Tigers Get Only One Point From Tech

For the second straight year, the Tigers are struggling to start off the second half of the season - taking only one point from a team that CC has dominated in recent years. This time around, the Tigers' pairwise ranking may not be solid enough to withstand the hit. The one point weekend has dropped the Tigers to 14th in the pairwise rankings - the tournament bubble, and with a tough road remaining. The Tigers failed to get a win on the weekend despite allowing only three goals, and CC's normally potent power play was held to 1-8 in the series. The disappointing weekend leaves CC at 4th in the WCHA standings, one point ahead of surging North Dakota.

The Tigers still have not swept a series since taking on Denver in early December, despite not having played any top teams in the time since. The next three series for CC will be key not only for determining WCHA standing but also determining just how good this team really is. The Tigers next three opponents are:

Wisconsin
Wisconsin
@ St. Cloud State
@ St. Cloud State
Minnesota
Minnesota

Wisconsin went .500 in January but did notch impressive shutout wins over Minnesota and Denver. St. Cloud State kept up their impressive run this month with the exception of a one point series at Minnesota State-Mankato. Minnesota has really been struggling after getting off to a remarkable start. They opened the month of January with a sweep of Mankato before dropping their first game in months at Wisconsin. That led to them going 2-4 in their last six games, and recently suffering a home sweep at the hands of North Dakota. All three of these teams have proven to be beatable, but all three present big challenges for CC in the coming weeks. The Tigers need wins - and lots of them - to maintain their spot in the NCAA tournament.

Notes:

* Here's an interesting discussion of CC's PWR possibilities down the road.

* The Tigers picked up another recruit recently. This time it's Mr. Rylan Schwartz, a recruit for either the 2008 or 2009 season, coming from Notre Dame of the SJHL (same team as freshman Kris Fredheim).

* A look at the new pairwise rankings. Denver and North Dakota are really coming on strong all of a sudden, while Maine and Minnesota seem to be stumbling.