CC remains No. 19 in USCHO poll

Colorado College’s loss to a solid UMass-Lowell team on Saturday did not cost it in this week’s USCHO poll with the Tigers remaining at No. 19 for the second straight week.

As expected, there was a change atop the rankings with Boston College retaking the No. 1 spot, followed by No. 2 Minnesota, No. 3 Miami and shorthanded North Dakota which fell to fourth from second after losing at Alaska-Fairbanks late Saturday.

Denver’s convincing wins over Air Force and Lowell pushed it from No. 7 up to No. 5. Minnesota Duluth dropped one spot to No. 14.

Michigan Tech’s win over Minnesota and close loss on Saturday garnered it some respect and an appearance in the receiving votes section along with St. Lawrence which pulled off a road sweep at Maine.

Minnesota State, Nebraska Omaha,  St. Cloud State and Wisconsin all picked up some votes while Air Force and Alaska-Anchorage received a couple.

 

Friday reading: CC on TV, Duluth, AFA, CC and Denver previews

From CC sports information …

Altitude Sports & Entertainment, which announced last month that it would televise Colorado College’s game against the University of Denver live from the World Arena on Friday, Nov. 16, has further expanded its coverage of Tiger Hockey this season.

The Denver-based network announced this week that it will air live telecasts of CC’s games at the University of Wisconsin on Friday, Nov. 2, as well as at the University of North Dakota on Friday, Jan. 11, on Altitude 2, the network’s secondary channel.

The telecasts start at 6 and 6:30 p.m. MT, respectively, and will be available on Comcast Entertainment Television (CET/channel 105 throughout the state of Colorado), DirecTV (channel 682) and Dish Network (channel TBD).

Here is the rest of the article.

No. 13 Minnesota-Duluth 3, No. 9 Notre Dame 1

SOUTH BEND — After Notre Dame gave up a power-play goal late in the opening period and two goals in the middle period, junior forward Bryan Rust scored the Irish’s lone goal on the power play in the second period in a 3-1 loss to Minnesota Duluth.  Junior defenseman Stephen Johns and junior forward T.J. Tynan earned assists on the goal.  Notre Dame junior goaltender Steven Summerhays made 17 saves in the loss.

Freshman forward Cal Decowski had a goal and an assist and freshman netminder Matt McNeely stopped 29 shots to lead Minnesota Duluth

Here is the Denver Post’s take on the “Colorado state championship” and the Gazette’s preview.

Monday reading: Fejes’ NHL draft ranking, West, Duluth anniversary, DU honoree, All-Americans, club news and tryout info

The NHL released its final draft rankings and CC 2012 commit Samuel “Hunter” Fejes was rated at No. 91 among North American skaters. The draft is June 22-23.

Pine Creek High School graduate Emily West, pictured at right, is bringing the NCAA women’s championship trophy to her old Denver area club team to inspire the next generation of women’s college players.

One year ago today, on April 9, 2011, Minnesota Duluth won the NCAA title (video).

Denver’s Joey LaLeggia, who led Division I rookie defensemen with 38 points, was named the Hockey Commissioners Association National Rookie of the Year, it was announced over the weekend in Tampa.

LaLeggia was also the WCHA’s Rookie of the Year. The assistant coaches of the college hockey teams vote, with each league’s rookie honoree nominated. Cornell’s Brian Ferlin, Michigan’s Alex Guptill, Bentley’s Alex Grieve and Massachusetts-Lowell’s Scott Wilson, scheduled to play at World Arena this October, were runners-up. CC travels to Cornell in mid-October over block break while Air Force may host Bentley.

Here is a full list of the All-America teams announced over the weekend, which included West first team forward and former Tiger Jaden Schwartz and second-team East defenseman Tim Kirby of Air Force. Kirby is an East honoree because the Atlantic Hockey Association is based in the Northeast.

In club news, three Pikes Peak Miners were named to their age division’s all-North American Prospects Hockey League teams. Alec Butcher leads the U18 division in goals and points and is headed to the Kenai, Alaska franchise in the NAHL. Looks like he may be one for college scouts to keep an eye on.

The Colorado Hockey Club’s (Rampage) tryouts are April 20-22 (all goalie spots full) and July 27-29. Click here for more info.

The Colorado Springs Amateur Hockey Association (Miners) are also holding their first tryout session April 20-22. Click here for more details.

Tigers announce tough 2012-13 hockey schedule

Colorado College announced its 2012-13 hockey schedule this morning and it features the usual challenging nonconference and Western Collegiate Hockey Association opponents that have made the 12 straight winning seasons under 14-year head coach Scott Owens (299-185-43, .608) so impressive.

The schedule includes 16 games against seven different teams – including four Western Collegiate Hockey Association rivals – that reached the NCAA playoffs with nine of the games at the Colorado Springs World Arena, where Owens is 196-85-12 (.688).

CC travels to Air Force on Oct. 19 and does home-and-away dates against rival Denver Nov. 16-17 and Feb. 8-9. Under Owens, CC is 30-20-7 against DU including 15-8-3 at Magness Arena to claim the Gold Pan Trophy eight times in 13 seasons.

The 14 home league games also include two against NCAA Tournament entrants Minnesota, Minnesota Duluth and North Dakota. CC also travels to Grand Forks to conclude a challenging road stretch lasting from Dec. 8 through Jan. 18, not including winter break.

Notable nonconference home dates include a single game against Hockey East’s UMass-Lowell, which is coached by former CC assistant Norm Bazin, on Oct. 20 along with contests against Hockey East’s New Hampshire and ECAC member Yale on Thanksgiving weekend. The Tigers open play against ECAC’s Clarkson Oct. 12-13.

The Tigers look ready to play now, judging from this tweet from goalie Joe Howe:

“@CCTigers: 2012-13 hockey schedule announced http://fb.me/1SnqOikO7” how many days until October? #itchingtogetbackatitalready

Season-ticket prices start at $149 and include all 20 regular-season home games plus any home playoff dates. Fans ordering prior to May 14 can receive a special discount of up to $20 on each season ticket. Season-ticket holders receive many special benefits, including a choice of the best seat locations. Interest-free payment options – including a five-month plan – are available. Renewal notices will be mailed in April.

Tiger hockey’s average home attendance of 6,754 in 2011-12 was its highest in five years.

Sunday reading: In the pros, Hall, tonight’s playoff games

Toronto Maple Leafs' Joey Crabb, right, fights with Philadelphia Flyers' Wayne Simmonds during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Toronto on Saturday, March 10, 2012.

Former Tiger Aaron Slattengren scored Colorado’s only goal on a record-tying night for ECHL star Wes Goldie, Alaska teammate of former CC star Brian Swanson, who talks about the all-time goals record.

Trevor Frischmon recorded an assist for AHL Bridgeport Saturday night.

Tigers senior Tim Hall, one of the hardest working CC players up to the very end on Saturday, is featured here.

It’s a busy Sunday night in college hockey with eight best-of-three series going the distance.

CCHA regular-season champ Ferris State won 7-4 Saturday to force a decisive Game 3 Sunday against last-place Bowling Green.

Atlantic Hockey Association regular-season champ Air Force lost 3-1 Saturday to No. 8 UConn, forcing a Game 3 at 7 Mountain Sunday.

In the WCHA playoffs, No. 3 seed Denver forced Game 3 against Wisconsin at 7 Mountain at Magness Arena.

Quinnipiac at Colgate and Harvard at Yale’s ECAC playoff series will be decided tonight.

In Hockey East, UMass-Lowell will try to stave off No. 7 seed Providence, Merrimack tries for the road win at Maine and Boston University hosts New Hampshire.

 

Saturday reading: WCHA scenarios, standings, other playoff news

Junior Rylan Schwartz and his CC teammates could still finish sixth if both Nebraska Omaha and St. Cloud State Both win Saturday night and the Tigers lose.

No. 2 Minnesota Duluth blew its chance at garnering the WCHA regular-season title outright. They could share the title but Minnesota would be the top seed headed into next week’s playoffs. That said, two playoff series are determined with more to be decided tonight.

The Golden Gophers, whose power play struggled in a Friday loss to Wisconsin, hosts Alaska Anchorage while Minnesota State Mankato will head north to Minnesota Duluth.

Then it gets a little murkier. No. 3 seed Denver or No. 4 North Dakota will host either Bemidji State or Wisconsin.

No. 5 or 6 seed Colorado College will host either Michigan Tech, Nebraska Omaha or St. Cloud State. All three could place sixth and host the seventh-place team in a playoff series.

Here’s the full list of scenarios and tiebreakers involving the places 5-8 teams courtesy of the WCHA. Yikes.

Colorado College (29 points, vs Michigan Tech) –
Seeded 5th with a win or a tie.
Seeded 5th with a loss and a Nebraska Omaha loss or tie.
Seeded 5th with a loss and a St. Cloud State loss or tie.
Seeded 6th with a loss, a Nebraska Omaha win, and a St. Cloud State win.

Nebraska Omaha (27 points, vs Denver) –
Seeded 5th with a win, a Colorado College loss, and a St. Cloud State win.
Seeded 6th with a win and a Colorado College win or tie.
Seeded 6th with a win and a St. Cloud State loss or tie.
Seeded 6th with a tie and a St. Cloud State loss or tie.
Seeded 6th with a loss, a St. Cloud State loss, and a Michigan Tech loss or tie.
Seeded 7th with a tie and a St. Cloud State win.
Seeded 7th with a loss, a St. Cloud State win or tie, and a Michigan Tech loss or tie.
Seeded 7th with a loss, a St. Cloud State loss, and a Michigan Tech win.
Seeded 8th with a loss, a St. Cloud State win or tie, and a Michigan Tech win.

St. Cloud State (27 points, vs Minnesota Duluth) –
Seeded 6th with a win and a Nebraska Omaha loss or tie.
Seeded 6th with a tie, a Nebraska Omaha loss, and a Michigan Tech loss or tie.
Seeded 6th with a tie, a Nebraska Omaha loss, and a Michigan Tech win by 11 or fewer goals.
Seeded 6th/7th with a tie, a Nebraska Omaha loss, and a Michigan Tech win by exactly 12 goals.
Seeded 7th with a win and a Nebraska Omaha win.
Seeded 7th with a tie, a Nebraska Omaha win or tie, and a Michigan Tech loss or tie.
Seeded 7th with a tie, a Nebraska Omaha loss, and a Michigan Tech win by 13 or more goals.
Seeded 7th with a tie, a Nebraska Omaha win or tie, and a Michigan Tech win by 11 or fewer goals.
Seeded 7th with a loss and a Michigan Tech loss or tie.
Seeded 7th/8th with a tie, a Nebraska Omaha win or tie, and a Michigan Tech win by exactly 12 goals.
Seeded 8th with a tie, a Nebraska Omaha win or tie, and a Michigan Tech win by 13 or more goals.
Seeded 8th with a loss and a Michigan Tech win.

Michigan Tech (26 points, at Colorado College) –
Seeded 6th with a win, a Nebraska Omaha loss, and a St. Cloud State loss.
Seeded 6th with a win by 13 or more goals, a Nebraska Omaha loss, and a St. Cloud State tie.
Seeded 6th/7th with a win by exactly 12 goals, a Nebraska Omaha loss, and a St. Cloud State tie.
Seeded 7th with a win, a Nebraska Omaha win or tie, and a St. Cloud State loss.
Seeded 7th with a win, a Nebraska Omaha loss, and a St. Cloud State win.
Seeded 7th with a win by 11 or fewer goals, a Nebraska Omaha loss, and a St. Cloud State tie.
Seeded 7th with a win by 13 or more goals, a Nebraska Omaha win or tie, and a St. Cloud State tie.
Seeded 7th/8th with a win by exactly 12 goals, a Nebraska Omaha win or tie, and a St. Cloud State tie.
Seeded 8th with a win, a Nebraska Omaha win or tie, and a St. Cloud State win.
Seeded 8th with a win by 11 or fewer goals, a Nebraska Omaha win or tie, and a St. Cloud State tie.
Seeded 8th with a loss or a tie.

Wisconsin (24 points, at Minnesota) –
Seeded 9th with a win or a tie.
Seeded 9th with a loss and a Bemidji State loss or tie.
Seeded 10th with a loss and a Bemidji State win.

Bemidji State (23 points, at Alaska Anchorage) –
Seeded 9th with a win and a Wisconsin loss.
Seeded 10th with a win and a Wisconsin win or tie.
Seeded 10th with a loss or a tie.

Two-Way Tiebreakers:
Colorado College over Nebraska Omaha (2-2-0 head-to-head, Colorado College more WCHA wins)
Colorado College over St. Cloud State (1-1-0 head-to-head, Colorado College more WCHA wins)
Nebraska Omaha over St. Cloud State (1-0-1 head-to-head)
Nebraska Omaha over Michigan Tech (1-0-1 head-to-head)
St. Cloud State vs Michigan Tech at 28 points to be determined (WCHA goal differential)
St. Cloud State over Michigan Tech at 27 points (1-1-0 head-to-head, St. Cloud State more WCHA wins)
Michigan Tech over Wisconsin (2-0-0 head-to-head)
Wisconsin over Bemidji State (2-0-0 head-to-head)

Three-Way Tiebreakers:
Nebraska Omaha over Colorado College over St. Cloud State (Nebraska Omaha head-to-head, then revert to two-way tie)
Nebraska Omaha over St. Cloud State over Michigan Tech at 27 points (Nebraska Omaha head-to-head, then revert to two-way tie)
Nebraska Omaha over St. Cloud State / Michigan Tech at 28 points (Nebraska Omaha head-to-head, then revert to two-way tie which is to be determined)

CURRENT WCHA MEN’S STANDINGS

WCHA Games								Overall
	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA		W	L	T	GF	GA
Minnesota	27	19	8	0	38	86	56		23	12	1	128	77
Minnesota Duluth	27	16	7	4	36	100	70		22	8	5	129	89
Denver	27	15	8	4	34	93	77		20	11	4	122	94
North Dakota	27	15	11	1	31	79	73		19	12	3	105	94
Colorado College	27	14	12	1	29	93	86		17	14	2	108	97
Nebraska Omaha	27	11	11	5	27	81	82		14	15	6	103	102
St. Cloud State	27	12	12	3	27	83	71		15	16	4	109	96
Michigan Tech	27	11	12	4	26	85	85		14	17	4	102	107
Wisconsin	27	11	14	2	24	75	81		16	15	2	100	94
Bemidji State	27	10	14	3	23	67	85		16	16	3	92	97
Minnesota State	27	8	17	2	18	73	99		12	21	2	97	119
Alaska Anchorage	27	5	21	1	11	56	106		9	22	2	77	120

And of interest to Tiger fans, UMass-Lowell, coached by former CC assistants Norm Bazin and Jason Lammers, clinched home ice in the Hockey East playoffs and could finish in second in the regular season standings. So, who would like to see a home-and-home nonconference setup with Lowell in the next couple years? Count me in.

Here’s an update on the first round of the CCHA playoffs. Check out the Pairwise rankings, which CC in 20th, behind Notre Dame and Ohio State, which are playing in an elimination game tonight..

In women’s playoff action, Minnesota whipped North Dakota 6-0 Friday behind four points (two goals) from Pine Creek High School graduate Emily West.

Monday reading: Douglas, Prosser, polls, Pairwise, postseason

Minnesota Wild defenseman Nate Prosser (39) and Dallas Stars center Steve Ott (29) tangle during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Dallas, Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Former Tiger Nate Prosser, pictured at left, received a two-year contract extension  according to a Monday announcement. The new paperwork changed his two-way deal, meaning he was often sent down to the AHL whenever the Wild needed roster room, to a one-way NHL deal, meaning he cannot be demoted without first going on waivers.

The Gazette looks back on what was a big weekend for Air Force and CC, which moved up to No. 10 from 11 in the Inside College Hockey rankings, the U.S. College Hockey online weekly poll and the USA Today/USA Hockey poll.

CC sits in 16th in the Pairwise rankings, which would mean the Tigers would not be in the NCAA Tournament today with the 16th spot going to the Atlantic Hockey Association playoff champion.

In the USCHO poll, Boston University is the new No. 1, just ahead of Minnesota and Minnesota-Duluth, which split at Alaska-Anchorage and is 1-2-1 in its last four league games after a home tie and loss to Michigan Tech. The USA Hockey rankings have Minnesota at No. 1 followed by BU and Duluth.

Here’s an update on the new-look WCHA looking for a 10th member and a side note that the WCHA will not be back at the Xcel Energy Center in 2014. That suggests strongly that the National Collegiate Hockey Conference will hold its postseason tournament there.

Here’s an NHL.com feature on Ed Belfour.

Former CC assistants Norm Bazin and Jason Lammers continue to lead a surging UMass-Lowell team that was won 13 more games than last year.

Joey Crabb talks about the Leafs’ struggling penalty kill.

Last, but certainly not least, I want to acknowledge the passing of News 5 sports director Lee Douglas, who succumbed to kidney problems Sunday morning. I cannot say I knew him well. I wish I had.

He was always positive, pleasant and professional in my interactions with him at the Air Force press conferences and the annual hockey banquet. He was a good example for all us on how to do things right. He is missed already. RIP.

WJC previews, In the pros, Crabb video

Here’s a short preview on Team Canada headed into its 1:30 p.m. Mountain game opening the World Junior Championships. Here’s  team-by-team capsule preview on each team.

They’ll have plenty of fan support. CC sophomore Jaden Schwartz, the Canada captain, leads an potent line.

 

North Dakota defenseman Derek Forbort will try to slow them down when the USA faces Canada on Dec. 31.

 

Former Tiger Mark Stuart made a Christmas Day appearance for a Winnipeg charity.

 

Former Gopher standout Bill Klatt died over the weekend.

 

Mike Testwuide is starting to get on track for AHL Adirondack.

 

Joey Crabb, who scored the game-winning shorty on Friday, is one of the reasons the Leafs look strong headed into the holiday break.  Here’s video of Crabb’s goal:

 

Updated Wednesday reading: Bachman, Connelly, Holmstrom, Rau, Jaden and Rylan Schwartz

Rockford IceHogs defenseman Brian Connelly (foreground, 10) tries to feed a pass across the goal crease to Peter LeBlanc (32) while Milwaukee Admirals goalie Jeremy Smith (30) and defenseman Ryan Ellis (6) try to stop the pass. Connelly currently ranks second among all AHL defensemen in scoring with 25 points (3G, 22A). (Photo by Todd Reicher)

CC sophomore Jaden Schwartz looks to be the favorite to be named captain of Team Canada by Dec. 23. He is quoted in this feature and referred to as the captain-in-waiting.

Junior Rylan Schwartz received his third WCHA offensive player of the week honor on Tuesday.

SCSU forward Mitch MacMillan quits the team.

Former Tiger Richard Bachman will get his sixth NHL start in a row Wednesday night against the Flyers, who may have Colorado Springs native Ben Holmstrom in the lineup.

Chad Rau was sent back down to AHL Houston after being a healthy scratch at Vancouver. He is still waiting to make his NHL debut.

Mid-season review by a good fan blog for North Dakota.

The Sanford Center in Bemidji is dependent on BSU hockey. How much trouble would World Arena be if CC’s home schedule were cut?

Two little-used UMass-Lowell players have left the team, which is coached by former CC assistants Norm Bazin and Jason Lammers.

Here’s an interesting book on how hockey pervades Canadian culture (duh) to check out.

It looks like UConn may be positioning itself for possible consideration by Hockey East or the ECAC  for membership. It makes geographic sense. I predict the ECAC if one of the current members move up to the HE.