Tigers Done For?

It sure looks like it after a truly pathetic weekend in Mankato.

Tigers Fail to Gain Points Against Minnesota

The Tigers fought hard in two close games this weekend, but in the end came out with nothing to show for it as Minnesota handed CC back to back 3-2 losses. If there is any good news to come out of the weekend, it's that the Tigers played fairly evenly with a superbly talented Minnesota team. That is little consolation however after a weekend that could very likely keep the Tigers out of the NCAA tournament. A tournament berth does remain a possibility, but it will require some great play from the Tigers down the stretch and also a bit of luck. The Tigers now sit at 14th in the Pairwise rankings - which could be either in or out of the tournament depending on the results of league tournaments. Wins against Mankato and DU are a must, and the Tigers probably need to make it all the way to the WCHA championship to really assure themselves of a spot.

A number of things contribute to the "luck" factor:

* Will top teams win their conference tournaments? If there are upsets then autobids could keep CC and other bubble teams out of the mix.

* Will Wisconsin, Michigan Tech, and Mankato remain TUCs? All of these teams are under .500 and if they do not end up in the top 25, wins against them will no longer be of any significant help to the Tigers. Mankato is already out of the top 25 and if CC beats them this weekend (which we have to if we want to remain in the tournament picture) they will continue to fall.

* Will Michigan State, Miami, St. Lawrence, and Boston College finish the season strong, or fade down the stretch? These teams are all close to the Tigers in the standings and have the potential to keep CC in or out.

* The ECAC, as usual, is terrible this year. Could a sleeper (AKA not Clarkson) win their conference tournament this year and grab an additional spot in the tournament? Certainly a possibility.

Anyway, those are just a few scenarios that will have to be played out before selection time, and it's easy to see that CC is in dangerous territory. But hey, it was supposed to be a rebuilding year anyway, wasn't it?

Speaking of rebuilding, this weekend's series has gotten me thinking about next year's team. One thing that was frustrating to see this weekend was how close CC was to Minnesota, without getting any points to show for it. The Tigers pretty much dominated on Saturday night but just couldn't hold it together after a huge tying goal by Mike Testwuide. Well, the silver lining is that the Tigers are going to improve big time next season, while the Gophers will surely "reload" but at the same time, lose most of their top players from a really astounding group. Erik Johnson and Kyle Okposo are almost certainly gone next season. Ryan Stoa and Alex Goligoski could be gone too. Meanwhile, us Tiger fans can look forward to seeing a vast majority of our players back next season.

This CC team has only three current NHL draft picks that are not seniors - Chad Rau, Scott McCulloch, and Kris Fredheim. None of these three should be real flight risks this offseason, although you never know. Billy Sweatt, undoubtedly the top NHL prospect on this current squad, will likely be drafted in a few months and we'll know his situation better once we know where he goes. What I'm getting at is that CC has a lot to look forward to next year, especially with the recruits that we have coming in. So, if you're feeling down about the recent sweep or our tournament chances, take comfort in the fact that next year should be a good one.

Anyway, I don't mean to get ahead of myself on that tangent, because there is still hockey to play this season. The Tigers may not have come away with many points in the last few games, but they have shown that they can play with some of the WCHA's top teams. What am I getting at? The WCHA tournament. It's only weeks away and could present CC's best opportunity to regain a spot in the field. Nevermind winning the Broadmoor Trophy and getting the autobid - just a couple wins against solid WCHA teams could be exactly what the Tigers need to regain their pairwise footing. The next few games (Mankato, Denver) will be very important for determining seeding. Right now CC is tied for 4th in the league along with North Dakota. If we can jump ahead of Denver and get to the 3rd spot, CC could avoid the dreaded play-in game to the Final Five. The Tigers may not have demonstrated the ability to win lately, but they have certainly shown an ability to play hard and compete against top teams - and with persistence, we should get to enjoy some results, and maybe even a tournament berth.

Tigers On Bubble Entering Home Stretch

With just six regular season games left to play, Colorado College sits at No. 11 in the latest Pairwise Rankings - still sitting on the bubble, but not looking so bad considering that all six of the Tigers remaining games are against TUC's (although that may not be the case for long as Minnesota State sits at 26th with barely better than a .400 winning percentage). A lot of people consider the weekend games against St. Cloud State a disappointment since CC had such a great chance to win game two, but I see it differently. The Huskies have proved that they're one of the top teams this year as evidenced by their Pairwise rank, and I found it very encouraging that CC was able to hang with them in their own barn. It would have been nice to get a few more WCHA points and possibly pass Denver in the standings, sure - but that can wait for later. Right now, what's really important is securing a spot in the NCAA tournament. The Tigers remain in a precarious Pairwise position mainly because three teams that they have wins against (Wisconsin, Michigan Tech, Mankato) are dangerously close to the TUC cutoff.

This makes the games this weekend very important for the Tigers. Wins against Minnesota would really solidify CC in the Pairwise standings and in terms of RPI. So what will have to click this weekend for the Tigers to take some points from the Gophers? Just about everything. Minnesota remains one of the top teams in the country and has incredible talent from top to bottom. CC scored only three goals on the weekend against St. Cloud State, and will almost surely need more than that just to get one win against the Gophers. Minnesota remains the top scoring team in the WCHA, and yes, they still have three first round draft picks in their freshman class. Because of this, winning will also require a mammoth effort from the defense this weekend. Matt Zaba will have to keep up his great play in net as well. I'd like to say that goaltending is one area where CC will have the advantage this weekend - but even Minnesota's goalies are among the tops in the country - yes, both of them. Kellen Briggs has a dandy .922 save percentage and a 2.08 GAA, while Jeff Frazee has a .910 save percentage and similarly impressive 2.09 GAA - Frazee also has just one loss in 14 games this season.

CC does have one advantage this weekend though and that is the fact that the pressure really seems to be on Minnesota. The Gophers exploded out of the gate this year and have been 1st in the WCHA all season, yet as of today they sit just four points ahead of a hot St. Cloud State team, meaning that a Tiger sweep this weekend could lead to a real battle for the top spot with the Huskies (coincidentally, SCSU and Minnesota play a home-and-home after this weekend). The Tigers, on the other hand, have defied most everyone's expectations for this season and with some wins down the stretch could even challenge Denver for the third spot in the WCHA standings. CC still has two games in hand on the Pioneers, as well as the annual home-and-home series to end the season. Denver is off this weekend and then has a tough series against a red hot North Dakota team before ending the regular season against CC. Just one win this weekend would move the Tigers at least one point ahead of DU in the standings.

One Point Weekend in St. Cloud Drops CC Back to The Bubble

I'll do a more thorough write up in the next few days. In the meantime, check out this new blog, and get ready for an absolutely huge series next weekend against Minnesota.

Sweet Revenge: Tigers Sweep Defending Champs

After suffering one of the worst losses the World Arena has ever seen last year against the University of Wisconsin Badgers, people were expecting the Tigers to come out blazing this weekend. After two periods of play on Friday night, however, one had to wonder if Brian Elliott and his friendly crossbars could possibly be solved. Dre Vlassopoulos answered that question with a little less than seven minutes remaining in the game, and in the process got CC back on the winning track. Vlassopoulos went on to assist Mike Testwuide's game winner in overtime along with Bill Sweatt, who also notched a helper on the first Tigers' goal. The Tigers narrowly missed finishing off Wisconsin in regulation, with Chad Rau putting one off the crossbar with just under two minutes to go. On Saturday, the Tigers had to wait considerably less time to put their first past Brian Elliott - Cody Lampl did it just 21 seconds into the game. Lampl, Chad Rau, and Braydon Cox all had two points on the night as CC finished the sweep with a 4-2 victory.

This series was literally a must-win for the Tigers, as a single loss would have severely hurt CC's tournament chances. The Tigers now sit tied for 8th in the Pairwise Rankings, with what could be the most important series of the year coming up this weekend when the team travels to St. Cloud State for two games. After that the Tigers face another stiff test in Minnesota before facing off against Minnesota State-Mankato and Denver to finish the season. Wins against St. Cloud State, Minnesota, or Denver would strengthen CC's tournament chances in a big way.

In terms of the WCHA, CC remains in 4th, albeit with two games in hand on Minnesota and Denver, who are #1 and T-#2, respectively. St. Cloud State has played the same amount of league games as CC and sits one point ahead of the Tigers. The team to watch out for right now, however, is North Dakota. The Fighting Sioux seem to finally be living up to their potential, and haven't lost a game since they dropped a 1-0 decision right here in Colorado Springs. UND looks to pick up some big WCHA points in their next two series, at home against Mankato and Minnesota-Duluth, but ends the season with two tough away series at Denver and St. Cloud State. Add to that the fact that some of their top players have been getting busted for various legal infractions up in Grand Forks (Let's Go DU has got the coverage), and things could get interesting for the Sioux.

Notes:

* Matt Zaba is playing spectacular. I was worried going into the third period on Friday that he was becoming the Roger Clemens of college hockey - a guy that keeps his team in games that they still don't win - but thankfully the offense took care of business down the stretch. If he keeps this up the Tigers may just have the right team to make a late run.

* Cody Lampl has really stepped up his game as well. Even when he doesn't appear on the box score, his big hits and overall energy were a big part of the Tigers success this weekend.

* Chad Rau and Dre Vlassopoulos are creating a lot of great scoring chances, and the offense in general is looking better right now than they have at points this season. Once Scott McCulloch gets out of his scoring slump (which I assume that he will), the Tigers should not have many offensive concerns.

* The frosh defensemen have been impressive lately. Kris Fredheim is quietly having a great first season and Brian Connelly, while his offensive numbers may be down lately, has been much more reliable on defense.

Garbage Goals Get It Done