Saturday, December 20, 2008

Tigers Get 42 Shots, Still Tie

Well at least the Tigers were shooting more. The past few weekends the Tigers have been in the 25 shot range per game, obviously limiting their chances to score. Last night they launched 42 and were stymied by a goalie at the top of his game. CC Athletics story below:

CC and Sacred Heart tie in series opener
Fridays remain a mystery for Tigers

Remaining true to form, Colorado College ran into another hot goaltender on Friday and kept a dubious streak intact.

This time it was Sacred Heart University’s Stefan Drew, who turned away 40 of 42 CC shots to help the visiting Pioneers earn a 2-2 tie in the opener of their two-game series at the World Arena.

Drew, a senior from Oakbank, Manitoba, set the tone with 16 saves in the first period in which Sacred Heart grabbed the lead on a power-play goal by Dave Grimson at 16:26.

The Tigers, who now are winless (0-5-4) in nine consecutive weekend openers since mid-October, pulled even at 8:44 of the second frame when fourth-line center Brian McMillin cut in from the right side to score on a backhander after taking a pass near the blue line from freshman winger David Civitarese.

Junior defenseman Brian Connelly beat Drew from the point during a CC power play at 16:12 of that middle frame, putting the home team ahead for the first time. And, after 40 minutes of play, shots on goal read 31-15 in Colorado College’s favor.

Just 36 seconds into the third period, however, SHU’s Matt Gordon slipped a rebound past a sprawling Richard Bachman from the right faceoff circle to knot things up again. Bachman, who finished with 24 saves, needed to make some key ones late in the stanza when the Pioneers went on another power play.

But in the end it was Drew who made the biggest stop, robbing Andreas Vlassopoulos from point-blank range after Vlassopoulos found himself alone behind the Sacred Heart defense with 40 seconds left in regulation while killing Tyler Johnson’s slashing penalty.

The tie already was CC’s fifth of the 2008-09 campaign, tying a school record with 15 regular-season games yet to play. The Tigers, 0-1-2 in their last three outings at home, head into Saturday’s rematch with an overall record of 10-6-5. Sacred Heart, a member of the Atlantic Hockey Association, is 4-9-3.

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