Wednesday notes

Colorado College has scored only two goals in each of its past three games. At Michigan Tech last weekend, the Tigers were limited to four goals in a weekend for the first time this season.

Michigan Tech and Air Force, which the Tigers beat 2-1 Jan. 19, are very defensive-minded, meaning they protect the slot and area in front of the crease above all else. Michigan Tech is also one of the more physical teams CC has played, featuring a little more of an old-school clutch-and-grab style. Because of Michigan Tech’s discipline, though, the Huskies managed to avoid penalties. And thanks to scoring first both nights, Michigan Tech could afford to play an extremely defensive style.

CC players are wary of a second-half slide, especially with only a five-point lead over streaking North Dakota and a tenuous seven-point lead over third-place Denver, which has played four fewer games — so too, it seems, are the coaches. Several drills in Wednesday’s practice centered on getting the puck to the net, including 1-on-1s to goal, in which the players had to fight past another player to get a shot on net.

Against Clarkson this weekend, an Eastern College Athletic Conference team which likely will resort to a defensive style to slow CC’s fast-paced transition game on the Olympic sheet (the Golden Knights’ first game on an Olympic sheet this season), the Tigers will try some brand-new groupings.

From Wednesday’s practice:
Sweatt–Rau–Testwuide
McCulloch–Vlassopoulos–Kilpatrick
Thauwald–Johnson–Walsky
DeBoer–McMillin–Schultz
Overman–Quilico

As you can see, McCulloch is expected to be back in the lineup after a four-game hiatus.

On Clarkson
You might be wondering about Clarkson. Located in Potsdam, N.Y., Clarkson has an enrollment of 3,000 (as compared with CC’s ~1,950). The Golden Knights made the NCAA Tournament last season after winning the ECAC tournament and lead the ECAC standings this season. Clarkson and CC have played eight times and the Tigers own a 7-0-1 record. The most significant meeting between the schools was in 1957, the year of CC’s last national championship, when CC defeated Clarkson to advance to the NCAA title game against Michigan. The past four meetings have been in regular-season series, with the most recent in October 2003. The Tigers met Clarkson in the 1997 and 1998 NCAA Tournaments.

Tiger Tracks
At 29 years old, Toby Petersen won the speed skating competition at the 2008 AHL All-Star Game with the fastest time in a decade. Petersen also scored on the first penalty shot in All-Star Game history…Brett Sterling and Brian Salcido also scored for Team USA in the All-Star Game…James Brannigan had a goal for the Augusta Lynx in an 8-6 win over the Gwinnett Gladiators (ECHL)…Recruit Nick Dineen had a goal Tuesday in the USHL All-Star Game…Rookie Colin Stuart got his second call-up this week to the Atlanta Thrashers…Even though he was demoted from the Calgary Flames in favor of goaltender Curtis Joseph, the other Curtis — Curtis “CuMac” McElhinney – is the “closest” to being NHL ready, Flames’ Western pro scout Ron Sutter said.

Bachman recognized…again.

In case you missed it, goaltender Richard Bachman picked up his third Defensive Player of the Week honor from Western Collegiate Hockey Association Tuesday, the fifth time he has received recognition from the league. The Tigers remain ranked fourth in both weekly polls.

Start clicking
Think Colorado College has a candidate for the Hobey Baker Award? Want to throw your weight behind Air Force’s Eric Ehn, who was a top-three finalist last season? Go to hobeybaker.com and follow the ‘Vote for Hobey’ links.
**I tried it Thursday afternoon to see if I could give more instruction, but it didn’t seem to be active yet.

Sign of things to come?
Bemidji State, which plays CC at World Arena on Jan. 18, will present its case to WCHA officials for admittance into the 10-team league on Jan. 13. With the demise of the Wayne State program, which is playing its final season this year, the five-team College Hockey America conference shrinks to four programs and the future of programs at BSU, Robert Morris, Niagara and Alabama-Huntsville looks bleak. Because a conference with fewer than six teams is not permitted to receive an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, the ability of CHA schools to recruit and be competitive would be extinguished. The CHA, which was started to help new programs make the transition to Division I, was granted an exception in 2005 that ends after this season.

Tiger Tracks
NHL:
It’s nothing new for long-time Tigers fans who watched Mike, Colin and Mark Stuart come through the ranks, but it’s still neat to think about what Colin’s recent call-up to the Atlanta Thrashers means to his family back in Rochester, Minn.

A look at the downside of being a back-up goaltender in the NHL gives Curtis McElhinney a shout-out for his work in 131 minutes of play this season.

AHL:
Former Colorado College center Brett Sterling was named a starter for the 2008 AHL All-Star game’s U.S. team, announced Thursday. The game will take place January 28 in Binghamton, N.Y. He’ll be joined by fellow CC alums Toby Petersen (Iowa Stars) and defenseman Brian Salcido (Portland Pirates).

ECHL:
Would-be senior James Brannigan, who departed CC in the summer only to be released by the Augusta Lynx (ECHL), got a belated Christmas present. Depleted by the call-up of former CC teammate Aaron Slattengren (who enjoyed a brief stint with the Manitoba Moose (AHL)), the Lynx signed Brannigan to a player try-out contract (a 25-game agreement) on Dec. 27. On Slattengren’s first night back in Georgia, Brannigan scored his first professional goal on former teammate Matt Zaba, who stopped 35 of 41 shots in the Charlotte Checkers’ loss.

Meanwhile, Trevor Frischmon could play his last AHL game Friday, when his PTO contract expires.

USHL/Recruiting Front:
Recruit Nick Dineen, who is slated to join the Tigers this fall, was named to the 2008 USHL Top Prospects/All-Stars game, to be played Jan. 29 in Green Bay, Wis.

Tiger Tracks

Updated alumni statistics can be found here. Some highlights:

Iowa Stars captain and former Colorado College captain Toby Petersen is third in the American Hockey League scoring standings (13 goals, 14 assists). Mark Cullen, who played with Petersen for two seasons at CC, also leads his team, the Grand Rapids Griffins in scoring (six goals, 15 assists).

In his second AHL season since he left CC after his junior year, Brian Salcido is the top-scoring defenseman with 23 points (six goals, 17 assists).

In just 14 games, Brett Sterling is fourth on the Chicago Wolves’ scoring list with 20 points (13 goals, 7 assists).

In the ECHL, Aaron Slattengren of the Augusta Lynx is second in league scoring with 17 goals and 10 assists (27 points) and was named player of the week. Read here.

Finally, the latest on CC recruits can be found in this updated spreadsheet.

Game day: New Hampshire 4, CC 2 (final)

Third-period goals:
Colorado College 1, New Hampshire 2: Brad Flaishans (Craig Switzer, Matt Fornataro), 4:33, pp.
Just 35 seconds into a 101-second five-on-three scenario, Switzer’s pass from the point was one-timed by Flaishans from the top of the left circle. The slap shot beat Bachman inside the left post.
“There was a power-play blast and there was a lot of traffic,” coach Scott Owens said of the goal.

Colorado College 2, New Hampshire 2: Scott McCulloch (Jack Hillen, Andreas Vlassopoulos), 9:52, pp.
Hillen ripped a shot from the point and McCulloch and Bill Sweatt crashed the net, punching the rebound past goaltender Brian Foster.

Colorado College 2, New Hampshire 3: Paul Thompson (Danny Dries, Joe Charlebois), 10:08.
Sixteen seconds after CC’s game-tying score, Charlebois’ slap shot from the outside edge of the right circle was tipped by Dries on the near post and batted in by Thompson backdoor.

Colorado College 2, New Hampshire 4: Peter LeBlanc (Jerry Pollastrone), 19:53, en.
After a neutral zone turnover created a 2-on-1 rush, defenseman Brian Connelly overcommitted to LeBlanc, who drove past him and finished in the empty net.

Post-game quotes:
Coach Scott Owens
–On the two-referee, two-linesman system
“The two-man system is something that’s being experimented with this year, I thought it went reasonably well. I would give it a thumbs-up based on this weekend.”
–On goaltender Richard Bachman
“You know what? Three goals against in a road game, his first road game, five goals in three games against teams rated top-six in the country, you know, that’s a good start for the young man.”
–Concerned about CC’s penalty kill, which gave up three goals on 10 power plays?
“I’m not concerned. I just hate putting so much pressure on our special teams by not generating a goal or a goal and a half a game on five-on-five and that’s an area we’ve really got to get better at here.”

Defenseman Jack Hillen
–On what the Tigers learned this weekend
“What it takes to win on the road. Obviously we’re not good enough right now. You can’t just come into a barn, especially a team that’s as good as UNH, and not put a full road game together. We made too many mistakes. We did a lot of good things right, you can certainly take those away. But as a senior and a veteran on this team, I’m looking at goals after we just get one. …It’s a whole different atmosphere coming into a place like this than playing at home and w e’ve got to learn and we’ve got to learn pretty quick or it’s going to get away.”
–On playing from behind on the road
“It’s hard. It’s harder to come back on the road because you don’t get that momentum from the crowd. You feel like you’re on your own and you don’t get the breaks from the refs. I’m not saying that’s what caused the game, I’m just saying you’re not going to get anything going your way, you’ve got to make your own momentum and it’s that much harder on the road. If you’re playing catch up, it’s not a good recipe for road wins.”

Left wing Scott McCulloch
–On what CC’s 5-on-5 offense needs
“I think that’s just not playing in the tough areas. We’ve got a lot of skilled forwards but it’s getting the puck to the paint and being there and getting traffic in front of the goalie. I think that’s an area we need to improve on, especially being an older team, it’s something that we should already be doing. I think we need to improve big-time on that. Usually we do a good job down low, but it’s taking the puck to the net with authority and having bodies there and that’s where it’s tough to play, it’s in front of the net. That triangle in front, that’s where the goals are scored and I think we need to do a better job of getting there.”
–On why the Tigers’ forecheck struggled to contain New Hampshire
I think we had a few turnovers, just not taking care of the puck and maybe missing a few lanes. But they’re a great team, they move the puck really well through the neutral zone, that’s their strength. You’re not always going to be able to stop that team, but I think in all areas, bearing down would help out.

Inside the stats:
–New Hampshire had the faceoff edge, 39-32. For CC, Chad Rau won 12/20 faceoffs and Vlassopoulos earned 11/22 wins.
–CC scored on two of seven power plays, as did the Wildcats, but had 16 shots to New Hampshire’s seven on the man-advantage.
–In the first and second period, Bachman faced just seven shots from the slot. By contrast, in the third period, eight of UNH’s 12 shots came from the slot.

***
Tiger Tracks:
Tonight’s American Hockey League showdown between the Lake Erie Monsters and the Iowa Stars was a CC-studded affair. Defenseman Brandon Straub helped the Monsters to a 3-2 win, in which Stars captain Toby Petersen had a goal and Stars alternate captain Marty Sertich was held to a single shot.

Scouting No. 6 New Hampshire

Three things to keep in mind this week as CC heads into a two-game set at New Hampshire:

1. Kevin Regan The senior goaltender, who saved 30 of 31 shots in the Wildcats’ 4-1 win over Boston University, has an impressive career save percentage of .928 and 2.28 goals-against average in 61 games. Regan, named Hockey East defensive player of the week, is a big reason UNH was picked to finish first in its conference.

2. Big corners UNH’s Whittemore Center, which features an ice sheet with the same dimensions as the World Arena (200′ x 100′), is rumored to have nearly square corners (I’ll be pulling out my measuring tape). That means more space for the CC forwards to work with, but conversely, a tougher defensive task for the Tigers’ young defensemen.

3. Formidable top line The combination of LW James VanRiemsdyk, C Mike Radja, and RW Matt Fornatero will need some special attention. In the Wildcats’ first outing against Boston University, each had a goal and an assist. VanRiemsdyk might be “just a freshman,” but he’s already drawing comparisons to Minnesota’s Blake Wheeler. CC coach Scott Owens said the matchup between CC and New Hampshire should resemble last weekend’s games against Minnesota.

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Notes:
Right wing Jimmy Kilpatrick (hip) will travel and is “very close,” coach Scott Owens said Tuesday, after he put Kilpatrick with center Chad Rau and left wing Scott Thauwald to test his progress…Stephen Schultz (undisclosed leg injury) and Dan Quilico (right ankle) did not make the travel roster but both are back to full-contact practicing…Read Owens’ Tuesday at the Rink chat transcript here…Elliot Olshansky puts his foot in his mouth after CC’s season-opening sweep of Minnesota.

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Recruiting Round-up:
One of CC’s recent commitments, Tim Hall, who is slated to join the Tigers next season, was named to the U.S. Junior Select team, which will compete Nov. 5-11 in Trail and Nelson, British Columbia, at the World Junior A Challenge. Nick Dineen, another forward recruit for 2008, is also on the 21-player roster.

Hall was also named a ‘B’ list of NHL Central Scouting’s Player To Watch list, released today. A ‘B’ rating indicates a potential third- to fifth-round draftee. Rylan Schwartz, who committed to join CC in 2009 but could enroll next fall, was given a ‘C’ rating, meaning he is a potential late-round selection. Central Scouting will release a midterm and final ranking before the NHL draft in June 2008.

Andrew Hamburg has endured quite a journey this fall. After being released from the Waterloo Black Hawks (United States Hockey League), Hamburg was picked up by the Texas Tornado (North American Hockey League), where he had one goal and one assist in two games. As pointed out by Ryan of the USHL blog, the Tornado traded Hamburg to the St. Louis Bandits of the NAHL, where he now appears on the roster but not in the stats.

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Tiger Tracks:
In net for the Charlotte Checkers (ECHL), Matt Zaba stopped 29 of 30 shots in his first professional victory, a 5-1 win over the Augusta Lynx.. The lone goal for the Lynx was scored by Aaron Slattengren. Trevor Frischmon, who joined the Checkers Tuesday, had two assists.

Toby Petersen was named captain of the Iowa Stars (AHL).

Shortly after he allowed one goal on two shots in his NHL debut, Curtis McElhinney was sent packing to the Calgary Flames’ AHL affiliate.

Bachman Racks Up Honors

Goaltender Richard Bachman was named WCHA Defensive Player of the Week (see release below) and Inside College Hockey Player of the Week (here).

Also, a week after Denver was named “Team of the Week,” College Hockey News passed the honor to CC.

WCHA Defensive Player of the Week
Richard Bachman
Fr., G, Colorado College

MADISON, Wis. – Richard Bachman, a freshman goaltender at Colorado College, has been named Red Baron® WCHA Defensive Player of the Week for Oct. 23-29 as a result of his outstanding play in a weekend sweep of two-time defending conference champion Minnesota.

A 5-10, 172-pound freshman from Highlands Ranch, Bachman stopped 61 of 63 shots on goal (.968 saves percentage) and posted five shutout periods, including one overtime, while backstopping the host Tigers to a 3-1 victory over the Golden Gophers last Friday (Oct. 19) and a 2-1 overtime win last Saturday (Oct. 20). They were his first two collegiate starts.

Bachman had 23 stops in the series opener and then came back with 38 saves in the series finale as CC swept UM at home for the first time since Feb. 5-6, 1999 and handed UM its first road sweep since Feb. 27-28, 2004 at Denver.

In addition, Bachman, an NHL draft choice of Dallas, also played a key role in the Tigers’ success on the penalty-kill against Minnesota, as CC held its opponents scoreless on all 11 power-play opportunities over the weekend.

Also nominated this week were: Michael-Lee Teslak, G, MTU; Alex Stalock, G, UMD; and Jean-Philippe Lamoureux, G, UND.

***
Recruiting Round-up
There’s a possibility Rylan Schwartz, a recruit originally slated for 2009, could join Colorado College next season.

***
Tiger Tracks:
Brandon Straub was recalled to the Lake Erie Monsters (AHL) yesterday to replace Kyle Cumiskey, who was recalled by the Avalanche (it didn’t hurt that Dale Purinton was suspended for 25 games for this).
Straub signed a two-way AHL contract, which means he gets paid an AHL salary for any games played on that level. Straub was minus-3 with no points in three games for the Johnstown Chiefs (ECHL). Straub’s first AHL game could be against former Tigers Marty Sertich and Toby Petersen of the Iowa Stars on Oct. 27.

Matt Zaba will have a buddy in Charlotte; Trevor Frischmon signed with the Charlotte Checkers (ECHL).

Apparently, Brian Salcido took a bit of a beating on an East Coast swing with the Portland Pirates (AHL).

Curtis McElhinney made his NHL debut, but it wasn’t his strongest showing.

Tiger Tracks

I don’t usually get reader feedback, but every time I’ve written about Colorado College hockey alumni, I always get a ton of emails. So I hope “Tiger Tracks” will keep you informed once a week with current stats or news on CC’s professional hockey players.

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September marks the start of NHL training camps, which means that hockey season is just around the corner. Several CC alums who played in the American Hockey League last year have a chance to crack NHL rosters this year, including Marty Sertich and Brett Sterling, who both graduated in 2005.

The Dallas Morning News reports that Sertich will not play for the Stars rookie team in an eight-team round-robin tournament, which starts Friday in Traverse City, Mich. Instead, he will be preparing to challenge for a spot on the Stars’ roster starting Sept. 14. The only other Minnesota-native forward on the Stars training camp roster? Former CC left wing Toby Petersen (1996-2000), who played briefly with Sertich on the Iowa Stars (AHL) last season before he was called up to the Edmonton Oilers. Petersen became an unrestricted free agent in the offseason and the Stars signed him to a one-year, two-way contract in July.

Some are calling Sterling a lock to make the Atlanta Thrashers’ roster after he ran away with the AHL scoring title and Rookie of the Year honors last year. Sterling racked up 97 points (55 goals, 42 assists) in 77 games with the Chicago Wolves. Sterling will be joined by fellow CC alums, classmate Joey Crabb and Colin Stuart (2000-04), when camp starts Sept. 14.

Former CC goaltender Curtis McElhinney (2001-05) will be battling for a back-up position on the Calgary Flames after emerging as a starter for Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights (AHL) last season and posting a 2.13 goals-against average and a .917 save percentage along with a 35-17-1 record and seven shutouts.

That’s all for today. If you want to know more about a former Tiger, leave me a comment or drop an email to kate.crandall@gazette.com, and I’ll do what I can to track him down!