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Well, it's pretty obvious I did the cardinal blogging sin and abandoned my blog with no warning. Whelp I learned and have started a new entity encompassing not only Tiger hockey but also that great living in Colorado Springs over on WordPress and Tumblr. SO, come on over and take a look, you won't be disappointed!
http://pikespeakliving.wordpress.com
http://pikespeakliving.tumblr.com/
I've been relatively quiet the past few weeks, enjoying a taste of spring and watching Michigan and DU both lose on the first day! BUT the big news I spotted this morning is that Richard Bachman signed a 3 year deal with the Stars and will no longer be the Tigers saving grace in net.
Sad for the Tigers, good for him. Next year will be an interesting battle in net, but the Tigers do have a new goalie coming in who may be an NHL draft pick before stepping onto campus. It should be an interesting off-season for the team.
Bachman leaves CC for Stars
THE GAZETTE
Colorado College goaltender Richard Bachman and the Dallas Stars agreed to a three-year contract Friday. Terms were not disclosed.
"The main thing for me was getting in a good situation with a NHL team that doesn't have a lot of depth at goaltender," Bachman said. "The other main thing is it has been my dream to play pro hockey. I went both ways on it. It was a really tough decision. It just felt like the right timing."
CC coach Scott Owens said Bachman called and told him the news.
"We're happy for him," Owens said. "It seems to be a very good opportunity within the Dallas organization for Richard."
The Stars drafted Bachman in the fourth round, 120th overall, in 2006.
"The guys were sad to see me go but they're supportive of it," Bachman said of his teammates.
He had a standout freshman season for CC, with a 1.85 goals-allowed average and .931 save percentage, and was named the WCHA Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year.
Here's Missy's pics from the Duluth series and the last shots of our great senior class. If you look closely, you can see all the guys were sporting...uhhh....mohawks of sorts. Guess we won't ever be seeing those again!
I was planning a writeup about how the Tigers playoff fall could have been seen from miles away but it looks like Schwab beat me to the punch. Pretty good article and it sums up the problems the Tigers have had all season. Pics from the weekend will be up tomorrow night.
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Minnesota-Duluth eliminates Tigers
FRANK SCHWAB
THE GAZETTE
Colorado College's quick and quiet exit from the 2008-09 season should have been stunning, but the signs were there for months.
The Tigers were offensively challenged throughout the season, which ended Saturday with a 3-1 loss to Minnesota-Duluth at World Arena. The Bulldogs swept the best-of-three Western Collegiate Hockey Association first-round playoff series and advanced to this week's Final Five with an 18-12-8 record.
CC, which finishes 16-12-10, managed only two goals in the series.
"It's fitting we go out this way, kind of struggling on the power play and not scoring enough goals," senior forward Cody Lampl said.
The Tigers were picked to repeat as league champions before the season and briefly were ranked No. 1 nationally. CC was the only WCHA team to finish as a top-five seed and not advance to the Final Five. The other four top seeds went 8-0 in the first round.
The Tigers finished with their fewest victories since the 1992-93 season, when they went 8-28. CC has lost five straight postseason games and has lost in the first round of the WCHA playoffs three of the past four years.
"It's amazing how fast it ends," senior forward Scott McCulloch said.
The Bulldogs lead the WCHA in power-play percentage, and the Tigers were burned by some early power-play goals Friday night. On Saturday, CC couldn't stay out of the penalty box early.
A hooking penalty on center Andreas Vlassopoulos led to Duluth's first goal, by Jack Connolly. The Tigers' second penalty - cross checking by Eric Walsky - was turned into another goal, this one by Nick Kemp, giving Duluth a 2-0 lead a little more than 11 minutes into the game.
"That was the scouting report, was we have to keep them off the (power play)," McCulloch said. "It was a lot better than I thought it would be. They did a number on our (penalty kill) this weekend."
CC showed some signs of life late in the first period. On a power play, McCulloch scored on a rebound off Brian Connelly's shot. Duluth answered in the second when Michael Gergen scored.
The Tigers battled in the third period, putting 12 shots on goal, but couldn't get another score.
Coach Scott Owens said the season was "absolutely frustrating."
"To get swept at home in this fashion - despite the fact there wasn't a lot of difference between the teams in the middle (of the WCHA) - it shouldn't happen," Owens said.
NOTES
High shots
In Friday's playoff opener, Minnesota-Duluth had success shooting high on CC goaltender Richard Bachman, beating him a couple of times over the shoulder on his glove side. The Bulldogs obviously figured that was their best strategy to beat Bachman in the series.
"It looked like they were going high on him a lot," CC coach Scott Owens said. "Bachman is known for having good legs, so I'm sure that's probably what it was."
Overtime prep
One obvious difference between the regular season and playoffs is there are no ties in the playoffs. The longest game in CC history was in 1997, when the Tigers beat Wisconsin 1-0 in four overtimes in a WCHA first-round playoff game. The coaches and players said there was no way to prepare for a multiple-overtime game, although they understand it was a possibility.
"Everyone wants that one goal to win and get the game over because you're so tired," CC senior defenseman Jake Gannon said. "I think all of that drives playing in those long games."
Hall in
The Tigers didn't make many changes to the lineup after losing their playoff opener against Duluth in the best-of-three series. CC did make one switch. Freshman Tim Hall replaced Addison DeBoer as the left wing on the fourth line.
CC did not make many changes to its lineup over a five-week stretch in which the team only lost once.
The Tigers couldn't have picked a worse time to be swept for the first time this season. CC fired 30 shots on Alex Stalock and were again stopped cold in a 3-1 loss that ends the Tigers WCHA playoff hunt and the 08-09 season. The loss marks the 5th straight playoff loss for the team and will put Richard Bachman's future on the team in question. He said there was unfinished business here and would pass up the chance to go to the pro's to get the Tigers into the Frozen Four.
More to come tomorrow.
Apparently I wasn't the only one suprised at the score last night. Both the Tigers website and USCO put it as a major upset. The Tigers now have 60 minutes to keep their season alive or else it will plummet into a huge disappointment for a team once ranked #1. Below you will find the CC Athletics recap and below USCHO for your Saturday reading pleasure. I'm off to play on the red rocks of Moab!
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CC's Friday struggles continued into the post-season as the Tigers were waxed 4-1 by the Bulldogs from Duluth. The Tigers launched 36 shots on Alex Stalock but weren't able to solve the solid goalender. Bachman faced 39 shots, stopping all but the four goals. The Tigers are now faced with a must-win tomorrow night or their season is done for sure. I was following the game notes on the stupid Gazette's game blog but the blog died after the second period. Pretty sure if you're blogging at a game, you should keep people updated and not wander away to drink beer the rest of the game.
So, upcoming: The Tigers play Duluth again Saturday night at 7:07. If the Bulldogs win, it's all over. If the Tigers can rebound, game 3 will be Sunday night-I'm assuming 7:05 (that's when all Sunday games have been). The Tigers' season is all on the line tomorrow night, we'll see how they respond.
The Tigers still have a pretty good shot at making the NCAA Tournament if they can play good hockey and win some WCHA tournament games. Unfortunately, that road looks a little tougher at the time of this posting as the Tigers are down 3-1 going into the third period against Duluth. I'll have a quick update of the score when it ends (nothing more since I'm in Moab!). In the meantime, here's Frank Schwab's assessment of the Tigers' postseason chances.
CC hockey team knows what it has to do to make the NCAA Tournament
FRANK SCHWAB
Unlike college basketball, which will engage in nonstop "in or out?" bubble-team debate until Sunday afternoon, college hockey's postseason berths are easier to figure.
If the power ratings in hockey say you're good enough to make the NCAA Tournament, you're in. That's why coaches pay so much attention this time of year to the U.S. College Hockey Online PairWise rankings. Those rankings mirror the formula used by the NCAA selection committee.
"I like it because there are no opinions, there's no subjectivity," Colorado College coach Scott Owens said. "There's always those thoughts if a guy is sitting around in a cigar smoke-filled room paying back people to get teams in. This takes that out of it. It's very fair."
At the beginning of February, PairWise wasn't a big factor for the plummeting Tigers. Now they're in a tie for 14th after a strong run in February and early March. Depending on how many lower-ranked teams get automatic bids by winning conference tournaments, the top 12 or 13 teams in the PairWise rankings usually get into the NCAA Tournament.
CC has a best-of-three home series in the opening round of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association playoffs this weekend against Minnesota-Duluth. Two wins in the tough matchup could help the Tigers move up in the PairWise. Duluth is barely behind the Tigers in PairWise, tied for 17th.
"If you don't win, you're done anyway," Owens said. "If you do win, you might as well pick up some value points."
If CC advances, there is a good chance it will participate in the extra game at the WCHA Final Five in St. Paul, Minn. The Tigers are the fourth seed, and the top three remaining seeds get byes to the semifinals. That could give CC a chance to get an extra win and help its NCAA Tournament standing.
"I think if we can win this series and win two games in St. Paul, we have a decent chance," Owens said.
CC could also get in the NCAA Tournament by winning the Final Five, but that won't be easy. The Tigers have never won the event and if they play in the extra game, that adds some difficulty.
The players understand they can't pay too much attention to what happens to teams like Princeton, Minnesota, Ohio State and St. Lawrence - teams that are directly ahead of or tied with CC in the PairWise. The Tigers hope to win and let the computers figure out the rest.
"I just try to focus on the games," senior forward Eric Walsky said. "All we have control over is winning and those wins are only going to help in the PairWise."
photo from Gazette.com
I think Frank Schwab taking over the Tigers coverage at the Gazette was the best thing ever to happen. I hated the previous writer's style and topics and I thought she was pretty amateurish. Frank's latest article was from a full week ago and I completely forgot about it until Missy J posted the link for me on my facebook page (oh and a big thanks to all the Tigers who confirmed my friend requests this week, pretty cool to be friends with all the guys on the team and I may harrass you guys more for some interviews after the season is over).
If anyone ever tells you that hard work doesn't pay off, just have them give Berni Horowitz a call. The guy was just chillin' and playing on the club team at CC (I didn't realize that had both club and D1) and now he is on the Tigers roster as the #3 goalie and getting worked over in practice. It gives Bachman a break and also seems to have given the Tigers a little energy and fun in practice-something that could pay off bigtime this weekend. Check out the article below.
One other fun thing that Missy also pointed out to me which is the video of Jack Hillen's first NHL goal and it's a beaut!
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Club team goalie gets dream chance with Tigers
FRANK SCHWAB THE GAZETTE
Bernie Horowitz isn't in Colorado College's media guide or listed as a player on the team's Web site. And he won't be dressed and on the bench Saturday when the Tigers play at Denver.
All Horowitz gets is to live the dream of every recreational athlete who wants the chance to compete at a higher level.
When backup goaltender Drew O'Connell suffered a season-ending shoulder injury, CC needed a third goalie for practice. That's how Horowitz went from playing on the school's club team to practicing every week with the nation's No. 15 team.
"Wonderful, amazing," Horowitz said. "My highest aspiration was to play open hockey against these guys just once, to see how I matched up against them."
O'Connell hurt his shoulder Jan. 16. For a while, the Tigers were hopeful he could return, but O'Connell never recovered and recently had surgery.
Finding another goalie isn't easy. There aren't free agents like in the pros, and CC is a small campus.
While the Tigers were worried about finding a new goaltender, Horowitz was enjoying himself on the club team. He wasn't going to challenge Richard Bachman for supremacy at CC, not with his 4-8-1 record and 4.94 goals-against average, according to the club team's site. But the former New York City high school starter never dreamed of playing with the guys on scholarship.
"When I came to this school, I saw I could play with the club team five times a week, and that was great," he said. "The D-I team was never part of the equation."
Horowitz, a junior, knew some of the Tigers players. He was friends with former CC goalie Chris Kawano as a freshman and a neighbor to some Tigers players last year in the dorms. During the summer after his freshman year, he even practiced against some of them, which fulfilled a dream.
CC's coaches asked Charlie Litch, a part-time video editor for the varsity team last year, about club team goalies. Litch, who is handling administrative duties for the club team, recommended Horowitz.
"We just asked around," coach Scott Owens said. "It takes some of the practice workload off Richard, and you're able to run a full hour-and-15-minute practice with three goaltenders without having to worry about burning out your two goaltenders. From that standpoint, we needed it."
Horowitz was given what amounted to a two-week tryout, then was added to the roster.
Horowitz has taken it in stride. He laughs along when teammates mercilessly tease him during an interview, and he jokes about getting "red light burns" after he practiced despite being under the weather this week. He admits if anything in his game is off, he'll "get killed." Yet, for the most part, he doesn't think he has embarrassed himself.
And the practices are a blast, for himself and even the coaches.
"He's a good kid," Owens said. "He's been a fun addition. He's pretty jacked about it."
There's one question he constantly receives from friends and family back home: Is he ever going to get in a game? If another goaltender goes down, he's all that's left to be the backup. Even though he has far surpassed any college hockey dreams he had, he daydreams about the possibility of playing in a game.
"Of course I have," Horowitz said. "I think I'd have a heart attack before I made it into the net."
Humpday means that the WCHA tournament is only a mere two days away and the Tigers get the chance to redeem themselves and squeak into the WCHA tournament. CHN has the Tigers as one of the bubble teams that could sneak in with a good showing over the next two weekends.
The Tigers are currently in a 3-way logjam tie for 14th in the Pairwise rankings which translates to being right on the outside.
On a fun note, I noticed that Dre Vlassopolous changed his Facebook pic to one that Missy J took over the weekend, pretty freaking sweet. Oh and for those of you that call me a stalker-I found it because one of my visits to the site today tracked back to his profile and bamo, there you go. Not much else in the way of Tiger news today but I'll have some more coverage of this upcoming weekends' battle with the Bulldogs tomorrow.
I'm finally back and running again after my nice 10 day hiatus-it's kind of hard to post updates when you're out of the country :)
Missy J got some sweet shots of the CC-DU tie over the weekend despite the super dim lightning in that golden monstrosity up north. Everytime I watch games up there on TV it reminds me of playing football down in Canon City where there lights were so dim we could barely watch film.
My biggest surprise when I got back was that DU(d) managed to choke away the MacNaughton Cup. Way to go! Of course the fact that CC only picked up 2 points wasn't the greatest thing to hear either but hey, they get two more games at the World Arena so can't complain too much!
If you haven't already noticed, the Tigers are doing the Saturday-Sunday thing this weekend up at the Ralph in North Dakota. Home ice in the WCHA playoffs is the main thing the Tigers will be fighting for this weekend and of course throwing a kink in the race for the MacNaughton Cup-heck they can even win it if they can muster the right kind of luck.
On a blog note: due to some unfortunate schedule conflicts in the coming days, I won't be able to post anything after the games this weekend and potentially not until after the DU season finale. Lame, I know, I'm going to be out-of-the-loop in what could be an incredibly exciting last 3 games of the season. There is a chance I could sneak a post or two in during the week but it's going to be a busy next 10 days for me. SO, don't get too bummed out with no new posts, I've got a good reason :) I'll be sure to post any pictures I receive over the next two weekends as soon as I can.
Here's some links to keep up on the action in my absence: GO TIGERS!!!!
College Hockey News (Richard Bachman is the featured pic at the time of this post)
USCHO Scoreboard
CC Athletics
Tigers still in race for WCHA season title
FRANK SCHWAB-THE GAZETTE
With only three games left to play, Colorado College could repeat as Western Collegiate Hockey Association champions - they would need to get at least two wins and a tie and also get some help - or finish as low as seventh place.
The WCHA has been tough to figure out all season, although the incredibly close race will get sorted out over the final two weekends of the regular season.
T-1. North Dakota, 15-6-3, 33 points
Remaining games: 2 vs. Colorado College, 2 at Wisconsin
Outlook: The schedule isn't easy but North Dakota has been hot and has a game in hand on Denver, which is tied for first.
T-1 Denver, 15-7-3, 33 points
Remaining games: 2 vs. St. Cloud State, 1 vs. Colorado College
Outlook: The Pioneers could put the pressure on North Dakota by sweeping St. Cloud State, but still needs some help from rival Colorado College.
3. Colorado College, 12-8-5, 29 points
Remaining games: 2 at North Dakota, 1 at Denver
Outlook: A tough remaining schedule means CC could move up with some wins. But with one fewer game than every team that could pass them, the Tigers need some points in their final three games or risk losing home-ice advantage.
4. Wisconsin, 13-9-2, 28 points
Remaining games: 2 at Minnesota State-Mankato, 2 vs. North Dakota
Outlook: Finishing in the top three is big in the WCHA, to guarantee avoiding the extra game in the Final Five. Wisconsin has that in its sights with an easier schedule than the Tigers and a game in hand.
5. Minnesota-Duluth, 10-8-6, 26 points
Remaining games: 2 at Minnesota, 2 vs. Alaska-Anchorage
Outlook: The series at Minnesota this weekend will go a long way in determining if Minnesota-Duluth can fight off St. Cloud State and the Gophers for home-ice advantage.
6. St. Cloud State, 12-11-1, 25 points
Remaining games: 2 at Denver, 2 vs. Minnesota State-Mankato (1 home, 1 road)
Outlook: St. Cloud State needs some points at Denver this weekend to keep hopes of home ice in the first round alive.
7. Minnesota, 10-10-4, 24 points
Remaining games: 2 vs. Minnesota-Duluth, 2 at Michigan Tech
Outlook: Minnesota is the only team with remaining games against lowly Michigan Tech. Combine that with two winnable home games against Minnesota-Duluth, and the Gophers could make a charge into the WCHA's upper division.
8. Minnesota State-Mankato, 9-13-2, 20 points
Remaining games: 2 vs. Wisconsin, 2 vs. St. Cloud State (1 home, 1 road)
Outlook: Mankato would need a lot of help to finish in the top five, even with three home games left.
9. Alaska-Anchorage, 7-14-5, 19 points
Remaining games: 2 at Minnesota-Duluth
Outlook: Anchorage could move up a bit, but is going on the road in the first round.
10. Michigan Tech, 1-18-7, 9 points
Remaining games: 2 vs. Minnesota
Outlook: Michigan Tech could be a spoiler to Minnesota, but it will face the WCHA's top seed on the road in the first round.
The Tigers moved to 13th in the USA Today poll to solidify a #13 ranking in the two major polls. Nothing glamourous about 13th BUT anything is better than being unranked. North Dakota is ranked 7th and 8th and holds the #2 spot in the WCHA.
USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll
Feb. 23, 2009
| No. | Team (First-place votes) | Points | Last Poll |
| 1. | Notre Dame (18) | 494 | 2 |
| 2. | Boston University (16) | 492 | 1 |
| 3. | Michigan | 415 | 3 |
| 4. | Northeastern | 409 | 5 |
| 5. | Denver | 385 | 8 |
| 6. | Princeton | 298 | 10 |
| 7. | North Dakota | 291 | 9 |
| 8. | Vermont | 256 | 6 |
| 9. | Miami | 250 | 4 |
| 10. | New Hampshire | 188 | 12 |
| 11. | Cornell | 171 | 11 |
| 12. | Yale | 171 | 7 |
| 13. | Colorado College | 87 | NR |
| 14. | Minnesota Duluth | 77 | NR |
| 15. | Ohio State | 38 | 15 |
Also receiving votes: St. Lawrence 25, Minnesota 13, Air Force 8, RIT 2, St. Cloud State 2, Wisconsin 2.
USCHO.com/CBS College Sports Poll
Feb. 16, 2009
| No. | Team (First-place votes) | Points | Last Poll |
| 1. | Boston University (31) | 981 | 1 |
| 2. | Notre Dame (19) | 968 | 2 |
| 3. | Michigan | 863 | 3 |
| 4. | Northeastern | 850 | 4 |
| 5. | Denver | 790 | 8 |
| 6. | Princeton | 673 | 10 |
| 7. | Miami | 666 | 5 |
| 8. | North Dakota | 637 | 9 |
| 9. | Vermont | 635 | 6 |
| 10. | Cornell | 540 | 11 |
| 11. | Yale | 532 | 7 |
| 12. | New Hampshire | 513 | 12 |
| 13. | Colorado College | 352 | 18 |
| 14. | Minnesota Duluth | 336 | 15 |
| 15. | Ohio State | 281 | 16 |
| 16. | Wisconsin | 227 | 13 |
| 17. | St. Lawrence | 191 | 20 |
| 18. | Minnesota | 145 | 14 |
| 19. | St. Cloud State | 122 | 19 |
| 20. | UMass Lowell | 62 | NR |
Also receiving votes: Air Force 50, Boston College 41, Alaska 22, RIT 16, Dartmouth 7.
I had a rare Sunday mid-day game today so my schedule is all wacked-but here are the pics from the weekend sweep of the Gophers. The pics from Friday with the Tigers in white are courtesy of my dad and Saturday night with the massive amounts of gold on the ice are from Missy J. The Tigers are still "bubblelicious" and could provide some crazy drama to end the WCHA season if they can manage a sweet up at North Dakota.
Note: the Tigers play Saturday and Sunday night up at the Ralph.
Pics from Saturday night vs Minnesota
Pics from Friday night vs Minnesota
The Tigers got their first series sweep in what seems like forever as they beat Minnesota 5-3 Saturday night.
Unofficial box and summary
The Tigers pulled out a gritty, exciting win Friday night and beat Minnestoa 4-3. Richard Bachman had 4 HUUUGE dramatic saves in the last 1:30 to seal the win. Mike Testwuide's backhander won in for the Tigers. CC blew leads of 2-0 and 3-1 yet showed some grit in one of the more exciting games of the season. The Tigers now have 29 points in the tight WCHA race. I'll update the standings above on Sunday. The announcers were two of the stupidest I have ever heard on TV. I'm fine with getting the feed from hometown announcers but c'com! These guys are terrible! BUT, game was awesome, pics will be up tomorrow!
McCulloch a Four-Time Honoree
Athletic Media Reations
Five Colorado College players, including four repeat honorees, have been named recipients of the WCHA Scholar-Athlete Award for the 2008-09 season.
They are senior defenseman Jake Gannon, senior left wing Scott McCulloch, junior forward Brian McMillin, junior left wing Bill Sweatt and sophomore defenseman Ryan Lowery. Of the five, Lowery is the only first-time recipient.
Freshmen are not eligible for the award.
McCulloch, however, has been recognized an unprecedented four times after winning a medical hardship case that allowed him to play a fifth season at CC. This year marks Gannon’s third time as a WCHA Scholar-Athlete, as well as the second time each for McMillin and Sweatt.
To qualify, male and female student-athletes from WCHA member institutions must have a grade-point average of 3.5 (on a 4.0 scale), either cumulatively or for the previous two semesters or three quarters.
