigan Tech		6-7-1	100	20

USA Today

1	Miami (Ohio) University	509	(33)	1	13-1-0
2	University of Michigan	453	(1)	2	14-2-0
3	Colorado College	444		4	10-4-0
4	Michigan State University	402		5	10-3-2
5	University of Denver	388		3	10-4-0
6	University of Notre Dame	346		7	14-4-0
7	University of New Hampshire	292		6	8-3-1
8	University of North Dakota	281		8	7-5-1
9	Clarkson University	199		9	10-5-0
10	University of Massachusetts	171		11	6-3-5
11	University of Wisconsin	164		14	7-6-1
12	Harvard University	133		15	6-2-1
13	Northeastern University	126		12	7-4-1
14	St. Cloud State University	74		10	7-5-2
15	University of Minnesota-Duluth	49		13	6-5-3

Tigers win first road series

The Tigers battled the late starts, dark skies and sparse crowds to come out of this weekend with a sweep of Alaska Anchorage and a 6 point lead in the WCHA. UAA was the first team the Tigers have played this season not ranked in the top 15 (they are unranked) and they passed with flying colors. I caught the first 35 minutes last night on the CW but got too annoyed to watch any more. I'm thankful that the Tigers were on TV on the road but oh man, poor coverage. It was UAA's announcing team (which I'm fine with) but they sounded like they were talking through cell phones the whole time with all the static and noise. That was nothing compared to the arena itself...there were ads EVERYWHERE!! Granted, I'm an advertising major but there's a limit, this looked almost as bad as European hockey. There were no less than 8 ads in the neutral zone, at least 4 around the face-off dots in the zones and a HUGE slogan across behind the goalies. If this wasn't bad enough, on every pane of glass all the way around was a 4 inch of so high logo of all the board sponsors. So those who were in the front row got a giant green SUBWAY logo right in their face instead of seeing the ice. From a marketing perspective, this is pretty clever but its so friggen annoying that it might have the reverse effect. If we can see it on TV, there is a problem. Oh and the arena looked virtually empty with bright multi-colored seats showing off their empty glory. I also noticed that, despite all the ads, there was no center-ice logo. Maybe it's because UAA has one of the most hideous logos I've ever seen! Alright, there's my "arena aesthetics" rant. The Tigers head off to St. Cloud this weekend to battle an always tough Huskies team. The Tigers don't return home until January 11 when they again take on UAA. Thank goodness for Bowl Season, otherwise I would be going crazy for the next month-and-a-half!!

Tigers open it up after slow start

The Tigers sweep lowly Alaska Anchorage with a 4-1 win Saturday night.
From CC Athletics:
CC widens league lead with sweep of Seawolves
All the chips fell in Colorado College’s favor on the road Saturday. Fueled by Jimmy Kilpatrick’s two goals and a timely tally by Erik Walsky late in the second period, the WCHA-leading Tigers rallied for a come-from-behind 4-1 victory over Alaska Anchorage that completed a weekend sweep at Sullivan Arena. Combined with second-place Denver’s 3-1 loss to North Dakota, the triumph allowed CC to open up a six-point lead over DU in the league standings. The Seawolves struck first in Saturday’s series finale, snapping a scoreless deadlock on freshman Tommy Grant’s power-play rebound at 4:36 of the middle stanza. But Kilpatrick evened the score just 30 seconds later, unleashing a wicked wrist shot from the high slot after taking a pass from Scott Thauwald. Walsky, an Anchorage native who played for UAA during the 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons, added his sixth goal of the season and second game winner with just 33 seconds left in the frame. Kilpatrick and sophomore defenseman Brian Connelly clicked for a pair of power-play goals in the third period as the Tigers improved to 10-4 overall and 10-2 in WCHA play. Freshman netminder Richard Bachman finished with 24 saves while junior center Chad Rau extended his point-scoring streak to eight games with an assist on Connelly’s goal, which Kilpatrick also helped set up.

CC Wins Defensive affair

From CC Athletics:

While Drew O’Connell and Matt Overman have yet to establish themselves as household names, they came through big-time for Colorado College on Friday. O’Connell made 28 saves and Overman scored the only goal of the game at 6:01 of the first period, leading the Tigers to a 1-0 victory over the University of Alaska Anchorage in the opener of their two-game series at Sullivan Arena. Overman’s tally, set up by junior center Chad Rau, was the first of the sophomore winger’s collegiate career. O’Connell, meanwhile, posted his first victory of the season as first-place and fourth-ranked CC improved to 9-2 in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association and maintained its four-point lead over Denver in the league standings. The junior goaltender, an Anchorage native, made key stops in all three periods to frustrate his hometown Seawolves in a contest that saw Colorado College kill six UAA power plays. Rau extended his point-scoring streak to seven games.
Box Score