CC Picks Up Another Recruit

Chris Heisenberg's Recruiting Page reports that the Tigers have signed another recruit for either the 2007 or 2008 season. The addition is Nick Dineen of the Sioux Falls Stampede of the USHL. Last season Dineen, a right wing, had six goals and eleven assists in 53 games. At 5'10", 175 pounds, Dineen should bring some good size to CC's offense, especially with a year or two to develop. I'll add some more to this update when I find out more about Nick, so stay tuned.

Tigers End Season With Loss to Cornell

Despite dominating the first period of play, Colorado College allowed a two goal lead to slip away and saw their season ended by the tenacious Big Red of Cornell. The Tigers scored two goals in the first period, courtesy of Brian Salcido and Jack Hillen, and allowed the Big Red only one shot on net. But Cornell rallied in the final two frames, scoring three unanswered goals and earning the chance to play Wisconsin tonight, with a trip to the Frozen Four on the line.

Marty Sertich had two assists for CC and Brett Sterling and Scott McCulloch each had one. McCulloch also had a shot hit the post in the first period that would have put CC up by three. While the Tigers and their fans are surely disapointed about the loss, it wasn't exactly surprising. CC finished the season 1-4-1 in their final six games. While Cornell could muster no offense in the first period, they did play a solid physical game that eventually wore down on the smaller CC players and allowed Cornell to control the final two periods.

Cornell and Wisconsin will play today, with the winner heading to the Frozen Four along with Boston College, Maine, and North Dakota.

David Slays Goliath

Holy Cross pulled off probably the biggest upset in tournament history last night, downing the overall No. 2 seed Minnesota 4-3 in overtime. Tyler MacGregor scored only 53 seconds into overtime for the Crusaders, who also received stellar play in goal from Tony Quesada. Some Gopher players looked as though they may have been out at Blarney's before the game, including goalie Kellen Briggs, who allowed one of his four goals against after giving up on the play thinking it had been blown dead. Holy Cross will now have a shot at North Dakota, who downed Michigan 5-1 last night, with a trip to the Frozen Four on the line.

In other games, Boston College surprised many with a 5-0 win over Miami. Enrico Blasi also surprised many in this game by pulling his goalie with almost half a period left to play. The Eagles added two empty net goals. Boston College will move on to play Boston University, who crushed Nebraska-Omaha 9-2. It was not a good night for the CCHA, who's three teams (Michigan, Miami, UNO) went 0-3 against teams from the WCHA and Hockey East. The last surviving team, Michigan State, will play New Hampshire tonight in Albany.

The Tigers make their tournament debut tonight against Cornell of the ECAC. This game should be similar to the games that Colorado College played against St. Cloud State in the WCHA playoffs - Cornell's offense is somewhat lacking, but the defense has kept them in games this year. In net for the Big Red will be David McKee, who had a stellar season last year, but has seemingly fallen off a cliff this year in terms of stats. While his .904 save percentage and 2.16 GAA are not bad numbers, they aren't close to his numbers of last season: a .947 save percentage and 1.24 GAA. CC has yet to play a game since their 3-1 loss to St. Cloud State in the playoffs and few know what to expect from the Tigers. The dynamic duo of Marty Sertich and Brett Sterling, along with the rest of a very strong senior class have their last chance to bring a national championship back to Colorado Springs. The game being in Green Bay will undoubtedly help CC, who should receive support from the hometown Badger fans against Cornell. I'd love to do more analysis of this matchup, but if I've learned anything from watching college hockey, it's that statistics and percentages are all thrown out the window come game time - the game is played on the ice, not on computers. So this game, which should be close, will probably just come down to which team is hot and which team is not. Let's hope the Tigers are hot coming off their two week break.

There are some other notable games worth watching tonight as well. First, the rematch between Maine and Harvard. Maine spoiled Harvard's tournament chances two years ago with a 5-4 comeback win over the Crimson, who had been up 4-1 in the third period. Another interesting game will be between familiar foes Boston University and Boston Cnllege (in Worcester). The Terriers look unstoppable after their 9-2 drubbing of Nebraska-Omaha last night, but the Eagles silenced many doubters with their 5-0 win over a very highly ranked Miami team. I think it will also be very interesting to see what Holy Cross can do against a Fighting Sioux team that has the entire arena behind them. Could get ugly. Hopefully Holy Cross can keep the game close and maybe even steal one (don't hold your breath) - everyone would love to see an AHA team in the Frozen Four.

Tigers Headin' To Green Bay

The NCAA tournament brackets came out today and Colorado College has been given a three seed in the Green Bay regional. CC will open with a game against Cornell, while top seed Wisconsin will face Bemidji State. Cornell has played only one game against a WCHA opponent this season - a 1-1 tie (which they won in a shootout) against Minnesota-Duluth. The Big Red also split a series against tough opponent Michigan State early in the season. Their most recent game was a 6-2 loss to Harvard in the ECAC championship. Cornell goaltender David McKee should be a familiar face to CC stars Marty Sertich and Brett Sterling, who joined him at the Hobey Baker award ceremony last year in Columbus.

The other brackets look like this:

Midwest Regional
No. 1 Wisconsin vs. No. 4 Bemidji State
No. 2 Cornell vs. No. 3 Colorado College

West Regional
No. 1 Minnesota vs. No. 4 Holy Cross
No. 2 North Dakota vs. No. 3 Michigan

East Regional
No. 1 Michigan State vs. No. 4 New Hampshire
No. 2 Harvard vs. No. 3 Maine

Northeast Regional
No. 1 Boston U. vs. No. 4 Nebraska-Omaha
No. 2 Miami vs. No. 3 Boston College

You'll notice that the possibility of another all-WCHA frozen four has been squashed this year, with the four WCHA teams that made the tourney being placed in only two brackets. Minnesota, the overall number two seed, seemed to get the shortest end of the stick, being placed in the Grand Forks Regional with the hometown Fighting Sioux of North Dakota. The East Regional also has an intriguing rematch between Harvard and Maine. Some might remember the Black Bears epic third period comeback against Harvard two years ago, where Maine stormed back from a 4-1 deficit in the third period to win 5-4 and eventually advance to the national championship against Denver. The Northeast Regional, with hometown teams Boston University and Boston College, will be an interesting test for the two CCHA teams that they will face, Miami and Nebraska-Omaha.

As I've said before, CC would probably be in better shape being in a bracket with Boston University or Michigan State, both of whom they have already beat, but the Tigers still should have the ability to steal one in Green Bay. If CC can get past Cornell, they most likely will face a very tough game against the hometown Badgers. CC is winless against Wisconsin this season, including a 9-1 drubbing at the World Arena. It's not all bad though; aside from that contest, the Tigers games against Wisconsin have generally been close. Their first game resulted in a 2-2 tie on the road, and they lost a very close 3-2 game at home. The 9-1 loss can mainly be attributed to Brian Salcido's checking from behind penalty (five minutes) in the first period, and the subsequent power play in which the Badgers scored four goals.

Of course, I couldn't finish the update without mentioning defending champion Denver's absence from the tournament. Denver played a very solid WCHA regular season, but their atrocious play in out of conference games eventually came back to haunt them. The Pioneers kicked off their season with a suicidal series at Maine, losing both games at the very hostile Alfond Arena. Then, while out east, Denver beat non-TUC Massachusetts but lost to Boston University. The real killer, however, was the Denver Cup, where the Pioneers dropped two games to Princeton and Ferris State. Being knocked out of the WCHA tournament by Minnesota-Duluth didn't help either. Regardless of how it happened, it's time for the boys from Denver to break out the golf clubs and start preparing for next season.

Underdogs Advance To WCHA Title Game

No. 4 North Dakota and No. 6 St. Cloud State advanced to the championship game of the WCHA Final Five tonight with wins over Wisconsin and Minnesota. North Dakota edged Wisconsin 4-3, while St. Cloud State and Minnesota went to overtime before the Huskies could win the thrilling 15 goal game. Hobey Baker candidate Ryan Potulny notched four goals for the Golden Gophers, including one with 15 seconds left to send the game to overtime. He also had one assist. The Huskies' Chris Harrington set up four goals, and Minnesota's freshman phenom Phil Kessel had three assists as well. Meanwhile Jeff Frazee, Kellen Briggs, and Bobby Goepfert teamed up to produce one of the uglier defensive games I've ever seen played in the WCHA. Goepfert allowed an incredible seven goals after holding Minnesota-Duluth to one, and our own Tigers to five in three games. Briggs was pulled after allowing five goals on 22 shots. Frazee allowed three goals on 16 shots and just plain looked like a freshman. After he allowed St. Cloud State's seventh goal on a missed poke check/five hole shot, I found myself wondering, "Is this guy really drafted? Who drafted him? It must be the Knicks. Isiah Thomas has gotta be behind this."

Potulny's four goals and assist may have killed Matt Carle's Hobey Baker hopes. While Carle is still my pick, the voters will now have an even tougher time overlooking Potulny's gaudy statistics and big game heroics. Potulny now has 63 points on the season - one less than Marty Sertich had last year when he won the Hobey. The results may have also killed Denver's hopes for the NCAA tournament.

Colorado College now sits at 9th in the Pairwise Rankings. The biggest change tonight was Miami's shift from a comfortable No. 3 ranking to a three-way tie for 5th. The Redhawks will likely need to win the CCHA to secure their number one seed. Meanwhile, out east, Maine is likely out of the tournament after losing to Boston College, and Boston University annihilated New Hampshire 9-2. The Wildcats remain tied for 12th in the Pairwise Rankings. St. Cloud State and North Dakota will meet tomorrow night to decide the WCHA champion - the Huskies could earn an autobid to the tournament with a win. Wisconsin and Minnesota will meet in the consolation game.

Sertich Included In Hobey Finalists

The ten Hobey Baker finalists were announced, and the big surprise is that Marty Sertich was included. Not to take away from Marty - he's had a very good season and he's a special player - but not many people expected him to make it with his 48 points and CC's relatively disapointing season thus far. I don't have enough time to do any real analysis of the list, but here it is (I'll write some more on it later):

Matt Carle - Jr., D, University of Denver
Chris Collins - Sr., F, Boston College
Andy Greene - Sr., D, Miami University
Brian Elliott - Jr., G, University of Wisconsin
Greg Moore - Sr., F, University of Maine
Scott Parse - Sr., F., University of Nebraska-Omaha
Ryan Potulny - Jr., F, University of Minnesota
Marty Sertich - Sr., F, Colorado College
Brett Sterling - Sr., F, Colorado College
T.J. Trevelyan - Sr., F, St. Lawrence University

Congrats to Marty and Brett on being named finalists.

Another note: Check out the blog for the Nottingham Pandas (Not enough time to set up a link so wanted to give a shoutout): http://nottinghampandas.blogspot.com

Til next time...

The Hunt Is On For The Hobey

Eight players from the big four college hockey leagues have accumulated at least 50 points this season. They are, in order of points scored: Scott Parse (UNO), Ryan Potulny (UMN), Chris Collins (BC), our own Brett Sterling, Matt Carle (DU), Paul Stastny (DU), Alex Foster (BGSU), and TJ Hensick (UM). Only three of these players will be playing games this week. So who is the favorite to take the prestigious award this season? With last year's winner, our own Marty Sertich, likely out of the running with 48 points, I'll take a look and give some opinions on who could be getting some love from the Hobey voters.

Why Scott Parse will win: He's scored the most points (61) of anyone in the country, with 20 goals and 41 points. That's 1.52 points per game. Along with linemate Bill Thomas (49 points) Parse has led Nebraska-Omaha to an overacheiving season and deserves credit for being such a playmaker.

Why he won't win: Well, let's see. A few weeks ago it looked like Parse really had a shot at the Hobey Baker despite the Mavericks being only a mediocre team in the CCHA. Now, UNO has been knocked out of the CCHA tournament and is hanging on by a thread in the Pairwise. While not all Hobey Baker winners are expected to lead their team to NCAA championships, getting a little further at least in the CCHA tournament would have helped Parse's chances.

Why Ryan Potulny will win: Potulny has scored 1.53 points per game while leading Minnesota to the top spot in the country. The Golden Gophers have just been unstoppable lately and Potulny deserves credit for this. He also has a nation leading 34 goals to go with his 24 assists.

Why he won't win: It's hard to make an argument against Potulny winning. He's scored the most goals, he's probably going to pass Scott Parse in points by the time the season is over, and he plays for the best team. What more could you ask for? We'll find out as we continue.

Why Chris Collins will win: Collins is third in the nation in scoring with 57 points (30 goals, 27 assists). Collins is also a good penalty killer, compiling an impressive five shorthanded goals this season. Does CC's whole team even have that many shorthanded goals? If Boston College makes a run in the postseason and Collins can put up some more points, he's going to be right up there in the voting.

Why he won't win: Collins' biggest problem is going to be that he is overshadowed by more recognizable names from the WCHA. Potulny has more points while playing in a better conference, Matt Carle is close as a defenseman, and don't forget about the dark horse galloping back from a midseason injury: Brian Elliott. Also, BC is dangerously close to being knocked out of the tournament. If the Eagles don't make it, it will probably hurt his chances - especially considering how impressive their PWR was just a few weeks ago.

Why Brett Sterling will win: It's easy for us to see how important Sterling has been this year. With 31 goals and 23 assists, Sterling has been CC's offensive constant throughout the year. He even scored against DU. Sterling also leads the nation with 17 power play goals. If it weren't for his hat trick against Boston University (completed in overtime) earlier this year, the Tigers' season would likely be over right now.

Why he won't win: While he has compiled 54 points this season, Sterling has only scored at a pace of 1.35 goals per game. Combine that with CC getting knocked out in the first round of the WCHA playoffs and Sterling is a big longshot to get solid Hobey consideration. There's really no reason that Sterling would win the award over Ryan Potulny when Potulny has scored more points per game and led his team to the top spot in the rankings.

Why Matt Carle will win: Here's where things get interesting. Carle has 53 points and probably will not have the chance to get any more. While Sterling, Potulny, Collins, and Parse have all accumulated points, Carle merits serious consideration due to the fact that he is a defenseman. In addition to playing solid (better than solid) defense all year long, Carle has been DU's leading scorer (along with Paul Stastny). No one expects a defenseman to put up 50+ points in a season - that's just sick. Let's cross our fingers and hope Salcido can put together a year like this next year.

Why he won't win: As far as I'm concerned the only thing that can hurt Carle in the voting is that the Pioneers' season looks to be over. Great players are expected to at least get their team into the tournament, and it looks like Denver is a huge longshot to make it at this point.

Why Paul Stastny will win: Stastny is an incredible player. We saw it firsthand two weeks ago. He's the first sophomore on this list and if he sticks around, he is really going to be nasty next year for Denver. Stastny led the WCHA in scoring this year and there's no reason that he won't do it again next year. He's a pure sniper who can also set up nice plays. If he stays at Denver, he should get serious Hobey consideration next year.

Why he won't win: For starters, Stastny is young, and there's no real reason to give the award to a sophomore over a junior or senior with comparable statistics. Furthermore, there isn't really anything that sets Stastny apart from the rest of this group - he's obviously a great player, but he doesn't have the stats of Potulny or overall game of Carle. And, like with Carle, I do think it will hurt that DU is likely going to miss the tournament.

Why Alex Foster has a sliver of a chance: Well, he probably won't win, to tell the truth. Foster played for last place Bowling Green this season and scored only 11 goals. Not enough? Bowling Green is in the CCHA - no reason to vote for a CCHA player who has less goals than a WCHA player. This isn't exactly politically correct, but sometimes the truth hurts.

Why TJ Hensick has a somewhat better chance: The odds are against Hensick getting serious consideration for the Hobey. He could end up being a top 10 finalist, but to make the Hobey Hat Trick he'll have to really catch fire in the postseason. Hensick has 16 goals and 34 assists - nice stats, but he can't be considered a favorite.

Enough of the scorers, let's take a look at my aforementioned dark horse, Brian Elliott. If Elliott hadn't been injured in January, I think he'd be a lock for the Hobey. Elliott is still one of the top goalies in the country, with a 1.68 GAA and .934 save percentage, but some ugly performances post-injury will certainly hurt his stock. At midseason, Wisconsin looked completely unstoppable, no one could solve Elliott, and he practically had the award in hand. As things stand now, Elliott could use an impressive run through the playoffs to help his chances.

So who would I choose? A lot depends on what happens in the league playoffs. If Elliott can get a shutout or two, or have a gamechanging performance in net for Wisconsin, the award might be his. On the other hand, if Potulny gets on a hot streak and solidifies his points total, he could become the clear favorite. As of right now, though, I'd have to give the award to Matt Carle. Yes, as much as I hate to admit it, Carle is just a special player. A defenseman who plays this well both offensively and defensively is a rarity and I don't expect to see anyone put up a season like Carle's for quite some time. Unforunately for Carle and Denver fans, his absence from the NCAA tournament is probably going to weigh heavily on the minds of the voters as Potulny, Elliott, and maybe even Sterling shore up their stats. Regardless, the award should go to Carle; his season statistics, including his sick +21 rating, speak for themselves. While Carle's 2005-2006 should win him the Hobey Baker by itself, some voters will undoubtedly consider the fact that he anchored Denver's defense during back to back title runs the past two years.