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Bachman shines again as the Tigers roll to another shutout, 4-0 over Minnesota-Duluth.

Tigers Sweep Buldogs
Bachman Extends Shutout Streak
by Kevin Pates/Special to USCHO

DULUTH, Minn. (Feb. 23) — There were a couple of questions Saturday night at the DECC as Minnesota-Duluth finished a Western Collegiate Hockey Association men’s series with No. 2 Colorado College:

Would the ice surface hold up after four games in 12 hours? Could the Bulldogs crank up their offense at home?

High school games at 10 a.m. and noon, followed by the UMD women against St. Cloud State at 3:30 p.m., had already given the rink a workout.

The ice was OK, but things didn’t get much better for the Bulldogs. First-place Colorado College showed exceptional speed and skill in a 4-0 victory before a crowd of 5,182, aided by two Chad Rau power-play goals.


Colorado College star freshman goalie Richard Bachman, ranked first in the WCHA for save percentage (.932) and goals-against average (1.77), gained an amazing third straight shutout against UMD, a streak of 197 minutes and 46 seconds over four games total. It marked the first consecutive road series shutouts in Colorado College’s 70 years, and it gave the Tigers a four-point lead in the WCHA over second-place North Dakota with four games to play. Bachman had 29 saves.

“We won the league my freshman year and I remember how special it was,” said Colorado senior defenseman Jack Hillen of Minnetonka, Minn. “It’s something we’re looking forward to and we wanted to start the last six games on the right foot.”

The Tigers (23-8-1 overall, 18-5-1 WCHA) started with a 3-0 win Friday and never let UMD into the series.

Going into Saturday’s game, UMD had lost consecutive games just once this season, at Colorado College on Nov. 9-10. The Bulldogs (12-12-6, 8-11-5) hadn’t been shutout in consecutive home games since being swept by Minnesota 2-0 and 7-0 in 1995-96. The Tigers outscored UMD 15-3 in four wins this season.

“We had some momentum in each game and the shots were even for both games [favoring UMD 60-56] ; the difference is, Colorado College scored on its chances,” said UMD junior defenseman Josh Meyers. “They’re by far the fastest team we’ve played. They made the plays and buried their chances.

“It’s tough to lose when you put 30 shots on a goalie each night and don’t score. Colorado likes a skating game and I don’t think we played in their face enough.”

Winger Eric Walsky finished a two-on-one break with Matt Overman in the first period for the Tigers, and Rau’s two power-play goals made it 3-0 after two.

Rau, a junior center from Eden Prairie, Minn., hit with 3:02 left in the first period and finished a nice passing play late in the second to make the Tigers 2-of-3 on power plays against the No. 2-rated penalty killers in Division I. He has 21 goals this season and 49 in his career.

“You hang in there with a team, then make a mistake and it feels like the game is over; their team speed kept leading to odd-man rushes and breakaways,” said UMD goalie Alex Stalock. “At this time of the year, you can’t be happy by not picking up any points. We have to find a way to do something about it.”

Winger Jimmy Kilpatrick scored on a tip at the right edge of the crease at 8:04 of the third period, a play which gave Hillen a third straight assist in the game.

“We played a good methodical team game and our defensive corps was really good,” said Colorado College coach Scott Owens. “They defended well and got the puck moving north. Hillen might be the best defenseman in our league.”

UMD coach Scott Sandelin reworked all of his lines following Friday’s loss, yet the Bulldogs still found it rough going offensively. Bachman had one tough stop in the first period, gloving Michael Gergen with 4:56 left. Seconds later, Gergen was called for spraying Bachman with ice chips and that led to the Tigers scoring on a power play.

The No. 10 Bulldogs are 0-3-1 the last four home games while scoring just two goals total in that stretch. The Bulldogs started the season 4-0-3 at the DECC, but are 2-4-2 the last eight, and are clinging to seventh place in the WCHA, one point ahead of Minnesota.

“All weekend we were looking for that goal to give you a little spark, some life, and couldn’t find it,” said Sandelin. “When you never find it, it zaps you mentally. They’re a tough team to play catch up with, especially with the way their goalie’s playing.”

UMD remains home this Saturday and Sunday against North Dakota.

CC Athletics
Title within reach after sweep in Duluth
Only four points now stand between Colorado College and a third MacNaughton Trophy in the last six years. The Tigers, who have four games remaining before the first round of the WCHA playoffs, continued to zero in on the regular-season title with Saturday’s 4-0 victory at Minnesota Duluth that completed a series sweep of the Bulldogs. Once again, freshman goalie Richard Bachman stood tall between the pipes, making 29 saves while posting his fourth shutout of the campaign, second of the weekend and third in a row against UMD. Junior center Chad Rau, who snapped a seven-game goal-scoring drought a night earlier, popped in his 21st and 22nd tallies of the season to fuel CC’s 11th triumph in 14 games and 23rd overall in 2007-08. Both of Rau's goals came on the power play. Eric Walsky and Jimmy Kilpatrick also scored in the whitewashing, while senior defenseman Jack Hillen set up each of the last three red lighters. Walsky provided the only goal Bachman would need, starting and finishing a nice two-on-one rush with Matt Overman at 8:46 of the opening period. Bachman became the first Colorado College goalie in history to blank an opponent on consecutive nights on the road. The Tigers, who play host to Minnesota State University at the World Arena next Friday and Saturday, can clinch a tie for first place in the final league standings with a pair of victories over the Mavericks, regardless of what second-place North Dakota does in its series at Duluth.

Tigers Rock

Sorry for the delay, busy Friday night and Saturday morning. Listening to the game Friday night, I can see why Bachman was the story in the papers. He was on fire dominating a resilient team in their bush-league arena. One thing of note, Kate Crandall said that Bachman arrived in Duluth after midnight Friday night...kinda hard to play a game when you arrive 6 hours after it started isn't it? I understand it is probably a poor use of terminology for what day "midnight" falls on but c'mon, you call yourself a freakin journalist? That paper makes all of us who hold journalism degrees look like amateur bloggers! ;)

USCHO story below

Tigers Tame Bulldogs
Freshman Phenom Bachman Records Third Shutout of Season
by Kevin Pates/Special to USCHO

DULUTH, Minn. (Feb. 22) — Freshman goalie Richard Bachman handled a difficult week and Colorado College survived a lack of numbers to move closer to a Western Collegiate Hockey Association regular-season title Friday night at the DECC.

Colorado College gained sole possession of first place with a 3-0 victory over Minnesota-Duluth before 4,632 spectators.

Bachman, who attended the funeral of a grandmother on Thursday in Salt Lake City, Utah, arrived in Duluth about 12:15 a.m., saw the DECC for the first time at a morning skate, and then shut out the No. 8-ranked Bulldogs for a second straight game.

The No. 4 Tigers (22-8-1, 17-5-1 WCHA) took a two-point lead over North Dakota, which is playing out of the league this weekend. UMD (12-11-6, 8-10-5) dropped from sixth to seventh in the WCHA, being passed by St. Cloud State after a 4-1 home win over Michigan Tech.

“My family understood what I had to do, that I had to come here and play, and I had to play well for my family,’’ said Bachman, who is from Highlands Ranch, Colo., and leads the WCHA in goals-against and save percentage. “We kind of rose above everything and that’s a good sign for our team.

“Duluth was throwing shots hard at us and crashing the net. They were right with us the whole game.”

What the Tigers had to survive was losing winger Addison DeBoer to a shoulder injury nine minutes into the game and then losing defenseman Nate Prosser to a checking-from-behind major penalty with three minutes left in the first period. Two other forwards are out because of injuries.

Colorado College coach Scott Owens liked the effort he got. Centers Andreas Vlassopoulos and Chad Rau scored goals 25 seconds apart in the second period, and Vlassopoulos added a goal early in the third. Bachman had 31 saves.

“We scored some nice goals, then tried to let Duluth back in the game with a slew of penalties, but we looked quick all night and got a huge win,’’ Owens said. “Richard stood tall and looked confident. He’s the main reason we’re in first place, and we don’t apologize for that.”

UMD’s Alex Stalock was also strong in goal as the Bulldogs led in total shots 31-28. The WCHA’s top two penalty-killing teams were also perfect in that category as UMD went 0-for-7 and Colorado College 0-for-8 on the power play.

Bachman, who beat UMD 3-0 on Nov. 10 in Colorado Springs, Colo., now has a shutout streak against the Bulldogs of 137 minutes, 46 seconds. The Tigers are 10-2-1 in 2008.

“It was a feeling-out process in the first period and in the second we got going, then we had some lapses,’’ said UMD captain Matt McKnight. “Our effort was decent for the most part, but three breakdowns ended up in three goals in our net.
“We talked about it all week that Colorado likes to skate up and down the rink, and we wanted to slow it down and cycle the puck. We cycled the puck, but you still have to get pucks to the net.”

The Tigers lost Prosser, a sophomore from Elk River, Minn., with 2:44 left in the first period on a checking-from-behind major as he knocked UMD winger Andrew Carroll head-first into the sideboards.

In the second period, Vlassopoulos connected from the right circle on a sniping shot at 8:12, and, following a UMD turnover at neutral ice, winger Mike Testwuide found Rau alone in front of Stalock for a goal at 8:37. For Rau, a junior from Eden Prairie, Minn., it was his 20th goal of the season.

The Bulldogs, home for the first time in five weeks, made Bachman work the last two periods.

He gloved Justin Fontaine’s shot in the second, stopped McKnight from close range midway through the third and got a leg on a Jordan Fulton shot late in the third.

But the Bulldogs couldn’t break through and lost for the third time at home this season.

“We made some bad mistakes and they cost us at least two goals,’’ said UMD coach Scott Sandelin. “You have to bear down a little more. We’ll have to play as hard and keep creating the same chances.”

Final Stretch Begins

The Tigers would be smart to just call this weekend's series the beginning of the post-season. With the McNaughton trophy on the line, as well as NCAA Tourney seeding, there is little room for error. North Dakota is on an 11 game winning streak and has jumped into a tie with the Tigers (though the Tiger have 2 games-in-hand) but playing like those extra 4 points don't exist should be enough motivation for the Tigers to finish strong before heading to the Excel Center for a chance at the WCHA Tournament Title.

CC Athletics

This Week’s Storylines
• With home ice already secured for the opening round of the WCHA playoffs a month from now, Colorado College heads to Minnesota Duluth this week in a heated battled for the program’s sixth regular-season title in the last 15 seasons. Although North Dakota has pulled into a tie for first place, the Tigers still hold the upper hand with a pair of games in hand with UND as well as a six-point lead over third-place Denver.
• CC, which is 14-1 at the World Arena this season but just 7-7-1 on the road, is 31-42-2 (.427) all-time in Duluth after splitting there in January 2007. The Bulldogs have eight NHL draft picks on their current roster.
• If the Tigers can win four of their remaining six games, they will finish no worse than co-champions with the Fighting Sioux. And, while sixth-place UMD also still has a mathematical chance of catching Colorado College in the league standings, it would take six Duluth victories and six CC losses for that scenario to occur.

CC Icers Put Title Hopes On the Line
In Crucial Series at Minnesota Duluth

Stretch Drive Resumes: Colorado College tries to give its regular-season title hopes a shot in the arm this week when the Tigers travel to the shores of Lake Superior for a two-game Western Collegiate Hockey Association series against the University of Minnesota Duluth. Faceoff at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center (5,294 seating capacity) is 7:37 p.m. CST Friday and Saturday. With the exception of a potential appearance at the WCHA Final Five in mid-March, this will be CC’s final out-of-state road trip of the 2007-08 campaign.

For the Record: The Tigers, who were idle last week, are 21-8-1 overall and 16-5-1 in WCHA play after splitting a pair of home-ice decisions with St. Cloud State on Feb. 8 and 9. Colorado College skated to a 5-3 victory in the series opener, but fell to the Huskies by a 4-2 count the next night. CC currently is tied for first place with North Dakota, but has six games remaining compared to just four for the Fighting Sioux…Minnesota Duluth is 12-10-6 overall and 8-9-5 in league play, good for sixth place in the WCHA standings, after earning a split at Michigan Tech last weekend. UMD bounced back to claim a 3-2 victory on Saturday after falling 5-2 to the Huskies on Friday. The Bulldogs, who still have their eyes on a home-ice playoff berth, trail fourth place Minnesota State and Wisconsin by three points but have two games in hand with both those teams.

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. 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...Neither game of this week’s series at Minnesota Duluth 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.

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 is tied for fourth in the Pairwise computer rankings and is still second in the power rankings published by InsideCollegeHockey.com (INCH), which has Minnesota Duluth at No. 16. The Bulldogs are 13th in other the two polls, but in a three-way tie for eighth 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 216-117-25 (.638) in 358 games behind the bench, including a 15-10-2 mark (.593) against Minnesota Duluth, and has guided the Tigers to five NCAA playoff berths in his previous eight campaigns...Scott Sandelin (North Dakota ‘86) is in his eighth season calling the shots at UMD, where he owns a record of 121-153-37 (449).

The All-Time Series: Friday marks the 156th meeting between the Tigers and Bulldogs in a rivalry that started on Jan. 4, 1961. Colorado College owns a 79-71-5 advantage in the previous 155 after sweeping UMD, 5-3 and 3-0, at the World Arena last November. CC has won six of its last eight outings overall against the Bulldogs, including a split at the DECC last season when it rallied from behind for a 4-2 victory in Game 2 after suffering a 4-3 loss in the series opener.

Scouting the Bulldogs: UMD’s top point producer through 28 games is junior center MacGregor Sharp, with 16 points (6g,10a) including a pair of game-winning goals. Four other Bulldogs have 14 points apiece. Sophomore goalie Alex Stalock is 12-10-6 between the pipes, with a 2.20 goals-against average and .918 saves percentage.

Recapping the SCSU Series: Senior left wing Scott McCulloch (Lacombe, Alta.) recorded his third career hat trick, and the team’s second of the season, as Colorado College won its 14th consecutive home game with a 5-3 victory in the series opener. The visiting Huskies ended CC’s streak by skating to a 4-2 triumph the next night, despite being out-shot by a 40-30 margin. McCulloch scored once in each period, including a shorthanded goal just 24 seconds into the second and an empty-netter in the final minute of the third, to pace the Tigers in Game 1. Sophomore right wing Mike Testwuide (Vail, CO) and sophomore defenseman Kris Fredheim (Campbell River, B.C.) also struck for first-period goals that night, while freshman goalie Richard Bachman (Highlands Ranch, CO) needed to make only 18 saves. Bachman added 26 more stops in Saturday’s loss, when freshman center Tyler Johnson (Cloquet, MN) scored once and added an assist on a tally by junior forward Eric Walsky (Anchorage, AK). Sophomore defenseman Nate Prosser (Elk River, MN) helped set up two goals on Friday, including McCulloch’s shorthanded game winner, while two other blue-line specialists – senior Jack Hillen (Minnetonka, MN) and sophomore Brian Connelly (Bloomington, MN) – each collected an assist in both games. Bachman joined Prosser with an assist on McCulloch’s GWG in the first contest.

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. The Tigers have surpassed the 20-victory plateau for the 13th time in the last 15 seasons. Starting in 1993-94, when they went 23-11-5 overall and won the first of three consecutive WCHA regular-season championships, they have posted a winning record of 382-185-43 (.661). They’ve earned 10 NCAA playoff bids during the stretch and skated to five regular-season titles in all, claiming four outright and sharing another.

Five Named Scholar-Athletes: Led by McCulloch, who now is a three-time recipient, a school-record five Colorado College players have earned the prestigious WCHA Scholar Athlete Award for 2007-08. Joining McCulloch among this year's honored Tigers are junior defenseman and second-year winner Jake Gannon (Roselle, IL), along with Hillen and sophomore forwards Brian McMillin (Roseau, MN) and Bill Sweatt (Elburn, IL). To earn the award, which was initiated during the 2005-06 season, student-athletes at WCHA member schools must have a grade-point average of at least 3.50 on a 4.00 scale, for the previous two semesters or three quarters, or cumulatively for all terms at the institution. A total of 78 men and women, including 24 repeat honorees, from WCHA teams qualified this season.

Penalty Killing Prowess: While junior center and team scoring leader Chad Rau (Eden Prairie, MN) continues to pace the nation with five shorthanded tallies, the Tigers also are tied for first in the country with nine SHG as a team. They’ve held their opponent scoreless on the power play in 10 of the last 12 games, as well as in 20 of 30 for the season, while allowing only 12 PPG overall. CC ranks second nationally in penalty killing, one spot ahead of Minnesota Duluth, with an 89.7-percent success ratio.

Offense From the Blue Line: Hillen, whose career-high 25 points overall (3g,22a) this season leads all WCHA defensemen, continues to strengthen his case as an all-league and potential All-America candidate. One of just six CC players to appear in every game this season, he has collected 10 assists in the last eight outings and has at least one in nine of the last 10, including six straight heading into this week’s series in Duluth. Hillen also leads the Tigers with 12 points (1g,11a) on the power play...Prosser, who has assisted on four GWG among his 17 points (3g,14a) overall, leads the Tigers with a +14 plus-minus rating for the season and has recorded six multiple-point games...Connelly takes a five-game point-scoring streak into this week’s series opener at UMD. He’s collected one in nine of the last 10 outings, improving his season total to 15 (3g,12a), and has assisted on a team-high five game-winning goals.

Freshman Packs a Punch: Bachman, who continues to lead all WCHA goaltenders with a 1.84 GAA and .775 winning percentage (15-4-1) in league play (15-4-1), has collected three assists in 2007-08 including a pair on game-winning goals. His .931 saves percentage in 20 conference outings ties him for first. His overall goals-against average (also 1.84) is third best in the nation, and his .929 saves ratio ties him for fourth. The All-WCHA/All-America candidate has allowed two or fewer goals in 18 of his 25 starts overall.

Tiger Bites: Nine different Colorado College players have struck for game-winning goals this season, while 10 others have assisted on at least one. Rau has scored five and McCulloch four to lead the team...Senior right wing Jimmy Kilpatrick (New Prague, MN), who last month became the 70th member of Tiger Hockey’s elite “Century Club” by collecting his 100th career point, has factored in on 22 game winners – including six this season – during his four years at CC... The Tigers have bounced back to score within 30 seconds of an opponent’s goal four times this season and have struck in the opening 25 seconds of a period on three occasions...Colorado College is 15-3-1 when scoring first in a game, 9-1-1 when tied after the opening period and 15-1 when entering the final 20 minutes with a lead...CC has scored three or more times in a period 11 times this season, including twice in one game, and is 9-1 when doing it.

Clinching on the Couch

Even though the Tigers were off this past weekend, they still managed to win home-ice in the WCHA playoffs with the results from Friday night WCHA action. This will ensure that we get to see the Tigers at least twice more at the World Arena after the DU finale for the WCHA first round. However, a trip to Duluth looms before any thoughts of first-round opponents can be spelled out...

CC Athletics
CC prepares for crucial series in Duluth
With home ice secured for the opening round of the WCHA playoffs a month from now, the rested Tigers head to Minnesota Duluth this week in a tight race for their sixth regular-season championship in the last 15 seasons. Although North Dakota has pulled into a tie for first place, Colorado College still holds the upper hand with a pair of games in hand with UND and a six-point bulge over third-place Denver. CC, which is 14-1 at the World Arena this season and a respectable 7-7-1 on the road, is 31-42-2 all-time in Duluth after splitting there a little more than a year ago. Coach Scott Owens and his team swept the sixth-place Bulldogs earlier this season at the CSWA, site of a best-of-three playoff series the weekend of March 14-16 as well as the NCAA West Regional on March 28 and 29.

Tigers sweep Duluth behind Bachman's shutout

CC finished of Duluth tonight 3-0 to improve to 5-3 (5-1WCHA) before a big showdown with Wisconsin next weekend. Freshman Richard Bachman stopped 34 shots to earn the shutout for the Tigers. More to come as the weekend rolls on.
From USCHO: The No. 9 Colorado College Tigers are probably more concerned with wins and standings, and their impressive 3-0 shutout win, coupled with Michigan Tech's loss to St. Cloud State, vaulted the Tigers into sole possession of first in the ever-competitive WCHA. In the process of doing so, Tigers' coach Scott Owens earned his 200th career win.

Tigers fight to 5-3 victory behind explosive 2nd period

The Tigers started the game with two passes in front of their own net that almost resulted in own-goals. The Tiger finished the game fighting off a tough Minnesota-Duluth team to win 5-3. In between those events was a tough, hard-fought game of two teams that seemed to be evenly matched. The Tigers would play sloppy, the Bulldogs would capitalize. The Bulldogs would break down defensively, the Tigers would slam one home. The second period began 1-1 and ended with the Tigers up 5-2. CC scored on a magnificent break-away and a tipped goal that was controversial (at least according to UMD). The crowd seemed fairly relaxed most of the game, probably due to the fact that we don't know a lot about UMD and so they are a virtual no-name. I was impressed with them though, they were tough and very physical and refused to die. They killed off a 5:00 major during the third period and often had a man open outside the crease. Tomorrow night should be exciting as both teams will make their adjustments and go at it again at 7pm. I have numerous fun pictures from this game that I will put up tomorrow night, as well as links from the game as they accumulate! The official recap is here

I need to confess that I was wrong about the "blackout" turns out that the official night is next Friday night against Wisconsin (who beat North Dakota tonight, by the way). However, a number of people wore black tonight which was really cool. Here's an idea that I had last season as well. What if we ALWAYS wore black on Fridays and gold on Saturdays? How cool would that be? Imagine coming to play the Tigers; a top WCHA team, in high altitude, loud crowd and on top of it they can change colors between the 2 games?! It might just be a minor annoyance, but an annoyance none-the-less.

New Rankings and the weekend wrap-up

Not much changed this weekend in the USCHO poll this week for the Tigers as they remained number 9 (same as the USA Today poll as well). Miami Ohio remained in the top spot while North Dakota fell from 2nd to 3rd, with Michigan leap-frogging to that spot. The Tigers opponent this weekend, Minnesota Duluth, is currently ranked 15th in both polls.
The WCHA blog takes a look at the WCHA this past weekend and the importance of the Tigers gaining the split in their "marquee matchup."

Tigers split series with North Dakota

Well, the Tigers went into the North Dakota series after being swept by New Hampshire in their first road series of the young season. Unfortunately, North Dakota was the team that came out flying and pounded the Tigers 6-2 and gave CC a three game losing streak. The Tigers struck back Saturday night and used a strong showing from Bachman in net to gain the split with a 4-1 victory and earned the split with number 1 North Dakota. Of course, we all would have loved to see the Tigers sweep the series, but a win is a win, especially on the road at the number one team in the nation. It's great to see that the Tigers have a stud in net now with their freshman. This was one of the biggest question marks coming into the season after losing Zaba last season. Despite being swept out east, the Tigers are still looking very good for the rest of the season and have some good momentum going into this weekend's home series against Minnesota-Duluth.
Speaking of "out east", New Hampshire was upset by Northeastern on Saturday night for the first time in 20 games. Hats off to NE as they beat the number 3 team in the nation.
Another series that might have been a shocker to some, was DU sweeping Minnesota and leaving the Gophers at 0-4 in the WCHA for the first time....ever. Either CC and DU are REALLY good, or Minnesota is REALLY BAD!