WCHA Round 1 Storylines

Rau earns another WCHA weekly honor
Junior center Chad Rau, who stuck a dagger into DU’s heart last Friday with a pair of third-period goals just 12 seconds apart, has been named WCHA Offensive Player of the Week for the third time this season. After helping Colorado College to a 5-2 victory in the series opener in Denver, Rau added an assist in Saturday’s 3-1 triumph at the World Arena as league-champion CC completed its weekend sweep of the Pioneers. The Tigers have secured the coveted MacNaughton Trophy, as well as the Gold Pan, but now must re-focus on a new set of goals. Their next target is a WCHA playoff title and the Broadmoor Trophy, and the quest begins this weekend in a best-of-three playoff series at home against the University of Alaska Anchorage. Winner of the first-round match-up advances to the WCHA Final Five in St. Paul, Minn., next week, with selections for the NCAA tournament scheduled to be announced on Easter Sunday (March 23). Rau, one of three All-America candidates on CC’s roster, leads the team in scoring and is fourth among WCHA players overall with 40 points in 35 games. He ranks second in the country with 27 goals, including a nation-best six shorthanded.

This Week’s Storylines
• After clinching two coveted pieces of hardware – the Gold Pan and MacNaughton Trophy – with a pair of emotional victories over archrival Denver last weekend, the Tigers need to re-focus on a new opponent and set of goals. Their next target is a WCHA playoff championship and the Broadmoor Trophy, which CC has never claimed, and the mission starts with a best-of-three playoff series against Alaska Anchorage.
• Winner of the first-round match-up advances to the WCHA Final Five in St. Paul, Minn., preceded next week by the league’s annual awards banquet and followed by NCAA tournament selections on Sunday, March 23.
• Colorado College swept both regular-season series against the 10th-place Seawolves, prevailing twice at Sullivan Arena in December and twice more at the World Arena in January. UAA has won only once – a 5-4 overtime victory last season – in 20 all-time appearances at the CSWA, where the Tigers are 16-2 in 2007-08.

Tigers Hope Home-Ice Mastery Over UAA
Continues in First-Round Playoff Series

Post-Season Under Way: Colorado College opens its “second” season at home this weekend when the league champion and top-seeded Tigers play host to 10th-seeded University of Alaska Anchorage in a best-of-three, first-round Western Collegiate Hockey Association playoff series. Faceoff at the World Arena (7,343 seating capacity) is 7:37 MDT on Friday, 7:07 p.m. MDT on Saturday and, if a third game is necessary, 7:07 p.m. MDT on Sunday.

For the Record: CC, which finished 21-6-1 in conference play, is 26-9-1 overall after sweeping archrival University of Denver last weekend. The Tigers won the series opener, 5-2, at DU’s Magness Arena on Friday, then thumped the Pioneer by a 3-1 count at home on Saturday...Alaska Anchorage, which was idle last weekend, finished 3-19-6 in WCHA play and is 7-19-8 overall.

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. All broadcasts can be heard worldwide via the Internet, from a link at CCTigers.com. Game 2 (Saturday) of this week’s playoff series with Alaska Anchorage can also be heard in metropolitan Denver on KKFN 950 AM and KJCD 104.3 FM. Landau also is host of the Tiger Hockey Coach’s Show, which airs from 6:30 until 7:30 p.m. (MT) Tuesdays, on The Eagle…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...This week’s playoff games against UAA will not be televised, Fox Sports Net North will produce four of five games at next week’s WCHA Final Five from the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn. Local coverage in Colorado Springs is yet to be announced.

In the Rankings: The Tigers have climbed to No. 3 in this week’s national polls conducted by U.S. College Hockey Online/CSTV and USA Today/American Hockey Magazine. CC is tied for first in the Pairwise computer rankings and has regained the No. 2 spot in InsideCollegeHockey.com’s (INCH) power rankings.

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 221-118-25 (.641) in 364 games behind the bench, including a 23-7-1 (.741) mark against Alaska Anchorage, and has guided the Tigers to five NCAA playoff berths in his previous eight campaigns. Dave Shyiak (Northern Michigan ‘93) is in his third season as head coach at UAA, where he owns a record of 26-67-14 (.308).

The All-Time Series: Friday marks the 60th all-time contest between Colorado College and UAA, in a rivalry that started on Jan. 5, 1984. The Tigers lead the overall series by a 45-11-3 margin, including a 30-2 record in Colorado Springs and a 19-1 mark at the World Arena, where CC swept the Seawolves, 6-1 and 5-2, in mid-January after winning twice (1-0 and 4-1) earlier in Anchorage. The teams have met in seven previous post-season games, with Colorado College sweeping first-round series at home in 1995, 2002 and 2003. UAA won the play-in game at the WCHA Final Five in 2004.

Scouting the Seawolves: Alaska Anchorage’s top three scorers – all sophomore forwards – are Josh Lunden with 24 points (13g,11a), Kevin Clark with 23 (7g,16a) and Paul Crowder with 22 (7g,15a). Clark and Crowder each have struck for a pair of game-winning goals, while Lunden and freshman forward Craig Parkinson share the team lead with three power-play tallies apiece. Sophomore goaltender Jon Olthuis is 6-15-8 in net with a 2.89 GAA and .886 saves percentage.

Recapping the DU Series: While CC’s upperclassmen stepped up to help the Tigers clinch the MacNaughton Trophy at Magness Arena on Friday, it was the sophomore class stealing the spotlight in Saturday’s rematch. Junior center Chad Rau (Eden Prairie, MN) struck for a pair of goals just 12 seconds apart early in the third period in the series opener, breaking open a tight game that saw senior left wing Scott Thauwald (Rochester, MN), senior defenseman Jack Hillen (Minnetonka, MN) and senior right wing Jimmy Kilpatrick (New Prague, MN) stake the Tigers to leads of 2-0 and 3-1. Second-year players picked up the slack at home a night later, as right wingers Mike Testwuide (Vail, CO) and Matt Overman (Bloomington, MN) scored within 1:40 of the opening period and left wing Bill Sweatt (Elburn, IL) added a tally in the middle frame. Sweatt also had an assist in the game, while sophomore forwards Addison DeBoer (Spring Lake Park, MN) and Brian McMillin (Roseau, MN) teamed up to set up the game winner by linemate Overman. Junior forward Eric Walsky (Anchorage, AK) collected a pair of assists in Friday’s victory, when freshman goalie Richard Bachman (Highlands Ranch, CO) made 28 saves. Junior Drew O’Connell (Anchorage, AK) got the call between the pipes on Saturday, and also responded with 28 stops in the 3-1 triumph.

Tradition of Success: This year’s regular-season championship is Colorado College’s third in the last six seasons, sixth in the last 15, and ninth overall in the program’s 70-year history...The Tigers own an impressive winning percentage of .663 (387-186-43) dating back to the 1993-94 campaign, when they claimed their first league title since 1957...CC, which is hosting a first-round playoff series for the 15th time in the last 17 years, has advanced to the WCHA Final Four or Final Five on 10 of the previous 14 occasions, and is eyeing the program’s 11th NCAA playoff bid since 1995.

Road to the Frozen Four: With the NCAA West Regional scheduled for Friday and Saturday, March 28 and 29, at the World Arena, the Tigers will enjoy the home-ice advantage in their quest to reach the Frozen Four at the Pepsi Center in Denver two weeks later. The entire 16-team field for the NCAA tournament, including the other three schools participating in Colorado Springs, will be announced on Easter Sunday (March 23). CC also hosted a regional in 2004 but did not qualify for the tournament that year.

Stellar Between the Pipes: Bachman, who last week was named National Rookie of the Month by the Hockey Commissioners’ Association for the second time this campaign, finished the regular-season with a winning percentage of .780 (19-5-1), saves ratio of .937, and four shutouts in league play – all WCHA bests. The All-America candidate gave up one or fewer goals in 13 of his 25 conference starts, and has allowed two or fewer in 22 of his 30 assignments overall, posting a 1.77 GAA, .934 saves ratio and .783 winning percentage (23-6-1) including non-league outings. He’d played in 12 straight prior to last Saturday.

Milestone for Rau: Rau, who has scored eight goals in the last six games, now has lit the lamp twice or more in a contest on nine occasions this season. His second tally in last Friday’s victory at DU earned him membership in Tiger Hockey’s elite “Century Club” for players with 100 or more career points. The All-America candidate continues to lead the nation with six shorthanded tallies this season. His career-high 27 red lighters overall and 23 in league play rank No. 1 among all WCHA players. He added an assist on Saturday, giving him 19 points (13g,6a) in 12 career appearances against Denver.

Blue Line Warrior: Hillen, whose power-play goal just 20 seconds into last Friday’s victory over the Pioneers at Magness Arena improved his career-high total to 33 (6g,27a) for the season, continues to rank in a tie as the nation’s top-scoring defenseman. One of just five CC players to appear in every game this season, the All-America candidate has collected 18 points (3g,15a) in the last 14 outings. He also ranks No. 1 among all WCHA players with his 27 assists, leads the Tigers with 18 points (3g,15a) on the power play and is a key member in Colorado College’s nation-best and league-leading penalty killing efforts, which succeeded on 10 of 11 DU power plays last weekend.

Turning the Tables: The Tigers, who finished with a league-best 92.9-percent penalty-killing ratio in WCHA play (104 for 112) to go with their 91-percent mark overall (131 for 144), have held their opponent scoreless on the power play in 15 of the last 18 outings, as well as in 25 of 36 for the season. While allowing only 13 PPG all season, including just eight in 28 conference games, CC has scored 10 shorthanded goals including eight in league play.

When It Counts Most: Kilpatrick, who was credited with his fourth game-winning goal of the season last Friday, now has factored in on a team-high eight GWG for the season and 24 overall during his four years as a Tiger. He’s scored four and and assisted on four in 2007-08. The senior winger tied with teammate Hillen for ninth place among WCHA scoring leaders in league play, each with 23 points. More than 22 percent of Kilpatrick’s 107 career points at CC have come at the expense of Alaska Anchorage.

Tiger Bites: With last week’s sweep, Colorado College retained possession of the Gold Pan, which is awarded annually to the regular-season series winner between CC and Denver. The Tigers have claimed the trophy nine times in its 15 years of existence...Colorado College is 14-3-1 in its last 18 outings overall during the months of January, February and March...Hillen’s PPG last Friday marked the fifth time this season that CC has scored in the opening 25 seconds of a period...The quick goals by Rau that night marked the fourth time in 2007-08 that Colorado College has scored twice within a minute. Including a 10-1-1 record in exhibition games, the Tigers are 168-59-8 (.732) in 235 all-time appearances at the World Arena since opening the facility a decade ago.