Tigers’ NCAA tourney waiting game begins after Game 3 loss to Omaha in NCHC quarterfinals

By Joe Paisley

Colorado College will be back at practice on Wednesday, hoping that their hockey season isn’t over.

With a 2-1 loss to Omaha in Game 3 of their best-of-three National Collegiate Hockey Conference quarterfinal playoff series, the 21-13-3 Tigers must wait until next weekend’s league championships to find out if they make the 16-team NCAA Tournament field.

“We’re not done yet,” Tigers coach Kris Mayotte said. “Unfortunately, it’s not in our hands. We got to believe we have the opportunity to do it again. We were hoping we could take care of business tonight, punch our ticket and control our destiny.” 

The loss before an announced sellout crowd of 3,416 at Ed Robson Arena dropped the Tigers down to 14^th in the Pairwise rankings and right at the cutoff line with the 15^th and 16^th seeds earmarked for the CCHA and Atlantic Hockey playoff champions.

“There are some scenarios out there that get us into the tournament,” Mayotte said. “We’ll take Monday and Tuesday off and come back and get ready to go, start preparing on Wednesday. That is all we can do at this point.”

With the win and according to the Pairwise Probability Matrix tool, 11^th-rated Omaha is in the NCAAs for sure while 12^th-rated Western Michigan has a 99 percent chance, 13^th Massachusetts 91 percent; 14^th Colorado College, 49 percent; with Cornell, Dartmouth and St. Cloud State all needing to win league playoff titles to get an automatic qualifier.

Cornell and Dartmouth play in one ECAC semifinal while SCSU plays Denver Friday at the NCHC Frozen Face-off. Omaha plays top-seeded North Dakota in the other semi in St. Paul. CC may move up if Massachusetts loses in the Hockey East semifinals.

Mayotte was a Providence assistant in 2015 when the Friars made the tourney as a 14^th seed and won a national championship. They made it in only after Minnesota ended Michigan’s bid for the Big Ten’s automatic qualifier in the title game, leaving a spot open for PC.

Knowing that, Mayotte spent time with the team after Sunday’s loss, making sure they know the season may not be over.

“I shared with (the team) that when we won it in Providence we were in much the same situation,” Mayotte said. “We’ll start preparing on Wednesday as if we are in and we have a week and a half to prepare. I trust if we do get a chance, this team will be ready and excited and attack the opportunity.”

On Sunday, Omaha forward Brock Bremer converted a 3-on-2 breakaway by one-timing a cross-ice pass from defenseman Griffin Ludtke, who forced a CC turnover in the neutral zone to set up the rush. 

That put the 22-11-4 Mavericks ahead 2-1 with 13:21 left in the third period. It would be enough with goalie Simon Latkoczy (31 saves) anchoring a defense that collapsed down low to keep opponents out of the slot.

“You have to find a way to get open looks and against them, that’s hard,” Mayotte said. “The way they defend they always have guys around the net. They don’t vacate very much.”

CC got the start it needed when freshman Klavs Veinbergs knocked in a rebound off a Noah Laba shot for a power-play goal and 1-0 lead with 4:26 left in the first period. It was the first lead this series for the Tigers, not counting Friday’s overtime winner, but would only last 21 minutes, 46 seconds.

Omaha would tie it up at 1-1 when Jimmy Glynn lifted the puck over CC sophomore goalie Kaidan Mbereko(20 saves) with 2:40 left in the second period. The Tigers looked to have retaken the lead but Latkoczy reached behind himself and covered the puck before it crossed the line – the on-ice officials ruled – with 1:52 left to keep it tied entering the third period. UNO had a goal disallowed about five minutes earlier on an offsides call.

“They capitalize on mistakes and we didn’t make many tonight,” he added. “(Mbereko) made some big saves. It wasn’t like they scored on their only two chances but they were fairly opportunistic. We just really couldn’t get our footing back. They started taking over in the second period. It felt like we chased it a bit after that.”

Knowing that Sunday might have been the final game for the eight Tiger seniors and one graduate student, they can take pride knowing what they accomplished.

“If we don’t get a chance to do it again, they changed the program,” Mayotte said. “Not many teams get that opportunity to actually do it. There are a lot of places that talk about it and lot of teams told they have a chance. But to actually do the work that it takes to really do it, especially in this league where it is a battle every night, (we are) incredibly proud of this group.”

”We hope we get another chance because they have a legacy that I would like them to continue building because they have done such good work pushing this program forward,” he added.

Ice chips

Freshman Bret Link missed Sunday’s game with an upper-body injury sustained in Saturday’s loss. … CC is now 1-3in NCHC quarterfinal series Game 3s. The Tigers lost to North Dakota (2013-14) and Denver (2017-18) and won at Western Michigan in 2018-19 to secure the program’s first semifinals appearance. … The Tigers are now 65-93 all-time in postseason play. …. CC’s 21 wins are the most since the 2010-11 squad that won 23 games and made the NCAA West Regional Final in St. Louis. That was the last time CC competed in the NCAA Tournament. … The Tigers are 18-2 this season when scoring three or more goals and 20-6-3 when allowing fewer than three. … The Tigers have lost just five times in regulation in the past 22 games. … Laba has seven game-winning goals, the most by a Tiger since Brett Sterling (8) during the 2005-06 season. … Nine Tigers have recorded at least 10 assists, the most since the 2012-13 squad (9). … UNO leads the all-time series 30-15-7 with a 14-10-1 mark in Colorado Springs.

NCHC Quarterfinals 

Sunday Game 3s

No. 3 St. Cloud State 5, No. 6 Western Michigan 1, Huskies win series 2-1

No. 5 Omaha 2, No. 4 Colorado College 1, Mavericks win series 2-1

NCHC Frozen Faceoff

Excel Energy Center, St. Paul, Minn.

All games on CBS Sports Network

Friday semifinals

4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. CT

No. 3 St. Cloud State at No. 2 Denver

No. 5 Omaha at No. 1 North Dakota

Saturday championship

Semifinal winners, 7:30 p.m. CT

Monday numbers: Polls, Pairwise and Playoffs

As is usually the case in early March, the subjective national polls are starting to resemble the Pairwise rankings with Colorado College, rated 11^th in the ratings that help determine the 16-team NCAA Tournament field, coming in at No. 10 in the USCHO.com poll and 12th in the USA Hockey rankings.

With a minimum of four games (two regular season, best-of-three playoff series) remaining, the Tigers (19-10-3) still need to win a couple more games to make sure they receive an at-large bid.

The home playoff series scenario remains murky but CC could clinch fourth with three more points in two games against No. 4 Denver, which is currently in second place in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference standings. With tiebreakers and other possible results, the Tigers could finish as high as second and as low as fifth with third-fifth most likely.

As of now, here is the playoff field with an asterisk by the three seeds already decided. Keep in mind each team could garner a maximum of six standings points this coming weekend.

*No. 8 Miami (seven points) at *No. 1 North Dakota (49)

* No. 7 Minnesota Duluth (21) at No. 2 Denver (42)

No. 6 Western Michigan (31) at No. 3 St. Cloud State (40)

No. 5 Omaha (34) at No. 4 Colorado College (38)

Note: Omaha and CC have never met in the NCHC postseason.

Saturday setbacks take toll on CC’s Pairwise rankings

By Joe Paisley

Entering this weekend, Colorado College is ranked 29^th in the Pairwise rankings, which are used by the NCAA to determine the top 15 teams in the 16-team tournament (Atlantic Hockey qualifier garners final berth). 

Reversing the Saturday losses (at Air Force, Princeton and at St. Lawrence) would put CC in 14^th, in the NCAA tourney, albeit on the bubble. But those losses mean the Tigers will need to win the NCHC postseason title and automatic qualifier, which would be a program first. 

“I think if you look at the schedule those are probably games where you could say CC has a good chance of winning those,” CC coach Kris Mayotte said. “There are a lot of teams hovering around the .500 mark. You look at the bottom five (in the top 20 polls) and those receiving votes and any of them can be out anywhere. At this point, Pairwise is fairly accurate and we’re 29th.” 

CC falls to No. 18 in USCHO poll

After a home tie and loss, Colorado College dropped to No. 18 from No. 14 in the USCHO poll and still received some votes from USA Hockey.

Here is the latest Pairwise rankings, which show the Tigers (19th) are 0-6-1 against teams under consideration for the NCAAs. That has to change.

Minnesota is the top-rated WCHA team at No. 3 in both polls. New Hampshire moved up from No. 3 to No. 2 in both rankings while Yale made its first appearance in both.

The future National Collegiate Hockey Conference teams had seven of eight ranked. Idle Miami moved up from No. 5 to No. 4 in both polls while Denver dropped three spots to No. 5 in the two weekly rankings released on Monday.

North Dakota, CC’s foe this weekend, stayed at No. 7 in the USCHO rankings but fell to No. 8 according to USA Hockey’s 34 voters.  Idle Western Michigan dipped one spot to No. 10 in both polls.

Nebraska-Omaha is 13^th according to the 50 USCHO voters and 14^th in USA Hockey’s estimation.  St. Cloud State fell to No. 14 in USCHO’s poll and No. 15 in the USA Hockey ratings.

Pairwise calculator available

So what does a Providence win over Boston College in the Hockey East semifinals mean for North Dakota’s chances of making the NCAA Tournament? Should I really root for my team’s archrival?

Figure it out and drive yourself a little crazy with College Hockey News’ You Are The Committee’ tool, which calculates what each win/loss scenario does to the Pairwise rankings, which determine the 16-team NCAA Tournament field.

Saturday reading: Game stories, injury updates, Pairwise and other series to watch

Minnesota goalie Kent Patterson makes a save against UAA's Eric Scheid Friday, March 9, 2012, in Minneapolis. The Gophers won 2-1. JIM GEHRZ / THE STAR TRIBUNE VIA ASSOCIATED PRESS

Here are game stories from Friday night’s action.

No. 12 seed Alaska-Anchorage got the goaltending it needed to pull off the upset at top seed Minnesota , just not enough offense, according to the Anchorage Daily News.

No. 2 seed Minnesota Duluth needed two goals off deflections and a 160-footer that started as a clearing attempt to hold off No. 11 MSU Mankato. Brady Lamb came up huge for the Bulldogs.

Both the Gophers and Bulldogs are locks for the NCAA Tournament even if their first-round foes eliminate them on Sunday. CC, Denver and North Dakota need to win their playoff series to get in, judging from the latest Pairwise rankings.

Wisconsin’s Sean Little picked a good time, 5:50 left in the third period, to score his second goal of the season at third-seeded Denver, which drew only 4,400 fans.

No. 4 seed North Dakota won its ninth playoff game in a row. Here are some notes.

No. 5 Colorado College played a sloppy game against a more determined eighth-seeded Michigan Tech Huskies squad, which played well defensively. Tigers sophomore wing Jeff Collett suffered an upper-body injury Friday and is out for the rest of the series. Defenseman Aaron Harstad looks to have recovered from the flu and will likely be in the lineup on Saturday.

No. 6 St. Cloud State scored three goals, usually a good sign for the Huskies, which downed No. 7 Nebraska Omaha 4-0, which ended a six-game losing streak to UNO.

Here’s the Hockey East links and for the CCHA. Judging from the Pairwise, which has CC at No. 19, Tiger fans should root for Miami to sweep No. 14 Michigan State, Maine to eliminate No. 17 Merrimack, Michigan to down No. 18 Notre Dame and Wisconsin to sweep No. 13 Denver (that ought to come naturally for you).

Here are the Friday game recaps from ECAChockey.com. Tiger fans want Union to run the table to get the automatic qualifier, saving one of the precious at-large bids for the NCAA.

And now, a great example of how close things are in playoff college hockey. Providence had two shots go off the post and another reversed by replay during overtime at UMass-Lowell, which later scored to tie the best-of-three series and force Game 3 tonight.

St. Lawrence head coach Joe Marsh has retired, citing continuing health concerns.

Monday reading: Playoff scenarios, polls, AFA-CC series

The Tigers need to rally this weekend to get home playoff ice and keep their slim NCAA Tournament hopes alive.

The Western College Hockey Blog explained the WCHA playoff scenarios. Thank you Chris.

CC is in better shape than some may fear, though it will take a good run starting this weekend, and some help, to make the NCAAs.

The Tigers fell to No. 19 in the USCHO.com poll, just ahead of No. 20 Air Force. CC, rated No. 21 in the Pairwise rankings,  did not receive a vote in the USA Hockey poll. The Falcons did.

The Gazette is excited about the very strong chance (early October is my guess) of a home-and-home series between the Falcons and CC. It makes great sense from travel expense and ticket sale standpoints for both programs.

The Wisconsin Badgers are feeling better about themselves after a road sweep at Bemidji State.

Minnesota State Moorhead will not add Division I hockey after falling short of the $37 million needed to start. This opens the door for Alabama-Huntsville to become the 10th WCHA school in fall 2013. Here’s hoping that pans out.

Pine Creek High School graduate Emily West’s two goals Saturday, three on the weekend, helped the Minnesota women advance to the WCHA Final Faceoff.  Host Minnesota Duluth (20-13-1) faces top-rated Wisconsin (31-3-2)  at 4:37 p.m.  CT Friday at Amsoil Arena, while No. 2 Minnesota (29-5-2) plays No. 5 North Dakota (22-10-3) at 7:37 p.m. The title game, with an automatic NCAA tournament berth at stake, is 7:07 p.m. Saturday.

Monday reading: Polls, Pairwise update, standings

Colorado College dropped to No. 15 in the USCHO.com weekly poll and to No. 14 in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll:

School                                                    Last Week   2011-12 Record     Weeks in Top 15
1 Ferris State University, 476 (20)    5                     20-8-4                       14
2 Boston University, 446 (4)              2                     17-9-1                       16
3 Minnesota Duluth, 443 (3)              3                    19-7-4                        19
4 Boston College, 418 (6)                 4                    18-10-1                      19
5 University of Michigan, 366 (1)      6                    18-10-4                      15
6 UMass Lowell, 335                         7                     19-8-0                          7
7 University of Minnesota, 310         1                    19-11-1                      18
8 Union College, 251                       11                    17-6-7                        17
9 Merrimack College, 223                 8                     15-7-6                       18
10 University of Denver, 209          14                     17-9-4                        18
11 University of Maine, 166            12                     17-9-3                          4
12 Cornell, 156                                 13                     13-6-6                          9
13 Notre Dame, 80                            9                    16-13-3                      19
14 Colorado College, 59               10                     15-11-2                      19
15 North Dakota, 48                       15                     16-11-2                         7

More importantly, the Tigers are No. 22 in the Pairwise rankings, well short of the 15th spot needed to make the NCAA Tournament if it started today.

Notice who was in first? That’s right, Ferris State is No. 1 for the first time in school history.

The outdoor game between Nebraska Omaha and North Dakota will officially be announced on Tuesday.

MSU-Mankato won 2-1 Saturday night for a sweep at Alaska Anchorage. Here’s the latest standings:

WCHA Games								Overall
	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA		W	L	T	GF	GA
Minnesota	22	15	7	0	30	72	47		19	11	1	114	68
Minnesota Duluth	22	13	6	3	29	82	57		19	7	4	111	76
Denver	22	12	6	4	28	77	65		17	9	4	106	82
Colorado College	22	12	9	1	25	76	67		15	11	2	91	78
Nebraska Omaha	22	10	7	5	25	69	66		13	11	6	91	86
North Dakota	22	12	10	0	24	63	60		16	11	2	89	81
Michigan Tech	22	10	9	3	23	75	68		13	14	3	92	90
Bemidji State	22	9	10	3	21	60	69		15	12	3	85	81
St. Cloud State	22	9	10	3	21	64	59		12	14	4	90	84
Minnesota State	24	8	15	1	17	65	87		12	19	1	89	107
Wisconsin	22	7	13	2	16	58	71		12	14	2	83	84
Alaska Anchorage	24	4	19	1	9	49	94		7	19	2	66	103

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.

Monday reading: Weekend reviews, Pairwise, polls and pros

Former CC captain Mike Testwuide, left, defends during an AHL game against the Albany Devils on Saturday.

Minnesota-Duluth remains No. 1 in the USCHO poll, but Minnesota moved up to No. 2 and gained considerable ground in the rankings. Idle Colorado College moved up from No. 12 to No. 11 while this weekend’s foe, Denver, went from No. 15 to No. 13.

CC dropped from No. 10 to No. 11 in the USA Today/ USA Hockey rankings. Denver went from No. 15 to No. 13 while the Gophers are the new No. 1 just ahead of Duluth.

The Tigers remained at No. 11 in the Inside College Hockey power rankings while Denver moved up to No. 9. Duluth is No. 1 and Minnesota second.

More importantly, the Tigers are No. 17 in the latest Pairwise rankings, meaning they would fall two spots shy of the making the NCAAs (No. 16 goes to Atlantic playoff champ).

Suddenly No. 1 Minnesota-Duluth is a bit more anxious about heading to face Alaska Anchorage, which has lost seven in a row since a road win at CC in December.

Here’s a look back at Minnesota’s home-and-home sweep of St. Cloud State.

Former Bemidji State standout Matt Read, a rookie of the year candidate, and Colorado Springs native Ben Holmstrom have ties dating back to childhood with the Colorado Springs Amateur Hockey Association and now with the Flyers.

Former Tiger Joey Crabb gets some love from his hometown newspaper.

Here’s why Brian Connelly was traded by Chicago to the Calgary organization. His chances of making his NHL debut look much improved.

MSU Mankato goalie Phil Cook has a .945 saves percentage in his last six starts. The purple Mavs could be a tough out by playoff time if he stays hot.

Future NCHC rivals Miami and Western Michigan are tied for second in the CCHA behind surprising Ferris State.