The Tigers obviously had some disappointment from the tie last night, but got a point and got some hardware so they'll just take the point and the positives from the game and move on. Missy J sent me some amazing pics from the game (above) so enjoy those! Below are the links to the Gazette and Denver Post recaps of the game as well as the recap from the USCHO.
Gazette Recap
Denver Post Recap

DU Skates to Tie With CC
CC Holds Onto Gold Pan
by Theresa Spisak/WCHA Correspondent

Even though Denver has one more chance to tie up the season series between the two squads, they couldn't win the Gold Pan due to a rule that states the current holder of the trophy retains it if the teams tie the season series. The game was Owens' 400th behind the bench for the Tigers.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Feb. 13) — Sometimes, you get what you pay for, and the 7,696 standing-room only crowd in World Arena got just that Friday night.

Though the Colorado College Tigers and University of Denver Pioneers tied, 3-3, the game held a late tying goal for Pioneers’ fans and a Gold Pan victory for the Tigers’ faithful.

Ask each team, however, and both were glad to get a big conference point.

“[It was a] tough point to get; a tough game to play, having to come from behind in a building that historically has not been very kind for us,” said Pioneers’ coach George Gwozdecky. “In many ways, I was proud of our effort.”

“It’s a big point; they’re very hard to get,” said his Tigers’ counterpart Scott Owens. “It’s very, very hard, especially considering the schedule we have left. It’s always a big point.”

Both teams had early chances to get on the board, but neither DU’s Kyle Ostrow nor CC’s Mike Testwuide could take advantage of their open net chances.

Despite being outshot 13-7 in the period, the Tigers scored first with a power-play goal 8:53 into the first period. Brian Connelly took a shot from the point that was tipped in front past DU goaltender Marc Cheverie (25 saves) by Stephen Schultz.

The Pioneers tied it up about 4:30 into the second period when Dustin Jackson skated into the Tigers’ zone, muscled his way through traffic to the front of the net and put the puck far side past CC netminder Richard Bachman (41 saves).

CC regained the lead at the 9:19 mark of the frame when Cody Lampl put an Eric Walsky rebound in the net. Just 1:36 later, the Tigers went up 3-1 on another tipped Connelly power play shot, this time with Bill Sweatt getting the goal.

The Pioneers rounded out the scoring in the frame with 4:43 to go in the period on a power-play goal of their own. Rhett Rakhshani passed the puck from behind the net to Joe Colborne in the slot, who put it under Bachman’s right shoulder.

Brian McMillin almost put the Tigers up 4-2 with about 2:40 left when he backhanded the puck out of the air towards the DU net, but it went off the crossbar behind Cheverie.

It appeared as if CC would hold their lead through the third, but Colborne tallied his second of the night to tie it up with 56.3 seconds remaining when he roofed one over Bachman’s left shoulder from the doorstep.

“I was kind of sliding back door thinking that I was going to scrum, maybe the puck would go behind the net or something and all of a sudden it was just out there on my stick,” said Colborne. “I was the lucky recipient.”

The teams battled throughout overtime, both getting several chances, but the contest ended in a tie.

“It’s a pretty weird sort of feeling,” said Colborne. “We obviously wanted two points, we had a chance for the Gold Pan, but when you look at it now, it was a huge, huge point for us in the standings, a huge character win for us that will hopefully carry us into Wisconsin.”

“We made the plays when we had to to get back in the game in time and tie it up so I was pleased with our effort and proud of our team to come back through some pretty good challenges tonight,” said Gwozdecky.

“If it wasn’t for Bachman, it would have been a loss,” said Owens. “It’s a strange deal. You get a tie, you get the Gold Pan, but it feels like a loss and they feel like a win and that’s the way it goes.”

The Tigers next play a non-conference matinee on Sunday against the United States Under-18 Team while the Pioneers are off until next weekend where they face the University of Wisconsin.

From Colorado College Tigers vs DU Pioneers

The Tigers tied DU tonight and locked up a 3rd straight Gold Pan trophy as kings of the Colorado WCHA teams.
The Tigers played extremely well, the Pioneers played extremely well and the end result is a 3-3 tie. CC looked to have the game wrapped up until DU ripped a goal over Bachman's left shoulder with 55 seconds left to tie the game. The Tigers would have probably liked to win the Gold Pan outright with a nice win but there is still one game left to end the season so they can go out with a bang. I was impressed with DU's goalie Marc Cheverie; he had some pretty ridiculous saves. Once again, Bachman was a stud against the Pioneers with two point-blank stuffs that I though for sure got behind him.
The TV coverege, although with DU announcers, was pretty good. Camera work was so-so, they missed DU's final goal. Colorado Springs native Alanna Rizzo (Sierra HS I think?) was kinda annoying to me, she stumbles over her words too much-for whatever reason I don't like her, haha.
I was just excited to be able to watch the game on TV, since I'm displaced to the SouthWest BUT I had 2 goals and 2 assists in my game tonight so I can't complain!
More links and Missy J's pics (I hope!) to come tomorrow!

Plenty of reading about the game tonight and the battle for the Gold Pan. The Denver Post has a pretty good article so that's my post de jour today. I'm stoked because the game is on TV on FSN tonight at World Arena and I've never watched a game on regional TV at our home arena. The other great thing is that those of us displaced from being able to go, get to watch. I've got my own hockey game right before but I'll be headed to the nearest TV after. GOO TIGERS!!!

And here's something interesting, my banner on the blog for the Tigers back-to-back Gold Pan wins made it onto the DU(d) blog back in October and I just realized it now. Funny, you would think all of those smart, educated folks that brag about going to that school would be able to come up with their own content! (as much as I hate DU, their fellow blogger and I get along just fine, go figure)

USCHO WCHA Weekly

DU, CC Playing High Stakes Game
The coveted Gold Pan is up for grabs as is a chance for Pioneers to grab league lead.
By Mike Chambers
The Denver Post

CC goalie Richard Bachman has stopped 84-of-88 shots in two previous games against Denver this season. (Nathan W. Armes, Special to The Denver Post )

In a one-and-done, playoff-feel format, the Denver Pioneers and Colorado College Tigers will tonight butt heads and the rest of their bodies in a single-game weekend at the Colorado Springs World Arena. The rivals will again go against the college hockey grain March 7 at Magness Arena to conclude the regular season.

Putting aside the excitement and momentum swings of the traditional consecutive-night, home-and-home series was not caused by a venue conflict. Rather, when the schedule was originally released, both programs had this weekend off, and they collaborated to avoid having a bye during the final six-game stretch.

So wardrobe and location changes won't be needed after tonight's 270th meeting between the Front Range and Western Collegiate Hockey Association rivals. But much will be at stake, beginning with the coveted Gold Pan.

If DU loses or ties tonight, CC retains the traveling trophy for the 10th time in 16 years. The Tigers tied (2-2) and beat (3-2) the Pioneers in a home-and-home set Oct. 31-Nov. 2 — a series defined by the sensational goaltending of CC sophomore Richard Bachman.

DU must find ways to beat Bachman tonight and March 7 to bring the trophy back to Denver. Bachman, from Highlands Ranch, stopped a combined 84-of-88 shots in his previous two games against the Pioneers, and was the primary reason DU went 1-of-19 on the power play.

"He's a great goaltender, no doubt about that, but you don't go into a series, or a game, focusing on the opponent or one player," said DU junior center Tyler Ruegsegger, who grew up playing with Bachman in the Littleton Hockey Association. "We just have to put pucks on net, crash the net, and shoot to score."

The DU-CC rivalry has an order of importance. It begins with the Gold Pan, continues with the WCHA standings, and finishes with the NCAA Tournament.

For the latter two, the Pioneers are in better shape.

DU is contending for its 13th MacNaughton Cup, and third this decade, and can pull ahead of idle Wisconsin for first place by itself in the league standings with a win or tie tonight. The Badgers host the Pioneers for a two-game series next weekend that concludes DU's five-game road stretch, including the final three on Olympic-size ice sheets.

"The standings are huge right now; we're tied with Wisconsin, and every point is necessary — and it doesn't matter what ice surface we play on," DU goalie Marc Cheverie said. "We just know we have to win."

CC, the defending MacNaughton Cup champion, is fourth in the WCHA, four points behind DU and UW.

In the national picture, the Pioneers are tied with Cornell for sixth in the all-important Pairwise Rankings and in good position to make the 16-team NCAA Tournament without winning the WCHA playoff tournament. The Tigers are 19th in the Pairwise — about six spots on the negative side of the at-large-berth bubble.

"We've been good some nights, bad other nights. Very inconsistent," CC coach Scott Owens said. "Who knows what's going to happen with us, but we know they're a good team and, with a win or tie (tonight), we retain Gold Pan, which is a big deal. There is a lot at stake for us."


NO. 8 DENVER (17-9-3, 13-7-2 WCHA) AT COLORADO COLLEGE (14-9-7, 10-8-4)

When: Tonight, 7:35 p.m.

Where: Colorado Springs World Arena

TV/Radio: FSN/KLZ 560 AM

Notes: DU was already short-handed with injuries to center Tyler Bozak (knee) and defenseman Chris Nutini (upper-body injury), but will now be forced to play without puck-moving defenseman Patrick Mullen, a senior who was issued a one-game suspension Thursday for his slashing major and game misconduct at the end of Saturday's game at Minnesota-Duluth. . . . The Tigers will be without the services of center Andreas Vlassopoulos (lower-body injury), defenseman Kris Fredheim (lower body) and backup goalie Drew O'Connell (shoulder). . . . CC is on a four-game unbeaten streak (3-0-1) against DU.

Despite what many of us view as a disappointing season so far, the Tigers can still land some hardware and stomp on the face of a rival. Remember the Gold Pan? Turns out the Tigers still have the upper hand and can win it once again with a win or tie Friday night. DU can rag on us all they want, but if we get that thing 3 years in a row, their head-to-head frat boy arguments won't hold much water!
Oh, and where can I get some of the Tigers' sweet yellow socks in the shot below?!!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Quick recap of the night then I'm off to bed.
Tigers 3, Colgate 2
The Tigers looked absolutely awful in the first period tonight, landing only 3 shots on goal, by far the fewest ever for a period that I've ever watched in person. They rebounded nicely in the 2nd and played pretty decent in the third. Bachman was hung out on the 2 goals but made an unbelievable arm save on a semi-breakaway, wish I had the video of it because it was SportsCenter worthy X10! Met a couple from Nebraska sporting their Husker gear which was pretty cool. Speaking of that, I have a review about Tigers on Tejon coming this week, I was finally able to make a trip in while I was back for Thanksgiving. How does that relate to NU? Read the article and see! I'll have a more detailed wrap-up of the weekend either late Sunday night or early in the week. And for the record, the Tigers don't look like a top 10 team right now. They are out of synch and grasping for plays (but they are still skating well). I wouldn't be suprised to see them take a tumble to 8, 9 or 10 in this Monday's polls.
I'm driving back to Durango tomorrow so it will be an early night before heading to work by 7AM Monday. Couple of links below for some reading in the meantime. Oh, and in case you're wondering, Air Force lost 4-1 to DU tonight, ending the unbeaten streak.
CC Athletics recap
USCHO scoreboard

Yesterday wasn't a total loss, my Huskers won a ridiculous game over that team from Boulder that no one in this state seems to care about. I'll give em credit though, our guys were dumb talking trash all week and CU played pretty dang well for a beat-up and crappy team. Enough of that, this is hockey so on to the REAL black and gold...

The Tigers' long winning streak against the north-siders came crashing to an end last night and based on the articles and my friends who were lucky enough to get tickets, it wasn't even close. The Tigers again played sloppy and couldn't score on Friday night, a bizarre trend that will hopefully get corrected soon. The Tigers are in a slump, but it might not be a bad thing to get that slump out of the way early and still have most of the season to continue to grow up. We all know what happens when a team goes full throttle the entire season and hits the slump in the post season (see 07-08 Tigers). If you need an inspiration, look at our rivals in Denver. The Pios stunk it up most of last season and ended up winning the Broadmoor Trophy. North Dakota has traditionally been anemic the first half of the season and goes on a tear once the calendar year switches over. So no need for the panic button yet, this should be a great wake up call for our Tigers and hopefully we will see a team with more urgency the second half of the season. Tonight, the Tigers get Colgate who was blasted 6-1 by DU last night. Hopefully the Tigers will bust out full speed looking to rebound in a hurry, and Colgate will still be in it's high altitude daze. The Falcons head up to Denver tonight and will look to keep their undefeated record intact. Remember, last season the Pios were waxed 5-2 by the Falcons, should be an intense game.
Game links follow below. The Gayzette has a stupid headline like usual and David Ramsey goes into drama mode in his article blasting the Tigers crappy play. At least the paper is consistent in sucking huh?

Gazette: 1, 2, 3
USCHO: 1, 2
CC Athletics
College Hockey News

In a strange Friday night in the WCHA, CC, DU, North Dakota lose and Wisconsin ties. Seemed strange to me, regardless of current standings. More reading to come later
Box Score

The Tigers have just beaten rival DU 3-2 at the World Arena, taking a 1-win lead in the Gold Pan Series. More to come as it's posted
Raw boxscore
USCHO Recap followed by CC Athletics recap below.

Allowing more than 40 shots on goal for the third consecutive game, Colorado College again placed its fate in the hands and pads of Richard Bachman on Sunday.

This time, however, the No. 1-ranked Tigers generated enough offense to reward their sophomore netminder with a victory while improving to 5-0-3 for the season.

Scott McCulloch, Andreas Vlassopoulos and Ryan Lowery each scored a goal, while Bachman finished with 40 saves, leading CC to a 3-2 triumph over the University of Denver at a sold-out World Arena.

Bachman’s best and biggest stop came in the closing minutes, when he made a spectacular glove save to rob DU defenseman Patrick Wiercioch from point-blank range in the low slot.

Lowery’s tally, a wrist shot from the left faceoff circle after the sophomore defenseman took a nice feed from freshman winger Nick Dineen, gave the Tigers a 3-1 lead at 13:53 of the second period and proved to be the game winner.

Vlassopoulos set up a power-play goal by McCulloch at 6:40 of the opening period, then struck for a red lighter of his own with 41.6 seconds left in the frame to put CC up 2-0 after 20 minutes.

The fourth-ranked Pioneers, who finished with a 42-20 shots-on-goal advantage for the night, finally broke through Bachman’s armor seven minutes into the middle stanza when Tyler Bozak pounced on a rebound just to the left of the crease and found a small opening on the goalie’s stick side.

Lowery restored Colorado College’s two-goal lead a little less than seven minutes later, with fourth-line winger Matt Overman also earning an assist.

That’s the way it stayed until the 14:44 mark of the third period. After failing to cash in on its first nine power plays of the contest, DU capitalized on its final chance of the night as Tyler Ruegsegger pulled the visitors back to within a goal. Wiercioch and Patrick Mullen combined to set up Ruegsegger. The assist was Mullen’s second of the game and 10th of the season.

The Tigers, now 3-0-1 in league play, moved ahead of Denver and into second place all alone in the WCHA standings heading into next week’s two-game series at home against the University of North Dakota. The Pioneers, 4-2-1 overall and 2-1-1 in WCHA play, dropped into a tie for third place with the University of Alaska Anchorage.

So I was traveling for the first part of the weekend and couldn't post anything from the tie Friday night, but I did watch most of it. It was pretty obvious after five minutes that both teams are very very good, which should provide us with a great rivalry this season. Bachman made 44 freaking saves, he's still got it. I caught a couple of mistakes in the telecast and the paper Saturday. FSN's wanna-be rinkside reporter asked one of our players (I forgot who now) how the series is different this season because of the change to home and home....ummm as long as I can remember that's the way it's been. The only difference this season is they don't play consecutive nights. Second error, the Gayzette tabbed tonight's game as the series' finale. Ummmm, we play DU twice more this season, not how I would define "series' finale", I know they were trying to sound dramatic, but that's stupid.
So tonight the Tigers take on DU(D) at the World Arena on ESPNU with a (hopefully) big national audience. Although I really want the Tigers to win, what I want more is an intense, high-speed, high-skill game to showcase our teams and the WCHA to the rest of the country who never gets a chance to watch us!
Speaking of rivalries, the reason why I want it to be a great game is because when one team has a down cycle, it's not so much a rivalry. For example, my Huskers got stomped by Oklahoma last night because OU is amazing and Callahan ruined our program so we are still rebuilding. Getting blown out 62-28 isn't fun, but when OU was in their down time, NU stomped 'em 69-7 in 1997 and 73-21 the year before. That's just how it goes. But anything is better than being a cu fan, what a joke!!
Here's the links from Friday's 1-1 tie
CHN Live Blog
USCHO, BOX
CC ATHLETICS

As if this weekend's games against DU(D) didn't need any more hype, the Tigers held on to their #1 ranking in all the rankings, despite only picking up two ties this weekend. The Pios dropped to #4 after getting a buckeye stuck in their throat Saturday night.

Uncaged Notes:
If you've been reading this blog regularly, you probably noticed that the content has gone down a bit the past two weeks. No I haven't gotten lazy, I just happened to move across the state and am still getting situatd no desk, furniture or internet at my place and working 10 hrs a day, 4 days a week kind of puts a damper on work on the blog. I know you're concerned (insert sarcasm here), but the blog is in no danger of dying, it's just laying low for a bit while I get settled. Once the house is all set up the content will come storming back. So the DU(D) content will be a little light this time, but it will come back soon!

INCH Power Rankings

USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll

The 14th annual USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men's College Hockey Poll is conducted each week in conjunction with the American Hockey Coaches Association. The poll includes input from coaches and journalists representing each of the six NCAA Division I ice hockey conferences, as well as composite votes from officers of the American Hockey Coaches Association and USA Hockey Magazine, the official publication of USA Hockey.

October 27, 2008

No.	Team (First-place votes)	Points	Last Poll
1.	Colorado College (30)	505	1
2.	Boston College (3)	457	3
3.	Boston College	419	7
4.	Denver	414	2
5.	Minnesota (1)	371	6
6.	Miami	321	10
7.	New Hampshire	320	3
8.	Michigan	269	5
9.	Northeastern	236	11
10.	Princeton	202	9
11.	Minnesota State	135	13
12.	Michigan State	128	14
13.	Notre Dame	78	8
14.	Clarkson	70	NR
15.	Vermont	67	12

Also receiving votes: Air Force 27, Nebraska-Omaha 11, Cornell 10, Alaska Anchorage 9, St. Lawrence 8, St. Cloud State 5, Colgate 4, Massachusetts 3, UMass Lowell 3, Harvard 2, North Dakota 2, Northern Michigan 2, Union 2.

USCHO.com/CBS College Sports Poll

October 27, 2008

No.	Team (First-place votes)	Points	Last Poll
1.	Colorado College (37)	976	1
2.	Boston College (7)	914	3
3.	Boston University (1)	872	6
4.	Denver (3)	860	2
5.	Minnesota (2)	808	7
6.	New Hampshire	694	4
7.	Miami	693	10
8.	Michigan	634	5
9.	Northeastern	550	14
10.	Princeton	510	9
11.	Michigan State	432	12
12.	Minnesota State	391	13
13.	Notre Dame	385	8
14.	Vermont	330	11
15.	Clarkson	283	19
16.	Cornell	161	17
17.	Air Force	154	NR
18.	North Dakota	143	16
19.	St. Cloud State	138	15
20.	Harvard	109	20

Also receiving votes: Northern Michigan 85, Alaska Anchorage 73, St. Lawrence 64, Nebraska-Omaha 62, Massachusetts 56, Minnesota Duluth 42, Colgate 29, UMass Lowell 25, Union 9, Wisconsin 7, Niagara 4, Bemidji State 3, Dartmouth 2, Ohio State 2.

The Tigers remain at #3 this week, DU has moved back to #4 behind the Tigers and North Dakota, after going 0-2 over the weekend, is the big free-faller this week, dropping to #13 in both polls. INCH released their first Power Rankings this week and the Tigers sit nicely at 4 (though Notre Dame is 3, even though they lost...)

USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll

The 14th annual USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men's College Hockey Poll is conducted each week in conjunction with the American Hockey Coaches Association. The poll includes input from coaches and journalists representing each of the six NCAA Division I ice hockey conferences, as well as composite votes from officers of the American Hockey Coaches Association and USA Hockey Magazine, the official publication of USA Hockey.

October 13, 2008

No.	Team (First-place votes)	Points	Last Poll
1.	Boston College (32)	507	1
2.	Michigan (1)	465	2
3.	Colorado College (1)	439	3
4.	Denver	389	6
5.	Boston University	387	9
6.	New Hampshire	350	7
7.	Miami	272	8
8.	Notre Dame	251	4
9.	Minnesota	216	10
10.	St. Cloud State	174	15
11.	Michigan State	163	11
12.	Princeton	130	12
13.	North Dakota	112	5
14.	Clarkson	83	13
15.	Minnesota State	59	NR

Also receiving votes: Northeastern 18, Cornell 17, Northern Michigan 14, Vermont 10, Harvard 8, Wisconsin 8, Air Force 5, Minnesota Duluth 3.

USCHO.com/CBS College Sports Poll

October 14, 2008

No.	Team (First-place votes)	Points	Last Poll
1.	Boston College (45)	993	1
2.	Michigan (2)	936	2
3.	Colorado College (3)	898	3
4.	Denver	819	6
5.	Boston University	784	9
6.	New Hampshire	767	7
7.	Miami	663	8
8.	Notre Dame	636	4
9.	Minnesota	525	10
10.	Princeton	460	12
11.	Michigan State	459	11
12.	St. Cloud State	449	15
13.	North Dakota	445	5
14.	Clarkson	356	13
15.	Minnesota State	283	18
16.	Cornell	190	17
17.	Vermont	144	20
18.	Harvard	136	19
19.	Northern Michigan	124	16
20.	Wisconsin	118	14

Also receiving votes: Northeastern 108, Air Force 71, Massachusetts 44, Minnesota Duluth 39, UMass Lowell 10, Bowling Green 8, Alaska 7, Ferris State 7, Niagara 7, Yale 5, Dartmouth 3, Quinnipiac 3, RIT 2, St. Lawrence 1.

Some interesting news is brewing in the NCAA Tournament offices today as a potential reconfiguring of placement could take place for this next tournament. The reasoning? Travel expenses. The argument is that teams should be placed in geographic proximity instead of for bracket integrity. One scenario INCH published found that the West Regional last season would have had CC, DU, AFA and NoDak at World Arena instead of UNH, Notre Dame and Michigan State. It might make travel sense but it isolates fan bases and could be a disaster for ratings and provide even more conference canniblization. INCH has the full rundown.

The WCHA quickly issued a response and will meet about a counter-plan tonight.
“At first blush, it doesn’t sound good for our sport,” said Denver coach George Gwozdecky. “If the WCHA has six teams in the tournament and only two emerge from the west, you might not have the best four teams in the nation at the Frozen Four.”
The article also mentions a possibility that the tournament could move back to campus sites instead of regionals for the first rounds. I actually like that idea, and the more I think about it, the more I REALLY like that idea. It gives you an even greater incentive to play well in the regular season so you can continue on "true" home ice (not like CC last season when the World Arena was transformed into one giant NCAA advertisment and hardly felt like home). It would be similar to the NFL playoffs. The article also mentions a good point: with the regionals, the already niche fan-base is fractured even more and empty, quiet arenas ensue. Not good for the sport. You can read the full WCHA response in the INCH WCHA Notebook.

The University of Alberta rides into southern Colorado Springs tonight to face the Tigers in an exhibition contest. Alberta has been on a three night trip down the Front Range and has yet to win against the strong Colorado teams. They had their best chance Saturday night against DU until the Pios scored the winning goal with 1.8 seconds left to win 5-4. Sunday night, Alberta was on the north side and was taken down by AFA 3-1. The Tigers hope to send them back to Edmonton 0-for-3 and get tuned up for the regular season. It will be interesting to see how CC plays, whether they will treat it like a WCHA game or go easy and just work the bugs out. I would be suprised to see Bachman play the entire game, though it certaintly doesn't hurt getting game-speed practice in.

Also, Bachman and Hobey-snubbed Chad Rau were named first team on the Preseason All CHN Team.

Bachman gets some ink in the Denver Post with regard to DU's new goalie Marc Cheverie and what may have been and what will be.

J.P. Testwuide is one of 4 Pios who were suspended for their game Saturday.

From WCHA.com

Colorado College Picked to Repeat as WCHA Champions
in 2008-09 in Annual Grand Forks Herald WCHA Coaches' Poll
by Brad Elliott Schlossman, Grand Forks Herald

Oct. 1, 2008

GRAND FORKS, N.D. - The opinions of Western Collegiate Hockey Association coaches varied greatly when it came to picking a preseason rookie of the year and a preseason player of the year. There's one thing the coaches can pretty much agree on, though: Colorado College is still the team to beat.

The defending MacNaughton Cup champion Tigers received eight first-place votes and are picked to finish first in the 38th annual Grand Forks Herald WCHA preseason Coaches' Poll. UND received two first-places and is projected to finish second, followed by Denver. Minnesota and Wisconsin are tied for fourth.

"I think a lot of it is based on last year," Colorado College coach Scott Owens said. "I think the strength for us is going to be in our quality depth at forward. We also have five of the six guys who played regularly for us on defense back and all three goalies.

"I think everyone is excited to get back at it. It's an older team with good leadership."

The bottom five projected teams, in order, are St. Cloud State, Minnesota State, Mankato, Minnesota Duluth, Michigan Tech and Alaska Anchorage.

"I think CC is an improved team from last year, and they were a great team last year," UND coach Dave Hakstol said. "I think every team in the league can say they've found ways improve. What a heck of a league we have."

What perhaps best demonstrates the league's outstanding talent level this year is the coaches' votes for player of the year and rookie of the year.

UND's Ryan Duncan has a Hobey Baker Memorial Award sitting in his attic, but he didn't receive a single vote for preseason player of the year. Denver's Joe Colborne was the Canadian Junior A Player of the Year and the highest-drafted freshman in the country (first round, 16th overall), but he didn't receive a single vote for preseason rookie of the year.

Those honors went elsewhere.

Colorado College sophomore goaltender Richard Bachman is the preseason player of the year, getting three votes. St. Cloud State forward Ryan Lasch got two, as did Minnesota Duluth goalie Alex Stalock and Denver forward Tyler Bozak. CC's Chad Rau got one vote.

North Dakota's Jason Gregoire and Minnesota Duluth's Jack Connolly are the co-preseason rookies of the year. Both players received three votes, while Minnesota rookies Aaron Ness and Jordan Schroeder each got two.

The University of Alberta Golden Bears will be running through the Front Range Meat Grinder this weekend in a series of exhibition games for DU, AFA and CC. They must be looking for either conditioning or their scheduling department was ticked because they get DU Saturday, AFA Sunday and CC Monday. Nothing against UA but that's a tough task from any team, let alone traveling out-of-country and playing at altitude three nights in a row! They currently hold a 3-1 record and are coming off a win over Sasketchewan.


Couple fun facts about hockey there;
The Golden Bears have won a record 13 CIS University Cup Championships.
The women's hockey team it the Alberta Pandas.

Read a little about the downtown Edmonton school here.

Last Monday the official preseason polls made their debut and the Tigers will start out well. USAToday/HockeyMag ranks the Tigers #5 and has 5 WCHA teams in the top 10. Defending champ BC gets the obvious top spot (this isn't college football where politics determine number one this season) followed by evil Michigan and Notre Dame. The WCHA powerhouse teams go the next three with North Dakota, CC and DU at 4-5-6 respectively, and Minnesota at #9.

I am a little surprised at CC's rank and apparent high expectations (The Tigers recieved 2 first place votes, third most) and rank after last season's playoff face-plant. Voters obviously see the Tigers' regular season as a sign of things to come and not a fluke and that they will learn from their experiences last season. Personally, I think the Tigers will be very good and will probably have a shot at a second MacNaughton Cup but it will be a battle for an outright win. I think it will be a season of "As Bachman goes, so go the Tigers", no pressure Richard!
DU is a little of a question to me, they played poorly a lot last season but could win the big games and tournaments, something CC needs to learn. North Dakota will be strong and is probably my favorite for the WCHA title right now. Minnesota is my ? for the preseason. They limped through the season last year and barely made the WCHA tourney and promptly preformed very well, with a little help from CC's weak showing. Should be a great season!

USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll
September 22, 2008

No.	Team (First-place votes)	Points	Last Poll
1.	Boston College (27)	490	1
2.	Michigan (4)	432	2
3.	Notre Dame	376	3
4.	North Dakota (1)	371	4
5.	Colorado College (2)	355	8
6.	Denver	299	9
7.	New Hampshire	287	6
8.	Miami	263	5
9.	Minnesota	223	12
10.	Boston University	203	NR
11.	Clarkson	173	10
12.	Michigan State	159	7
13.	Wisconsin	103	13
14.	Northern Michigan	75	NR
15.	St. Cloud State	69	14

Also receiving votes: Princeton 51, Cornell 30, Harvard 30, Minnesota State 28, Air Force 24, Massachusetts 9, UMass Lowell 9, Niagara 9, Vermont 6, Maine 3, Northeastern 3.