College Hockey   CC Tigers and USAFA Falcons Hockey

Consider this a formal reminder to mark your calendars for every Tuesday between today and early April:

The Scott Owens coach’s show takes place tonight, Tuesday, Sept. 30, starting at 6:30 and lasting until 7:30 at McCabe’s Tavern on 530 S. Tejon St. You can also catch it on 103.9 FM in the Springs or streaming live here. Third-year play-by-play announcer Ken Landau will moderate the show, which features insights from Owens, in his 10th year as CC coach, and usually a player or two. Once league play begins, Landau will often interview the opposing coach as well.

In my mind, college hockey season begins in earnest on Wednesday with the release of the Grand Forks Herald annual WCHA coaches’ poll. If last week’s USA Today poll and Chris Dilks’ musings over on the Western College Hockey blog are any indication, Colorado College won’t enjoy its typical darkhorse status this season.

**Interestingly enough, former Colorado Avalanche coach Joel Quenneville will be monitoring Bill Sweatt‘s progress this season while serving as a pro scout for the Chicago Blackhawks. He’ll mostly focus on college hockey, specifically CC and Denver, according to this article on TSN.ca.

Plenty of CC alums relocated over the weekend:

**Defenseman Brian Salcido played in Anaheim’s first two exhibition games before being moved to the Ducks’ new AHL affiliate: the Iowa Chops.

**Forward Trevor Frischmon was released on Sunday by the Columbus Blue Jackets. He spent the bulk of the last two seasons playing for the Blue Jackets’ AHL affiliate in Syracuse.

**Not including defenseman Jack Hillen, who along with former Minnesota forward Kyle Okposo, continues to hang on to the New York Islanders’ preseason roster.

The OC Register caught up with former CC defenseman Brian Salcido. See what he had to say about former Shattuck-St. Mary’s teammate Sidney Crosby and his prospects with the Anaheim Ducks this season. He spent the week being paired with Chris Pronger.

**Also, it sounds as if another CC d-corps alum, Jack Hillen, is getting some quality ice time with the New York Islanders. Newsday’s Greg Logan blogged that Hillen ran the point on the Isles’ second power-play unit in their 2-1 preseason win over the Boston Bruins (who sport another CC defenseman Mark Stuart on their roster). Not too shabby.

CC recruit Rylan Schwartz, who is expected to join the Tigers in 2009, is making his case known for a spot on the Canada West team for World Junior ‘A’ hockey challenge. Schwartz is the Notre Dame Hounds’ top player and one of the best in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League, having scored 29 goals and 34 assists in 56 games last season. Read more here.

(Thanks, Dick… I was sleepy when I wrote this yesterday. This is what current Tigers Nick Dineen and Tim Hall played in last November. Be reminded here.)

Former CC center Marty Sertich will start the season with the Lake Erie Monsters, the Colorado Avalanche’s AHL affiliate in Cleveland, Ohio. With the Avalanche reducing their roster to 36 players, Sertich was sent down along with a host of former WCHA players: Denver’s J.D. Corbin (Steamboat Springs, Colo.), Minnesota’s Derek Peltier, and Wisconsin’s Nigel Williams.

Despite the jarring loss to Michigan State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last season, the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine pollsters gave Colorado College their vote of confidence. The No. 5 preseason ranking is the best CC has received since 2000, which is as far as the archives I have go (I’ll keep digging, though). Only three times in the last nine seasons have the Tigers started the season ranked in the top 10 and this is the first time they’ve been tabbed in the top five.

CC’s Preseason Ranking in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll
2007: No. 11
2006: No. 13
2005: No. 7 (CC went to the Frozen Four in the previous season)
2004: No. 12
2003: No. 10
2002: No. 10
2001: No. 6
2000: No. 15

Also:

**It was good to finally meet the man, the myth and the legend, Marty Sertich, on Monday after the Avs’ Burgundy and White scrimmage. Read what he had to say here about his future with the Avalanche organization.

**Check out former Colorado College goaltender Matt Zaba, who ended up playing in the third period of the New York Rangers’ 2-1 preseason win over the Ottawa Senators. He gave up only one goal after subbing for Henrik Lundqvist.

**A little update on Brandon Straub: He’ll be reporting to Quad-City Flames (AHL) training camp this weekend in hopes of landing a spot on their roster, but still has an agreement with Las Vegas (ECHL).

Former CC standout Marty Sertich, the Tigers’ last recipient of the Hobey Baker Memorial Award, will suit up for the Burgundy team at the Colorado Avalanche’s annual Burgundy & White game tonight (Monday) at 6 p.m. Sertich was acquired from the Dallas Stars in an offseason trade and is fighting for a roster spot. He’ll likely start the season with the Lake Erie (Ohio) Monsters, the Avalanche’s AHL affiliate. More in The Gazette on Tuesday.

Burgundy                                                 White

Coaches: Joe Sacco, Richard Pracey                Coaches: Sylvain Lefebvre, Guy Perron

30      Tyler Weiman                           G                           1          Andrew Raycroft          G

31         Peter Budaj                               G                      35         Jason Bacashihua          G

4          John-Michael Liles                    D                      11         Cody McCormick          RW

5          Brett Clark                                D                       18         Brian Willsie                 RW

14         Ian Laperriere                           RW                   23         Milan Hejduk                RW

16         Darcy Tucker                           RW                   28         Ben Guite                     C

19         Joe Sakic                                  C                      29         Dan Tjarnqvist              D

22         Scott Hannan                            D                      39         Tyler Arnason               C

24         Ruslan Salei                              D                      41         Michael Vernace           D

27         Scott Parker                              RW                  44         Jordan Leopold              D

34         Aaron MacKenzie                     D                      48         Kyle Cumiskey              D

36         Marty Sertich                            C                       49         Darcy Campbell            D

37         T.J. Hensick                             C                       51         Tom Fritsche                 LW

38         Codey Burki                              C                      53         Matt Hendricks             C

42         Chris Stewart                            RW                  54         David Jones                  RW

45         Chris Durno                              C                      56         Kevin Montgomery        D

46         Nathan Smith                            C                      59         Philippe Dupuis             C

50         Derek Peltier                            D                       71         Chris Mueller                C

52         Adam Foote                              D                      94         Ryan Smyth                  LW

55         Cody McLeod                           LW                   97         Per Ledin                      LW

61        J.D. Corbin                              LW

65        Jack Combs                             RW

Colorado College is ranked fifth in the first USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Division I hockey poll of the season, which was released Monday. Boston College, which captured the NCAA Championship in Denver last season, collected 27 of 34 first-place votes. The top four teams in the poll made it to the Frozen Four.

The Tigers, the Western Collegiate Hockey Association defending champions, are ranked a spot behind North Dakota and a spot ahead of Denver, but received more first-place votes Six WCHA teams are among the top 15 and a seventh, Minnesota State-Mankato, received votes.

Air Force was also listed among teams receiving votes.

USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Division I Men’s Hockey Poll – Preseason
(first place votes in parenthesis, bolded teams are in the WCHA)

Others receiving votes: Princeton University, 51; Cornell University, 30; Harvard University, 30; Minnesota State University Mankato, 28; U.S. Air Force Academy, 24; University of Massachusetts, 9; University of Massachusetts Lowell, 9; Niagara University, 9; University of Vermont, 6; University of Maine, 3; Northeastern University, 3.

Former CC goaltender Matt Zaba is expected to see time during Monday night’s scrimmage between the Ottawa Senators and the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. Though Zaba will likely spend the bulk of the season with the Charlotte (N.C.) Checkers (ECHL) or the Hartford Wolf Pack (AHL), he’ll have a chance to impress management in the second period when he relieves starter Henrik Lundqvist, according to Newsday.

***

Recent CC alumnus Jimmy Kilpatrick was assigned to the Anaheim Ducks’ AHL affiliate, the Iowa Chops, after rookie camp last week.

CC’s home game versus Denver on Sunday, Nov. 2, will be televised live on ESPNU at 5 p.m. MT, the college announced Friday.

The rivals meet on Halloween (Oct. 31) at Magness Arena and were originally scheduled to play the series finale on Saturday, Nov. 1. The game time was switched to accommodate the ESPNU telecast.

Road series against Alaska-Anchorage and North Dakota will be televised on local channels. I put all of the TV information into a page, which you can find on the sidebar above the blogroll or here.