Owens must change style, not coaching address

By DAVID RAMSEY

If you remain baffled and angered by Colorado College's season-ending 3-1 loss to Michigan State, you're not alone.

Coach Scott Owens is hurting, too. He, like thousands of Tigers hockey fans, wonders how one of the best rides in CC history ended in an ugly wreck.

"It's tough, really tough," Owens said. "You know what? I still haven't let it go. I'm still bothered by it. I'm bothered by it because of the opportunity that we had. It's very tough. It's tougher than I had imagined.

"I really liked this team, and it was a really good team and all of a sudden it's done."

I've enjoyed a few good laughs since CC lost to Michigan State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at World Arena. I've laughed after reading e-mails and message boards that trumpeted this silly message:

Owens must go.

That's ridiculous. He's proven himself a master of the long dance known as the Western Collegiate Hockey Association season. He's won the WCHA regular-season title three times in the past six seasons.

Go? No way, but he must change.

He must grow as a coach. The emperor of the regular season must find a way to thrive in the games that matter most.

Owens understands how to build and motivate teams for the epic grind of the WCHA season.

He struggles to prepare for the nearly instant rewards - and punishments - of the NCAA Tournament, which concludes today and Saturday at Pepsi Center.

No way the Tigers should have lost to Michigan State. They enjoyed the luxury of home ice, where they had compiled an 18-2. They were more talented.

They lost anyway.

The loss follows a pattern for CC. Owens has coached five teams to winning percentages of 65 percent or higher. This season's team cruised to the WCHA Final Five with a 28-9-1 record.

Yet bad times in the NCAA often follow good times in the regular season. Owens has five wins, six losses in the tournament, where he's lost three straight times.

In the NCAA Tournament, defense rules. The game slows down, grows more violent. Grace and skill lose importance.

All this spells doom for the Tigers, who usually lack the required ingredient of intimidation. It's no accident Owens took his only trip to the Frozen Four in 2005 with Mark Stuart in the lineup.

Stuart, who plays for the Boston Bruins, offered a rare blend. He enjoyed reading Shakespeare, and he enjoyed knocking opponents silly on the ice.

He was skilled, but also supremely dangerous. He even frightened teammates with his wicked smack-downs in practice.

Owens needs to persuade another Stuart to skate for the Tigers. This won't be easy. Large, gifted defensemen are reluctant to transport their skills to the sprawling, Olympic-size ice at World Arena. They prefer to rumble in more cramped surroundings.

Still, Owens must try. He spent last week scouring the upper Midwest, seeking a player who could bring a more sinister touch to his Tigers.

Early this week, Owens still wasn't sure he would attend the Frozen Four. This makes sense. It's excruciating to stand there as a mere spectator when you should be in the fight for the title.