CC flattens Minnesota 3-1

On the first night of the season, the Tigers looked to be ready to start the WCHA tournaments. The Tigers out-skated, out-hit and out-played the Gophers who looked worn out after the first period. Although they struck quickly after the Tigers first score (the PA announcer wasn't even through announcing the goal) they looked over matched the rest of the way. CC has always been know as a finesse, speedy team but there were numerous hip-checks that send gophers flipping faster than Eddi Murphy chase the rodent in "caddy shack". I was impressed with the team all the way around. The only downfall of the night was the World Arena was probably only at 75% capacity. The annoying old Minnesota fans behind me (that kept saying, "c'mon Gophs, SKATE!" something they didn't do well all night) was even surprised-he got his ticket the day they went on sale. Welcome to Colorado Springs, home of individuals. It also doesn't help that we have 2 D-I teams in the same city. But back to the game; by the third period, the Tigers were skating circles around Don Lucia's team...literally! Did anyone keep track of how long the Tigers were in Minnesota's end in that third period?!! Great game, great team, if they keep this up the 07/08 Tigers are going to be something special.

This is why people support the hockey team, not the college...

So I opened the paper today (yes some of us still get it at home) to see 4 CC players were suspended for blackface. WTF is blackface? I read the article and, in my head, it read "4 players were suspended for dressing up like TV characters". Um, what?! I read the story again online and looked up the definition for blackface. Ok, so the initial meaning was derogatory and meant to make fun of people who, basically, weren't the accepted status quo. Nothing wrong with that (the concern of the word, NOT the mocking), but dressing up as TV characters on a team outing away from the public is hardly mocking people. I wouldn't' view it any different than a kid dressing up as Garfield for Halloween. What's next, "look at that kid over there, he's dressed up as BUGS BUNNY! That is SO unacceptable, let's send him to tolerance school for the next 5 years" My reaction to this whole thing is "are you f*cking kidding me?!!!!" Everyone I have talked to today thinks its ludicrous. Most put it more bluntly than I just did, with many many more explicatives. I mean seriously, how the f*ck is this even a story? I read a recent comment that said "its official, the gayzette hates white people". I don't even see how this has anything to do with blacks because, helllo!, color doesn't freaking matter! How many people really walk down the street and think to themselves "uh oh, it's a mexican, I better cross the street" NO. We think, if anything, oh, there's a person walking by me. Who cares!!! So now our hockey players have to go through a laundry list of "diversity" activities to remedy the situation. Or as one poster on the Gazette put "brainwashing". What is CC thinking??? Are they taking the run toward being the number one pot school again too seriously?? First off, pretty sure they are not that diverse of a campus to begin with so why do they care? Of course it shouldn't matter anyway, it's not a freaking issue. And then you get the media jumping all over it and poof! national sensation over a non-issue. Crandall should have thought about how ludicrous this whole thing was before causing a national phenomenon. In the words of Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy "makes me wanna puke"

Season starts in full force

Well the 2 "pre-season" exhibition games are over and now the season starts in full force with national powerhouse Minnesota charging into town for the weekend. Should be a good opportunity to see what our Tigers are made of right out of the gate. Regardless of the outcome, this can't be a disaster for the Tigers, even if they are swept. Having an opponent of this caliber the first week will start them out high and prepare them for the rest of the season. Also, being the first weekend, there is plenty of time for the Tigers to come back if disaster strikes and they don't win a game. It will be a great battle and I'm sure there will be plenty of Minnesota fans descending on the Springs this week. I have never had the opportunity to be at one of these games so it should be a blast, great atmosphere and great hockey!
The Tigers won their two warm-up games and the young kids seemed to do pretty well.
You can find the quick recap of the games at the CC hockey page.

Look for a feature this week regarding the recent history between the Tigers and the Gophers. Thanks for your support of this blog and I'm looking forward to hitting the regular season strong!

Ask an Expert, CC style

Here is a great story from the Western Collegiate Hockey blog regarding the Tigers this season. It's an interview with Kate from the Gazette about the Tigers upcoming season.

#9 You know you're a CC Tiger Hockey fan when...

You know what "Just Build it!" meant

Tigers overview from the blogging perspective

The WCHA Blog takes a look at the Tigers from last season to now and has the same lingering question that many of us do, who will be the goaltender and will they be able to replace the past 2?

#10 You know you're a CC Tiger Hockey fan when...

You know what "playing up" means with regard to a Division III school playing Division I hockey and how that almost changed forever 4 years ago.

Little bit of irony?

So I was at Panera Bread this weekend and picked up the little pamphlet schedule for the Tigers for portable reference. While eating, my dad pointed out that one of the sponsors is Fittje Brothers Printing Company, who proudly printed the schedule. Big deal right? Well, the Wells Fargo ad on the back features text with a strange halo around the letters a la a misaligned printer (not unlike many Gazette editions featuring an almost 3D look when the ink has gone nuts). Funny, ironic and another example being extremely careful and proofing everything that you do.

On another note, I will be doing an entry once a week entitled "You know your a CC Tiger Hockey fan when..." feature 10 of the features that distinguish us Tiger fans. If there are any ideas, feel free to let me know as I begin to roll it em out.

2007/08 Schedule

Here is this season's schedule once again to keep you fresh and ready to go for the opener October 6th (home games at Colorado Springs World Arena in yellow)

Oct. 6 University of Calgary W 4-3
Oct. 12 Under-18 US National Team W 6-3.
Oct. 19 University of Minnesota 7:37 p.m.
Oct. 20 University of Minnesota 7:07 p.m.
Oct. 26 @University of New Hampshire 5 p.m.
Oct. 27 @University of New Hampshire 5 p.m.
Nov. 2 @University of North Dakota 6:37 p.m.
Nov. 3 @University of North Dakota 6:07 p.m.
Nov. 9 University of Minnesota Duluth 7:37 p.m.
Nov. 10 University of Minnesota Duluth 7:07 p.m.
Nov. 16 University of Wisconsin 7:37 p.m.
Nov. 17 University of Wisconsin 7:07 p.m.
Nov. 23 University of Denver 7:37 p.m.
Nov. 24 @University of Denver Away 7:07 p.m.
Nov. 30 @University of Alaska Anchorage 9:07 p.m.
Dec. 1 @University of Alaska Anchorage 9:07 p.m.
Dec. 14 @St. Cloud State University 6:07 p.m.
Dec. 15 @St. Cloud State University 6:07 p.m.
Lightning College Hockey Classic (Tampa, FL)
Dec. 29 ~ Colorado College vs. RPI, 6 p.m.
Dec. 30 ~ Colorado College vs. UMass or Notre Dame, 3 or 6 pm
Jan. 4 @University of Wisconsin 6:07 p.m.
Jan. 5 @University of Wisconsin 6:07 p.m.
Jan. 11 University of Alaska Anchorage 7:37 p.m.
Jan. 12 University of Alaska Anchorage 7:07 p.m.
Jan. 18 Bemidji State University 7:37 p.m.
Jan. 19 Air Force Academy 7:07 p.m.
Jan. 25 @Michigan Tech University 5:07 p.m.
Jan. 26 @Michigan Tech University 5:07 p.m.
Feb. 1 Clarkson University 7:37 p.m.
Feb. 2 Clarkson University 7:07 p.m.
Feb. 8 St. Cloud State University 7:37 p.m.
Feb. 9 St. Cloud State University 7:07 p.m.
Feb. 22 @University of Minnesota Duluth 6:07 p.m.
Feb. 23 @University of Minnesota Duluth 6:07 p.m.
Feb. 29 Minnesota State University-Mankato 7:37 p.m.
March 1 Minnesota State University-Mankato 7:37 p.m.
March 7 @University of Denver Away 7:37 p.m.
March 8 University of Denver 7:07 p.m.

March 14-16 WCHA Playoffs (First Round-top 5 teams host)
TBA TBA
March 20-22 WCHA Final Five (St. Paul, MN)
TBA TBA

March 28-29 NCAA West Regional COLORADO SPRINGS

April 5-7 NCAA Frozen Four DENVER, CO

The season is approaching

You can tell the season is near when traffic online about the Tigers and college hockey starts to pick up. Today, the Gazette featured an article about former Tiger Brandon Straub’s battle to gain a roster spot with the Avalanche at rookie camp and some notes about the first captains practice of the season. One thing that I am surprised about is the source of the last 2 links. It appears Kate Crandall from the Gazette is starting with a solid effort for the season. I'm assuming that she has some privileges in terms of access to the team and practices that most of us non-press don't have. Fine by me, if she reports it I'll find it and post it up on here. I would definitely advise you to check out some of her older posts that have snuck by my alerts the last few weeks. Another sweet entry that I found was one that ranked the cities of the WCHA. C-Springs falls in 3rd place and has a pretty good article about our city and fans. Some things that the visitor found pleasantly surprised me so take a look! It appears I need to do some serious updating of my links section with all these new blogs popping up. I'm out of town on business this week followed by spending next weekend in Lincoln for the Huskers versus USC game. Enjoy the new articles and I will be back in full force in a week!

Anyone else get a certain sense of satisfaction watching the Michigan football team plod along and get pounded at home?!!

New Recruit for Tigers

The Tigers have landed recruit Tim Hall for the 08 or 09 recruiting class. See more at the WCHA blog

Zaba gets his wish

Matt Zaba has been waiting all summer for a chance in the NHL and got it this weekend. Originally drafted by the Kings, Zaba was informed that he would not be signed and left in limbo until the NY Rangers called and gave him the opportunity to join an organization lacking in depth at goalie. Check out the details and quotes from The Gazette.

Blog Alert!

My Google Alerts pointed me toward a WCHA blog that's pretty good. The article I read was about ranking the WCHA arenas and about the World Arena at 7. It's a well written article and a well organized site, so check it out!

It will be added to the links section shortly, as well as the Gazette blog that seems to have died.

Get Ready to SEE Again!!

One of my biggest pet peeves EVER about the World Arena is finally being fixed!! The Arena installed nets inside the offensive zones a few seasons ago which is great for line-drives, except for one thing: They were thick and white and horribly blocked visibility. This coming season, we will get thinner and less obtrusive nets! Check out The Gazette article for the specifics. Thank you season ticket holders!!!


Also in case you missed it, Tom Preissing joined the LA Kings on July 3rd after leaving the SJ Sharks, his first team after leaving CC.

New blog...sorta

So it looks like the Gazette is trying to jump aboard the blogosphere with their lackluster CC hockey coverage. Go check it out and let's hear some opinions but be warned, there is a lot of white on the page, haha!! I will support and endorse other bloggers, like this one and even our evil DUh fans up north (sorry, they don't get a link!) and I consider my site to be for the fans and with the fans, not just me, but I am totally against the Gazette. I'm not sure if it's because their coverage sux, because they are a corporation, or because I root for fan content. Whatever the case, I now have incentive to get this blog converted over to a full blown website (I'm having problems with templates so it's taking longer) and stomp them! (not just the blog but the site as well) Get some discussion going in the comments section of this post about either how much our media coverage sux or things you want to see to help us fans dominate the CC Tiger web presence!!

Updates

Hope everyone is having a great summer. You know fall is coming up when the Broncos start training camp! Personally, football is number 1 to me but hockey is that close second. So, the Broncos starting can only mean that the NCAA Hockey season is a mere 2 months away. The Tigers start out at home vs U of Calgary October 6th (in case you missed all the media coverage for the season, oh wait...). Since there won't be a full 3 days of ESPN hype to cover the start of the season like the football counterparts, it's our job to create our own hype here on the Web.
I'm starting to modify things on the blog to get ready for the new season. I've added my own logo for the season, a countdown timer and a fun poll to judge your feelings about the 07/08 edition of the Tigers (and I fixed the amazing typo so it got reset from 1 vote back to zero so show some pride and vote!). My logo is having some compatibility issues with Blogger and is squished so I hope get that fixed as soon as I figure out what's causing it. I removed the rotating googlevids app. due to some "inappropriate" vids that snuck into the hockey category. Don't worry, the vids from the playoffs last year can still be found in the LINKS section. That's all for now. If there are any suggestions or comments about the site please let me know!!

Colorado Avalanche Schedule

I know the blog has Colorado College in the title but I'm still going to put in a bit about the Avs from time to time. In keeping with the schedule theme, here is the Avalanche 07-08 schedule.

2007-08 AVALANCHE SCHEDULE

(all times Mountain; times subject to change)

Oct. 3 Dallas, 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 4 at Nashville, 6 p.m.
Oct. 7 San Jose, 6 p.m.
Oct. 12 at St. Louis, 6:30 p.m.
Oct. 13 Columbus, 7 p.m.
Oct. 16 Calgary, 7 p.m.
Oct. 19 at Chicago, 6:30 p.m.
Oct. 21 at Minnesota, 4 p.m.
Oct. 23 at Edmonton, 7 p.m.
Oct. 26 at Calgary, 7 p.m.
Oct. 28 Minnesota, 6 p.m.

Nov. 1 Pittsburgh, 7 p.m.
Nov. 3 Vancouver, 8 p.m.
Nov. 5 Calgary, 7 p.m.
Nov. 7 Edmonton, 7 p.m.
Nov. 9 at Vancouver, 8 p.m.
Nov. 11 Minnesota, 6 p.m.
Nov. 16 at Dallas, 6:30 p.m.
Nov. 18 at Minnesota, 4 p.m.
Nov. 20 at Calgary, 7 p.m.
Nov. 22 at Edmonton, 7 p.m.
Nov. 24 Calgary, 5 p.m.
Nov. 28 Edmonton, 7 p.m.
Nov. 30 at San Jose, 8:30 p.m.

Dec. 1 at Los Angeles, 8:30 p.m.
Dec. 3 San Jose, 7 p.m.
Dec. 5 at Columbus, 5 p.m.
Dec. 7 Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Dec. 9 St. Louis, 6 p.m.
Dec. 12 at Columbus, 5 p.m.
Dec. 13 at Nashville, 6 p.m.
Dec. 15 Nashville, 7 p.m.
Dec. 17 at Los Angeles, 8:30 p.m.
Dec. 19 at Anaheim, 8 p.m.
Dec. 21 N.Y. Rangers, 7 p.m.
Dec. 23 Vancouver, 6 p.m.
Dec. 27 Detroit, 7 p.m.
Dec. 29 Los Angeles, 1 p.m.
Dec. 31 at Phoenix, 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 2 Phoenix, 7 p.m.
Jan. 5 N.Y. Islanders, 7 p.m.
Jan. 8 at Detroit, 5:30 p.m.
Jan. 9 at Washington, 5 p.m.
Jan. 12 at Carolina, 5 p.m.
Jan. 13 at Florida, 3 p.m.
Jan. 15 at Tampa Bay, 5:30 p.m.
Jan. 18 Chicago, 7 p.m.
Jan. 20 Columbus, 6 p.m.
Jan. 22 Nashville, 7 p.m.
Jan. 24 Minnesota, 7 p.m.
Jan. 30 Chicago, 7 p.m.

Feb. 1 at Detroit, 5:30 p.m.
Feb. 2 at St. Louis, 6:30 p.m.
Feb. 4 Phoenix, 7 p.m.
Feb. 6 at San Jose, 8:30 p.m.
Feb. 9 at Vancouver, 8 p.m.
Feb. 12 Anaheim, 7 p.m.
Feb. 14 St. Louis, 7 p.m.
Feb. 17 at Chicago, 11 a.m.
Feb. 18 Detroit, 6 p.m.
Feb. 20 at Anaheim, 8 p.m.
Feb. 22 at Phoenix, 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 24 at Edmonton, 6 p.m.
Feb. 26 at Calgary, 7 p.m.
Feb. 27 at Vancouver, 7 p.m.

Mar. 1 Los Angeles, 7 p.m.
Mar. 4 Vancouver, 7 p.m.
Mar. 6 Anaheim, 7 p.m.
Mar. 8 Dallas, 7 p.m.
Mar. 9 at Dallas, 6 p.m.
Mar. 11 at Atlanta, 5 p.m.
Mar. 13 Edmonton, 7 p.m.
Mar. 15 New Jersey, 1 p.m.
Mar. 17 at Minnesota, 5 p.m.
Mar. 20 at Calgary, 7 p.m.
Mar. 22 at Edmonton, 8 p.m.
Mar. 24 Calgary, 7 p.m.
Mar. 26 Vancouver, 7 p.m.
Mar. 28 Edmonton, 7 p.m.
Mar. 30 at Minnesota, 4 p.m.
Apr. 1 at Vancouver, 8 p.m.
Apr. 6 Minnesota, 3 p.m.

College Hockey will adopt 2 referee rule

But we have to wait a year. The competition committee released their new list of rule changes and the one that stands out the most will be the 2 referee system that the NHL uses. However, it won't be in effect until 08-09. Another aspect under consideration are modifying OT rules. One example would be 4 on 4 or a shootout.

NHL draft updates

Holy crapy I'm writing a new entry! I've been busy enjoying summer so I haven't really had the motivation to sit down and write an entry but I'm making myself do it in light of some recent big news over the weekend. If you haven't already heard, Mr. Quiznos himself Billy Sweatt was drafted 38th by the Chicago Blackhawks in the second round of the draft. I still find it crazy how the NHL draft works, drafting young kids and then sending them off for 2-6 years to college or the minors. ESPN put it best in their headline "There wasn't any chest hair among the NHL draftees". Anyway, there was a fun article about Sweatt in the Gazette Saturday talking about his minimum wage job for the summer. I can't find it on the website because the search function sux on gazette.com (just like most of the rest of the site). Here's the rundown of the draft as a whole.

As far as the blog goes, I'm working on an actual website for all the content so that the links and vids and such can have their own pages. I'll still keep the blog for opinions and my rantings about hockey and then use the website for more formal things about the team and links to all the news releases around the WWW. If you guys have anything specific that you would like to see added, please let me know. As I've said before, blogs and websites work best as a 2-way conversation instead of some webmaster guessing what people care about! One thing of note, I apologize in advance if my coverage of the Tigers is a little weak the beginning of the season. Football season is what I live for so I will be following that more than anything, but I will make sure to give you all something to read weekly!

The Full 07/08 Schedule

Its never too early to start looking at the match-ups for this coming season. As most of you know, CC starts out with one of the toughest schedules in the country so we will find out pretty quickly how tough our team is. The benefit of this is early learning experience, strength of schedule for the PairWise and if for some reason the struggle, it will still be early and they will have plenty of time to recover. Of course the big discussion revolves around the DU series happening over Thanksgiving. Personally, I think its a great idea: so long as its televised on a national network. People are already at their TVs watching football and could easily change over and check out the CO rivals going at it afterward.
Here it is:


Oct. 6 University of Calgary 7:07 p.m.
Oct. 12 Under-18 US National Team 7:37 p.m.
Oct. 19 University of Minnesota 7:37 p.m.
Oct. 20 University of Minnesota 7:07 p.m.
Oct. 26 @University of New Hampshire 5 p.m.
Oct. 27 @University of New Hampshire 5 p.m.
Nov. 2 @University of North Dakota 6:37 p.m.
Nov. 3 @University of North Dakota 6:07 p.m.
Nov. 9 University of Minnesota Duluth 7:37 p.m.
Nov. 10 University of Minnesota Duluth 7:07 p.m.
Nov. 16 University of Wisconsin 7:37 p.m.
Nov. 17 University of Wisconsin 7:07 p.m.
Nov. 23 University of Denver 7:37 p.m.
Nov. 24 @University of Denver Away 7:07 p.m.
Nov. 30 @University of Alaska Anchorage 9:07 p.m.
Dec. 1 @University of Alaska Anchorage 9:07 p.m.
Dec. 14 @St. Cloud State University 6:07 p.m.
Dec. 15 @St. Cloud State University 6:07 p.m.
Lightning College Hockey Classic (Tampa, FL)
Dec. 29 ~ Colorado College vs. RPI, 6 p.m.
Dec. 30 ~ Colorado College vs. UMass or Notre Dame, 3 or 6 pm
Jan. 4 @University of Wisconsin 6:07 p.m.
Jan. 5 @University of Wisconsin 6:07 p.m.
Jan. 11 University of Alaska Anchorage 7:37 p.m.
Jan. 12 University of Alaska Anchorage 7:07 p.m.
Jan. 18 Bemidji State University 7:37 p.m.
Jan. 19 Air Force Academy 7:07 p.m.
Jan. 25 @Michigan Tech University 5:07 p.m.
Jan. 26 @Michigan Tech University 5:07 p.m.
Feb. 1 Clarkson University 7:37 p.m.
Feb. 2 Clarkson University 7:07 p.m.
Feb. 8 St. Cloud State University 7:37 p.m.
Feb. 9 St. Cloud State University 7:07 p.m.
Feb. 22 @University of Minnesota Duluth 6:07 p.m.
Feb. 23 @University of Minnesota Duluth 6:07 p.m.
Feb. 29 Minnesota State University-Mankato 7:37 p.m.
March 1 Minnesota State University-Mankato 7:37 p.m.
March 7 @University of Denver Away 7:37 p.m.
March 8 University of Denver 7:07 p.m.

March 14-16 WCHA Playoffs (First Round-top 5 teams host)
TBA TBA
March 20-22 WCHA Final Five (St. Paul, MN)
TBA TBA

March 28-29 NCAA West Regional COLORADO SPRINGS

April 5-7 NCAA Frozen Four DENVER, CO