"Floating Tiger Head" in the basement

A recent poll of WCHA logos by The Hockey News ranked CC as having the worst logo in the league with the explanation that "True, they’re one of the oldest teams in the NCAA and their logo reflects it, but it’s not the best tiger in the world." It may not be the best out there, but their logic is retarded. Did I mention that the Gophers' upside-down W was the first? Personally I think North Dakota and Duluth are the top two and DU is last (no, not because they suck but because they are the Pioneers and their logo is a hawk, bring back Denver Boone!) CC's tiger may not be the fiercest, but one look and you know the team is the Tigers. If I get a chance this week I'll rank em myself based on style and function with no bias, so stay tuned.
However, I think that we do have the best goalie mask in the country!












Summer is nearing an end, be sure to VOTE FOR THE NEW SITE!!
Expect the new blog site to launch shortly after Labor Day weekend!

Season Previews Begin

The College Hockey blog takes a quick overview of the Tigers and places them tentatively at number 4. As expected, Chad Rau and Richard Bachman are the expected stars for the upcoming season. Oh and the site also follows in my footsteps of incorrectly spelling the WCHA Champion trophy ;)

Next Season's Schedule

Full 08-09 Schedule here

Opinion: CC tweaks schedule so finish doesn’t lead to ending
DAVID RAMSEY THE GAZETTE

Scott Owens wanted sizzle in the Colorado College-University of Denver rivalry.

When Owens returned to his alma mater to coach the hockey team in 1999, the arena-shaking fire had been drained from the CC-DU. Owens masterfully stoked the flames.

For five of the past six years, CC and DU ended the regular season with a homeand-home, rock-’em, sock-’em weekend bash that featured packed houses and wicked hitting.

The CC-DU rivalry is at full blaze, full of intensity and great hockey. Owens, no doubt, grabbed what he wanted.

He grabbed a little too much, as it turns out.

The Tigers have lost three straight NCAA Tournament games, which inspired Owens to take a fresh look at the DU series.

Next season, the Tigers and Pioneers again will meet four times, but the schools will stretch out the regular-season finale. CC and DU will play Oct. 31-Nov. 1 before splitting the final series between Feb. 13 and March 7, Owens said.

It’s a minor tweak to the schedule, but Owens hopes the change will deliver big results.

He wonders if placing two emotionally packed games at the end of the season drained his team in the postseason.

“I don’t think it’s a copout,” Owens said. “I don’t think it’s anything like that. We’re just trying to do something that will strengthen us in the postseason.”

The rivalry will return to two home-and-home weekends in 2009-2010 because of scheduling restraints, Owens said, but will feature the stretched-out version again in 2010-11.

It’s strange to say this, but the season-ending duel with DU was too overwhelming, too packed with thrills and history. It was just too much.

How could the Tigers top all this furious fun?

The answer is the problem. Owens has failed to revive his team after the matches with DU.

“There was an automatic, built-in letdown,” Owens said. “It’s just natural. It’s because the buildings were sold out and the excitement and the passion and the trying to one-up your archrival.”

This season, CC stomped DU in the final weekend. On March 8, the Tigers celebrated along with their fans, and they had plenty to celebrate.

The Tigers had won the MacNaughton Cup, symbol of supremacy in the Western Athletic Hockey Association, and the Gold Pan, symbol of college hockey supremacy in the state of Colorado.

At the time, no one could see disaster lurking in the near distance. Even as the Tigers celebrated their reign over a small hockey universe, they faced devastation in the battle for a larger, more important universe.

Three weeks after the Tigers’ hockey party, they were finished. They lost, on home ice, to Michigan State in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.

“There’s been so much at stake,” Owens said of the DU series. “It’s been very taxing mentally and physically as we head into the playoffs.”

Next season, he hopes, the taxes will be a little more reasonable.

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CC Athletics
Already looking ahead and moving forward after a highly successful 2007-08 campaign, Colorado College has announced another exciting hockey schedule for next season.

Highlights on the 2008-09 slate include 21 regular-season home games at the World Arena with two exhibitions, five non-conference outings and two dates apiece against Western Collegiate Hockey Association rivals Michigan Tech, Denver, North Dakota, Minnesota, Minnesota Duluth, Minnesota State and St. Cloud State.

Fans interested in season tickets should call 719-389-6324 or log on to CCTigers.com. Prices start at $274.50, with any first-round WCHA playoff games at home included in the deal. Renewal notices for existing season-ticket holders will be mailed out this week.

Tiger Hockey, the top winter collegiate sporting attraction in the state of Colorado, ranked fourth nationwide in total attendance during the 2007-08 campaign. The average attendance at CC home games officially was 6,932 as the team retained possession of the Gold Pan, claimed its third league championship since 2003, hosted a first-round WCHA playoff series as well as the NCAA West Regional, produced three All-Americans and finished with a winning record (28-12-1) for the 15th time in the last 16 years. Again, sellouts were common. Only Wisconsin, Minnesota and North Dakota, which play in much larger facilities, drew more spectators than Colorado College’s impressive season total of more than 157,000.

Returning as flagship station for the CC Tiger Radio Network in 2008-09 will be 103.9 FM The Eagle, with live broadcasts of all games, home and away.

In addition to 14 league games, the ‘08-09 home slate features two against the University of Alabama-Huntsville (College Hockey America) and Sacred Heart University (Atlantic Hockey Association), as well as a single contest vs. Colgate University (ECAC). The Tigers, whose lineup will feature a number of outstanding players such as returning All-Americans Richard Bachman and Chad Rau, also play host to the University of Alberta and the United States Under-18 Team in a pair of exhibition outings.

They meet archrival DU for the first time over Halloween Weekend, playing at Magness Arena on Friday, Oct. 31, then coming home for a rematch at the World Arena on Saturday, Nov. 1. The second go-round is split up, as the teams meet again in Colorado Springs on Friday, Feb. 13, before wrapping up the regular season in Denver on Saturday, March 7. Also featured on CC’s road schedule are a two-game non-conference series at Clarkson University in October and an appearance at Air Force in late November, along with weekend trips to league opponents Minnesota State, Alaska Anchorage, Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota and Michigan Tech for Winter Carnival.

At Least We're Not the Cubs

Thanks to Grubinbox on the forums for that headline. Despite the Tigers' disappointing finish, there are a lot of things to take from the season; both accomplishments and experience.
1) The Tigers won their 9th McNaughton Cup and first outright regular season title since 2002-03, giving them the most steady regular season of any team in the country.
2) The Gold Pan remained in the Springs for the second consecutive season after winning the season series against DU 3-1. Denver has been a strong program worth using as a measuring stick, and the Tigers scored very highly.
3) Returning to the Final Five: despite a poor showing, the Tigers returned to the Excel Center after a 2 year hiatus and gave most of the team valuable post-season experience. Have to build a strong foundation to win that first Broadmoor Trophy.
4) Return to the NCAA Tournament: The Tigers got to play at home for the first game of the tourney; a very unique opportunity that most teams don't get. Again, the team gained a ton of experience despite being destined to lose the game, no matter how many shots they took!
5) DU still sux: despite what bragging rights their fans thing they have earned with the Broadmoor Trophy, the fact is the McNaughton Cup is much harder to win. DU's Trophy: 4 wins, CC's Trophy: 26 Wins
More to come

West Regionals Observations from the Seats

From 2008 NCAA Wes...

As most of you know, Notre Dame won the West Regionals and is headed to Denver as the "worst" team in the Frozen Four. Not one "expert" thought they would even beat New Hampshire and surely not CC. Well they thumped the Wildcats 7-3 and padded that with 2 empty-netters, and never had to play CC but knocked out the defending champs. Go figure. I sarcastically said in my predictions that every team I picked to win the first round would lose, and almost all did but that's another story for later. As for the regionals themselves, it was definitely weird having our own arena taken over and controlled by the NCAA. It was obviously a giant commercial for an entity that is nowhere to be found during the regular season. All board ads and ice ads were stripped and replaced with the regional teams and logos, no problem with that, just different. The jumbo-tron had the "floating Tiger head" removed and video was split between the internal closed-circuit cameras and the ESPNU feed. It was pretty sweet seeing the ESPN score bar on the screen, knowing we were on national TV (even if it was a premium channel).

• One thing that was annoying was the commercials shown during the breaks. They were all past hockey memories, NCAA Championship ads (lacking D-1 football of course since they don't have playoffs), an ad for Hockey East that I booed every time it was played, and stupid trivia games that never got a peep out of the crowd...except when George Gwozdecky was featured followed by boos.
• Being on TV provided us with something we rarely get at the World Arena, TV timeouts. They were frequent and looooong and really broke up the flow of the game. It was like being at a Huskers' game when it was on Saturday Night Football on ABC, really annoying.
  

• The announcing was a neutral announcer rather than our sweet standard. The bathrooms didn't have the usual radio feed which was unfortunate, I was looking forward to hearing Ken Landau's assessment of the game while I was taking a break. Speaking of bathrooms, because of NCAA rules I'm sure, there as no alcohol at the game! I was really looking forward to my regular Sunshine Wheat but was denied. Any casual fan will notice the love of alcohol at the games, from Jack and Coke to wine to micro-brews, we know how to enjoy a game.

• Speaking of enjoying the game, most of us have come to love the soundtrack that goes with the Tigers instead of a band. Luckily, it played most of the game but it had to compete with the Spartan band. USCHO said that we "got a treat" hearing the bands from ND and MSU but they were the most obnoxious things EVER at a game! They got a rude awakening from CC fans with boos and a couple middle fingers directed their way. Most of the fans around us were EXTREMELY annoyed with the musical noise echoing around the arena. It's fine outside at football games or inside at high school basketball games, but not hockey. Thank goodness the arena music drowned it out most of the time for the Tigers game, not the earlier game however as the Notre Dame band was almost non-stop. Their ending "victory" song sounded like a funeral song, another reason why I hate that school with a passion.

• One of the funniest things was during the second intermission. I came out of the bathroom to find a couple hundred people crowded around the TV next to a snack bar. No other NCAA games were on so I was curious what the deal was. Turns out the Avs were in OT against Edmonton and headed for a shootout. By the time the SO started, the crowd had tripled in size and cheers were loud as the Avs went 3-for-3. Any ND fan was probably wondering what the heck that was all about, gotta love CO!
• Personally, I thought the style of hockey by the other three teams was very different than the WCHA. Not as skilled skating, passing or hitting. Notre Dame players fell down about every minute and Michigan State, instead of griding along the boards or digging, simply fell down and let the Tigers' fall on top. They played the puck in the corners a lot and fell on it hoping to get a whistle instead of playing up-tempo like the WCHA. I was not impressed with either Cup Cake team, even if they won. New Hampshire played more of CC's style. CCHA hockey just looked sloppy and the goaltending was the single reason why the Tigers didn't win. Bachman did fine, not excellent, but good enough to win - the offense just couldn't bury the biscuit through no fault of their own.
• The Arena was decidedly against New Hampshire for obvious reasons: the Tigers would face the weakest opponent Saturday night (of course they had to win first...). Personally, I wanted the Wildcats to win for hockey-purity reasons. The Tigers had been swept earlier in the season and would get a chance at revenge, UNH was clearly a better team and was more fun to watch since ND looked like retarded boys on skates, and I flat out HATE Notre Dame and all the stupid favoritisms they get just for being who they are.
  
• The Tigers wore the 70th anniversary Unis again which I'm sure pleased the fans. Judging from the apparel the crowd, the throwbacks not only out-represented the other jerseys but all other merch. as well! I'm seriously tempted to lay down a wad of cash and purchase the entire collection: black, yellow alternate and throwback. I got my white one last week on sale at Red Mountain sports and love it. You can't go wrong with hockey sweaters, there is just something unique and cool about em, no matter how many you have!
• One funny note; I titled David Ramsey's article "sometimes a good spanking is all you need" regarding the Tigers' beat-downs at the Final Five. Of course I didn't think about how that title would show up in google searches. Turns out people like to search the word "spanking" and that entry popped up 8 times in a day in searches from places like Madrid and even one from Tbillsi, Georgia. I'm sure it will be much more after this bullet point, haha
  

That's all I got for now, if I remember any more "observances" from the game I'll add to it. Tomorrow I'll run through the highlights of the season and why the 3 game skid wasn't all bad for the Tigers. (if you need some goalie humor, check out the vid below. Never heard of this goalie but he sure loves the camera and microphone!)
~PCO

Colorado Is a Big Freakin' Deal

Those of you that know me know that I'm annoyingly proud of the state of Colorado and everything that we have. So I was extremely happy to check out the paper today to see the special section devoted to Colorado being the hotbed of hockey for the weekend. The photo-illustration by Mark Reis was phenomenal. Half of the image is above. Unfortunately, they cut off the burning Nike Bauer skate that is above the Colorado hockey puck, probably so people like me don't put it on their blog (which is ironic because I probably get more traffic and exposure than that paper does and I would give them more visitors, but another matter for another time). The section has some good articles, if you can find them. In true Gazette fashion, each page has a 1/4 page article and the other 3/4 is FULL OF ADS! Gazette, I don't care about Liberty Toyota, but I do care about the "Last Change a Boon" article buried on the upper left. Can you guys at least spare us the ads for a special section? Can you imagine those sweet Broncos posters from the Super Bowl years with a big Heuberger ad at the bottom? You guys actually had something good going on and you ruined it (and having to pay for it is no excuse, this is ridiculous). Kate actually did a good job on this one so I compiled all the article links for you to spare you from all the ads. However, the photo illustration is worth whatever the paper costs so if you feel compelled, go pick one up.

The hotbed of hockey

CC Refocusing

Home team draws a crowd

It's all about the line change

Sometimes a Good Spanking is All You Need

CC needed bad weekend
By DAVID RAMSEY

Sometimes, a smack upside the head is just what a team requires.

Colorado College's Tigers tumbled to consecutive defeats at the Final Five in St. Paul, Minn. They were, during one lost weekend, blindsided by all their faults.

Good for them.

This two-loss debacle is exactly what the team needs to fuel a run to the Frozen Four in Denver.

Everything is in place for the short journey to Pepsi Center. The Tigers are blessed with experience, talent and home-ice advantage. To top it off, they enjoy the blessing of a wicked yet wonderful jolt of reality.

No. 2 regional seed CC plays No. 3 seed Michigan State, the defending national champion, at World Arena at 8 p.m. Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Tigers delivered one of the grandest regular seasons in school history. They beat archrival University of Denver, the evil empire, in three of four games, claimed the Western Collegiate Hockey Association regular-season title by four points and roared into the Final Five with the expectation of glorious triumph.

What a difference a weekend makes.

In the hallway outside CC's locker room, forward Scott McCulloch talked softly about the losses. He was, he said, "embarrassed."

On March 8, the Tigers danced at World Arena with the MacNaughton Cup, symbol of their WCHA supremacy. Two weeks later, they stumbled off the ice in St. Paul, losers of two straight.

"It's always good to be brought back to earth for everybody," McCulloch said. "When you're winning, as much as you try not to, you start thinking you're unbeatable."

Despite recent bad times, the Tigers retain every reason to believe. They're 18-2 at World Arena.

Belief is the message offered by coach Scott Owens. He walks to a steady hockey beat, declining to soar too high or sink too low.

He's sticking to his beat, even after the losses. He's offended by the suggestion his Tigers were "jolted" at the Final Five.

"I'm probably not quite the alarmist that you are," he said. "We did not have success last weekend - there's no doubt - but we didn't play that poorly."

Don't think Owens is oblivious to his team's faults. He was bothered by his team's casual approach at the Final Five.

The Tigers, Owens said, weren't scrappy enough. They declined to swarm the net. They didn't play with the focused rage that carried them to a WCHA regular-season title.

Still, Owens hasn't transformed this week into an angry, middle-aged man. He's veering as far away as he can from, borrowing his words, "a negative over-reaction." He swears he's not worried.

"You know what," Owens said, leaning forward in his office chair. "I'm optimistic. When you look at the sum of our work, I'm optimistic that we will play well at home."

While the MacNaughton Cup rested behind him, Owens leaned back and asked himself two questions.
Is he depressed?

No.

Is he berating his players?

No.

Owens will not be moved. He's sticking, as always, to the hopeful approach.

He knows he lives in perilous times. One loss and World Arena will change from a happy hockey destination to a big, cold, sad room. One loss and a season of promise crashes to a halt.

Owens smiled.

"We're back in familiar surroundings," he said. "And I feel pretty good."

We'll soon see if he has grounds for all this radical calm.

Reviews of the Pathetic Weekend Showing

Maybe it was Kate Crandall broadcasting the infamous suspension reasons just before the games (for the sheer reason to make a name for herself and sell papers no doubt) or the Tigers were still thinking DU and decided to mimic the Pios pathetic stretch run. Either way, something happened to the Tigers this past weekend. They were sloppy, slow, and couldn't score to save (black) face. This should have been an easy sweep for the Broadmoor Trophy: DU was limping like a man just after "that surgery", Minnesota had been playing hockey for a week straight non-stop, and North Dakota had a so-so goalie and wasn't as fast as the Tigers. Instead we got CC laying an oblong egg against the Gophers, and deciding not to care about 3rd place and just go through the motions and get back to the Springs (not too mention NoDak's goalie playing lights out with his crazy name). DU decided to wake up and actually play hockey was rewarded with another B-moor Trophy (they are 5-0 in the Final Five), and also with a trip to Wisconsin for the tournament-a team that put up 7 on them last time they played. Now CC is a #2 seed at home and gets to take on the defending champs. Very do-able but still a challenge. If the Tigers play like their 18-2 home record, it's off to Denver they go. If they play like this past weekend, I'll be pretty glum in my 3rd row seat Friday night.


Tip-toeing won’t take Tigers far in playoffs
By MILO F. BRYANT

ST. PAUL, Minn. - Home is all that’s left for the Colorado College Tigers.

They spent too much time toiling around the Xcel Energy Center ice and not enough time playing what they like to call “Tigers’ Hockey” on Friday and Saturday.

Blanked at the Final Five — sounds like the title of a bad hockey book. It’s sad the Tigers would’ve starred as the incredibly humbled protagonist.

Couple Saturday’s 4-2 loss to North Dakota with Friday’s overtime loss to Minnesota and the Tigers put together a weekend that we haven’t seen since they lost twice to New Hampshire in late October.

On Friday, the Tigers ran into a hot goalie and deserve a break.

Saturday’s setback was different. The Tigers failed to put forth the same kind of effort as their opponent. For much of the game, North Dakota was the team playing as if it had something to lose or something to prove.

If a team can get dirty on the ice, North Dakota was the team getting dirty. North Dakota was more stubborn. It was everything the Tigers were throughout the regular season.

The Tigers worked their butts off all season to earn the Western Collegiate Hockey Association’s regular-season title. Then they get into the playoffs and start tip-toeing around.

Tip-toeing isn’t what got them to the playoffs. It’s amazing they skated as if tiptoeing would somehow sustain them.

“For only a quarter of the time did we look like the true CC team that we’ve been all year,” senior captain Scott Thauwald said. “That’s not the way you want to play playoff hockey. If anything, you want to be more intense. You want to play better than you did in the regular season, and that just didn’t happen. The inconsistency was key.”

Saturday’s game should’ve been about the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament’s West Regional. Colorado College and North Dakota were No. 4 and No. 5 in the Pair-Wise rankings entering the game. The PairWise rankings are a simulation of the process used to pick the NCAA field. Conventional wisdom suggests the winner of the game would receive the fourth overall seed, and therefore a top seed in one of the four regionals.

The Tigers host the West Regional so they have to play there. Had they won Saturday, they would’ve been the top seed. Now they likely will be a No. 2 seed and have to beat a tougher opponent to reach the regional final.

We now have to ask ourselves: Which Tigers will show up next weekend at the World Arena?

North Dakota is one of the nation’s better teams. But there is no way North Dakota skates around the Tigers the way it did Saturday unless the Tigers are emotionally tapped or they’re simply giving a lackluster effort.

Look no further than North Dakota’s third goal Saturday.

Defenseman Chay Genoway took the puck near center ice and weaved his way between, around and by the Tigers’ Kris Fredheim, Brian Connelly and Thauwald.

The perplexing thing about the game is that the Tigers are built on speed. Yet they were not one or two steps slower. The Tigers were playing catch up much of the first two periods.

The Tigers skated as if they were on a perpetual penalty kill for much of the second period.

“It is surprising to me right now, at this point of the season, how inconsistent we are,” sophomore forward Bill Sweatt said. “We’ve got to figure it out and figure it out quick.”

Either teams have figured out how to keep the Tigers from scoring inside or the Tigers are not being gritty and aggressive enough to fight the puck inside and get the dirty goals. A majority of the Tigers’ shots are coming from the outside or from high in front of the goal.

That’s not working.

If the Tigers want to get to Denver and the Frozen Four, they better dig in and get some grit on their skates.

Tigers Limp Out of Tournament

The Tigers WCHA Final Five woes continued as CC loses to North Dakota 4-2 in the consolation game Saturday afternoon. Once again, the opposing goaltender got hot against CC, this time is was J.P Laoureux, stopping 33 shots, a night after looking pretty average. It's a blessing and a curse to play in the WCHA. Blessing being strength of schedule and great hockey every night; curse being any one can win any game and the tournament gives each team that chance. The Tigers ruled the regular season but weren't up to the task on the smaller ice surface battling for the elusive Broadmoor Trophy. CC will still make the NCAA Tournament and will play Friday at the World Arena but will not be the number one seed. BUT it may actually be a better bracket for the Tigers.
Right now it looks like New Hampshire, Notre Dame, Minnesota State and CC out here in the Springs. The Tigers would open up against Notre Dame. Notre Dame has not played on an Olympic sheet this season. However, there could be some changes due to conferences, travel etc.
Pairwise This Afternoon, the Tigers are 5th

The selection will be unveiled at 9AM on ESPN 2 Sunday morning. I'll try to get the tournament information up Sunday afternoon since it is Easter Sunday it's very significant for myself, way above my love of hockey.
Game stats here

Tonight, DU will take on Minnesota for the Broadmoor Trophy. I'm looking for Minnesota to win this one; they are on a roll and always play well in the post-season. Most people thought we would see, and hoped for, a CC-ND battle pitting most people's top two teams in the country. The game is live on FSN at 6:07PM

Goofy Goal Leaves Tigers Broadmoorless Again

A centering pass deflects off Nate Prosser's glove, rolls down Bachman's back and into the net giving the Gophers an OT winner and a place in the WCHA title game tomorrow against Denver. The Tigers didn't play poorly, but a brick wall was in place for the Gophers and the Tigers were left in a position where anything could happen, and it did. You could watch the entire NCAA Tournament and probably not see a goal as awkward and laced with fate as that one. The Tigers will play surprise loser North Dakota tomorrow in the consolation game-a game completely meaningless to arguably the two best teams in college hockey. Conference tournaments are always strange and give the underdog the chance, and this year's is no exception. One good thing about this game is that the Tigers will save up some effort for the NCAA Tournament, although they are left without their own trophy once again.

CC Athletics
Broadmoor Trophy remains elusive for CC
If there really is such thing as playoff magic, it continues to fall in the University of Minnesota’s favor. The Gophers got the lucky break of the night on Friday, scoring a fluke goal at 4:47 of overtime to claim a 2-1 victory over Colorado College in their semifinal match-up at the WCHA Final Five. The defeat at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minn,, sticks regular-season champion CC into Saturday’s third-place game against North Dakota, a 3-1 loser to Denver on Friday, with the winner likely to receive a No. 1 seed for next week’s NCAA West Regional at the World Arena. The Tigers simply did not get the job done in their first appearance at the Final Five since 2005. They launched a season-high 20 shots on goal in the opening period, and finally took the lead on a power-play tally by Andreas Vlassopoulos early in the second, but then let Minnesota back into the game less than a minute later. Freshman left wing Mike Hoeffel burned CC twice, first on a rising wrist shot from the slot to tie the score at 1:38 of that middle frame, then in overtime when his centering attempt from the left faceoff circle deflected into the net off Colorado College defenseman Nate Prosser. Meanwhile, at the other end of the ice, Alex Kangas won the duel of freshman goaltenders, finishing with 37 saves. Richard Bachman made 33 stops for the Tigers, who were unable to take advantage of a Minnesota team that started post-season play as a seventh seed and was playing its fifth game in the last eight days.

Tigers Ready to Add More Hardware

CC Athletics

This Week’s Storylines
• Preparing for their first appearance at the WCHA Final Five since 2005, the Tigers won’t know who their semifinal opponent is until after Thursday’s play-in contest between St. Cloud State and Minnesota is settled. CC will meet the winner at 7:07 CDT Friday, at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn., with hopes of advancing to Saturday’s championship game against either North Dakota or Denver.
• Colorado College split both of its regular-season series with SCSU, winning the opener of each before falling the next night, and swept the Gophers at the World Arena back in October in the teams’ only meetings to date.
• In addition to the Broadmoor Trophy, which Colorado College never has won as WCHA playoff champion, an automatic bid to and No. 1 seeding for the NCAA tournament also are at stake this week. Regardless of what happens, however, the Tigers know they will play in the West Regional a week later at the World Arena.

Icers Take Aim at Broadmoor Trophy
In First Trip to Final Five Since 2005

Elusive Title Within Reach: Colorado College resumes its “second” season in St. Paul, Minn., this weekend when the league champion and top-seeded Tigers return to the Red Baron WCHA Final Five for the first time in three years. CC, which is looking for its first-ever conference playoff crown, will take on the winner of Thursday’s play-in game between St. Cloud State and Minnesota in Friday’s late semifinal contest. Faceoff at the Xcel Energy Center (18,064 seating capacity) is 7:07 p.m. CDT. North Dakota and Denver, the No. 2 and 3 seeds, will meet in Friday’s earlier semifinal, at 2:07 p.m. CDT. Saturday’s third-place and consolation games also are scheduled for 2:07 and 7:07 p.m., respectively.

For the Record: The Tigers, who finished 21-6-1 in conference play, are 28-9-1 overall after eliminating the University of Alaska Anchorage in two games of their best-of-three opening-round playoff series at the World Arena last weekend. The Tigers won Friday’s opener, 4-1, then rallied from behind twice on Saturday before prevailing by a 3-2 count in sudden-death overtime...Minnesota, which advanced with Sunday’s 3-2 double-overtime victory over Minnesota State in Game 3 of their first-round series in Mankato, is 17-15-9 for the season. St. Cloud State is 19-14-5 after sweeping Wisconsin, 3-0 and 4-3 in overtime, in their best-of-three set at SCSU’s National Hockey Center.

In the Rankings: The Tigers, who have climbed to No. 1 in this week’s InsideCollegeHockey.com (INCH) power rankings, are No. 2 in the national polls conducted by U.S. College Hockey Online/CSTV and USA Today/American Hockey Magazine. CC is No. 4 in the Pairwise computer rankings, which simulate the selection and seeding process for the NCAA tournament.

Coach’s Corner: Scott Owens (Colorado College ‘79), who has guided the team to more victories than any other head coach in the history of Tiger Hockey, is in his ninth season at the helm of his alma mater. Owens is 223-118-25 (.643) in 366 games behind the bench, including an 18-14-2 (.559) record against St. Cloud State and a 12-19-1 mark (.391) against Minnesota. This year’s upcoming appearance in the NCAA tournament will be CC’s sixth during Owens’ reign.

CC at the Final Five: Colorado College competed for the first time at what was then the WCHA Final Four in 1992. The Tigers are 12-12 in 24 all-time games at the league’s showcase event, including a 3-7 mark in the semifinals, after defeating Minnesota (3-0) and losing to Denver (1-0) in their last trip to St. Paul in 2005. They’ve reached the championship contests on three occasions (1995, 2003 and 2005), and are 6-1 in third-place games after prevailing in the last six in which they’ve played, from 1996 through 2002.

The Rivalries: Colorado College is 40-29-4 all-time against St. Cloud State, which upset the Tigers in a first-round playoff series at the World Arena two years ago in the teams’ most recent post-season meetings. CC is 81-154-7 in 242 previous games against the Gophers, who had won six consecutive decisions in the rivalry prior to losing, 3-1 and 2-1 in overtime, at the CSWA back on Oct. 19 and 20 of this campaign. The Tigers are 74-128-9 all-time vs. North Dakota and 105-152-10 vs. Denver.

Recapping Last Week’s Series: It was CC’s underclassmen who stole the spotlight in the sweep of Alaska Anchorage, as freshman center Tyler Johnson (Cloquet, MN) fueled Friday’s victory with the game-winning goal and an assist, and sophomore right wing Mike Testwuide (Vail, CO) emerged as the hero a night later. Testwuide, who also staked CC to a 1-0 lead just 37 seconds into the series opener, ended Saturday’s nail biter with his third tally of the weekend at 2:58 of overtime. He earlier tied the contest at 5:54 of the third period and assisted on sophomore left wing Bill Sweatt’s (Elburn, IL) red lighter at 4:22 of the second. Sweatt and senior defenseman Jack Hillen (Minnetonka, MN), who also assisted on Johnson’s goal the previous evening, combined to set up Testwuide’s dramatic sudden-death effort. Freshman goaltender Richard Bachman (Highlands Ranch, CO) backstopped both victories, making 27 saves on Friday and 18 on Saturday. Senior wingers Scott Thauwald (Rochester, MN) and Scott McCulloch (Lacombe, Alta.) also found the back of the Seawolves cage during the third period on Friday, when McCulloch’s empty netter with 20.1 seconds remaining put an end to any UAAcomeback hopes.

Historical Perspective: CC’s 28 victories to date in 2007-08 represents its sixth most ever in a season. The Tigers won 33 games in 1995-96, 31 in 2004-05, 30 each in 1994-95 and 2002-03, and 29 in 1998-99. Since the 1993-94 campaign, when they claimed their first regular-season title since 1957, they have compiled an overall record of 389-186-43 (.664). Two weekends ago, Colorado College hoisted the MacNaughton Trophy for the sixth time in the last 15 seasons. CC has won nine league titles overall – in 1951-52, ‘54-55, ‘56-57, ‘93-94, ‘94-95, ‘95-96, ‘02-03 and ‘04-05 (tie with Denver) prior to this season.

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 at 9:30 a.m. MDT on Easter Sunday (March 23). CC also hosted a regional in 2004 but did not qualify for the tournament that year.

CC’s Rookie Standout: Bachman, who has been named National Rookie of the Month by the Hockey Commissioners’ Association twice (in October and February) 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. His GAAof 1.75 in conference play, as well as the .937 saves percentage, both are single-season school records. The All-America candidate gave up one or fewer goals in 13 of his 25 conference starts, and has allowed two or fewer in 24 of his 34 assignments overall, posting .797 winning percentage (25-6-1), a 1.75 GAA and a nation-leading .935 saves ratio overall in all games.

Threat From the Blue Line: Hillen, the nation’s top-scoring defenseman with 36 points (6g,30a), now has assisted on six game-winning goals this season after helping to set up both last weekend. One of just five CC players to appear in every game so far in 2007-08, the All-America candidate has collected 21 points (3g,18a) in the last 16 outings. He also ranks No. 1 among all WCHA players with his 30 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 four of five UAA power plays last weekend. He earned WCHA Player of the Week honors (twice Defensive and once Offensive) on three occasions this campaign.

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 nation-leading 90.5-percent mark overall (133 for 147), have held their opponent scoreless on the power play in 16 of the last 20 outings, as well as in 26 of 38 for the season. While allowing only 14 PPG all season, including just eight in 28 conference games, CC has scored 10 shorthanded goals including eight in league play. Junior center and All-America candidate Chad Rau (Eden Prairie, MN), the WCHA’s top goal scorer with 27 tallies overall, leads the nation with six SHG and tops Colorado College with seven on the power play.

Spreading the Wealth: Johnson, who has missed only one game while centering Colorado College’s third line for most of the season, is the 11th different Tiger to score a game-winning goal in 2007-08 as well as the 21st to factor in on one. Eight have 20 points or more. Senior right wing Jimmy Kilpatrick (New Prague, MN) has been involved in a team-high eight game winners, scoring four and assisting on four, while Rau and McCulloch have scored five apiece to lead CC in that category.

Tiger Bites: Colorado College is 16-3-1 in its last 18 outings overall during the months of January, February and March...Testwuide’s early tally last Friday marked the sixth time this season that CC has struck in the opening 40 seconds of a period, and was the team’s quickest of the season to start a game...Rau, who was held to just an assist last weekend, has scored two or more goals in a game on nine occasions in ‘07-08...The Tigers are 2-2-1 in overtime games this campaign... Kilpatrick has been involved in 24 game-winning goals altogether during his four years at CC, scoring nine and assisting on 15...Sweatt has collected five points (2g,3a) in the last three games to surpass his total of last season...Colorado College’s 2007-08 roster includes 10 Minnesota natives.

CC-AFA Regional Battle Likely?

Milo Bryant takes a look at the possibilities of the Tigers playing the Falcons at the World Arena and some of the fears that Coach Owens has playing them. I would have to agree, I don't want the Tigers to play AFA simply because I think they have the best chance of knocking us out of the tournament.

CC vs. AFA in hockey tourney would be great for almost everyone
By MILO BRYANT

The West Regional in the NCAA hockey tournament begins at the World Arena in nine days.

The arena is home to the Colorado College Tigers, and they will be playing in the arena. The 16-team field will be announced Sunday, including the three other teams playing at World Arena.

CC could be quite familiar with one, possibly two, of those teams.

As soon as the Air Force Falcons won the Atlantic Hockey Association Tournament title - in double overtime, Tigers coach Scott Owens, listening on the radio said, "I think Air Force could be here."

For a few reasons, the Falcons are one of the last teams the Tigers would want to see.

"I have mixed feelings," Owens said, smiling. "This is supposed to be our backyard. Nobody else's backyard. ... It would be great for Colorado Springs. It would be great for the Front Range. It would be great theater.

"I'm not so sure it would be great for the head coach."

Laughter ensued.

Owens does his share of worrying - even though he has one of the country's best teams, even though the Falcons have yet to beat the Tigers under Owens' watch.

"One of the reasons is they come in as one of the hottest teams in the country. I think they're 8-0-1," Owens said. "So you're dealing with that. They've found a way to skin the cat, so to speak, or found another way to get it done without Eric Ehn. So, that's a concern.

"They beat Denver. It's been 2-1 with us the last two times we've played. And they're a good team. And they've got a little postseason swagger to them. Then watch Ehn sneak out at the last second to play."

More laughter.

There's a lot of truth said in jest. An Air Force-CC matchup would not only be a good matchup for the Springs. But it would be a good game, too. The Falcons do not fear the Tigers. The Tigers have a lot of respect for the Falcons.

The Tigers have had the better team, but the gap between the two has narrowed considerably. And it's not just because of the drubbing the Falcons gave the University of Denver. One tournament appearance, which the Falcons made last year, might be fluky, two - uhh, uhh.

Remember, the Falcons finished 3-2-1 against ranked teams this season. Few schools can boast a nonconference schedule as good as Air Force's. Fewer can boast a winning record against that schedule.

Then there's the Ehn factor. Falcons coach Frank Serratore said there is a 50/50 chance that Ehn could play the tournament's opening round.

"Oh, what an emotional scene it would be to see Ehn skate back on the same ice that he was carried off on a stretcher," Serratore said. "To have it all come around, I think that would be very special and emotional for everybody in that building."

Owens' emotions would be mixed - again. Still, it's all a long shot that any of it will happen.

If the Tigers are seeded No.4 overall, Air Force will surely be sent elsewhere for the sake of bracket integrity. It would be unusual for the No. 1 seed to play any team but the No. 15 or No. 16 seed.

If CC is beaten Friday and/or Saturday in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association playoffs and other top teams win this week, the Tigers could be seeded fifth through eighth overall, and therefore seeded second at the West Regional. In that hypothetical situation, a team such as Michigan could come to the Springs as the top seed.

If that happened, Air Force could be in the region as the fourth-seeded team.

Were that to happen, don't think that Owens would fail to see a bit of poetic justice playing out. In the 2003 NCAA Tournament, the Tigers were the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Regional. Michigan was the No. 3 seed, but at home in Yost Ice Arena, where it knocked off second-seeded Maine and then the Tigers.

Maybe crazier than that would be to see the three Front Range teams playing in the West Regional. Serratore, a former tournament committee member, sees it happening only if CC is the No. 1 overall seed and DU is the No. 8 overall seed.

"It would be wild," Owens said. "It would be absolutely wild if we played Air Force in the first game and Denver played Michigan State in the other game, all here. It would be unbelievable.

"It would be stressful as hell."

Nope, it would be great.

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.

New Rankings

Even though we are now fully into the post-season, the rankings are still out there and the Tigers are on the move again. CC is now numero uno in the INCH power rankings, up to second in both the national polls (below) and has dropped to #4 in the latest power rankings, probably due to the results of the teams that jumped over them. No worries though, the actual selection will be different and the letters WCHA will have a big effect on the Tigers final landing spot.
Another interesting development is Air Force winning the AHA tournament and clinching their spot in the NCAA Tournament. This means that both Colorado Springs teams, and all three Colorado teams will make the NCAA Tournament-a pretty awesome feat. It is also possible that the Falcons could open up at the World Arena, although having two teams playing in their home city might not sit well with the powers that be. Although, if you put all three teams in different regionals, there is the possibility of them all making the Frozen Four...in Denver. How crazy would that be?!

USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll
March 17, 2008

No.	Team (First-place votes)	Points	Last Poll
1.	Michigan (28)	500	1
2.	Colorado College (4)	466	3
3.	Miami (2)	420	5
4.	New Hampshire	418	4
5.	North Dakota	404	2
6.	Denver	331	8
7.	Boston College	285	9
8.	St. Cloud State	262	10
9.	Michigan State	244	6
10.	Clarkson	196	7
11.	Notre Dame	173	12
12.	Minnesota	107	15
13.	Boston University	93	13
14.	Minnesota State	90	11
15.	Princeton	33	NR

Also receiving votes: Harvard 23, Wisconsin 20, Ferris State 4, Air Force 4, Niagara 4, Northern Michigan 2, Vermont 1.

USCHO.com/CSTV Poll

March 17, 2008

No.	Team (First-place votes)	Points	Last Poll
1.	Michigan (41)	989	1
2.	Colorado College (5)	922	3
3.	Miami (1)	869	4
4.	North Dakota (3)	866	2
5.	New Hampshire	837	5
6.	Denver	740	8
7.	St. Cloud State	653	9
8.	Boston College	649	T10
9.	Michigan State	600	6
10.	Clarkson	529	7
11.	Notre Dame	483	12
12.	Minnesota	408	15
13.	Boston University	376	14
14.	Minnesota State	363	T10
15.	Princeton	287	16
16.	Harvard	261	17
17.	Wisconsin	176	13
18.	Vermont	170	19
19.	Niagara	94	NR
20.	Cornell	53	NR

Also receiving votes: Minnesota Duluth 42, Air Force 35, Northern Michigan 34, Ferris State 30, Michigan Tech 12, Colgate 10, Masachusetts 6, Bemidji State 3, Quinnipiac 2, Army 1.

Milo Bryant Takes a Look at the Win

Anchorage Pushes CC to Limit
Milo Bryant

The Colorado College Tigers hadn't been to St. Paul and the Final Five since a loss to Denver in the finals of the 2005 tournament.

Only this team's seniors and its coaches have tasted that atmosphere.

With a diving shot 2 minutes 58 seconds into overtime, a sophomore, Mike Testwuide, made sure this season's Tigers got their trip.

Testwuide, who scored the game-tying goal against Alaska-Anchorage, got the 3-2 overtime game winner on a shot that zinged over Jon Olthuis' left side and into the net.

"You know, I blacked out to be honest with you," Testwuide said, attempting to describe how he scored the goal. "Bill (Sweatt) made a good play up the boards. I made a nice little play through a guy's legs. And I kind of held the puck. Waited a little bit. A guy dove I think. And I don't really know what happened after that.

"Seriously, I kind of blacked out."

Many sitting in the World Arena had to be wondering what was happening to the Tigers through the first 35 minutes of the game.

The Seawolves appeared to be bent on inflicting punishment. The hits were legal. But there were times it looked as if the Seawolves gave up the smarter play to get the big hit.

Then again, it looked like the big hits were an equally big part of the game plan. And it was working.

Too often during the first period and parts of the second period, the Tigers actually skated as if they were leery of those hits.

"They rattled us a little bit," Testwuide said. "They slowed our game down. Our game is pretty much all speed, and they figured out a way to slow us down."

Saturday's Tigers' team isn't the team the World Arena is used to seeing. Like Friday's game, the Seawolves outworked and outhustled the Tigers.

There have been several teams who have come to World Arena with a passion to hit, to take the fight to the Tigers. Each time though, the Tigers did what good teams are supposed to do. They got punched, took it and punched back with more ferocity.

Down 2-1 in the third period, the crowd waited for the same to happen Saturday.

The fans knew as well as the players what was at stake. Nobody wants to play a Game 3 in a best-of-three series against a cellar dwellers.

The Seawolves had nothing to lose. After all, the Tigers had beaten the Seawolves four consecutive times - by a score of 16-4. Add Friday's victory, and that total increases to 20-5.

Maybe it was the ease of the victories that elicited Saturday's lethargic play.

"There was a lot of continuation," Tigers coach Scott Owens said. "But part of it was them. They were difficult to play against. We didn't step it up and play with the grit that we need in playoff hockey."

The Tigers know they're good. They have no problem playing against teams they think are stellar opponents. It's the cellar dwellers that give the Tigers trouble.

Saturday, it took an Anchorage turnover, or fortunate stick work by the Tigers, to get CC back into the game mentally and physically.

Testwuide took a third-period pass from Chad Rau, back-skated in front of the goal near the right faceoff circle. Biding his time, Testwuide beat Olthuis stick side.

Success must beget success. Either that or it makes a team work harder.

Testwuide's goal infused the Tigers. Had the Tigers skated the first two periods the way they skated the last 15 minutes of the third period, the final score wouldn't have been close.

It wouldn't have been as difficult to get to the next step on this journey.

Tigers Sweep in OT Thriller

Photo by Kevin Kreck


Sorry about the delay to all of you who faithfully hop onto the site after the games. I had to abandon the game after the second period and head over to Meadow Muffins (in that random freak blizzard) to hang with some old co-workers. Thankfully, I ran into Roger at the bar who was sporting a really old school Tigers' jersey and hat, so I moseyed on over to inquire about what I thought would be news of a close loss and tried to contain my look when he said they had won in OT thanks to a goal by Mike Testwuide (Roger, thanks for all the fun hockey info and for proudly sporting that sweet throwback-times-2 jersey!). This team has all the makings, and luck, of a championship team. I remember I wrote about it after we swept Minnesota to start the season. Roger and I talked about how sweet it would be for the Tigers to get all four trophies this season (McNaughton, Gold Pan, Broadmoor and National Championship) and they have a great chance. From the 40 minutes I heard of Ken Landau's assessment of the game, the Tigers played much better than last night; it was the Seawolves goalie Jon Olthuis who pulled a Patrick Roy act tonight to almost steal a victory. Box Score here
The Tigers now get to rest an extra day as the rest of the league decided to battle it out longer, with the exception of DU. The Pioneers swept Minnesota Duluth with a 1-0 win to complete the series against a team that has the worst luck scoring of all 10 teams. Just like how last night had a theme of home teams winning, tonight was OTs. Aside from DU, every game went extra time. Minnesota took out Mankato 2-1, St. Cloud swept Wisconsin (St. Cloud could be a scary opponent in Minnesota next weekend) and the biggest surprise was Michigan Tech getting a win over North Dakota. Now with the game threes, anything can happen. Can you imagine the Final Five being CC and DU with St. Cloud, Mankato and Michigan Tech?? Sounds odd but it could happen. Tomorrow night will be crazy and extremely fun to see what happens. As for our Tigers, they will play March 21 at 6:07MT against the lowest seed.

CC Athletics Game Summary
Testwuide powers CC to overtime victory
Thanks in no small measure to sophomore wingers Mike Testwuide and Bill Sweatt, Colorado College is returning to the WCHA Final Five for the first time since 2005. Testwuide’s second goal of the game, at 2:58 of overtime on Saturday, lifted the Tigers to a 3-2 sudden-death victory over the University of Alaska Anchorage at the World Arena that completed a two-game sweep of their best-of-three first-round playoff series. The dramatic tally capped a come-from-behind effort that saw CC rally twice from one-goal deficits, tying the game on red lighters by Sweatt at 4:22 of the second period and by Testwuide at 5:54 of the third. Unlike Friday’s 4-1 triumph, in which the last-place Seawolves finished with a 28-20 advantage in shots on goal, CC was able to create a number of scoring opportunities throughout Game 2 of the series. But Alaska Anchorage, which got 27 saves from netminder Jon Olthuis, used a pair of nice goals from Kane Lafranchise and Josh Lunden to build its 2-1 lead after 40 minutes of play. Testwuide, who combined with Jimmy Kilpatrick to set up Sweatt’s goal, took a pass from Chad Rau and beat Olthuis low on the short side to pull the Tigers even for the second time. He then took Sweatt’s feed from along the right boards in overtime, cut into the slot from the left side and ended the game with a quick wrist shot just inside the far post. Colorado College will play in one of two WCHA semifinals on Friday at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn., against an opponent yet to be determined, starting at 7:07 CDT.

Tigers Survive Despite UGLY Start

From 2007 Tiger Ho...

The Tigers scored a mere 37 seconds into the game and then got stuck in the mud. The whole team looked like they were skating, passing and stick handling in the mud through the first 2 periods. Luckily, UAA looked like a team that has only 3 conference wins, 1 in 08. Scott Owens and Ken Landau both said UAA came out tough but to most of us in the stands, the Tigers looked like crap. CC mustered only 5 shots in the first period and could hardly pass or skate without falling down, getting the puck lost in their skates, or simply fanning on shot attempts. The third period looked much more like the Tigers we know and love, it was like the ice suddenly widened and the Tigers decided to get out of the mud. The looked faster, crisper and had more determination. It was most obvious when Scott McCulloch battled for a lose puck in front of the UAA bench, got hit, tripped, and finally got loose and nailed an empty-netter, as if to say "I'm going to end this stupid game and get to tomorrow".
Bachman was solid in net, facing almost all of the Seawolves shots in the first 2 periods, he held his ground, literally. Bachman was run over 4 times throughout the first 40 minutes, none of which were called-a theme that was common all night. Once again, Marco Hunt was the head official and once again, did an absolutely TERRIBLE job of officiating. He rarely called anything and so the physical game picked up. When a Tiger was leveled going into the UAA zone, he was greeted with a white elbow to the face in a wicked check-no call. One odd penalty was called on Gannon when we was put into a 20 second long headlock, fell down with the Seawolf clutching his neck, and was called for holding. Holding? At least call something believable like roughing or interference. Horrible job, which was rewarded with an extremely loud "F**K you!" from a fan as the men in stripes exited after the game.
All in all, the Tigers were simply a better team. UAA looked like they didn't know what to do when they got the puck in the offensive zone. They usually just passed it around the boards, then around again, and around again. A couple times the puck handler just stopped and stood there. A better team would have had this game 5-3 in their favor. Thankfully the Tigers season work has given them a first round opponent not capable of doing too much damage. Tomorrow night should be a wild game. I would expect an extremely physical game with the Tigers skating fast. Look for something like a 4-2 game, with the Tigers explosive offense being the difference.
(pics from tonight are in the game pics on the left)

In the other WCHA playoff games, it went pretty much as expected. ALL of the home teams won, with the only anomaly being Mankato beating Minnesota 1-0 in 2 OT. Normally this would be a giant upset, but the Gophers are the lower seed and on the road. Still, it's a little weird seeing them as the "worse" team.
North Dakota blanked Michigan Tech 4-0 (if anything, the score was merciful)
DU beat Duluth 6-3 (The Bulldogs can score! and DU got more than 4!)
St. Cloud knocked off Wisconsin 3-0 (must have been a dog fight)

Teams I'm picking to finish off the series tomorrow night: CC, North Dakota and DU
CC is too good for UAA, likewise with ND over Tech, and I don't think the Bulldogs can score so DU will have a 2-0ish win.
The Gophers will rebound, but lose Sunday, Wisconsin will even it up but also lose Sunday.

That Elusive Prize

In case you missed it, the WCHA posteason tournament winner receives the Broadmoor Trophy. As in the massive hotel/resort in southwest Colorado Springs, as in the place the Tigers played for 55 years. The trophy has existed only since the 80s but the Tigers (the team it was basically named after) have never won the thing. The Tigers have won 6 regular season titles in that time (including 3 in a row) tied with ND for the most in that period, but not the post-season title. Maybe this season will break the curse and the Tigers can get both, plus that elusive 3rd national championship trophy. Milo Bryant has a great article about the Broadmoor Trophy and I found it, not at the Gayzette site, but on the DU blog. I guess being the special team this season has it's perks huh? Check the article out here

Rundown of the WCHA First Round Matchups-Tigers Move to Next Goal

From 3-8-08 CC vrs...

If you haven't taken a look at the Alaska Anchorage Fan Blog yet, DON'T! I swear the guy who writes that is either drunk or high when he writes. Yesterday featured a pic of an unflushed toilet (I'm assuming it was his work featured) and a rant about why Colorado Springs sucks. I guess that comes from being a fan of a basement team. I have respect for the team, I'm sure they will be a handfull this week, but this guy represents them and he, uh, well he's an idiot ;)

Theresa Spisak takes a look at this weekend's matchups in the WCHA. She generally does a good job of covering everything but sometimes has a few obvious factual errors. Regardless, it's a good overview and it should be a great weekend in WCHA action! The Tigers play tonight at 7:37PM and 7:07 PM Saturday. Should there be a game 3, it will be Sunday night at 7:07PM.

This Week in the WCHA: March 13, 2008
by Theresa Spisak/WCHA Correspondent
The Rundown
Last Week's Games

Last week Friday
CC 5, DU 2
SCSU 1, UND 1
MSU, M 5, MTU 2
Minnesota 4, tUMD 1

Last week Saturday
CC 3, DU 1
SCSU 2, UND 2
MTU 3, MSU, M 2
tUMD 3, Minnesota 2
Last Week's Predictions

3-2-3. Not horrible.

Elliot went 2-3-3 — got the Huskies/Mavericks split on the wrong nights. I don't know how that feels or anything ...
Season's Predictions

103-66-25, which translates to a .659 winning percentage/success rate. Take that, ECAC writer!
This Week's Predictions

For in-depth insight, please see the column. For short blurbs with predictions and marginal babbling, please continue reading.

Alaska Anchorage @ No. 3 Colorado College
The Seawolves may be a tough playoff team and I see them taking one of these games to overtime (maybe), but CC is dominant. Tigers sweep.

Michigan Tech @ No. 2 North Dakota
The Sioux are awesome in the second half of the year, but the Huskies are tenacious. Still, I'm going to say Sioux in three.

No. 18 Minnesota-Duluth @ No. 8 Denver
Hm, stupid tough series. I say each game goes multiple overtimes and eventually, Denver will prevail in three.

No. 15 Minnesota @ No. 10 Minnesota State
Do I pick the streaking Mavericks or the improved Gophers? The Mavericks are a better team this year than anyone expected, but it's the playoffs and the Gophers. Minnesota in three.

No. 13 Wisconsin @ No. 9 St. Cloud State
Wisconsin did better in the playoffs, but as far as I can tell, St. Cloud does better in the postseason. I'm inclined to think the week off will hurt Wisconsin a bit, but ultimately, the Badgers have more to play for. Badgers in three.

March 13 — We’re talkin’ ‘bout playoffs this week.

While I have a lot to say this week, I think Denver’s George Gwozdecky sums it up best — “The first round playoffs are going to be as close and competitive as they’ve ever been in this format.”
Red Baron Pizza WCHA Players of the Week

Red Baron WCHA Offensive Player of the Week: Chad Rau, CC.
Why: Scored two goals and one assist to help his Tigers clinch the MacNaughton Cup as well as sweep archrival Denver last weekend. Rau also had eight shots on goal and was a plus-3.

Red Baron WCHA Defensive Players of the Week: Jean-Philippe Lamoureux, UND; Jase Weslosky, SCSU.
Why: Both goaltenders played their way to overtime ties against the other last weekend. Lamoureux stopped 48 of 51 shots on goal in the series for a .941 save percentage on the weekend while Weslosky stopped 57 of 60 for .950.
Also Nominated: Jack Hillen, CC; Geoff Kinrade, MTU; Alex Stalock, UMD.

Random Notes (and Commentary!) From Around the League

CC — Congratulations on winning the Gold Pan this year — you deserved it.

UM — Congratulations on winning the DQ Cup. Though, with all I’ve heard about it being a curse, maybe I should offer my condolences …
Reader Mailbag

There ended up being quite a bit of discussion on the penalty-minute thing, so I did some more research — look at the end of the column for that.

I did, however, get some e-mails from still-bitter Badger fans about the no-goal incident in Denver earlier this year. Given how close the WCHA has been this year and how close the final standings were, I’m not surprised — Wisconsin could well have gotten home ice had the outcome of that game been different.

Still, guys? I know you’re upset, but one game does not a season make. I know it’s easy to look at that one particular incident, but the Badgers had a lot of other very close conference games. Win any one of those and you can forget about Denver (or try to).
Match-Ups By the Numbers … on Steroids

Since the match-ups this week are a little more important, I’ve tweaked how I normally do this section.

Alaska Anchorage @ No. 3 Colorado College; 10 vs. 1

Records After Regular Season: UAA — 7-19-8 (3-19-6 WCHA). CC — 26-9-1 (21-6-1 WCHA).
Overall Head-to-Head: CC leads, 43-11-3.
Playoff Head-to-Head: CC leads, 6-1.
Regular Season Head-to-Head: CC won the series, 4-0.
Top Scorers: UAA — Josh Lunden (13-11-24). CC — Chad Rau (27-13-40).
Goaltenders: UAA — Jon Olthuis (30 gp, 6-15-8, 2.89 GAA, .886 sv %). CC — Richard Bachman (30 gp, 23-6-1, 1.77 GAA, .934 sv %).

Random Notes: Both goaltenders can (literally) stand on their heads to make saves. I’ve seen both turn cartwheels in the crease to stop a puck. CC’s top line of Rau, Bill Sweatt and Mike Testwuide can be deadly and defenseman Jack Hillen is one of the best in the nation. CC may be getting back forward Derek Patrosso for this series.

Coaches’ Thoughts: “I think we’re going up against the best team in the country,” said Seawolves’ coach Dave Shyiak. “[CC is a] very talented, very fast hockey team; don’t have many weaknesses to their game. Obviously we have to be good in all three zones and be smart with the puck.

“But CC right now to us is not only the best team in the league, but probably the best team in the country and obviously that will be a challenge for us.”

“UAA has not had a lot of success winning games the second half of the year, but they’re always a dangerous team this time of year,” said Tigers’ coach Scott Owens. “They’re a good playoff team, their history has been such the last four years (4-7 in playoffs), their style of play goes hand in hand with playoff-type hockey and I know it’s going to be a difficult task.

“They’re physical, they’re hardworking; they just haven’t scored a lot this half of the year.”

Michigan Tech @ No. 2 North Dakota; 9 vs. 2

Records After Regular Season: MTU — 13-18-5 (9-15-4 WCHA). UND — 23-8-4 (18-7-3 WCHA).
Overall Head-to-Head: UND leads, 131-88-8.
Playoff Head-to-Head: UND leads, 10-8-2.
Regular Season Head-to-Head: UND won the series, 3-1.
Top Scorers: MTU — Peter Rouleau (12-16-28). UND — T.J. Oshie (14-21-35).
Goaltenders: MTU — Michael-Lee Teslak (22 gp, 7-9-4, 2.14 GAA, .920 sv %). UND — Jean-Philippe Lamoureux (24 gp, 22-8-4, 1.66 GAA, .934 sv %).

Random Notes: Some Tech fans mused last week during Friday’s game that Teslak may have mailed it in after supposedly announcing he was going pro after the season ended thanks to the wonder that is Facebook … but then Tech put in a better performance on Saturday, earning the split. The question is, which Teslak will show up?

As for the Sioux, Evan Trupp is out with a broken leg, Chay Genoway may play and everyone’s hoping Oshie just had the flu last week and is not more seriously injured. The Grand Forks Herald reports that both Genoway and Oshie have been on the ice this week.

Coaches’ Thoughts: “It’s certainly going to be challenging,” said Huskies’ coach Jamie Russell. “The team hasn’t lost in [17] games and [is] a highly-ranked team that doesn’t have a lot of weakness; strong defensively, very good goaltending, high-skill offensive talent, a team that plays physical.

“We won a playoff series on the road last year. We have had success in that building — we were able to sweep North Dakota in Grand Forks last season — so we need to be aware of what North Dakota does, but our focus needs to be on playing good, solid Michigan Tech hockey.

“We’re going to have to play a great weekend of hockey,” he continued. “We’re a good team defensively, we’ve got good goaltending — we’re a tough team to play against.”

No. 18 Minnesota-Duluth @ No. 8 Denver; 8 vs. 3

Records After Regular Season: tUMD — 13-15-6 (9-14-5 WCHA). DU — 22-12-1 (16-11-1).
Overall Head-to-Head: DU leads, 99-69-9.
Playoff Head-to-Head: DU leads, 12-7-2.
Regular Season Head-to-Head: The two teams split, 1-1.
Top Scorers: tUMD — MacGregor Sharp (7-10-17). DU — Tyler Bozak (15-15-30).
Goaltenders: tUMD — Alex Stalock (34 gp, 13-15-6, 2.28 GAA, .917 sv %). DU — Peter Mannino (25 gp, 21-13-1, 2.31 GAA, .914 sv %).

Random Notes: Even though Denver leads Duluth in terms of the playoffs and overall, tBulldogs have done better as of late. That, and the Pioneers have had some issues making the Final Five since their title runs.

It also depends what Pioneers’ team shows up. No one on the inside will make excuses, but everyone wonders what life would be like if Brock Trotter were still around.

Also, it looks like Jason Garrison may return for tDogs.

Coaches’ Thoughts: “I think this series, along with two other series, are going to be extremely competitive,” said Pioneers’ coach George Gwozdecky.

“I think we’re one of those three series that’s going to be very competitive. Duluth is, I’ve got to hand it to them — they did a great job last Saturday night, playing their archrival on their archrival’s home ice and winning a big, big game. I think their goaltending is very strong and they’ve probably had some issues creating offense just like we have had, so I think this series is going to be very even, very competitive.”

No. 15 Minnesota @ No. 10 Minnesota State; 7 vs. 4

Records After Regular Season: UM — 15-14-9 (9-12-7 WCHA). MSU, M — 18-14-4 (12-12-4 WCHA).
Overall Head-to-Head: UM leads, 25-2-5.
Playoff Head-to-Head: UM leads, 4-0.
Regular Season Head-to-Head: UM swept the season series, 2-0.
Top Scorers: UM — Blake Wheeler (15-17-32). MSU, M — Trevor Bruess (8-20-28).
Goaltenders: UM — Alex Kangas (24 gp, 8-7-9, 2.13 GAA, .923 sv %). MSU, M — Mike Zacharias (33 gp, 17-11-4, 2.21 GAA, .920 sv %).

Random Notes: The Gophers have been an enigma for much of this season. Everyone picked them in the top of the league given historical precedent — it’s rare to see Goldy struggle. Still, Lucia knew that the loss of over 100 points on the blue line would hurt — and it has, especially when the team lost Kyle Okposo to early departure and Ryan Stoa to injury early on. However, they’re never a team to count out, especially since they’ve been playing better down the stretch.

The Mavericks, meanwhile, seem to be cooling marginally since they went on their seven-game winning streak. They’ve still been one of the hottest teams in the WCHA in the second half and I’m sure they’d like to continue on that path. They’ve also done better than any of us predicted. I’ll admit it — I had them finishing eighth.

Coaches’ Thoughts: “They’ve obviously had a great year and they’re a balanced team, good goaltender and they’re not the type of team you can key on any one player,” said Minnesota coach Don Lucia. “They’re the type of team where a different guy seems to chip in every night.

“We’re good enough to beat anybody and anybody’s good enough to beat us and for us; obviously goaltending’s important this time of the season. We’ve been better lately because our specialty teams have been better and that’s obviously important this time of the season.

“We’ve had good success against Mankato and hopefully that will continue this weekend.”

“They’re playing well right now and I think it’s like any other playoff series,” said Mavericks’ coach Troy Jutting. “The team that gets the goaltending and the team that takes advantage of the bounces they get will be successful. Obviously it’s an important weekend for both hockey teams with where both teams are in the PairWise right now.”

No. 13 Wisconsin @ No. 9 St. Cloud State; 6 vs. 5

Records After Regular Season: UW — 15-14-7 (11-12-5 WCHA). SCSU — 17-14-5 (12-12-4 WCHA).
Overall Head-to-Head: UW leads, 39-21-8.
Playoff Head-to-Head: SCSU leads, 4-3.
Regular Season Head-to-Head: UW won the series, 3-1.
Top Scorers: UW — Kyle Turris (11-20-31). SCSU — Ryan Lasch (23-25-48).
Goaltenders: UW — Shane Connelly (33 gp, 14-14-5, 2.39 GAA, .914 sv %). SCSU — Jase Weslosky (29 gp, 14-11-2, 2.14 GAA, .929 sv %).

Random Notes: The Badgers get to face the last team they faced in the regular season — the St. Cloud State Huskies. They’ve been off and on all season (as evidenced by their record); with the better play arguably coming in the season A.D. (After Denver). They’ve also had a week off to rest while the Huskies are coming off a tough series with North Dakota — rest which might be to their advantage.

St. Cloud, after a few disappointing months, also has had a good run to end the season, particularly the last month, going 6-2-2 since the start of February. Having the league’s leading scorers doesn’t hurt, either, in Lasch, Garrett Roe (41 points) and Andreas Nodl (41 points).

Coaches’ Thoughts: “I think if you read some of their comments last weekend, they felt that they were playing better without the puck,” said Wisconsin coach Mike Eaves in his weekly press conference. “They felt that way themselves, which is usually the case as you go into the second half of the year; you get used to the way you want to play. When you start losing some games and you’re giving up chances, the coach is going to make you aware of those things.

“Bobby Motzko is a smart man. He understands their strength lies in their ability with the puck with some of their guys, but if they want to be a championship-caliber team, they’re going to have to learn to play better with the puck and their own comments were they felt they were doing that.”

“No matter what, you want home-ice advantage,” said St. Cloud State coach Bob Motzko, before admitting, “I don’t know if it’s an advantage or not in our league.

“It sets up a pretty even series; our two records are almost identical. We’ve played four times this year and though we’re one and three in those games, every game was one goal, we had a couple third period leads that we let evaporate early in the year and the numbers kind of play out very similar so we’re probably looking at one monster of a battle this weekend for both squads.

“It’s going to come down to the smallest of errors and the smallest of successes for someone to find two wins.”
On Brawling, Fighting and General Mischief — Redux

As I mentioned earlier, this topic generated a lot of interest so I decided to research it a bit further … and went through every conference game box score from the 2005-2006 season. That season had the largest number of penalty minutes the league has had in the past six years — a whopping 5,343.

Of course, you need the breakdown:

• 13 fighting majors with corresponding game disqualifications
• Five extra game DQs (for cross-checking, kneeing, etc.)
• 71 total five-minute majors
• 96 total 10-minute penalties
• 40 double-minors for roughing
• 390 total roughing minors
• 60 unsportsmanlike conduct minors
• 31 penalties given at the ending mark of a period
• 5,343 total penalties

Of course, we need to do the percentage game again. Fighting (plus game disqualifications) goes up and down as the years go by, apparently. The percentage varies from 3.6 percent two years ago to 6.6 last year to 2.0 this year. Two years ago, one also saw a few extra game disqualifications called for various stuff.

The number of penalties called after a final buzzer keeps going up — 31 to 42 to 59 — as does the percentage of roughing calls — 14.6 percent to 15.2 to 17.6 — and the percentage of unsportsmanlike conduct calls — 2.2 to 3.0 to 4.5. However, the percentage of double-minors for roughing varies — 3.0 percent to 2.6 to 4.0, as does the percentage of plain old 10-minute misconducts — 14.6 to 11.5 to 13.1.

In case you’re playing along, the final numbers for this year were …

• six fighting majors with corresponding game disqualifications
• 32 total five-minute majors
• 64 total 10-minute penalties doled out (misconducts, game misconducts, DQs)
• 44 double-minors for roughing
• 388 total roughing minors
• 99 unsportsmanlike conduct minors
• 59 penalties given at the ending mark of a period (20:00 or 5:00 in the case of overtime)
• 4414 total penalty minutes

Besides the discussion on the column’s thread in the Fan Forum, I got one e-mail I’d like to share from Mark Fjelde:

“From your box score comparisons, you could also conclude that the games were called tighter last year (hence, more PIMs), which ought to minimize the number of times emotions go beyond the boiling point; therefore, fewer fights. Stated differently, the reduction in penalties this year could mean greater frustration over clutching, grabbing, borderline checks, etc., which in turn leads to more fighting.”

Okay, but why, when penalty minutes go down, do fights vary? That point makes sense with roughing calls, unsportsmanlike conduct calls and calls after the final buzzer of a game/period, though.
That Should Be Good

I think you have enough to read this week now