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.

Gophers Prevail

University of Minnesota photo















The Tigers will take on Minnesota Friday night in a rematch of the Tigers season-opening sweep. UM knocked off St. Cloud in front of a whopping 19,232 fans. Even though Minnesota is coming on strong, I personally feel more comfortable facing them than the Huskies, a team that beat us twice and smothered us in our first home loss of the season. The battle between the WCHA #1 and #7 will begin at 6:07 Mountain Time Friday night with radio coverage on 103.9FM and a special treat, on TV local NBC affiliate 5/30 in the Southern Colorado viewing area.

St. Cloud-Minnesota Box Score Here

UM official recap here

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.

Where the Big Boys Play

St. Cloud State will try to play spoiler as it travels to Minnesota to battle the league's traditional elite teams next weekend. The Huskies clinched their spot after sweeping Wisconsin, the only major power team not to be in the Final Five. North Dakota pulled out their series tonight against Michigan Tech in game 3, as did Minnesota over Mankato. The night was set up for 2 upsets but in the end, the experience of each team won out. The Gophers will play St. Cloud Thursday and the winner will take on the Tigers Friday night. DU will battle North Dakota Friday afternoon. Full details of this weekend's Final Five can be found here

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.

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

WCHA Round 1 Storylines

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

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

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

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

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

On the Air: All CC games this season, home and away, are broadcast live throughout Southern Colorado on KYZX (103.9 FM The Eagle), featuring Ken Landau with the play-by-play. Pre-game shows start 17 minutes before faceoff. All broadcasts can be heard worldwide via the Internet, from a link at CCTigers.com. Game 2 (Saturday) of this week’s playoff series with Alaska Anchorage can also be heard in metropolitan Denver on KKFN 950 AM and KJCD 104.3 FM. Landau also is host of the Tiger Hockey Coach’s Show, which airs from 6:30 until 7:30 p.m. (MT) Tuesdays, on The Eagle…Live video streaming of all Tiger home games this season is available, courtesy of B2 Networks, via a link at CCTigers.com. Cost is $6 per game...This week’s playoff games against UAA will not be televised, Fox Sports Net North will produce four of five games at next week’s WCHA Final Five from the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn. Local coverage in Colorado Springs is yet to be announced.

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

Coach’s Corner: Scott Owens (Colorado College ‘79), who has recorded more victories than any head coach in the history of Tiger Hockey, is in his ninth season at the helm of his alma mater. Owens is 221-118-25 (.641) in 364 games behind the bench, including a 23-7-1 (.741) mark against Alaska Anchorage, and has guided the Tigers to five NCAA playoff berths in his previous eight campaigns. Dave Shyiak (Northern Michigan ‘93) is in his third season as head coach at UAA, where he owns a record of 26-67-14 (.308).

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.