Tigers Finish Regular Season at Sixth in Pairwise Rankings

Colorado College's regular season ended last night with a 3-3 tie against Denver at Magness Arena. It was the first time since the 2003-2004 season that CC did not lose at Magness. The Tigers took a 2-0 lead heading into the third period only to allow three straight in the third before tying it with less than a minute left, and with Matt Zaba on the bench in favor of an extra attacker. CC now sits at sixth in the pairwise rankings, used to select the NCAA tournament field. The win and tie move Denver into a tie for 11th in the rankings. CC could still have a shot at a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament with an impressive run in the WCHA tournament, but is more likely to end up with a #2 or #3 seed. CC's tournament chances will likely depend more on who else is in their bracket than what seed they are. Boston University and Michigan State are currently tied at 4th in the pairwise and one of them is likely to be a #1 seed. CC has wins on the road against both these teams, including a dominating performance against Michigan State in the Great Lakes Invitational. Being included in a bracket where one of these teams is the #1 seed could be a big boost to CC, who has no wins against the other two probable #1 seeds - Minnesota and Wisconsin. Ending up in overall #3 Miami's bracket could be interesting as well. While CC has not played Miami this season, they have done well against CCHA competition in 6-1 and 6-3 manhandlings of Michigan and Michigan State. Regardless of the seeding, CC will need stellar play all around if the Tigers want to go far in the postseason. CC still has no wins against higher ranked WCHA teams.