Can He Do it?

freshman Richard Bachman will look to carry his team to the title like Peter Manino in 2005 (photo by PCO)















Tigers will live or die by Bachman's play
Milo F. Bryant

We can talk all we want about the story lines heading this weekend's West Regional at World Arena.

There are many.

From two Hobey Baker Award finalists - who shouldn't be finalists over Colorado College goaltender Richard Bachman - to the defending national champions to teams playing at altitude and on a big sheet. We could go on and on. And over the next few days, we probably will.

But this weekend is going to boil down to the one thing it always boils down to in the college hockey playoffs - goaltending.

"You can't advance without good goaltending," CC coach Scott Owens said. "And even when you do have good goaltending, it's iffy. Like us last weekend - we had pretty good goaltending and it was still iffy. It was a big story in our league this year and it's always a big story in the postseason."

For Bachman, the story carries a little extra weight. All season the Tigers have trumped the "I.O.B." mantra - In Our Backyard. They've been about protecting the home turf.

The ability to protect it never is going to be more important than Friday when the Tigers face the defending national champion Michigan State Spartans.

As many big games as Bachman has played, the implications make this one and each after it - if there are any - biggest.

It's in Bachman's backyard now.

Remember, Bachman is a freshman. He's an incredibly talented, level-headed and smooth freshman. But he's still a freshman, and he's leading a team with a neophyte's amount of playoff experience.

As good as Bachman has been, he's going to have to be better if the home team wants to make that trip to Denver and play in the Frozen Four. Navigating the Tigers' way north is a lot of weight to put on a freshman's shoulders - even on the considerable shoulders of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association's Player of the Year.

"I try to keep everything about the same," Bachman said. "You do notice the pressure a little bit more. You know that every game could be your last game, but I think that helps. It brings the best out of you a little bit more, more of that competitiveness.

"It's not just a regular-season game. You're fighting for your playoff lives here. I love playoffs. I think it's the best time. You can really make a big difference for your team."

Bachman will be facing a Hobey Baker finalist in Jeff Lerg on Friday. Lerg played more minutes than any other goalie in the nation this year. But he wasn't as good as he was last season, and definitely not as good as he was in the 2007 NCAA Tournament when he led his team to the title.

Lerg was the epitome of a hot goalie then.

Can he repeat that type of play? Can he prove that the nation's coaches were correct in making him a Hobey Baker finalist based on this year's merits and not last year's success?

Can Bachman match that intensity?

"You want to be on those lists," Bachman said. "I've accepted it and kind of moved on. But having those other two goalies here, you want to show that you can be right up there with them.

"They've had tremendous seasons and deserve to be on that list. You want to be able to match their play and be able to exceed it. You want to step up for the hometown crowd."

Expect Bachman to match the play of the opposing goalies.

Even if he does, as Owens said, victory is still going to be iffy.