Celebration Put on Hold

It was a battle from the drop of the first puck but it was a game the Tigers couldn't finish. Minnesota State Mankato used a wild and tough third period to down the Tigers in a game filled with cheap-shots, corner battles and soft goals. I'll put the pics up and add my summary tomorrow but I can say that was a horribly officiated game, one of the worst I have seen. I would make fun of the ref more, but his last name was Hunt, so if his first name is Mike, the damage is done. USCHO summary below, check back tomorrow afternoon for my stuff.

Mavericks Rally, Stun CC In Overtime
Mouillierat Gets Winner 16 Seconds In
by Candace Horgan/Contributing Editor

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (March 1) — Looking like they were out of the game and facing one of the best goalies in the country, the No. 9 Minnesota State Mavericks staged an improbable third period rally, ultimately defeating the No. 4 Colorado College Tigers 3-2 in overtime, and kept alive their hopes of home ice in the WCHA playoffs.

“I’m proud of the character the team showed tonight,” said Mavericks’ coach Troy Jutting. “I think if we hadn’t been playing, I don’t know if we would have believed enough to come back,”

Both teams had trouble generating any sustained pressure in the first period. The Tigers in particular looked lax at times with their defensive zone coverage, being a little too casual in getting to pucks at times.

CC had the better overall chances. Early in the period, Brian Connelly and Dan Quilico broke in two-on-one, but when Connelly tried to slide a pass through the slot to Quilico, but Blake Friesen slid on his stomach to intercept it.


With the Tigers on a power play, Mavericks’ goaltender Mike Zacharias made a Statue of Liberty glove save on Scott McCulloch’s tip-in try from the right post of a Connelly shot.

Though he didn’t face as much pressure, Tigers’ goaltender Richard Bachman made the save of the game. Bachman, on his stomach, tried to cover the puck with his glove in the crease, but knocked it forward instead, where Kael Mouillierat picked it up and skated to his left through the slot. Mouillierat looked to fire it into the top left corner, which was open, but as he shot Bachman spun to his right so that his back was facing Mouillierat and knocked the puck away with the back of his glove, stopping a sure goal.

“It was an unbelievable save,” said Mouillierat. “I couldn’t believe it; I had half the net. I guess I took it too easy, and he made an unbelievable save. He never gives up, that guy.”

“I follow his numbers; I know why he’s got the numbers he’s got,” said Jutting. “I don’t know that I’ve seen a save like that.”

Bachman was tested again early in the second with the Mavericks on a power play when Jon Kalinski fired a point blank shot from the left circle, but Bachman closed the pads and made the stop.

The Tigers struck first on a great setup play by Tyler Johnson. Johnson, skating near the hashmarks along the left side boards, spied Eric Walsky in the slot and fed it to him. Walsky held the puck, got Zacharias to commit, then fired it top corner stick side at 8:06.

Buoyed by the goal, the Tigers swarmed the offensive zone, looking to build on the lead, and Zacharias robbed Scott McCulloch from the crease when McCulloch cut to his right and tried to backhand it five-hole.

The Mavericks absorbed that rush however, and started peppering Bachman with shots. Bachman was forced to come up with some big stops to preserve the lead.

A late Tigers’ goal gave Bachman a little more cushion going into the third. With Chad Rau behind the play right in the crease, the puck squirted down to McCulloch standing a little behind the net on the right side post. McCulloch quickly fed the puck to Rau, who one-timed it low past Zacharias at 18:34.

With a two-goal lead and Bachman playing strongly, it appeared the Tigers had the game salted away and were one step closer to the MacNaughton Cup. The Mavericks had other ideas.

“We talked about how critical and how important it really was for us; we had to at least get two points out here,” said Jutting. “Tonight it was critical that we somehow found a way.”

Just 37 seconds into the third period, the Mavericks fourth line put them right back in it. Andrew Sackrison took a draw in the left circle and won it back to Jason Wiley at the top of the circle, and Wiley ripped a shot that beat Bachman glove side.

“They came out and juggled their lines in the third period, started with their fourth line, and got some good energy off that,” said Tigers’ coach Scott Owens. “We’d been doing well on faceoffs all night long and they convert.”

After a flurry of penalties, the Mavericks’ fourth line struck again at even strength. Jerad Stewart, standing on the left side crease, got a pass from Ryan Gunderson and slid it past Bachman’s right pad at 5:13.

“We’re not a fancy team,” said Mouillierat. “We had to just throw pucks at the net. We’re just a mucky team, and we weren’t doing that for two periods.”

Joel Hanson appeared to give the Mavericks the lead at 8:10 when the puck deflected off his skate and through Bachman’s five-hole, but after video review, referee Marco Hunt ruled Hanson had kicked it in.

The Tigers did get several chances to regain the lead. Rau fired a laser from just inside the blue line that Zacharias turned aside, and Johnson got sprung on a breakway up the middle, but his backhand attempt was stopped.

“We had two breakaways and a power play and couldn’t convert,” said Owens. “I think they were a hungrier team, a desperate team. That’s a pretty good hockey team.”

Late in the period, the Mavericks had a golden chance when Brian Kilburg fired a shot from inside the blue line. Bachman gave up a big rebound, and Kilburg, skating in, picked it up and fired, but Bachman sucked it in and held on.

Fans hardly had time to enjoy overtime before the Mavericks were celebrating their come-from-behind win. Considering how Bachman had robbed him earlier, it was fitting that Mouillierat got the game-winner just 16 seconds into the overtime on a strange bounce.

“It was a good forecheck by Hanson and (Zach) Harrison,” said Mouillierat. “I was just coming to the net, one of the two, I can’t remember which, threw it to me and I just jammed it and Bachman, he robbed me in the first and he got a piece of it, and it just rolled in.”

The Mavericks control their own destiny going forward, since they own the tiebreaker with St. Cloud State for home ice.

“It was huge; if we didn’t come back tonight, it would have been four straight losses,” said Mouillierat. “We’re right on the bubble for the national tournament, home ice in the WCHA, and it was just a huge win against a great team. We played desperate hockey, and it was a huge win.”

Beautiful Day in Colorado

For all of you who are fortunate enough to live in this amazing city, I hope you got out and enjoyed today's weather. My dad and I went over to Red Rocks Canyon Park and did some sweet mountain biking. The thermometer in my truck read 74 at the highest today and it felt every bit that, if not more. I'm looking forward to sporting a nice new sunglasses tan tonight to watch the Tigers win some hardware! Should be a good tough game but I think the Tigers will have enough motivation to pull it out. Did anyone else notice that the stupid Gazette picture in the paper shows the Mavericks wearing blue jerseys? I assure you, they are purple and the letsgomavs pics prove it, no idea how the heck you can make purple into aqua with a camera. They are so purple that Ken Landau even called them the Vikings at one point last night, honest mistake since they are from MN and have the same color and a similar logo. Anyway, bring your cameras tonight in case we get to see the MacNaughton Trophy presentation. Until then, enjoy some wicked sweet pics I took today below. And since it's supposed to snow tomorrow, they should come in handy when we are all moping around hating snow!
~PCO

Tigers get five unanswered goals and roll 5-2

It started out a little alarming. Bachman was beaten by a long slap-shot less than 1 minute into the game after going 8 periods without allowing a goal and CC found themselves down 2-0 early in the first period. Maybe it was just early jitters on what could be a ceremonial weekend. Whatever it was, it didn't last long. The Tigers got goal number one on a power play late in the first, then rang one off the post seconds later and it was a sign of things to come as the offense got rolling. Bachman made 20 saves in the second and Jack Hillen has a part in every goal and the Tigers battled to a 5-2 win that seemed closer than the final score. I'll leave the rest of the details to the USCHO column below but I will point out that I predicted a 5-2 win Friday night in my interview with the Mankato blogger. Granted, I thought it would be a little less competitive but heck, I'll take it. Look for a closer game tomorrow night.
~PCO

CC One Win Closer to Clinching MacNaughton
Hillen Gets Four Points
by Theresa Spisak/WCHA Correspondent

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Feb. 29) — After finding themselves down 2-0 to start the game, the Colorado College Tigers scored five unanswered goals to beat the Minnesota State University, Mankato Mavericks Friday night 5-2 at World Arena.
“We got beat by a a good team tonight; they played good too,” said Mavericks’ coach Troy Jutting.

The Mavericks started off the scoring just 48 seconds in when Chad Rau coughed up the puck in the defensive zone to Kael Mouillierat, who fired a low shot from the left circle to beat Tigers’ netminder Richard Bachman (33 saves).

“I thought Mankato was as good as advertised,” said Tigers’ coach Scott Owens. “They won a majority of the puck battles, they were getting to pucks quicker than we were. We were very fortunate to win the game. We won the special teams game [and] Bachman was phenomenal in the second period. The game could have very easily been over at that point.”


13 minutes later, Mick Berge put the Mavericks up 2-0 after tapping in a Jon Kalinski cross-crease pass.

The Tigers cut the lead back to one three minutes later. With Kalinski in the box for slashing, Chad Rau one-timed a Jack Hillen pass past Mavericks’ goaltender Mike Zacharias (26 saves) to make it 2-1.

“We’re up 2-1 going into the second period, and we come out and had numerous opportunities to make it a 3-1 game at that time and kind of take some momentum,” said Jutting. “We couldn’t get it in.”

After CC’s goal, both teams had a flurry of chances and the Tigers almost tied it up on a late first period power play, but Zacharias held fast. Instead, the Tigers capitalized on the remaining bit of power play and tied it up 25 seconds into the second period off a Hillen blast from the high slot.

“That first goal I was really embarrassed to score because I had my head up and the puck just kind of jumped on me; a kind of Johan Santana change-up into the net,” said Hillen. “But hey, I’ll take them whenever I can.”

The second period was very back and forth, with both teams getting chances. However, Brian Connelly would break through with three minutes to go in the middle frame, giving the Tigers their first lead of the game on another power play.

“We had a great second period,” said Jutting. “20 shots on net; I don’t remember the last time we’ve had 20 shots on net in a period. Their goaltender did a great job.”

After a back and forth third period, CC extended its lead to 4-2 off Hillen’s second goal and fourth point of the night. Hillen took a bobbling pass from Eric Walsky and backhanded it past Zacharias.

“[Hillen is] a difference-maker out there all the time,” said Owens. “He’s got a positive impact on the game and tonight, offensively, defensively, calmness back there on a night that it was a little disheveled, to say the least. He settled things down.

“He’s playing great hockey right now. He may be the best or one of the best defensemen in the country right now.”

The Mavericks got a chance to tie it up with a late power play, but Rau sealed the victory with an empty-net goal with 22.4 seconds left.

“5-2 was not indicative of the game,” said Owens. “They deserved a little better fate.”

“I thought we played a good third period,” said Hillen. “That fourth goal was huge because they were just going to keep coming. We played 20 minutes tonight so we can be a lot better. We can try to put 60 minutes together.”

If the Tigers can manage a full 60 minutes, or even just another good period or two, they can clinch at least part of the MacNaughton Cup, awarded to the WCHA team with the best regular season record.

“I’m excited that we’ve given ourselves a chance to clinch a piece of the Cup, and I didn’t think I’d be saying that after the first period or halfway through the game,” said Owens. “But we’re excited to do that, to play, to get a piece of that Cup.”

The two teams face off again tomorrow night at World Arena. Puck drop is at 7:05 Mountain Time.

This Week's Story Lines

From CC Athletics

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

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

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

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

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

Coach’s Corner: Scott Owens (Colorado College ‘79), who has recorded more victories than any head coach in the history of Tiger Hockey, is in his ninth season at the helm of his alma mater. Owens is 218-117-25 (.640) in 360 games behind the bench, including an 18-9-1 mark (.661) against Minnesota State, and has guided the Tigers to five NCAA playoff berths in his previous eight campaigns...Troy Jutting (MSU ‘87) is in his eighth season as head coach at his alma mater and overall in the collegiate ranks. He owns a career record of 124-141-38 (.472).

On the Air: All CC games this season, home and away, are broadcast live throughout Southern Colorado on KYZX (103.9 FM The Eagle), featuring Ken Landau with the play-by-play. Pre-game shows start 17 minutes before faceoff. This Friday's game against Minnesota State will be picked up in Denver on KEPN 1600 AM, courtesy of the CC Tiger Sports Network. Landau also is host of the weekly Scott Owens Coach’s Show, which airs from 6:30 until 7:30 p.m. (MT Tuesdays, on The Eagle. All broadcasts can be heard worldwide via the Internet, from a link at CCTigers.com. Live video streaming of all Tiger home games this season is available, courtesy of B2 Networks, via a link at CCTigers.com. Cost is $6 per game. Neither game of this week’s series against Minnesota State will be televised. The next scheduled telecast is the regular-season finale against the University Denver on March 8, when CET (Comcast Entertainment Television) will carry the game live in Colorado Springs and Denver.

The All-Time Series: Friday marks the 33rd all-time meeting between Colorado College and Minnesota State, which will see each other for the first time this season. CC, which owns a 22-9-1 advantage in the rivalry, was undefeated (9-0-1) in 10 games against the Mavericks before being swept (3-2, 6-4) in Mankato a little more than a year ago. The Tigers are 14-4 all-time against MSU at the World Arena after winning the last six decisions dating back to a 9-6 loss on March 1, 2003.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Weekend swept away

The only positive that can come out of this weekend was that Minnesota is probably the best team in the country, however, being swept at home is never ever a positive thing. The Tigers held it to 0-0 until near the end of the 2nd period when they let in 2 goals in under 5 minutes. However, the Tigers scored 2 quick goals in the first 8 minutes of the 3rd period to tie it but Minnesota got the win with a goal 22 seconds later that proved to be the game winner. It's too bad that CC missed a chance to gain points this weekend. A win against Minnesota would have given them a quality win and better placement in the PairWise rankings but instead they are now facing the strong possibility of not making the NCAA tournament. We are going to need nothing less than a sweep this next weekend against Minnesota State or we can kidd the post season goodbye. The Tigers are now (16-13-3).

As far as attendance and my goal of creating fan interest: the Arena had 7809 fans tonight which is a good jump over the 7790 the night before (both were sellouts so it's nice to see it over capacity). I need to do some digging into season tickets since it looks like Saturdays are consistently higher in number which alludes to Sat. only packages. The one thing I'm worried about is how many of these fans were Gopher fans. I've been to games against those teams from the North and have often felt outnumbered. If anyone has any stories from the game I would love to hear em! (either side)