News and Notes for the week

The Tigers return home once again and put their undefeated record on the line against Clarkson. After two less-than-stellar weekends, the Tigers look to get back on track. Although the Tigers have only lost once in the past 8 games, last weekend felt like losing expert. Blame it on their own success that we have jaded expectations now. Teams are going to go through tough stretches, it's how they come out of them that will determine what they are truly made of.
And if your as uni-obsessed as I am Saturday night will be a treat. The Tigers will be wearing a throwback uni to celebrate their first game ever back in 1938. Look for some close-ups Sunday of the ancient replicas.

If you believe media hype, today's INCH will get a rise out of your blood pressure. They tout Miami's goaltender as if he's the greatest thing ever "Jeff Zatkoff of Miami is the nation's leader among goaltenders in winning percentage and save percentage". Up until Michigan Tech shelled Bachman Saturday night, he had been riding that title for some time, no mention of that on their site. INCH also has the Tigers as the team with their stock falling and looking to get knocked out of their own regional after losing their top spot in the WCHA to DU and North Dakota. Seems awfully far-fetched after only losing once. I guess if I was paid to sensationalize sports and get fat making people mad, I would.
DU should have at least tied UW and got pounded the next night, rose in the polls without playing last weekend and are touted as a national contender. I'm not saying they aren't, but the logic of these predictions is odd and mis-informed (see previous fat-writer statement). Although I can't shake this feeling of fear with North Dakota. They have a recent history of having blazing finishes, should be a crazy stretch run!
~PCO

Here's the Storylines from CC Athletics

This Week’s Storylines
• Celebrating the 70th anniversary of its hockey program, Colorado College plays host to Clarkson University in a two-game non-conference series between nationally ranked league leaders at the World Arena. While CC remains first in the WCHA standings, five points ahead of North Dakota and six ahead of Denver (which has four games in hand), the Knights own a five-point cushion in the ECAC Hockey League.
• The Tigers, 3-3 against non-WCHA opponents so far in 2007-08, are a perfect 11-0 at home (13-0 including a pair of exhibition victories), where they will play seven of their remaining 10 regular-season games.
• After the series with Clarkson, CC launches into its annual “stretch drive” with just four weekends of league play left before the first round of the WCHA playoffs. With the NCAA West Regional being held at the World Arena, the Tigers could be home for as many as 10 more outings in all.

Icers Aim to Regain Winning Form
In Non-League Series vs. Clarkson

Return to League Play: Colorado College takes one final break from its Western Collegiate Hockey Association schedule this weekend with a two-game series at home against Clarkson University. Faceoff between the Tigers and ECAC Hockey League-leading Knights at the Colorado Springs World Arena (7,343 seating capacity) is 7:37 p.m. MST Friday and 7:07 p.m. Saturday.

For the Record: Now 15-4-1 in WCHA play after tying (2-2) and losing (5-2) at Michigan Tech last weekend, Colorado College is 18-7-1 overall heading into this week’s action against the Knights...Clarkson, which skated to a pair of conference victories over Rensselaer (5-2) and Union (3-2) at home last weekend, is 15-7-2 overall and 10-3-1 in the ECACHL. The league-leading Knights are five points ahead of second-place Princeton in their standings.

In the Rankings: The Tigers have slipped to No. 6 in this week’s national polls published on Monday by U.S. College Hockey Online/CSTV and USA Today/American Hockey Magazine. CC also is sixth in the power rankings conducted by InsideCollegeHockey.com (INCH), which rates Clarkson as No. 9 this week. The Knights are No. 10 in the other two polls.

Coach’s Corner: Scott Owens (Colorado College ‘79), who has recorded more victories than any head coach in the history of Tiger Hockey, is in his ninth season at the helm of his alma mater. Owens is 213-116-25 (.637) in 354 games behind the bench, including a 3-0-1 mark (.780) against Clarkson, and has guided the Tigers to five NCAA playoff berths in his previous eight campaigns...George Roll (Bowling Green ‘86), currently in his fifth season at Clarkson, is 84-70-17 (.541) with the Knights and 208-148-34 (.577) in 12 years overall as a collegiate head coach.

On the Air: All CC games this season, home and away, are broadcast live throughout Southern Colorado on KYZX (103.9 FM The Eagle), featuring Ken Landau with the play-by-play. Pre-game shows start 17 minutes before faceoff. Landau also is host of the weekly Scott Owens Coach’s Show, which airs from 6:30 until 7:30 p.m. (MT) Tuesdays, on The Eagle. All broadcasts can be heard worldwide via the Internet, from a link at CCTigers.com…Live video streaming of all Tiger home games this season is available, courtesy of B2 Networks, via a link at CCTigers.com. Cost is $6 per game. Neither of this week’s games against Clarkson University will be televised. The next scheduled telecast is the regular-season finale against the University Denver on March 8, when CET (Comcast Entertainment Television) will carry the game live in Colorado Springs and Denver.

The All-Time Series: Friday’s series opener marks just the ninth meeting between Colorado College and Clarkson in a rivalry dating back to March 14, 1957, when the teams played each other in the semifinals of the NCAA playoffs at the old Broadmoor Ice Palace. CC, which won that game (5-3) en route to claiming its second national championship, is 7-0-1 all-time against the Knights including a two-game sweep (6-1, 3-0) at the World Arena in November 2001. The Tigers won (3-2) and tied (4-4) at CU’s Cheel Arena in October 2003. They also beat Clarkson in NCAA tournament play in 1997 (5-4) and 1998 (3-1).

Scouting the Opposition: The Knights are led up front by senior Steve Zalewski (15g,7a) and junior Chris D’Alvise (8g,14a), who have 22 points. The two veteran forwards have combined for eight power-play goals and five game winners, while junior Shea Guthrie has scored four GWG. Senior Nick Dodge ranks among the national leaders with three shorthanded tallies. Senior goaltender David Leggio is 15-6-2 between the pipes, with a 2.07 GAA and .926 saves percentage. Clarkson is 13-0-1 when allowing two or fewer goals in a game.

Recapping Last Week’s Games: A power-play goal by sophomore right wing Mike Testwuide (Vail, CO) at 12:02 of the third period got CC even on Friday, and some clutch goaltending by freshman Richard Bachman (Highlands Ranch, CO) preserved the 2-2 tie in the series opener at Michigan Tech. Testwuide redirected a shot by sophomore center Andreas Vlassopoulos (Los Angeles, CA) with 7:58 left in regulation after the Huskies took their first lead of the night at 4:01 of the third frame. Bachman, who finished with 31 saves, made 16 in a scoreless second period and four in the five-minute sudden-death session, including three from point-blank range. Freshman winger Stephen Schultz (Westbury, NY) scored his fourth goal of the season 6:27 into the contest. The Tigers out-shot MTU by a 35-19 margin in Saturday’s 5-2 loss, when they got tallies from sophomore defenseman Nate Prosser (Elk River, MN) and senior right winger Jimmy Kilpatrick (New Prague, MN). Prosser also added an assist on Kilpatrick’s power-play tally with that pulled Colorado College to within 3-2 in the final minute of the second period. Senior defenseman Jack Hillen (Minnetonka, MN) helped set up a goal in each game.

Thorn in CC’s Side: The Tigers now have beaten Michigan Tech only once in the last seven meetings between the teams, going 1-4-2 and scoring only nine goals against the Huskies dating back to January 2007, when they also tied (2-2) and lost (1-0) in Houghton. In addition, Tech prevailed in a best-of-three playoff series at the World Arena last March, blanking Colorado College (1-0) in the decisive Game 3 after winning a 2-1 overtime decision in Game 1.

Bittersweet Milestone: Not only did the Huskies end CC’s season-best seven-game (6-0-1) undefeated streak on Saturday, but they also spoiled an otherwise special night for Kilpatrick, who became the 70th member of Tiger Hockey’s elite “Century Club” with his career-best 12th tally of the season. Among Kilpatrick’s 100 points (34g,66a) during his four seasons at Colorado College have been eight game-winning goals, including three this campaign. He’s also assisted on 13 more GWG. He’s logged six multiple-point games so far 2007-08, and currently ranks ninth among WCHA scoring leaders with 18 points (9g,9a) in league play.

Offense From the Blue Line: Colorado College’s defensive corps continues to be a major contributor to the team’s offensive production after combining for five points (1g,4a) in last week’s series at MTU. The six regulars have accounted for 24.2 percent (9g,43a) of the team’s 215 (85g,130a) total points this season. Hillen now leads the Tigers with his career-high 16 assists for the season. He’s collected five in the last six games. Hillen’s 19 points overall this season tie him for second place among all WCHA blue-line specialists. He’s logged at least one in 15 of 26 outings. He and Prosser, who recorded his fourth multiple-point game of the season on Saturday to bump his ‘07-08 total to 13 (3g,10a), rank fourth and sixth, respectively, among the team’s scoring leaders. Sophomore Brian Connelly (Bloomington, MN) who also helped set up Kilpatrick’s goal on Saturday, is tied for eighth with 11 (2g,9a) including assists on five game winners.

Special Teams Update: Last Friday’s 2-2 tie at Michigan Tech marked the seven consecutive contest and 17th game overall this season in which CC held its opponent scoreless on the power play. Although the Huskies snapped the streak with a PPG at 13:56 of the opening period on Saturday, the Tigers continue to lead the WCHA with a 92.5-percent (74-for-80) success rate for penalty killing in league play. Their 89.9-percent (98-for-109) mark overall also is the league’s second best, and ranks in a tie for third nationally...Colorado College’s own power play, which went 2-for-7 last weekend, has clicked at least once in a season-best six consecutive games as well as in 19 of 26 for the season. It ranks second among WCHA teams in league play (18.8 percent) and overall (20.4 percent) after going 8-for-26 (30.8 percent) during the current six-game streak.

This Week’s Festivities: The Tigers will wear throwback jerseys for Saturday’s game with Clarkson to commemorate CC’s first-ever hockey game in January 1938. On Friday, the Center Ice Club will hold a luncheon at the Colorado Springs Country Club, 3333 Templeton Gap Road, starting at 11:45 a.m. Special guests will include former players such as Bob Bartlett, goaltender for the inaugural 1937-38 team; Hall of Famer Art Berglund (1960-63); All-American Peter Geronazzo (1992-1996); Bob McCusker (1956-58), who earned All-America honors and scored four goals as the Tigers defeated Michigan, 13-6, for the 1957 NCAA championship; goaltending legend Marty Wakelyn (1982-86), CC’s all-time leader in saves with 3,630 stops; and Milo “Mike” Yalich (1947-50), captain of the 1950 NCAA Championship team that beat Boston University, 13-4, for the national title.

Tiger Bites: Colorado College is 163-57-8 (.732) in 228 all-time appearances at the World Arena, where it played for the first time on Jan. 23, 1998. That includes a 50-10-3 mark (.817) mark against non-WCHA opponents...Senior left wing Scott McCulloch (Lacombe, Alta.), who hopes to return to the lineup this week, has missed the last four games with an injury after appearing in 103 consecutive outings...CC has outscored its opponents, 33-19, in third-period play over the course of the season...The Tigers lost last Saturday despite out-shooting MTU by a 35-19 margin. Their 17 shots on goal in the middle frame represent a team season high for a single period, and their 65 SOG overall in the weekend series also were their most against any opponent in 2007-08...Eight different CC players have been credited with at least one game-winning goal this season, while 18 have factored in on one. Including last Friday’s 2-2 tie in Houghton, Colorado College is 3-2-1 this season in games that have been deadlocked after 40 minutes of play. The Tigers are 3-4 when trailing after two periods and 12-1 when ahead after two.

Tuesday Notes

I was reading through the new INCH Power Rankings and discovered one of the funnier descriptions I've come across. Granted, they have a point but it's still funny:
The Pioneers are 18-0-0 this season when scoring more goals than their opponents.
Hmmm, strange that they are undefeated...here's the rest so I don't take it completely out of context: Of course, Wisconsin would say DU is 17-0-0 when outscoring opponents, and 1-0-0 when scoring the same number of goals as their foes.

It reminds me of a line uttered at halftime a few years back during a CU-Nebraska game:
"for CU to win this game, they need to score more points than Nebraska". Wow dude, can we all have your job??

Here's an interview with Scott Owens after the first weekend of the season that I found. It's funny to see what the team outlook was i.e. starting a freshman goalie we weren't too sure about ;)

Here's an interesting twist: I'm averaging about 20% of my daily referrals are from the DU blog. Who says rivals can't share interests!

New Polls: Tigers Drop, Sioux on the Rise

USCHO Poll

1	Miami	(49)	25- 3-0	999	2
2	Michigan	( 1)	22- 3-1	915	1
3	North Dakota		16- 8-1	854	4
4	Denver		18- 6-0	839	5
5	Michigan State		17- 5-5	819	6
6	Colorado College		18- 7-1	757	3
7	New Hampshire		15- 7-1	724	7
8	Notre Dame		20- 9-1	631	9
9	Boston College		12- 5-7	616	8
10	Clarkson		15- 7-2	568	10
11	Wisconsin		11-10-5	425	16
12	Minnesota-Duluth		10- 8-6	359	19
13	Northeastern		11- 8-3	337	11
14	Providence		11- 9-2	282	NR
15	Massachusetts		9- 8-6	231	14
16	Mass.-Lowell		11- 8-4	195	15
16	Quinnipiac		14- 7-3	195	12
18	Minnesota		12-11-5	181	17
19	Princeton		10- 8-0	125	18
20	St. Cloud State		11-12-3	120	13

USA Today Poll

1	Miami (Ohio) University	510	(34)	2	25-3-0
2	University of Michigan	442		1	22-3-1
3	University of North Dakota	420		4	16-8-1
4	Michigan State University	410		5	17-5-5
5	University of Denver	392		6	18-6-0
6	Colorado College	341		3	18-7-1
7	University of New Hampshire	310		7	15-7-1
8	University of Notre Dame	261		9	20-9-1
9	Boston College	254		8	12-5-7
10	Clarkson University	218		10	15-7-2
11	University of Wisconsin	149		NR	11-10-5
12	University of Minnesota-Duluth	122		NR	10-8-6
13	Providence College	80		NR	11-9-2
14	Northestern University	71		11	11-8-3
15	University of Minnesota	18		NR	12-11-5

Huskies humble CC, 5-2

CC Athletics
Colorado College has found a new nemesis. The WCHA-leading and third-ranked Tigers, who have enjoyed remarkable success against the league’s traditional powerhouses, no longer have Michigan Tech’s number. The Huskies, behind a goal and two assists by senior center Peter Rouleau, now have lost just once in their last seven meetings with CC after skating to a 5-2 victory Saturday at MacInnes Student Ice Arena in Houghton, Mich. The triumph allowed Tech to take three of a possible four points in the weekend series and effectively spoiled what should have been a special night for right winger Jimmy Kilpatrick, who became the 70th member of Colorado College’s elite “Century Club” with a power-play goal late in the second period. Kilpatrick’s 100th career point with 34 seconds left in the middle stanza pulled the Tigers to within 3-2, but that’s as close as the visitors would get as MTU added a pair of tallies late in the game to hand freshman netminder Richard Bachman his worst defeat of the season. Outshot by a 34-22 margin, Tech got 32 saves from junior goaltender Rob Nolan, who also gave up a red lighter to CC sophomore defenseman Nate Prosser. The Huskies set the tone early, grabbing a 1-0 lead when Jordan Foote deflected a shot past Bachman just 1:18 into the contest. Rouleau clicked on a power play to make it 2-0 at 12:54 of the opening period.

Tigers rally for 2-2 tie at Tech

From CC Athletics
Mike Testwuide’s power-play goal at 12:02 of the third period got Colorado College even on Friday, and Richard Bachman’s clutch goaltending in overtime preserved a 2-2 tie for the Tigers in the opener of their two-game series at Michigan Tech. With the hard earned point on the road, league-leading CC remained unbeaten (6-0-1) in the month of January and maintained a seven-point cushion over second-place Denver and North Dakota in the WCHA standings. Sophomore right winger Testwuide redirected a shot from Andreas Vlassopoulos with 7:58 left in regulation after Huskies captain Jimmy Kerr gave Tech its first lead of the night at 4:01 of the third frame. Bachman, who finished with 31 saves, made 16 in a scoreless second period and four in the five-minute sudden-death session, including two on MTU’s Peter Rouleau, whom he robbed from point-blank range midway through the stanza then stopped on an odd-man rush in the closing seconds. Freshman winger Stephen Schultz scored his fourth goal of the season 6:27 into the contest, but Michigan Tech bounced back on a tally by Ryan Angelow just 2:33 later after a Tiger turnover. Colorado College enters Saturday’s rematch at MacInnes Arena having won only one of its last six meetings (1-3-2) against the Huskies dating back to last season.

INCH Hobey Tracker

Hidden Hobey: Chad Rau

The Tigers have ranked no lower than sixth in the INCH Power Rankings for two months, and Rau — who enters the weekend tied for ninth in the nation in points (30), tied for third in goals (19), first in short-handed goals (five), and tied for second in game-winning goals (five) — has been vital to the team's success. But despite having the credentials of a top-five Hobey candidate, Rau's name is rarely mentioned among the front runners for the award. It's a crime, because he's one of the country's most productive players and, outside of Gerbe and Porter, one of its most consistent as well. When he failed to register a point against Air Force last Saturday, it brought to an end his six-game goal streak and a 16-game point streak that started Nov. 9 against Minnesota Duluth.

Details about the injured Falcon

College Hockey News Staff Report

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Air Force forward Eric Ehn, a finalist for last year's Hobey Baker Award, broke his left fibula Saturday when he collided feet first into the boards in the loss to Colorado College.

Ehn is expected to undergo further evaluation this week to determine the extent of the ligament damage, according to the Colorado Springs Gazette.

The fibula is the smaller of the two bones connecting the knee to the ankle. Nonetheless, Ehn is likely out for the remainder of the regular season.

Ehn is the Falcons' leading scorer, and had an assist in Friday's 5-2 upset win over Denver. For the season, Ehn has six goals and 25 points. Last season, in 40 games, Ehn collected 24 goals and 64 points in leading Air Force to its first-ever NCAA tournament appearance after winning the Atlantic Hockey tournament.

This Week's Storylines from CC Athletics

This Week’s Storylines

• Colorado College and Michigan Tech meet for the first time this season when the WCHA-leading Tigers travel to Houghton and try to avenge last spring’s first-round playoff elimination at the hands of the Huskies. Tech won that best-of-three series, two games to one, after tying and beating CC (2-2, 1-0) at MacInnes Arena in January. Colorado College scored a total of seven goals in the five outings, suffering two shutout losses.
• The Tigers currently own a six-point lead over second-place Denver, which has played two fewer games, as well as an eight-point cushion over third-place North Dakota in the WCHA standings.
• Junior center Chad Rau continues to lead the WCHA in scoring, with 24 points (15g,9a) in league play, while freshman Richard Bachman is No. 1 in all major goaltending categories, both overall and in conference play. Bachman leads the nation with a .941 saves percentage.

Icers Looking to Protect WCHA Lead
With Key Series at Michigan Tech

Return to League Play: Colorado College resumes its Western Collegiate Hockey Association schedule this weekend in a crucial two-game series at Michigan Technological University. Faceoff at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena (4,200 seating capacity) in Houghton, Mich., is 7:07 p.m. EST Friday and Saturday. After this week’s long haul to and from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, CC will be home for seven of its final 10 regular-season games.

For the Record: Now 18-6 overall after a pair of non-conference victories over Bemidji State University (5-4) and Air Force (2-1) at the World Arena last week, Colorado College heads to Houghton with a 15-3 mark in WCHA play. The first-place Tigers, who have matched a season best with six consecutive victories overall, have won four league outings in a row as well as seven of their last eight...Michigan Tech is 9-11-2 overall and 5-8-1 in league play. The Huskies, who were idle last weekend, currently are eighth in the WCHA standings, but have two games in hand with fifth-place Minnesota, St. Cloud State and Wisconsin, which they trail by only three points.

On the Air: All CC games this season, home and away, are broadcast live throughout Southern Colorado on KYZX (103.9 FM The Eagle), featuring Ken Landau with the play-by-play. Pre-game shows start 17 minutes before faceoff. Landau also is host of the weekly Scott Owens Coach’s Show, which airs from 6:30 until 7:30 p.m. (MT) Tuesdays, on The Eagle. All broadcasts can be heard worldwide via the Internet, from a link at CCTigers.com. Neither of this week’s games against Michigan Tech will be televised. The next scheduled telecast is the regular-season finale against the University Denver on March 8, when CET (Comcast Entertainment Television) will carry the game live in Colorado Springs and Denver. Live video streaming of all Tiger home games this season is available, courtesy of B2 Networks, via a link at CCTigers.com. Cost is $6 per game.

In the Rankings: The Tigers remain No. 3 in this week’s national polls published on Monday by U.S. College Hockey Online/CSTV and USA Today/American Hockey Magazine. CC also is third in the power rankings conducted by InsideCollegeHockey.com (INCH). Michigan Tech is not ranked, although the Huskies continue to receive votes in the USCHO/CSTV poll.

Coach’s Corner: Scott Owens (Colorado College ‘79), who has recorded more victories than any head coach in the history of Tiger Hockey, is in his ninth season at the helm of his alma mater. Owens is 213-115-24 (.639) in 352 games behind the bench, including an 18-4-3 mark (.780) against Michigan Tech, and has guided the Tigers to five NCAA playoff berths in his previous eight campaigns...Jamie Russell (Michigan Tech ‘89), currently in his fifth season at the MTU and overall in the collegiate ranks, owns a career record of 50-103-22 (.349).

The All-Time Series: Friday’s series opener marks the 165th meeting between Colorado College and Michigan Tech in a rivalry that started on Jan. 17, 1947. CC owns an 84-70-10 all-time advantage after going 3-3-1 against the Huskies last season, when Tech prevailed in a best-of-three WCHA playoff series at the World Arena. While the Tigers have won just one of their last five games (1-3-1) with MTU, including a 2-2 tie and 1-0 loss at MacInnes Arena a year ago, they’re 36-2-8 (.870) in the last 46 regular-season meetings between the teams dating back to the 1993-94 campaign. That includes a 16-2-6 (.792) mark in Houghton.

Scouting the Opposition: The Huskies are led offensively by senior forwards Peter Rouleau (11g,5a) and Tyler Shelast (8g,8a), who have 16 points apiece. Rouleau, a center, has collected 10 of his (5g,5a) in league play. Shelast, a winger, has scored six of his 11 tallies on the power play. Sophomore defenseman Drew Dobson has contributed 13 points (2g,11a). Juniors Michael-Lee Teslak (4-4-2, 1.72, .934) and Rob Nolan (5-7, 2.75, .892) have split the goaltending duties with Teslak owning a 4-3-1 record, 1.67 GAA and .943 saves percentage in his nine WCHA appearances.

Recapping Last Week’s Games: Third-period tallies by junior center Chad Rau (Eden Prairie, MN), sophomore defenseman Brian Connelly (Bloomington, MN) and sophomore left wing Bill Sweatt (Elburn, IL) rallied the Tigers from a 4-2 deficit after 40 minutes of play and propelled them to Friday’s victory over Bemidji State. Rau, who also scored earlier in the game, clicked during a power play just 24 seconds into the final frame to cut the deficit to one goal. Connelly tied things up at 9:42, whistling a low wrist shot through traffic from the left point after sophomore center Andreas Vlassopoulos (Los Angeles, CA), who earlier struck for CC’s first goal, won a faceoff in the Beavers zone. Sweatt netted the game winner at 13:01, finishing a quick rush with Vlassopoulos after sophomore defenseman Kris Fredheim (Campbell River, B.C.) broke up a BSU rush and turned the puck up ice. Junior goalie Drew O’Connell (Anchorage, AK), who set up the first-period goal by Vlassopoulos with a long outlet pass, finished with 28 saves. Colorado College got power-play goals by Sweatt in the first period and freshman winger Stephen Schultz (Westbury, NY) in the second on Saturday, when freshman goalie Richard Bachman (Highlands Ranch, CO) stopped 25 of 26 Air Force shots.

Home Sweet Home: After squaring its non-conference record at 3-3 with last week’s decisions over the Beavers and Falcons, Colorado College remains a perfect 11-0 at home this season (13-0 including a pair of exhibition victories over the University of Calgary and the United State Under-18 Team). The Tigers now are 163-57-8 (.732) in 228 all-time appearances at the World Arena, where they played for the first time 10 years ago this week, on Jan. 23, 1998. That includes a 50-10-3 mark (.817) mark against non-WCHA opponents.

Gunners Galore: Sweatt, who now has scored a goal in three consecutive games, is the eighth different CC player to be credited with a game winner this season. Sophomore winger Addison DeBoer (Spring Lake Park, MN), who combined with Connelly to set up Schultz’s GWG at 9:31 of the second period of Saturday’s victory over Air Force, is the 18th Tiger to factor in on one. Connelly has assisted on five game-winning goals to lead the team in that category.

Hoping to Start Over: Rau, who saw a career-best 16-game point-scoring streak come to an end on Saturday, will try to start a new one at Tech this week. He still ranks first among WCHA scoring leaders with 24 points (15g,9a) in league play, and is tied for ninth nationally with 30 (19g,11a) overall. He’s collected at least one in 20 of 23 games in which he’s played this season. The All-WCHA/All-America candidate also leads the nation with five shorthanded goals. Last Friday marked the seventh consecutive outing in which he’s scored at least once, as well as the sixth time this season that he’s struck twice or more in a game. Rau now has 91 points (46g,45a) during this three campaigns at CC.

Downright Stingy in Net: Bachman, now 16-3 overall including a 14-2 record in WCHA play, has given up one or fewer goals in 12 of his 19 starts so far in 2007-08. The freshman standout leads the league in all major goaltending categories, both overall and in conference play. His .941 saves percentage for all games tops the entire nation, while his 1.58 goals-against average ranks second in the country. Bachman, who takes his second personal six-game winning streak of the season to Michigan Tech this week, earlier was named National Rookie of the Month (November) by the Hockey Commissioners’ Association. He’s also earned four separate WCHA Player of the Week awards.

Special Teams Update: The Tigers have held their opponent scoreless on the power play in six consecutive outings and in 16 overall for the season. They’ve given up only five PPG in their 18 league games, and continue to lead the WCHA with a .932 success ratio (69-for-74) on the penalty kill in conference play. Colorado College’s .903 (93-for-103) mark overall also is a league best, and ranks third nationally...CC’s own power play, which went 1-for-6 against Bemidji State and 2-for-5 against Air Force, has clicked at least once in four consecutive games as well as in 17 of 24 for the season. It ranks second among WCHA teams in league play (18.1 percent) and third in all games (20 percent).

Living on the Edge: Despite failing to score in the final frame of Saturday’s victory over AFA, Colorado College has struck for 17 goals in the third period of its last eight games. CC now has won six times this campaign after entering the third period behind or tied, overcoming late deficits to defeat RPI, Wisconsin and Bemidji State within the last month alone. The Tigers have outscored their opponents, 32-16, in third-period play over the course of the season.

Tiger Bites: With a pair of assists in last Friday’s victory over BSU, senior defenseman Jack Hillen (Minnetonka, MN) established a career high for most points in a season. He now has 17 (3g,14a) and continues to rank third among all WCHA blue-line specialists...CC has won its last 25 meetings with Air Force and is undefeated (29-0-1) in its last 30 games against the Falcons, whose last victory in the rivalry occurred on Nov. 9, 1985...Senior left wing Scott McCulloch (Lacombe, Alta.) had played in 103 consecutive games for Colorado College before sitting out last week’s action with an injury...Last Friday marked the ninth time this season, including twice in their 6-1 victory over Alaska Anchorage on Jan. 11, that the Tigers have struck for three or more goals in a period. They’re 7-1 when turning the trick and 1-4 when having it done against them...CC is 12-1 this season when leading after two periods and 16-4 when ahead or tied after one.

USCHO Polls

Team (First Place Votes) Record

1 Michigan (49) 22- 2-0

2 Miami ( 1) 23- 3-0

3 Colorado College 18- 6-0

4 North Dakota 14- 8-1

5 Denver 18- 6-0

6 Michigan State 16- 5-4

7 New Hampshire 13- 7-1

8 Boston College 11- 5-6

9 Notre Dame 18- 9-1

10 Clarkson 13- 7-2

11 Northeastern 11- 6-3

12 Quinnipiac 14- 5-3

13 St. Cloud State 11-10-3

14 Massachusetts 9- 7-5

15 Mass.-Lowell 11- 6-4

16 Wisconsin 10-10-4

17 Minnesota 12-10-4

18 Princeton 10- 8-0

19 Minnesota-Duluth 8- 8-6

20 Air Force 12- 8-4

Others Receiving Votes: Bowling Green 40, RIT 26, Providence 22, Michigan Tech 21, Niagara 18, Union 12, Minnesota State 9, Cornell 6, Dartmouth 6, Bemidji State 5, Boston University 1

Tigers Dominate for 45 minutes, survive frantic finish to win 2-1

CC came out flying full speed tonight, determined to get the early momentum and take Air Force off their high from last night's stomping of DU. CC looked faster and more skilled through the first 2 periods, swarming pucks and peppering AFA goalie Andrew Volkening and his white helmet with quality shots. Anytime there was a loose puck, two bright yellow streaks were right behind it.
The Tigers got a first period goal from Bill Sweatt and led in shots 16-4. Second period was more of the same, Air Force playing well but CC was a step ahead. The Tigers registered only five shots to AFA's 8 in an up and down battle. The Tigers notched their second goal when former Lincoln Star Steve Shultz smacked a loose puck into the back of the net. The third period was a battle from the start but the Tigers held the advantage until Falcon star player Eric Ehn was taken down by Sweatt and slammed into the board hard. We were sitting on the opposite end of the arena and you could just feel the crunch. His left left was crunched awkwardly and after about 10 minutes of being examined and stabilized by trainers, was taken off the ice on a stretcher. More on that when I find out, hopefully nothing too seriously. When play resumed, the World Arena crowd was so silent you could hear the coaches yelling from the benches, eerie. The Falcons finally got something going as you could see the Tigers begin to let up. AFA got their first and only goal by Scott Kozlak at 8:22. The two teams battled back and forth with the Falcons now a step faster. With 37 seconds on the clock (after another loooong delay in which the timekeeper forgot to start that clock on the play before) the Falcons swarmed the net, only to be denied by the nation's #1 goaltender Richard Bachman. The Tigers survived and kept the streak alive against the northside rivals with their 25th consecutive win and a record of 29-0 with one tie over the past 23 years.

Notes from the stands:
The officials made 2 painfully obvious errors in game management tonight. The first came with CC in the offensive zone and Steve Shultz passes the puck to the center of the zone, where not Tiger resided, and the puck flew down to the other side of the ice. The Tigers went to retrieve it but it was blown for icing. Last time I checked, you can't ice it in your own zone so, unless they made another call that we didn't hear, the blew it (in the Tigers favor).

With under 1 minute to play, the Tigers took a shot at the empty net. The puck was deflected by a Falcon defender's stick at the blue line(almost into the net) and it hit the wall and was blown dead for icing. Problem was, it was touched at the blue line by a Falcon, which should have just kept the play going.

The last error tails on the previous one. After the poor icing call, the clock was reset to 50 seconds remaining...the exact amount of time that was there on the previous face-off. So we sat through a long delay and the ref vanished into the replay booth and came out to report 37 seconds remaining. Usually fans argue that home ice advantage will tick a few clocks off. In this case, the Falcons almost gained back 20 seconds. The ensuing flurry proved that extra time could have been costly.

Fun note: there were two U18 teams sitting our section tonight. The Chicago Fury was all around us and was mostly CC or neutral fans. At least until Air Force scored and the kid right behind me decided to go 5-year-old and started yelling "CC sux! Colorado sux!" for about 5 minutes. As the final minutes wore on, any chant from the students to my left was followed by a yell in my ear. "Let's go Tigers!" "Tigers suck!". The kid was just looking for a fight and the kid sitting next to kept warning him "dude you need to watch yourself" and looked at me. I really didn't feel like spending the cold night in jail for smashing a little kid's nose in so I kept my eyes on the ice, wondering if the kid behind me wasn't hugged enough as a child.

Official Game Recap From Friday Night

CC rallies in third period to beat Beavers
Testing its exciting new habit of living on the edge, third-ranked Colorado College survived by the skin of its teeth on Friday. The Tigers scored three times in the third period, roaring back from a two-goal deficit to defeat Bemidji State University, 5-4, in non-conference action at the World Arena. In winning six of its last seven games, including five in a row, CC has struck for 16 tallies in the final 20 minutes of play. Its unblemished record on home ice, now 10-0, looked to be in serious jeopardy on this snowy night after sophomore forward Chris McKelvie recorded a natural hat trick for the visiting Beavers heading into the second intermission. McKelvie’s third red lighter, off a shorthanded breakaway, put BSU up 4-2 at 19:19 of the middle frame. But Chad Rau pulled the Tigers back to within a goal, clicking on the same power play just 24 seconds into the third period. It was Rau’s second goal of the game and 19th of the season. Sophomore defenseman Brian Connelly tied things up at 9:42, whistling a low wrist shot through traffic from the left point after Andreas Vlassopoulos, who earlier struck for CC’s first goal, won a faceoff in the Bemidji State zone. Bill Sweatt netted the game winner at 13:01, finishing a quick rush with Vlassopoulos after defenseman Kris Fredheim broke up a Beavers rush and turned the puck up ice. Junior goalie Drew O’Connell, who set up the first-period goal by Vlassopoulos with a long outlet pass, finished with 28 saves to backstop the triumph. Senior defenseman Jack Hillen also collected pair of assists.

Tiger Better be Ready Saturday Night, AFA is no Joke

Falcons Stun Pioneers
Fairchild's Hat Trick Sparks Air Force
by Candace Horgan/Contributing Editor USCHO

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Jan. 18) — Before a crowd of 2,657 at the Cadet Ice Arena, the Air Force Falcons took a huge step forward, stunning the No. 4 Denver Pioneers 5-2. Matt Fairchild got his first career hat trick and Andrew Volkening made 29 saves, including shutting down the Pioneers on a two-minute five-on-three, to seal the win.

“I expected us to get one of these; as I told the boys, ‘There’s one off the bucket list for me,’” laughed Falcons’ coach Frank Serratore afterwards. “We haven’t been afraid of these teams for a long time.”

Air Force got the better of the play in the first period. Denver looked tentative with the puck, as if they thought perhaps that all they had to do was show up and they would win. Instead, the Falcons’ forecheck tied the Pioneers up in their own end frequently. and the Pioneers gave up several two-on-one opportunities that tested Mannino early.

“The team’s been pumped up all week to play these guys,” said Fairchild. “Everybody was energized for the game.”


The Falcons top line of Josh Frider, Eric Ehn and Derrick Burnett buzzed all over the offensive end of the ice, getting numerous scoring chances. They finally capitalized on a two-on-one at 8:03 when Ehn carried the puck down the left side of the slot and passed it over to Burnett, who fired a perfect shot top corner past Mannino’s glove.

“Getting that lead was huge,” said Serratore. “These teams are tough to beat, and they’re even tougher to beat when you have to come from behind.”

The Falcons continued to generate numerous chances. Fairchild had a good shot from the slot that Mannino just got his right pad on, and Fairchild hit the near side post on a shot from the right side circle on a power play.

With under two minutes in the period, Michael Mayra was whistled for interference and the Pioneers looked to have a good chance to score. They moved the puck around the perimeter well and had some good shots, but Falcons’ goalie Andrew Volkening stood tall.

With time ticking down, the Falcons cleared the puck into the Pioneers’ zone, and Fairchild went in on the forecheck. Rhett Rakhshani emerged from the left side boards with the puck, took a few strides, and tried to poke the puck one-handed to Jesse Martin. Fairchild intercepted the puck and skated in alone on Mannino and shot. Mannino made a save with his left pad, but the puck lay just to the right of his pad, and Fairchild grabbed the rebound and slid it behind Mannino at the 19:55 mark of the period, sending electricity racing through the crowd.

“Well, Brent Olson went in; he was doing all the hard work,” said Fairchild. “He knocked it loose, so it was right in the middle. I just swatted at it and got the breakaway. Anytime you score a big goal, especially shorthanded, it’s a big confidence booster.”

If anybody thought that perhaps the late goal would wake the Pioneers up, they were mistaken. The Falcons continued to dominate all aspects of the game. The Pioneers looked slow, and the Falcons continued to out-hustle them to loose pucks, whether in their defensive zone to clear it or in the offensive zone to get more chances on Mannino.

The Pioneers started to press and get some chances, the Falcons counterattacked well, and at 11:03 made it 3-0 when Josh Schaffer, Josh Print and Mike Phillipich broke in three-on-two. Schaffer ended up pouncing on a rebound in the slot, lifting it past Mannino.

Fairchild continued to be a strong presence on the ice, and at 15:09 Brent Olson grabbed the puck in the left corner and fed it to Fairchild right on the doorstep. Fairchild quickly lifted it top corner stick side to make it 4-0.

“You’ve never prepared to have a 4-0 lead over the number four team in the country,” said Serratore. “All of a sudden, the players, subconsciously, start playing defensively, start playing to protect the lead, and only bad things can happen when you do that.”

Pioneers coach George Gwozdecky pulled Mannino at that point and replaced him with Marc Cheverie. It was the second game in a row that Mannino was pulled.

The Pioneers finally got a hard-working goal late in the period. Kyle Ostrow picked up the puck behind the net, fought off a man and threw it out front to Patrick Mullen. Mullen tried to shoot it, but the back ended up getting knocked back to Tom May,and wristed it past Volkening at 19:07.

“I went into the locker room after the second period when Denver had just scored and they were all talking about the things they needed to do in the defensive zone,” said Serratore. “I said ‘Guys, screw that, we know what to do in the defensive zone, but I got a better idea; let’s play in the offensive zone and we won’t have to worry about it.’”

Unlike the Falcons, the Pioneers were unable to carry any momentum from their late goal over to build on in the third period. However, at 7:37 of the period, the Pioneers had a golden chance when they were awarded a two minute five-on-three when Brett Nylander was called for tripping and Scott Kozlak was called for hooking.

“That was just something I knew we needed to get through without them getting on the board,” said Volkening.

The Falcons knuckled down however, content to let the Pioneers move the puck around the perimeter, wasting time instead of firing shots on Volkening.

“You have to just stay calm,” said Fairchild. “You got into that situation, and you just have to kill it off.”

Gwozdecky pulled Cheverie with a little over five minutes left, trying desperately to spark his squad. The Pioneers got several shots on, but at 15:08, Fairchild got the puck along the left side boards and fired a sharply-angled shot into the empty net.

“I’m very surprised, shocked, disappointed,” said Gwozdecky. “Something’s not right with our team. Something’s right because the effort for a number of guys isn’t there. I can handle losing, but it’s unacceptable when you have too many guys not competing at the level they need to compete at. Something has happened over the last couple of weeks that has us in a rut.”

The win was the first for Air Force against the Pioneers in 19 years, and the highest-ranked opponent they’ve beaten since they beat Colorado College in 1975, a team the Falcons will play Saturday night. It was also Serratore’s first win against a WCHA opponent since he took over as the Falcons’ coach.

“I could be politically correct and say it didn’t matter, but I would be lying through my teeth and I’m not a very good liar,” said Serratore, of getting the win over his former team. “--

Tigers survive

The Tigers gave up 3 straight goals to Bemidji in the second period and rallied for 3 of their own in the third to put away the Beavers 5-4 on a snowy night at World Arena. Drew O'Connell got a rare start and was pelted with 32 shots, stopping 28 of them. The offense continued it's scoring frenzy putting up at least 5 goals once again for the third game in a row at home. Box Score here

The Tigers continue their non-conference weekend against Northside rival Air Force tomorrow night. It's looking to be a sell out, which is sweet (only the second time this season) except that I don't have my tickets yet!

This Week's Storylines (CC Athletics)

This Week’s Storylines
• Three first-place teams converge on the World Arena ice this weekend when WCHA-leading Colorado College plays host to Bemidji State University and Air Force in a pair of non-conference games. Bemidji State sits atop the College Hockey America standings, while the Falcons own a two-point lead in the Atlantic Hockey Association.
• Including a pair of preseason exhibition victories, CC is a perfect 11-0 at home, where it remains to play nine more of its final 14 regular-season games. The Tigers currently own a six-point lead over second-place Denver as well as a 12-point cushion over third-place North Dakota in the WCHA standings, although DU and UND each have two games in hand.
• Junior center Chad Rau continues to lead the WCHA in scoring, with 24 points (15g,9a) in league play, while freshman Richard Bachman is No. 1 in all major goaltending categories, both overall and in conference play.

Icers Shooting to Continue Streak
In Non-League Play vs. BSU & AFA

Key Non-League Games on Tap: Colorado College wraps up its current four-game home stand this weekend with a pair of non-conference games at the World Arena (7,343 seating capacity) against Bemidji State University and in-town rival Air Force Academy. Faceoff for Friday’s contest with BSU is is 7:37 p.m. (MST), while Saturday’s annual meeting with the Falcons begins at 7:07 p.m.

For the Record: CC, 15-3 in league play after sweeping the University of Alaska Anchorage (6-1, 5-2) at the World Arena last weekend, is 16-6 overall after winning 14 of its last 17 games since early November. The Tigers continue to lead the Western Collegiate Hockey Association standings...Bemidji State, which won twice at College Hockey America rival Alabama-Huntsville (4-0, 7-1) last weekend, is 8-2-2 in the CHA and 11-9-2 overall...Air Force is 9-6-3 in Atlantic Hockey Association play and 11-7-4 overall after last week’s split with RIT at the Cadet Ice Arena. The Falcons won, 5-2, on Friday but dropped a 4-3 decision in overtime on Saturday.

In the Rankings: The Tigers have moved up a notch to No. 3 in this week’s national polls published by U.S. College Hockey Online/CSTV and USA Today/American Hockey Magazine. CC also has climbed from fourth to third in the power rankings conducted by InsideCollegeHockey.com (INCH), which lists Bemidji State and Air Force at No. 18 and 19, respectively, this week.

Coach’s Corner: Scott Owens (Colorado College ‘79), who has recorded more victories than any head coach in the history of Tiger Hockey, is in his ninth season at the helm of his alma mater. Owens is 211-115-24 (.637) in 350 games behind the bench, and has guided the Tigers to five NCAA playoff berths in his previous eight campaigns...Tom Serratore (Bemidji State ‘87) is in his seventh season at the BSU helm, where he owns a record of 114-95-27 (.540)...Older brother Frank Serratore (Bemidji State ‘82) is in his 11th year behind the Air Force bench. He’s 160-196-28 (.453) with the Falcons and 209-288-37 (.426) in 15 seasons overall in the Division I ranks.

The All-Time Series: While Colorado College is 2-1 in three previous meetings with Bemidji State, CC and Air Force renew a long-standing rivalry that began during the 1969-70 season. The Tigers own a 55-6-2 advantage in 63 games since then. They have defeated AFA 24 consecutive times and are unbeaten (28-0-1) in the last 29 battles between the teams, including a 2-1 triumph at the academy to open the 2006-07 campaign. The Falcons’ last victory, a 6-5 overtime decision at the old Broadmoor World Arena, came on Nov. 9, 1985. The teams skated to a 3-3 tie at the academy on Nov. 10, 1989. Colorado College has won all eight previous meetings during Owens’ reign as head coach, including five at the Colorado Springs World Arena.

Scouting the Opposition: Bemidji State’s top scorer is freshman forward Matt Read, with 18 points (6g,12a) in 22 games. Senior goaltender Matt Climie is 9-4-2 between the pipes, with a 1.78 GAA and .927 saves percentage. Air Force is led by senior forward Eric Ehn, a 2006-07 All-American and Hobey Baker Award finalist who has 24 points (6g,18a) this season. In net, sophomore Andrew Volkening is 11-6-4 with a 2.43 GAA and .894 saves ratio.

Recapping Last Week’s Sweep: Senior right wing Jimmy Kilpatrick (New Prague, MN) had a hand in seven of CC’s 11 goals, scoring one in each game and assisting on five, to fuel the two victories over Alaska Anchorage. He helped set up junior forward Eric Walsky’s (Anchorage, AK) game winner on Friday, just eight seconds before scoring himself to give the Tigers a 3-0 lead midway through the second period. Kilpatrick was credited with the game-winning goal on Saturday, clicking during a second-period power play. Junior center Chad Rau (Eden Prairie, MN) collected 5 points (3g,2a) in the sweep, scoring twice on Saturday including an empty netter that clinched the 5-2 victory with 14 seconds left to play. Walksy, who set up Kilpatrick’s GWG that night, struck for Colorado College’s first two red lighters on Friday, when senior left wing Scott McCulloch (Lacombe, Alta.), Rau and freshman center Tyler Johnson (Cloquet, MN) joined him and Kilpatrick in finding the back of the net. Sophomore forwards Brian McMillin (Roseau, MN) and Bill Sweatt (Elburn, IL) also lit the lamp on Saturday. Senior forward/team captain Scott Thauwald (Rochester, MN) contributed three assists in the sweep, while freshman goalie Richard Bachman (Highlands Ranch, CO) made 21 saves on Friday and 19 on Saturday to backstop both victories.

For Comparison’s Sake: While the Tigers are just 1-3 in non-conference play heading into this week’s action, their 30 points in the WCHA standings already surpasses their total of last season. CC, which finished fifth in 2006-07 with a league record of 13-12-3 (29 points), now has swept six weekend series in ‘07-08, including two each against Alaska Anchorage and Wisconsin. With five weekends of conference play remaining, that’s two more than in all of last campaign.

Favorite Opponent: Like his team, Kilpatrick has thrived against UAA over the course of his career. While Colorado College now is 45-11-3 (.788) all-time against the Seawolves, including a 30-2 mark (.938) on home ice, the newest WCHA Offensive Player of the Week has collected 24 (8g,16a) of his 99 (33g,66a) career points in just 12 all-time appearances against them. He’s scored three game-winning goals and assisted on two others against UAA. Now one point shy of becoming the 70th member of Tiger Hockey’s elite “Century Club” during the program’s 70th-year anniversary season, Kilpatrick has factored in on 21 GWG altogether during his four years at CC, scoring eight and assisting on 13. He’s struck for three and helped set up two more so far in 2007-08.

Niche in History: The two goals within eight seconds by Walsky and Kilpatrick last Friday marked Colorado College’s fastest pair of the season as well as tying as the program’s fourth quickest ever. The only three quicker ones came on Feb. 1, 1952 (2 seconds), in a 14-7 victory over Michigan Tech; Nov. 17, 2006 (5 seconds), in a 7-2 triumph over Minnesota State; and Nov. 18, 1966 (6 seconds) in a 12-2 win over Lake Forest College. The Tigers have scored twice in less than two minutes on four occasions this season.

Keeping His Streak Intact: Rau, who continues to rank first among WCHA scoring leaders with 24 points (15g,9a) in league play, now has collected at least one in 15 consecutive games as well as in 19 of 21 in which he’s played this season. He also leads the nation with five shorthanded goals among his career-best 17 red lighters overall. He’s scored at least once in his last six outings, and now has 23 points (15g,8a) during his current 15-game streak, giving him 28 (17g,10a) overall this campaign and 89 (44g,45a) for his career at CC.

Rookie Sensation: Bachman, now 14-2 in WCHA play and 15-3 overall for the season, has given up one or fewer goals in 11 of his 16 league starts. The freshman standout leads the conference in all major goaltending categories, both overall and in league play. His 1.61 GAA and .940 saves percentage for all games rank first among regulars nationwide. Bachman earlier was named National Rookie of the Month by the Hockey Commissioners’ Association after backstopping six consecutive victories over ranked WCHA opponents during November. He’s also earned four separate WCHA Player of the Week awards.

Penalty Killing Prowess: The Tigers have held their opponent scoreless on the power play in four consecutive outings and in 14 overall for the season. They’ve given up only five PPG in their 18 league games, and continue to lead the WCHA with a .932 success ratio (69-for-74) on the penalty kill in conference play. Their .896 (86-for-96) mark overall also is a league best, and ranks third best nationally.

Tiger Bites: Including a 10-1-1 record in exhibition games, CC is 161-57-8 (.730) in 226 all-time contests at the World Arena since opening the facility a decade ago, in January 1998...Sophomore defenseman Brian Connelly (Bloomington, MN) has assisted on a team-high four game-winning goals this season after teaming up with Walsky to set up Kilpatrick’s second-period power-play tally last Saturday. Connelly also picked up an assist in Friday’s victory...Colorado College has allowed 22 or fewer shots on goal in four consecutive games as well as in six of its last seven...With an assist last Friday, senior defenseman Jack Hillen (Minnetonka, MN) already has matched his career high for most points in a season. He has 15 (3g,12a) to rank third among all WCHA blue-line specialists...The Tigers, who struck five times in the final 20 minutes of last weekend’s games, have scored 13 goals in the third period of their last five victories. Of their 74 tallies overall this season, including one in overtime, 29 (39.2 percent) have come in the third period.

Can the Falcons actually beat the Tigers?

The Falcons haven't beat CC since 1985, a span of 29 games. The last time I personally attended one of these cross-city rivalries, the Tigers scored 5 PP goals on a major penalty en route to an 11-1 win. Granted AF is much better this season and took Minnesota down to the end in the NCAA tournament last season BUT CC is one of the top 3 teams in the country and on a scoring frenzy since the break. Regardless, David Ramsey lays down the facts that could get the Falcons over the hump. Personally, I hope it's total domination by the Tigers :) Prediction: CC 6, AFA 2

AFA aims to make rivalry less lopsided
By DAVID RAMSEY The Gazette Sports columnist

The Colorado College-Air Force hockey series is a rivalry along the lines of Batman vs. Joker. Sure, there’s a dose of drama here and there, along with snatches of entertaining violence, but in the end everyone knows who will win.

Air Force has failed to defeat CC in 29 straight games, dating to 1985. The Tigers have outscored the Falcons 164-49 during this excruciating streak, which calculates to an average score of 5.65 to 1.68.

CC leads the overall series 55-6-2.

All this misery only aids the current Falcons, who have the motivation and, just maybe, the talent to end 23 humiliating years when the teams meet Saturday night at World Arena.

If Air Force coach Frank Serratore fails to send a seething team on the ice, he should consider a new profession. This is one easy pregame speech.

“To be honest with you,” Serratore said, “what do you have to lose? But, my oh my, if you knock them off, you’ve accomplished something.”

You can bet Serratore is dangling the chance for revenge and redemption, always a nice combination, to his players.

Yet in public, Serratore preaches only love for his crosstown opponent. He talks about his close friendship with CC coach Scott Owens, and he speaks the truth. The men are buddies, and so are their wives.

As Serratore prepared for last season’s Atlantic Hockey Association Tournament final and the chance for a trip to the NCAA Tournament, his cell phone rang.

It was Owens, whom Serratore calls “Scotty,” wishing the Falcons the best of luck.

This helps explain Serratore’s fervor as he talks about his great respect for the Tigers’ program, for their fine, upstanding players and wonderfully enthusiastic fans.

“People don’t want to hear this, but we have a good relationship,” Serratore said. “. . . I don’t hate Colorado College.”

The Falcons will face a CC team on a serious tear. The Tigers have won four straight, outscoring opponents, 16-4. CC is ranked No. 3 in the nation and might have the players to climb even higher.

And yet . . .

The Falcons have a chance. They tested the Tigers a year ago before surrendering a 2-1 loss at Cadet Ice Arena. They traveled to last season’s NCAA Tournament and nearly upset Minnesota. The Tigers, remember, stayed home from last season’s tourney.

The Falcons also boast forward Eric Ehn, who might be the best player on the ice Saturday night. Ehn was one of three finalists for last season’s Hobey Baker Award, given to college hockey’s best men’s player.

Ehn knows all about CC’s hockey blessings. The Tigers play in spacious World Arena, which will be dominated by CC fans Saturday. The Tigers’ stars were recruited by all the glamourous programs.

But Ehn sees one advantage, a major one, for his Falcons.

He believes CC players will attend classes in a relaxed atmosphere this week. CC students will not be ignited by the prospect of playing the Falcons, who have failed to defeat the Tigers since Ronald Reagan resided in the White House.

“You know,” Ehn said, “it’s kind of like why would the campus get excited to play us when they haven’t lost to us.”

Ehn is wise enough to realize this series is not yet a rivalry.

But it is a tantalizing opportunity for The Other Team in Town.

USCO Unveils PairWise Rankings. Guess Who's Number 1?!

The USCHO unveiled their own Pairwise rankings today along with the RPI for each team. When all is factored in the theoretical number one team for the NCAA Tournament is...the Colorado College Tigers, in a tie with Michigan. Check out the full rankings and explanations here
And the RPI (Rating Percentage Index) here, where the Tigers also rank numero uno.

Some good stories from our local sportswriters

CC inspired to attend party it hosts

By MILO F. BRYANT The Gazette Sports columnist

The college hockey season, at least the western portion of it, could not be shaping up to be any better.

The Colorado College Tigers and the University of Denver Pioneers are as friendly to each other as Obama and Hillary. And it looks like the rivals will be fighting for postseason positioning until the end of the season.

The Tigers entered Saturday’s game sitting atop the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. The Pioneers were second. Yet the Pioneers were ranked second to CC’s No. 4 national ranking in the USA Today/USA Hockey poll.

“I haven’t seen two teams on top of this league so clearly since I’ve been here,” CC coach Scott Owens said after the Tigers’ 5-2 victory over Alaska-Anchorage. “. . . It’s a great story because we’re big rivals. We both have half an eye on each other whether we want to admit it or not.

“And we’re plugging along because both of us have hosted regionals in the last three or four years that we didn’t get into. That is a tremendous motivating factor. It’s a sense of embarrassment.”

Since the college hockey season began, it has been about one thing for the Tigers and, to a large degree, the Pioneers — protecting home ice.

Many of the Tigers sport the letters “IOB” on shirts underneath their uniforms. IOB stands for In Our Backyard.

The NCAA West Regional is at World Arena, CC’s home ice. The Frozen Four is in Denver at the Pepsi Center, less than 5 miles from the DU campus.

The dominos, so-to-speak, are laid out for both teams, but more so for the Tigers.

Protect the backyard and a trip to the Frozen Four awaits.

Seems as simple as that.

With a 9-0 home record, the Tigers are making it look simple.

“It’s not just us,” Owens said. “It’s teams coming in to the biggest sheet in North America. I think it’s been a real subtle confidence that we have in this building. We have a team that’s built for a big sheet. This can be a pretty tough building to play in because of our quickness.”

It can be tough because the Tigers are a good team, too. And Saturday was an example of what good teams do to bad teams.

After a lackluster first period, Alaska-Anchorage increased its intensity. It played much of the early part of the second period creating havoc in front of Tigers goaltender Richard Bachman.

The Tigers, who beat the Seawolves by five goals Friday, responded by matching, then exceeding the Seawolves’ passion.

The Tigers scored three goals that period.

The Seawolves lost their bite. The checking was less forceful. They got lazy, took a couple of penalties. One led to the Tigers’ third goal. The Seawolves’ goals came after the game had been decided.

This isn’t the same Tigers team that took the ice earlier this season. That Tigers team might not have responded like this one. This team is tighter. It’s in better synch. And it looks as if a shorthanded road trip helped.

“Anytime you go on a long road trip, you’re away from everything, school’s done,” Tigers forward Jimmy Kilpatrick said. “We didn’t have anything to worry about except hockey situations. And that’s fun. You get to be a more tight knit group.

Contact Bryant at 636-0252 or milo.bryant@gazette.com. See his blog at milobryant.blogspot.com or catch him on KOAA’s Comcast Channel 9 most Wednesdays at 4 p.m.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sweep not perfection
Tigers earn comfortable wins but scoreless in 1st period

By KATE CRANDALL THE GAZETTE

Colorado College swept Alaska-Anchorage with a 5-2 win Saturday, but the Tigers were still more comfortable grumbling than grinning.

“It was kind of a sloppy weekend,” said Brian McMillin, who shifted from center to right wing this weekend for the first time since a brief high school stint.

“We had some high points, but we had some really low points. . . . If you want to keep playing come March and April, you’ve got to pick at everything so you can try playing your best at the end.”

With the victory, the No. 4 Tigers improved to 9-0 at home and pulled six points ahead of second-place Denver in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association race. Denver has played two less league games.

“Shhhhhh,” right wing Jimmy Kilpatrick said of the undefeated home record.

Anchorage had not dropped a road sweep beforehand but fell to 6-9-5 overall and 2-9-3 in the WCHA. The Tigers improved to 16-6 and 15-3 in the WCHA by outscoring the Seawolves 11-3 for the weekend.

CC was held scoreless in the first period for the fourth consecutive game, again resorting to outside shots and failing to create traffic in front of the net.

“The first four or five shifts were really strong, but we took that penalty and it kind of slowed us down,” McMillin said, referring to defenseman Ryan Lowery’s interference. “We’re ready to go, but we’re not sustaining it the whole period. We’ve got to play the whole game.”

Six minutes into the second, with the referee’s arm raised to signal a penalty, Kilpatrick sent a cross to center Chad Rau, who put a rebound top-shelf to give CC a 1-0 lead.

At 11:18 of the second, Mc-Millin one-timed a rebounded Scott McCulloch shot over goaltender Jon Olthuis’ left shoulder. Less than two minutes later, Kilpatrick added a power-play goal from the bottom of the left circle.

The Tigers went on a fiveminute power play in the third period after Anchorage’s Sean Wiles checked Kilpatrick from behind into the right post so hard that the open-face of the goal clanged against the back wall.

Just 23 seconds into the man-advantage, Bill Sweatt caught right wing Mike Testwuide by surprise with a goal-line pass but tapped in the bobbled puck to make it 4-0.

Anchorage’s Peter Cartwright and Mat Robinson turned a rebound into a twoon-one with defenseman Nate Prosser. Cartwright beat goalie Richard Bachman blockerside for only the second shorthanded goal scored on the Tigers this season.

With less than two minutes left, the Seawolves’ Brad Mc-Cabe added a goal to draw Anchorage within two. Coach Dave Shyiak pulled Olthuis with 1:04 to go, but Rau scooped up a blocked shot and sailed in for a slam dunk on the empty net.

“So we had a good weekend,” McMillin said.

“We know we’ve got to work on some things and keep going.”

CONTACT THE WRITER: 476-4803 or kate.crandall@gazette.com.

Tigers Move up in USCHO poll

The Tigers moved up to #3 this week thanks in part to the 7-2 trouncing Wisconsin handed DU Saturday night.

The USCHO/CSTV top 20
1 Michigan

2 Miami

3 Colorado College

4 Denver

5 New Hampshire

6 North Dakota

7 Michigan State

8 Notre Dame

9 Northeastern

10 Massachusetts

11 Boston College

12 Clarkson

13 St. Cloud State

14 Quinnipiac

15 Mass.-Lowell

16 Minnesota-Duluth

17 Wisconsin

18 Minnesota

19 Princeton

20 Minnesota State

Official Overview's of the weekend sweep

CC Athletics below, USCHO Friday and Saturday recaps

Tigers sweep UAA with 5-2 victory
Powered by the familiar duo of Jimmy Kilpatrick and Chad Rau, Colorado College kept rolling on Saturday. Kilpatrick scored the game-winning goal and added a pair of assists, while Rau tallied twice including an empty netter with 14 seconds remaining, leading the Tigers to a 5-2 victory over Alaska Anchorage and a series sweep at the World Arena. With the triumph, in which 11 different players recorded at least one point, fourth-ranked and league-leading CC widened it lead to six points over archrival Denver in the WCHA standings after the Pioneers lost 7-2 at home to Wisconsin. Once again, as in Friday’s 6-1 win, Colorado College and UAA entered the second period scoreless. And, once again, the Tigers responded with three goals – by Rau, Brian McMillin and Kilpatrick – to take command heading into the final 20 minutes. Kilpatrick’s three points gave him seven (2g,5a) in the series and 99 (33g,66a) for his collegiate career. Rau, the WCHA scoring leader, extended his point-scoring streak to 15 consecutive games. Bill Sweatt also clicked on a power play early in the third period, when the Seawolves finally dented freshman goalie Richard Bachman for a pair of late tallies. Bachman finished with 19 saves.

Kilpatrick, Walsky power CC last Seawolves
Jimmy Kilpatrick has enjoyed a glittering career against the University of Alaska Anchorage. Eric Walsky is following suit with a pretty impressive season vs. his former team. The two veteran forwards combined for three second-period goals on Friday, including a pair just eight seconds apart, to spark Colorado College to a 6-1 victory over the Seawolves at the World Arena. Junior forward Walsky struck for the first two tallies of the game, at 6:03 and 12:33 of the middle frame, and now has been credited with the game winner in two of the Tigers’ victories over UAA this season, his first at CC. Senior right wing Kilpatrick, who added three assists in the victory, now has collected 21 of his 96 career points in 11 all-time outings against the same team. With the victory, the WCHA-leading Tigers maintained their four-point spread over second-place Denver in the league standings and improved their home-ice record to a perfect 8-0. Senior left wing Scott McCulloch, junior center Chad Rau and freshman center Tyler Johnson also scored in the third period. Rau collected a pair of assists while extending his point-scoring streak to 14 consecutive games. McCulloch, who helped set up Walsky's game winner, recorded his second straight multiple-point outing. Freshman goaltender Richard Bachman made 21 saves, allowing only a second-period goal by Seawolves sophomore Josh Lunden that came 81 seconds after Kilpatrick gave Colorado College a 3-0 cushion at 12:41.

Tiger Sweep Alaska

The Tigers continued their offensive roll as they swept UAA this weekend with a 5-2 victory tonight. In other news directly related to the Tigers, DU was crushed by Wisconsin 7-2 tonight as Wisconsin got it's first road victory of the season. This gives the Tigers a little more breathing room at the top of the WCHA standings (though DU has 2 more games left more that the Tigers) and could easily bump CC to #2 in the national polls. We will see how the voters respond. Either way, great weekend by the Tigers and it's great to see them continue their strong season.

UAA blogger's reaction to the game last night

At this moment, CC is continuing their destruction of their Alaskan counterparts with a 3-0 lead in the 2nd period. My google alerts sent me an interesting blog from a UAA blogger who, in his poorly written summary of the game, kept talking about the Black Bears beating the Seawolves last night. Not sure where he got CC Black Bears from, must be from his obvious familiarity with the sport (insert extreme sarcasm here). Anyway, he bashes our logo on the jumbotron plenty and our just-there-to-be-seen crowd so be sure to leave him some love from the land of year-round sunshine and good hockey!
Read it all here

2 Intro Vids from Friday night

Tigers Crush Alaska Anchorage 6-1

It was a great homecoming for a Tiger team that had been away from the high altitude confines of the World Arena since November 23rd. The game started slow and was 0-0 after one. In the second, the Tigers got one and added two more back to back (about 5 seconds apart) toward the middle of the period and finished the game off with 3 more in the third. It was methodical beat-down that felt a little closer than the score, but hey, let's not get too picky ;)
Here's the box score if you're interested.
I have plenty of multimedia from the game that I will be posting tomorrow (Saturday) including pics and 4 videos!

Game Day Material

The CC Athletics site takes a look at their stories from the week, including goalie Richard Bachman winning another WCHA Defensive player of the week award and the Tigers finally returning home.

David Ramsey has a good column about the Tigers dealing with adversity with all the suspensions this season

This week in the WCHA by the USCHO highlights the Tigers sweeping through their off-ice problems and gearing up to put a wooping in UAA.

The puck drops tonight at 7:37 at the World Arena, and the Tigers will try to remain undefeated at home and keep their chances strong to play at home in the regionals this spring.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This week in the WCHA by by Theresa Spisak/WCHA Correspondent, USCHO

Jan. 10 — Doth the new year kill the column jinx? After I talk about possible troubles concerning the Gophers and the Tigers, both teams swept their weekend series.

After talking with Coach Scott Owens last week, I felt the Tigers might be okay, but held off judgment until the weekend series, where they went ahead and swept the Badgers — screwing with my predictions.

As for the Gophers, I’m not going to say they have turned it around just yet — not to disrespect Wayne State, but they’re not the WCHA. Still, Don Lucia’s squad accomplished a few of the goals we discussed last week — the team scored one more goal a game (in fact, five each night), didn’t really allow a soft goal (well, at least on Friday — caught that one on TV) and scored both power play AND short-handed goals.

In other words, things are looking up at the U, if only for a weekend.

Red Baron Pizza WCHA Players of the Week

Red Baron WCHA Offensive Player of the Week: Ryan Duncan, UND.
Why: Had two goals and two assists in the Fighting Sioux’s road split at St. Cloud State, as well as had 10 total shots and was a +2.
Also Nominated: Chad Rau, CC; Peter Rouleau, MTU; Evan Kaufmann, UM.

Red Baron WCHA Defensive Player of the Week: Richard Bachman, CC.
Why: Helped CC to its first two-game conference road sweep of Wisconsin since 1995-96, had five shut-out periods and stopped 43 of 44 shots on goal.
Also Nominated: Brent Solei, UM; Joe Finley, UND.

Red Baron WCHA Rookie of the Week: Deron Cousens, MTU.
Why: The defenseman had three assists and was a +4 in the Huskies’ sweep of Mercyhurst.
Also Nominated: Aaron Marvin, SCSU.

Battle of the BCHL Superstars

This week’s series between Wisconsin and Denver features the two players who battled it out all season last year for the British Columbia Hockey League’s scoring crown — the Badgers’ Kyle Turris (66-55—121 for Burnaby) and the Pioneers’ Tyler Bozak (45-83—128 for Victoria), the eventual victor.

That’s all well and good, but how are the two doing this year?

In the battle of WCHA rookies, St. Cloud State’s Garrett Roe (United States Hockey League product, 11-17—28) is leading the pack. After that, however, we have Bozak (10-11—21) and Turris (7-12—19).

The Badger is better overall per game (1.17 points per game, good for 3rd nationally), yet he has played in four fewer games, thanks to the Wisconsin’s schedule and his time at the World Junior Championships. The Pioneer, on the other hand, is averaging just 1.05 points per game.

However, keep this in mind: Turris scored 12 of his 19 points in the first four games of the season and hasn’t had a multi-point game since Robert Morris on Oct. 20. . Bozak, meanwhile, got off to a slower start, but in general, has been a little more consistent.

If you look at the stat lines per game, Turris has, in 16 games, gone five games without a point and has had three multi-point games. Bozak, in 20 games, has had six games without a point but five multi-point games. Bozak arguably has more offensive talent surrounding him while Turris is leading his team in points.

“I wanted to beat him more than anything [last year] and I’m sure he wanted the same thing,” said Bozak, when asked about their rivalry last year. “I know he’ll be coming in wanting to outplay me this weekend like every time we played last year.

“I’m sure he’s going to come in and it’s going to be a good battle for us and more, so I hope our team gets the win and we get the sweep.”

While I couldn’t get a hold of Turris to get his thoughts, thanks to his different travel schedule resulting from World Juniors, I’m sure he feels similarly.

Random Notes (and Commentary!) From Around the League

UAA: The Seawolves will gain a new player for the second half of the season — Jeff Carlson. The defenseman spent last year with the NAHL’s Southern Minnesota Express, establishing him as the Express’s top-scoring defenseman (15-24—39).

DU: The Pioneers have started the “Mannino for Hobey” campaign to promote senior netminder Peter Mannino. Mannino is a legit candidate this year, but we’ll see if Damien over at LetsGoDU (http://letsgodu.blogspot.com) can provide backing like they did with Danny King