This Week's Story Lines

From CC Athletics

This Week’s Storylines
• The Tigers are in position to clinch at least a share of the MacNaughton Trophy as WCHA regular-season champions for the third time in six years and the sixth time in the last 15. All they need to do is beat Minnesota State University twice at the World Arena, where they won 14 consecutive games this campaign before losing (4-2) to St. Cloud State on Feb. 9.
. • With the NCAA playoffs now only a month away, Colorado College’s chances of playing in the West Regional on its home ice are looking better and better. If the 16-team tournament were to start today, CC would be a No. 1 seed in the West.
• Minnesota State will be no pushover, however. The Mavericks have been one of the nation’s hottest teams since mid-January, winning seven of their last nine games and climbing into NCAA playoff contention themselves. MSU swept the Tigers the last time the teams met, a year ago in Mankato.

Regular-Season Title Within Grasp
As CC Plays Host to Minnesota State

Hour of Truth at Hand: Colorado College shoots to clinch its third regular-season championship in six years this week when the Tigers meet Minnesota State University in a two-game Western Collegiate Hockey Association series at the World Arena (7,343 seating capacity). Faceoff is 7:37 p.m. MST Friday and 7:07 p.m. MST Saturday. The Tigers need four points in their final four games to assure themselves of no worse than a tie for first place in the final WCHA standings.

For the Record: First-place CC is 23-8-1 overall and 18-5-1 in league play after skating to a pair of shutout victories (3-0 and 4-0) at Minnesota Duluth last weekend. The Tigers, who wrap up the regular season next week with an away-and-home series with archrival Denver, currently own a four-point lead over second-place North Dakota and a six-point cushion over third-place DU...Minnesota State is 16-12-4 overall and 10-10-4 in league play, good for a fifth-place tie with St. Cloud State in the WCHA standings. Despite dropping a 4-2 non-conference decision at home to Nebraska-Omaha on Tuesday, the Mavericks have won seven of their last nine outings. .

In the Rankings: The Tigers remain No. 4 in this week’s national polls conducted by U.S. College Hockey Online/CSTV and USA Today/American Hockey Magazine. CC has climbed into a tie for second in the Pairwise computer rankings and is still second in the power rankings published by InsideCollegeHockey.com (INCH), which has Minnesota State at No. 10. The Mavericks are ninth and 10th in the other two polls, and tied for 11th in the Pairwise.

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 218-117-25 (.640) in 360 games behind the bench, including an 18-9-1 mark (.661) against Minnesota State, and has guided the Tigers to five NCAA playoff berths in his previous eight campaigns...Troy Jutting (MSU ‘87) is in his eighth season as head coach at his alma mater and overall in the collegiate ranks. He owns a career record of 124-141-38 (.472).

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. This Friday's game against Minnesota State will be picked up in Denver on KEPN 1600 AM, courtesy of the CC Tiger Sports Network. 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 game of this week’s series against Minnesota State 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 marks the 33rd all-time meeting between Colorado College and Minnesota State, which will see each other for the first time this season. CC, which owns a 22-9-1 advantage in the rivalry, was undefeated (9-0-1) in 10 games against the Mavericks before being swept (3-2, 6-4) in Mankato a little more than a year ago. The Tigers are 14-4 all-time against MSU at the World Arena after winning the last six decisions dating back to a 9-6 loss on March 1, 2003.

Scouting the Mavericks: MSU’s top point producer through 32 games is sophomore forward Trevor Bruess, with 25 (7g,18a), while junior forward Mick Berge leads the team with 16 goals including three game-winners. Junior netminder Mike Zacharias is 15-9-4 between the pipes, with a 2.13 goals-against average and .921 saves percentage.

Recapping the UMD Series: Freshman Richard Bachman (Highlands Ranch, CO) made 31 saves on Friday and 29 more on Saturday to become the first goalie in the 70-year history of Tiger Hockey to record shutouts in both games of a weekend road series. Friday’s opener was scoreless until midway through the second period when sophomore center Andreas Vlassopoulos (Los Angeles, CA) and junior center Chad Rau (Eden Prairie, MN) lit the lamp just 25 seconds apart to give Bachman and Colorado College a 2-0 lead. Vlassopoulos, who added another tally early in the third period that night, collected a pair of assists in Saturday’s 4-0 victory to finish with four points for the weekend. Rau also scored twice on Saturday, while senior defenseman Jack Hillen (Minnetonka, MN) set up each of CC’s final three goals. Junior forward Eric Walsky (Anchorage, AK) struck for the game winner just 8:12 into the contest, finishing a two-on-one rush with sophomore winger Matt Overman (Bloomington, MN). Senior right wing Jimmy Kilpatrick (New Prague, MN), who assisted on the GWG by Vlassopoulos in the series opener, completed Saturday’s scoring at 8:04 of the final frame.

A Truly Golden Era: Colorado College, which will host a first-round playoff series for the 15th time in the last 17 seasons, has advanced to the WCHA Final Four or Final Five on 10 of the previous 14 occasions and earned 10 NCAA playoff bids since 1995. Starting in 1993-94, when the Tigers went 23-11-5 overall and won the first of three consecutive WCHA regular-season championships, they have posted a winning record of 384-185-43 (.663). That string of success has lifted CC’s all-time record above the .500 mark, at 1,042-1,041-96, for the first time in 36 years, since January 1972.

Poise of a Veteran: Bachman, whose overall goals-against average of 1.71 and saves percentage of .935 are the best in the nation, has allowed two or fewer goals in 20 of his 27 starts this season. Owner of four shutouts, including three consecutive over UMD, the All-WCHA/All-America candidate has given up one or fewer goals in 13 of his 22 WCHA assignments. He leads the league in all major goaltending categories, both overall and in conference play.

Bulldog Nightmares: While Bachman now has blanked Minnesota Duluth for 197 minutes and 46 seconds dating back to the third period of a 5-3 victory over the Bulldogs on Nov. 9, Vlassopoulos has collected eight (4g,4a) of his season total of 26 points against them. He also had a goal and assist in a split at Duluth last season, giving him 10 career points (5g,5a) in six career games against UMD. He became the 10th different Tiger to score a game-winning goal this season with his tally at 8:46 of the second period last Friday, and has moved into a tie for 11th place among WCHA scoring leaders with 19 points (6g,13a) in league play.

Offense From the Blue Line: Hillen, whose career-high 28 points overall (3g,25a) this season continues to lead all WCHA defensemen, continues to strengthen his case as an all-league and All-America candidate. One of just six CC players to appear in every game this season, he has collected 13 assists in the last 10 outings. Hillen also ranks No. 1 among all WCHA players with his 25 assists, leads the Tigers with 14 points (1g,13a) on the power play and is a key member in Colorado College’s nation-best and league-leading penalty killing efforts.

Penalty Killing Prowess: The Tigers have held their opponent scoreless on the power play in 12 of their last 14 outings, as well as in 22 of 32 for the season, after shutting down all nine Minnesota Duluth opportunities last weekend, including seven on Friday. While Colorado College’s overall penalty-killing proficiency of 90.4 percent (113-of-125) ranks No. 1 nationally, its league-leading success ratio (92.5) in WCHA play is even better. CC has given up only seven PPG in its 24 conference outings to date, matching that total with seven shorthanded goals. The Tigers have scored nine SHG overall, five by Rau, who is tied for the national lead in that category.

Picking His Spots: Kilpatrick, who had missed the previous three games due to injury, returned to action last Friday and assisted on his fourth game-winning goal of the season. He’s also scored three GWG of his own, factoring in on seven altogether to tie Rau for the team lead. He’s figured in on 23 game winners overall during his four seasons at Colorado College, scoring eight and assisting on 15. His goal on Saturday gave him 104 career points (35g,69a) as a Tiger.

Back in the Groove: Rau’s second-period tally last Friday snapped a seven-game goal-scoring drought for the All-WCHA/All-America candidate, who shares the national lead with his five shorthanded goals and has been credited with five game winners. He’s now struck twice or more in a game on seven occasions this season after clicking a pair of power plays in Saturday’s 4-0 victory. His career-high 22 tallies overall and 18 in league play lead all WCHA players.

Tiger Bites: Walsky’s red lighter early in last Saturday’s triumph was his fourth game winner of the season, tying him with senior left wing Scott McCulloch (Lacombe, Alta.) for second place on the team...Connelly, who joined Kilpatrick in assisting on Vlassopoulos first goal on Friday, now has helped set up a team-leading six GWG in 2007-08. He added another assist on Saturday to extend his current point-scoring streak to seven consecutive games...The second-period goals within 25 seconds by Vlassopoulos and Rau last Friday represent Colorado College’s second quickest pair of the season. It marked the third time in ’07-08 that the Tigers have struck twice in less than a minute...CC now is 17-3-1 when scoring first in a game, 9-1-1 when tied after the opening period, 12-3 when ahead after 20 minutes, and 17-1 when entering the final 20 with a lead...Including a 10-1-1 record in exhibition games, the Tigers are 166-58-8 (.733) in 232 all-time appearances at the World Arena since opening the facility a decade ago.

Here come the honors

It was only a matter of making it official for the Tigers' freshman goaltender as Richard Bachman won the INCH player of the week award for his beyond-human performance against Duluth last weekend. Bachman also landed the Red Baron® WCHA Rookie of the Week alongside teammate Andreas Vlassopoulos who won the Red Baron® WCHA Offensive Player of the Week. Full reviews from WCHA and INCH below for your gloating pleasure.

INCH Player of the Week

RICHARD BACHMAN
Colorado College

His Statistics: 2 GP, 2-0-0, 60 saves, 0 GA, 2 shutouts

His Impact: While Bachman's feats on the ice against Minnesota Duluth last weekend — becoming the first goalie in Colorado College history to shut out an opponent in both ends of a road series — were certainly remarkable, the fact that he was even in the lineup was no small feat.

The freshman goaltender missed practice Wednesday and Thursday to attend his grandmother's funeral in Salt Lake City and didn't join his teammates in Duluth until the wee hours Friday morning. Showing no ill effects from the demanding week, Bachman stopped 31 shots in the Tigers' 3-0 win Friday, then made 29 saves in a 4-0 win Saturday.

The consecutive whitewashes give Colorado College a four-point lead over second-place North Dakota in the race for the WCHA regular-season title with four games remaining. They also propelled Bachman to the national lead in both goals against average (1.71) and save percentage (.935). He also ranks third among Division I goaltenders behind Michigan's Billy Sauer and Miami's Jeff Zatkoff with 21 wins.

WCHA Players of the Week

CC's Vlassopoulos, & Bachman Named Red Baron® WCHA Players of the Week

Colorado College centerman Andreas Vlassopoulos has been named Red Baron® WCHA Offensive Player of the Week for Feb. 26-March 3

Feb. 26, 2008

Red Baron® WCHA Offensive Player of the Week
Andreas Vlassopoulos
Sr., F, Colorado College

MADISON, Wisc. - Colorado College centerman Andreas Vlassopoulos, who produced four scoring points while helping the league-leading Tigers to a two-game conference road sweep at Minnesota Duluth last weekend, has been named Red Baron® WCHA Offensive Player of the Week for Feb. 26-March 3.

A 5-11, 180-pound sophomore from Los Angeles, Calif., Vlassopoulos scored two goals and set up two others in the back-to-back shutouts, fired four shots on goal, and earned a +3 plus-minus rating as Colorado College opened a four-point lead in the race for the WCHA's regular season championship and MacNaughton Cup.

Last Friday (Feb. 22) night, he scored two goals, including the eventual game-winner, as the Tigers defeated host UMD by a 3-0 count. Then last Saturday evening, Vlassopoulos came back to set up two of Colorado College's four goals in a 4-0 victory over the Bulldogs. In addition to his four points, hd won 19 of his 36 face-offs.

On the 2007-08 season now, Vlassopoulos is tied for third in scoring overall among his CC teammates, showing 26 points in 32 games played with seven goals and 19 assists. Over his 57 games as a Tiger, he has 42 career points (12g, 30a).

No. 4-ranked Colorado College (23-8-1) is home this weekend to take on WCHA-rival Minnesota State in Friday and Saturday games at the Colorado Springs World Arena.

Also nominated this week were: Rhett Rakhshani, F, DU.

Red Baron® WCHA Rookie of the Week

Richard Bachman
Fr., G, Colorado College

MADISON, Wisc. - Colorado College goaltender Richard Bachman, who recorded back-to-back shutouts in a two-game road series against league-rival Minnesota Duluth last weekend, has been named Red Baron® WCHA Rookie of the Week for Feb. 26-March 3. Bachman previously earned the weekly rookie honor on Nov. 13 (vs UM) and Nov. 27 (vs DU).

A 5-10, 172-pound freshman from Highlands Ranch, Colo., Bachman stopped all 60 shots on goal in the series for a perfect 1.000 saves percentage while becoming the first Colorado College goaltender in 70 years of Tiger Hockey to post back-to-back shutouts in a two-game road series.

Last Friday (Feb. 22) night at the DECC in Duluth, Minn., he recorded 31 saves and blanked the host Bulldogs on all seven of their power-play chances as CC skated to a 3-0 victory.

Then last Saturday (Feb. 23) evening, Bachman registered a total of 29 saves in a 4-0 Colorado College victory over UMD, including 14 in the third period, and again blanked the Bulldogs on both of their man-advantage opportunities.

On the 2007-08 season, Bachman leads the nation (men's Div. 1) in goals-against average at 1.71 and in saves percentage at .935. He also ranks second nationally in winning percentage at .796 on a 21-5-1 record, and has four shutouts in this his rookie season. He has given up one or fewer goals in 13 of his 22 WCHA starts and has allowed two or less in 20 of his 27 assignments overall.

Also nominated for the award this week were: Tyler Bozak, F, DU; and Patrick White, F, UM.

TigerPride goes behind enemy lines

For my own sheer amusement, I agreed to fill out some questions for Amy at the Minnesota State blog. For the most part I was honest but made sure to have some fun with it, before she went through and added her own exaggerated commentary to it. If anything, it gives us a little exposure to our frozen opponents to the north. One thing of note, in the section where she asked me to list my favorite WCHA teams, I put CC first and everyone else second. She made fun because I have DU listed 3rd, but in reality I just copied and pasted the current WCHA standings, that question wasn't worth the time ;) The picture she put is freakin hilarious and I had, in no way, anything to do with that, despite what she wrote. I could care less how much we get made fun of, once she realizes that the sun shines here everyday and it's not Midwest humidity and ice storms, she'll realize why Colorado rocks. So if you've got some time today, jump on over and leave some Tiger love!

New Polls: Tigers Hold Steady

CC surrendered a total of 0 goals in a shutout-sweeping weekend and remained at number 4 this week behind the Sioux/UNH pair. North Dakota can have the top spot, if we get a sweep this weekend the McNaughton Cup is ours!

USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll

The 13th annual USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men's College Hockey Poll is conducted each week in conjunction with the American Hockey Coaches Association. The poll includes input from coaches and journalists representing each of the six NCAA Division I ice hockey conferences, as well as composite votes from officers of the American Hockey Coaches Association and USA Hockey Magazine, the official publication of USA Hockey.

February 25, 2008

No.	Team (First-place votes)	Points	Last Poll
1.	Michigan (28)	501	1
2.	New Hampshire (3)	455	3
3.	North Dakota	451	2
4.	Colorado College	417	4
5.	Miami	380	5
6.	Michigan State	328	6
7.	Denver	315	8
8.	Boston College	240	7
9.	Clarkson	224	11
10.	Minnesota State	212	10
11.	Notre Dame	153	9
12.	Princeton	117	15
13.	St. Cloud State	116	NR
14.	Wisconsin	93	12
15.	Minnesota State	46	13

Also receiving votes: Minnesota 15, Boston University 8, Harvard 6, Cornell 1, Providence 1, Air Force 1.

USCHO.com/CSTV Poll

February 25, 2008

No.	Team (First-place votes)	Points	Last Poll
1.	Michigan (35)	963	1
2.	North Dakota (10)	931	2
3.	New Hampshire (5)	899	3
4.	Colorado College	862	4
5.	Miami	821	5
6.	Michigan State	737	6
7.	Denver	693	8
8.	Boston College	614	7
9.	Minnesota State	561	11
10.	Clarkson	542	12
11.	Notre Dame	505	9
12.	St. Cloud State	417	16
13.	Wisconsin	410	10
14.	Princeton	383	17
15.	Minnesota Duluth	293	13
16.	Boston University	163	NR
17.	Minnesota	147	NR
18.	Northeastern	115	T14
19.	Providence	101	T14
20.	Harvard	96	NR

Also receiving votes: Quinnipiac 54, Vermont 50, Niagara 39, Cornell 30, Union 27, Air Force 11, UMass Lowell 11, Michigan Tech 8, Army 6, Bemidji State 5, RIT 4, Bowling Green 1, Ferris State 1.

Forsberg Returns to Avalanche

A little NHL news for ya as Peter Forsberg has announced he will return to the Avalanche for the remainder of this season. Great news to a team that has been struggling recently. Even if he's not the Forsberg of old, just his presence and energy should boost the team.
Full story here and here

Back-to-Back

Bachman shines again as the Tigers roll to another shutout, 4-0 over Minnesota-Duluth.

Tigers Sweep Buldogs
Bachman Extends Shutout Streak
by Kevin Pates/Special to USCHO

DULUTH, Minn. (Feb. 23) — There were a couple of questions Saturday night at the DECC as Minnesota-Duluth finished a Western Collegiate Hockey Association men’s series with No. 2 Colorado College:

Would the ice surface hold up after four games in 12 hours? Could the Bulldogs crank up their offense at home?

High school games at 10 a.m. and noon, followed by the UMD women against St. Cloud State at 3:30 p.m., had already given the rink a workout.

The ice was OK, but things didn’t get much better for the Bulldogs. First-place Colorado College showed exceptional speed and skill in a 4-0 victory before a crowd of 5,182, aided by two Chad Rau power-play goals.


Colorado College star freshman goalie Richard Bachman, ranked first in the WCHA for save percentage (.932) and goals-against average (1.77), gained an amazing third straight shutout against UMD, a streak of 197 minutes and 46 seconds over four games total. It marked the first consecutive road series shutouts in Colorado College’s 70 years, and it gave the Tigers a four-point lead in the WCHA over second-place North Dakota with four games to play. Bachman had 29 saves.

“We won the league my freshman year and I remember how special it was,” said Colorado senior defenseman Jack Hillen of Minnetonka, Minn. “It’s something we’re looking forward to and we wanted to start the last six games on the right foot.”

The Tigers (23-8-1 overall, 18-5-1 WCHA) started with a 3-0 win Friday and never let UMD into the series.

Going into Saturday’s game, UMD had lost consecutive games just once this season, at Colorado College on Nov. 9-10. The Bulldogs (12-12-6, 8-11-5) hadn’t been shutout in consecutive home games since being swept by Minnesota 2-0 and 7-0 in 1995-96. The Tigers outscored UMD 15-3 in four wins this season.

“We had some momentum in each game and the shots were even for both games [favoring UMD 60-56] ; the difference is, Colorado College scored on its chances,” said UMD junior defenseman Josh Meyers. “They’re by far the fastest team we’ve played. They made the plays and buried their chances.

“It’s tough to lose when you put 30 shots on a goalie each night and don’t score. Colorado likes a skating game and I don’t think we played in their face enough.”

Winger Eric Walsky finished a two-on-one break with Matt Overman in the first period for the Tigers, and Rau’s two power-play goals made it 3-0 after two.

Rau, a junior center from Eden Prairie, Minn., hit with 3:02 left in the first period and finished a nice passing play late in the second to make the Tigers 2-of-3 on power plays against the No. 2-rated penalty killers in Division I. He has 21 goals this season and 49 in his career.

“You hang in there with a team, then make a mistake and it feels like the game is over; their team speed kept leading to odd-man rushes and breakaways,” said UMD goalie Alex Stalock. “At this time of the year, you can’t be happy by not picking up any points. We have to find a way to do something about it.”

Winger Jimmy Kilpatrick scored on a tip at the right edge of the crease at 8:04 of the third period, a play which gave Hillen a third straight assist in the game.

“We played a good methodical team game and our defensive corps was really good,” said Colorado College coach Scott Owens. “They defended well and got the puck moving north. Hillen might be the best defenseman in our league.”

UMD coach Scott Sandelin reworked all of his lines following Friday’s loss, yet the Bulldogs still found it rough going offensively. Bachman had one tough stop in the first period, gloving Michael Gergen with 4:56 left. Seconds later, Gergen was called for spraying Bachman with ice chips and that led to the Tigers scoring on a power play.

The No. 10 Bulldogs are 0-3-1 the last four home games while scoring just two goals total in that stretch. The Bulldogs started the season 4-0-3 at the DECC, but are 2-4-2 the last eight, and are clinging to seventh place in the WCHA, one point ahead of Minnesota.

“All weekend we were looking for that goal to give you a little spark, some life, and couldn’t find it,” said Sandelin. “When you never find it, it zaps you mentally. They’re a tough team to play catch up with, especially with the way their goalie’s playing.”

UMD remains home this Saturday and Sunday against North Dakota.

CC Athletics
Title within reach after sweep in Duluth
Only four points now stand between Colorado College and a third MacNaughton Trophy in the last six years. The Tigers, who have four games remaining before the first round of the WCHA playoffs, continued to zero in on the regular-season title with Saturday’s 4-0 victory at Minnesota Duluth that completed a series sweep of the Bulldogs. Once again, freshman goalie Richard Bachman stood tall between the pipes, making 29 saves while posting his fourth shutout of the campaign, second of the weekend and third in a row against UMD. Junior center Chad Rau, who snapped a seven-game goal-scoring drought a night earlier, popped in his 21st and 22nd tallies of the season to fuel CC’s 11th triumph in 14 games and 23rd overall in 2007-08. Both of Rau's goals came on the power play. Eric Walsky and Jimmy Kilpatrick also scored in the whitewashing, while senior defenseman Jack Hillen set up each of the last three red lighters. Walsky provided the only goal Bachman would need, starting and finishing a nice two-on-one rush with Matt Overman at 8:46 of the opening period. Bachman became the first Colorado College goalie in history to blank an opponent on consecutive nights on the road. The Tigers, who play host to Minnesota State University at the World Arena next Friday and Saturday, can clinch a tie for first place in the final league standings with a pair of victories over the Mavericks, regardless of what second-place North Dakota does in its series at Duluth.

Tigers Rock

Sorry for the delay, busy Friday night and Saturday morning. Listening to the game Friday night, I can see why Bachman was the story in the papers. He was on fire dominating a resilient team in their bush-league arena. One thing of note, Kate Crandall said that Bachman arrived in Duluth after midnight Friday night...kinda hard to play a game when you arrive 6 hours after it started isn't it? I understand it is probably a poor use of terminology for what day "midnight" falls on but c'mon, you call yourself a freakin journalist? That paper makes all of us who hold journalism degrees look like amateur bloggers! ;)

USCHO story below

Tigers Tame Bulldogs
Freshman Phenom Bachman Records Third Shutout of Season
by Kevin Pates/Special to USCHO

DULUTH, Minn. (Feb. 22) — Freshman goalie Richard Bachman handled a difficult week and Colorado College survived a lack of numbers to move closer to a Western Collegiate Hockey Association regular-season title Friday night at the DECC.

Colorado College gained sole possession of first place with a 3-0 victory over Minnesota-Duluth before 4,632 spectators.

Bachman, who attended the funeral of a grandmother on Thursday in Salt Lake City, Utah, arrived in Duluth about 12:15 a.m., saw the DECC for the first time at a morning skate, and then shut out the No. 8-ranked Bulldogs for a second straight game.

The No. 4 Tigers (22-8-1, 17-5-1 WCHA) took a two-point lead over North Dakota, which is playing out of the league this weekend. UMD (12-11-6, 8-10-5) dropped from sixth to seventh in the WCHA, being passed by St. Cloud State after a 4-1 home win over Michigan Tech.

“My family understood what I had to do, that I had to come here and play, and I had to play well for my family,’’ said Bachman, who is from Highlands Ranch, Colo., and leads the WCHA in goals-against and save percentage. “We kind of rose above everything and that’s a good sign for our team.

“Duluth was throwing shots hard at us and crashing the net. They were right with us the whole game.”

What the Tigers had to survive was losing winger Addison DeBoer to a shoulder injury nine minutes into the game and then losing defenseman Nate Prosser to a checking-from-behind major penalty with three minutes left in the first period. Two other forwards are out because of injuries.

Colorado College coach Scott Owens liked the effort he got. Centers Andreas Vlassopoulos and Chad Rau scored goals 25 seconds apart in the second period, and Vlassopoulos added a goal early in the third. Bachman had 31 saves.

“We scored some nice goals, then tried to let Duluth back in the game with a slew of penalties, but we looked quick all night and got a huge win,’’ Owens said. “Richard stood tall and looked confident. He’s the main reason we’re in first place, and we don’t apologize for that.”

UMD’s Alex Stalock was also strong in goal as the Bulldogs led in total shots 31-28. The WCHA’s top two penalty-killing teams were also perfect in that category as UMD went 0-for-7 and Colorado College 0-for-8 on the power play.

Bachman, who beat UMD 3-0 on Nov. 10 in Colorado Springs, Colo., now has a shutout streak against the Bulldogs of 137 minutes, 46 seconds. The Tigers are 10-2-1 in 2008.

“It was a feeling-out process in the first period and in the second we got going, then we had some lapses,’’ said UMD captain Matt McKnight. “Our effort was decent for the most part, but three breakdowns ended up in three goals in our net.
“We talked about it all week that Colorado likes to skate up and down the rink, and we wanted to slow it down and cycle the puck. We cycled the puck, but you still have to get pucks to the net.”

The Tigers lost Prosser, a sophomore from Elk River, Minn., with 2:44 left in the first period on a checking-from-behind major as he knocked UMD winger Andrew Carroll head-first into the sideboards.

In the second period, Vlassopoulos connected from the right circle on a sniping shot at 8:12, and, following a UMD turnover at neutral ice, winger Mike Testwuide found Rau alone in front of Stalock for a goal at 8:37. For Rau, a junior from Eden Prairie, Minn., it was his 20th goal of the season.

The Bulldogs, home for the first time in five weeks, made Bachman work the last two periods.

He gloved Justin Fontaine’s shot in the second, stopped McKnight from close range midway through the third and got a leg on a Jordan Fulton shot late in the third.

But the Bulldogs couldn’t break through and lost for the third time at home this season.

“We made some bad mistakes and they cost us at least two goals,’’ said UMD coach Scott Sandelin. “You have to bear down a little more. We’ll have to play as hard and keep creating the same chances.”

Final Stretch Begins

The Tigers would be smart to just call this weekend's series the beginning of the post-season. With the McNaughton trophy on the line, as well as NCAA Tourney seeding, there is little room for error. North Dakota is on an 11 game winning streak and has jumped into a tie with the Tigers (though the Tiger have 2 games-in-hand) but playing like those extra 4 points don't exist should be enough motivation for the Tigers to finish strong before heading to the Excel Center for a chance at the WCHA Tournament Title.

CC Athletics

This Week’s Storylines
• With home ice already secured for the opening round of the WCHA playoffs a month from now, Colorado College heads to Minnesota Duluth this week in a heated battled for the program’s sixth regular-season title in the last 15 seasons. Although North Dakota has pulled into a tie for first place, the Tigers still hold the upper hand with a pair of games in hand with UND as well as a six-point lead over third-place Denver.
• CC, which is 14-1 at the World Arena this season but just 7-7-1 on the road, is 31-42-2 (.427) all-time in Duluth after splitting there in January 2007. The Bulldogs have eight NHL draft picks on their current roster.
• If the Tigers can win four of their remaining six games, they will finish no worse than co-champions with the Fighting Sioux. And, while sixth-place UMD also still has a mathematical chance of catching Colorado College in the league standings, it would take six Duluth victories and six CC losses for that scenario to occur.

CC Icers Put Title Hopes On the Line
In Crucial Series at Minnesota Duluth

Stretch Drive Resumes: Colorado College tries to give its regular-season title hopes a shot in the arm this week when the Tigers travel to the shores of Lake Superior for a two-game Western Collegiate Hockey Association series against the University of Minnesota Duluth. Faceoff at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center (5,294 seating capacity) is 7:37 p.m. CST Friday and Saturday. With the exception of a potential appearance at the WCHA Final Five in mid-March, this will be CC’s final out-of-state road trip of the 2007-08 campaign.

For the Record: The Tigers, who were idle last week, are 21-8-1 overall and 16-5-1 in WCHA play after splitting a pair of home-ice decisions with St. Cloud State on Feb. 8 and 9. Colorado College skated to a 5-3 victory in the series opener, but fell to the Huskies by a 4-2 count the next night. CC currently is tied for first place with North Dakota, but has six games remaining compared to just four for the Fighting Sioux…Minnesota Duluth is 12-10-6 overall and 8-9-5 in league play, good for sixth place in the WCHA standings, after earning a split at Michigan Tech last weekend. UMD bounced back to claim a 3-2 victory on Saturday after falling 5-2 to the Huskies on Friday. The Bulldogs, who still have their eyes on a home-ice playoff berth, trail fourth place Minnesota State and Wisconsin by three points but have two games in hand with both those teams.

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 game of this week’s series at Minnesota Duluth 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.

In the Rankings: The Tigers remain No. 4 in this week’s national polls conducted by U.S. College Hockey Online/CSTV and USA Today/American Hockey Magazine. CC is tied for fourth in the Pairwise computer rankings and is still second in the power rankings published by InsideCollegeHockey.com (INCH), which has Minnesota Duluth at No. 16. The Bulldogs are 13th in other the two polls, but in a three-way tie for eighth in the Pairwise.

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 216-117-25 (.638) in 358 games behind the bench, including a 15-10-2 mark (.593) against Minnesota Duluth, and has guided the Tigers to five NCAA playoff berths in his previous eight campaigns...Scott Sandelin (North Dakota ‘86) is in his eighth season calling the shots at UMD, where he owns a record of 121-153-37 (449).

The All-Time Series: Friday marks the 156th meeting between the Tigers and Bulldogs in a rivalry that started on Jan. 4, 1961. Colorado College owns a 79-71-5 advantage in the previous 155 after sweeping UMD, 5-3 and 3-0, at the World Arena last November. CC has won six of its last eight outings overall against the Bulldogs, including a split at the DECC last season when it rallied from behind for a 4-2 victory in Game 2 after suffering a 4-3 loss in the series opener.

Scouting the Bulldogs: UMD’s top point producer through 28 games is junior center MacGregor Sharp, with 16 points (6g,10a) including a pair of game-winning goals. Four other Bulldogs have 14 points apiece. Sophomore goalie Alex Stalock is 12-10-6 between the pipes, with a 2.20 goals-against average and .918 saves percentage.

Recapping the SCSU Series: Senior left wing Scott McCulloch (Lacombe, Alta.) recorded his third career hat trick, and the team’s second of the season, as Colorado College won its 14th consecutive home game with a 5-3 victory in the series opener. The visiting Huskies ended CC’s streak by skating to a 4-2 triumph the next night, despite being out-shot by a 40-30 margin. McCulloch scored once in each period, including a shorthanded goal just 24 seconds into the second and an empty-netter in the final minute of the third, to pace the Tigers in Game 1. Sophomore right wing Mike Testwuide (Vail, CO) and sophomore defenseman Kris Fredheim (Campbell River, B.C.) also struck for first-period goals that night, while freshman goalie Richard Bachman (Highlands Ranch, CO) needed to make only 18 saves. Bachman added 26 more stops in Saturday’s loss, when freshman center Tyler Johnson (Cloquet, MN) scored once and added an assist on a tally by junior forward Eric Walsky (Anchorage, AK). Sophomore defenseman Nate Prosser (Elk River, MN) helped set up two goals on Friday, including McCulloch’s shorthanded game winner, while two other blue-line specialists – senior Jack Hillen (Minnetonka, MN) and sophomore Brian Connelly (Bloomington, MN) – each collected an assist in both games. Bachman joined Prosser with an assist on McCulloch’s GWG in the first contest.

A Truly Golden Era: Colorado College, which will host a first-round playoff series for the 15th time in the last 17 seasons, has advanced to the WCHA Final Four or Final Five on 10 of the previous 14 occasions. The Tigers have surpassed the 20-victory plateau for the 13th time in the last 15 seasons. Starting in 1993-94, when they went 23-11-5 overall and won the first of three consecutive WCHA regular-season championships, they have posted a winning record of 382-185-43 (.661). They’ve earned 10 NCAA playoff bids during the stretch and skated to five regular-season titles in all, claiming four outright and sharing another.

Five Named Scholar-Athletes: Led by McCulloch, who now is a three-time recipient, a school-record five Colorado College players have earned the prestigious WCHA Scholar Athlete Award for 2007-08. Joining McCulloch among this year's honored Tigers are junior defenseman and second-year winner Jake Gannon (Roselle, IL), along with Hillen and sophomore forwards Brian McMillin (Roseau, MN) and Bill Sweatt (Elburn, IL). To earn the award, which was initiated during the 2005-06 season, student-athletes at WCHA member schools must have a grade-point average of at least 3.50 on a 4.00 scale, for the previous two semesters or three quarters, or cumulatively for all terms at the institution. A total of 78 men and women, including 24 repeat honorees, from WCHA teams qualified this season.

Penalty Killing Prowess: While junior center and team scoring leader Chad Rau (Eden Prairie, MN) continues to pace the nation with five shorthanded tallies, the Tigers also are tied for first in the country with nine SHG as a team. They’ve held their opponent scoreless on the power play in 10 of the last 12 games, as well as in 20 of 30 for the season, while allowing only 12 PPG overall. CC ranks second nationally in penalty killing, one spot ahead of Minnesota Duluth, with an 89.7-percent success ratio.

Offense From the Blue Line: Hillen, whose career-high 25 points overall (3g,22a) this season leads all WCHA defensemen, continues to strengthen his case as an all-league and potential All-America candidate. One of just six CC players to appear in every game this season, he has collected 10 assists in the last eight outings and has at least one in nine of the last 10, including six straight heading into this week’s series in Duluth. Hillen also leads the Tigers with 12 points (1g,11a) on the power play...Prosser, who has assisted on four GWG among his 17 points (3g,14a) overall, leads the Tigers with a +14 plus-minus rating for the season and has recorded six multiple-point games...Connelly takes a five-game point-scoring streak into this week’s series opener at UMD. He’s collected one in nine of the last 10 outings, improving his season total to 15 (3g,12a), and has assisted on a team-high five game-winning goals.

Freshman Packs a Punch: Bachman, who continues to lead all WCHA goaltenders with a 1.84 GAA and .775 winning percentage (15-4-1) in league play (15-4-1), has collected three assists in 2007-08 including a pair on game-winning goals. His .931 saves percentage in 20 conference outings ties him for first. His overall goals-against average (also 1.84) is third best in the nation, and his .929 saves ratio ties him for fourth. The All-WCHA/All-America candidate has allowed two or fewer goals in 18 of his 25 starts overall.

Tiger Bites: Nine different Colorado College players have struck for game-winning goals this season, while 10 others have assisted on at least one. Rau has scored five and McCulloch four to lead the team...Senior right wing Jimmy Kilpatrick (New Prague, MN), who last month became the 70th member of Tiger Hockey’s elite “Century Club” by collecting his 100th career point, has factored in on 22 game winners – including six this season – during his four years at CC... The Tigers have bounced back to score within 30 seconds of an opponent’s goal four times this season and have struck in the opening 25 seconds of a period on three occasions...Colorado College is 15-3-1 when scoring first in a game, 9-1-1 when tied after the opening period and 15-1 when entering the final 20 minutes with a lead...CC has scored three or more times in a period 11 times this season, including twice in one game, and is 9-1 when doing it.

Tigers on the move in idle

USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll
February 18, 2008

No.	Team (First-place votes)	Points	Last Poll
1.	Michigan (34)	510	1
2.	North Dakota	470	3
3.	New Hampshire	426	4
4.	Colorado College	406	5
5.	Miami	392	2
6.	Michigan State	320	8
7.	Boston College	312	7
8.	Denver	266	6
9.	Notre Dame	206	9
10.	Minnesota State	162	13
11.	Clarkson	161	11
12.	Wisconsin	158	12
13.	Minnesota Duluth	128	10
14.	Providence	54	14
15.	Princeton	47	NR

Also receiving votes: St. Cloud State 29, Northeastern 27, Niagara 4, Army 2.

USCHO.com/CSTV Poll

February 18, 2008

No.	Team (First-place votes)	Points	Last Poll
1.	Michigan (48)	998	1
2.	North Dakota (2)	952	3
3.	New Hampshire	876	4
4.	Colorado College	843	5
5.	Miami	828	2
6.	Michigan State	715	8
7.	Boston College	685	7
8.	Denver	663	6
9.	Notre Dame	557	9
10.	Wisconsin	504	10
11.	Minnesota State	484	13
12.	Clarkson	469	11
13.	Minnesota Duluth	424	12
T14.	Northeastern	259	15
T14.	Providence	259	14
16.	St. Cloud State	255	19
17.	Princeton	251	17
18.	UMass Lowell	139	18
19.	Quinnipiac	116	16
20.	Niagara	62	20

Also receiving votes: Minnesota 48, Michigan Tech 24, Harvard 16, Massachusetts 11, Army 10, Ferris State 10, Cornell 8, Boston University 7, Union 7, Nebraska-Omaha 6, Bemidji State 4, Air Force 2, Bowling Green 2, Colgate 2, RIT 2, Yale 2.

Clinching on the Couch

Even though the Tigers were off this past weekend, they still managed to win home-ice in the WCHA playoffs with the results from Friday night WCHA action. This will ensure that we get to see the Tigers at least twice more at the World Arena after the DU finale for the WCHA first round. However, a trip to Duluth looms before any thoughts of first-round opponents can be spelled out...

CC Athletics
CC prepares for crucial series in Duluth
With home ice secured for the opening round of the WCHA playoffs a month from now, the rested Tigers head to Minnesota Duluth this week in a tight race for their sixth regular-season championship in the last 15 seasons. Although North Dakota has pulled into a tie for first place, Colorado College still holds the upper hand with a pair of games in hand with UND and a six-point bulge over third-place Denver. CC, which is 14-1 at the World Arena this season and a respectable 7-7-1 on the road, is 31-42-2 all-time in Duluth after splitting there a little more than a year ago. Coach Scott Owens and his team swept the sixth-place Bulldogs earlier this season at the CSWA, site of a best-of-three playoff series the weekend of March 14-16 as well as the NCAA West Regional on March 28 and 29.

Five Tigers named WCHA Scholar-Athletes

CC Athletics
Led by senior left wing Scott McCulloch, who now is a three-time recipient, a school-record five Colorado College players have earned the prestigious WCHA Scholar Athlete Award for 2007-08. Joining McCulloch among this year's honored Tigers are junior defenseman and second-year winner Jake Gannon, along with senior defenseman Jack Hillen and sophomore forwards Brian McMillin and Bill Sweatt. To earn the award, which was initiated during the 2005-06 season, student-athletes at WCHA member schools must have a grade-point average of at least 3.50 on a 4.00 scale, for the previous two semesters or three quarters, or cumulatively for all terms at the institution. A total of 78 men and women, including 24 repeat honorees, from WCHA teams qualified this season.

Connelly Chimes in on Hockey Violence

Boys Gone Wild
By Jim Connelly • USCHO

Is it me or is the college hockey world being overcome by incident after incident that leaves the average fan shaking their head. After a season that’s had a rash of problems for players both on and off the ice, last week saw one of the top scoring players in the nation head to the NHL after some sort of off-ice incident followed by one of the longest brawls that college hockey has seen.

Things began on Thursday when it was announced that Denver’s top scorer, Brock Trotter, had signed an NHL contract with the Montreal Canadiens. Simple, though somewhat strange to happen mid-season, the signing followed Denver head coach George Gwozdecky benching Trotter for a two-game series a week earlier at Minnesota State.

Gwozdecky and Denver had no comment on Trotter being left out of the lineup and never made any official announcement of a suspension. That won’t be necessary now that Trotter has departed the program, but there certainly remains what seems like some unanswered questions.

While that drama spun off the ice, Canisius and RIT engaged in a donny-brook of fights on Saturday night that resulted in 239 penalties combined in the 4-1 RIT victory. Honestly, after watching this amateur video of the altercation, I’m surprised that there weren’t more penalties assessed. It will be interesting to see if the league imposes any additional suspension.

These are two in a long list of incidents both on and off the ice that have drawn attention this season. Boston College, Boston University, Maine, Vermont, Colorado College, North Dakota, New Hampshire and Michigan all have suspended or dismissed players for off-ice incidents. Out in the WCHA, North Dakota has twice been involved in brawls and head coach Dave Hakstol has has his share of problems, getting into a verbal tussle with Wisconsin head coach Mike Eaves earlier in the season before recently being suspended for “flipping the bird” at an official during a series with Minnesota.

So the question at hand is what the heck if going on?

The answer may be difficult to find. In terms of off-ice issues, I personally believe that there have been problem similar to these occuring within teams for years. Before the era of real-time media, I think that most of these problems could be swept under the carpet.

As for the on-ice altercations, in essence everything that has happened is part of the game. There will be brawls at times. What will curb these incidents is how the league reacts. AHA commissioner Bob DeGregorio has the chance to send a message that behavior such as what was witnessed on Saturday night isn’t acceptable. There were some automatic suspensions associated with the penalties that were handed out, but there when you have players leaving the penalty box, goaltenders skating the length of the ice to start fights and players beating other players with helmets, supplemental discipline is certainly warranted.