College Hockey   CC Tigers and USAFA Falcons Hockey

I exchanged a couple of text messages with Bill Sweatt today, and the CC junior forward said he hasn’t decided if he’ll be back for next season or if he will sign with the pros. With defenseman Brian Connelly and goaltender Richard Bachman leaving early already, Sweatt’s return would help if he comes back.

As for Bachman, he just couldn’t pass up a pretty good opportunity to join a Dallas Stars franchise that isn’t too deep at goaltender. Now CC has to regroup at goaltender. I’m hoping to have a story in the Gazette this week discussing the future at that position.

Defenseman Brian Connelly has gone pro after his junior season with CC, signing with Chicago. He’ll report to the Blackhawks’ AHL affiliate in Rockford. Connelly’s departure isn’t great news for the Tigers – he was third on the team with 27 points this season – but CC will have a strong defensive corps next year. The Tigers have plenty of talent returning and add top recruit John Moore.

Forward Bill Sweatt said today he hasn’t made a decision. Goaltender Richard Bachman is another candidate to leave early.

Former Colorado College star Brett Sterling netted a shootout goal Saturday for the Atlanta Thrashers.

The Tigers’ season is over. Despite a couple of scoring chances in the third period, including when defenseman Nate Prosser missed a wide open net early in the period, CC couldn’t get on the board. The Tigers pulled goaltender Richard Bachman with a little more than two minutes remaining in a last-ditch attempt to save their season. Duluth moves onto the Final Five next weekend. The Tigers have now lost five straight postseason games.

The Tigers have a big hold to climb in the final 20 minutes if they want to avoid elimination. CC had power-play opportunities but couldn’t tie the game, then Michael Gergen scored for Duluth 11:33 into the period to give the Bulldogs a two-goal lead. The Tigers were very upset when it appeared they would get a two-man advantage on a Duluth penalty, but CC center Chad Rau was also sent to the penalty box for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, apparently for taking a dive. That came when the Tigers trailed by only one goal, and it took away some of their momentum. The Tigers have two goals in five periods, and now need to at least match that in the third or start the offseason.

Needing a win, the Tigers fell behind by two goals in the first 11:04 of the game. CC started in the worst possible way, taking penalties and giving Duluth some power plays. The Bulldogs have the best power-play percentage in the WCHA. Both of CC’s penalties ended up resulting in goals. The Tigers looked dead, until Scott McCulloch put in a rebound off a Brian Connelly shot on a power play to pull CC to within a goal. CC goaltender Richard Bachman made a number of good saves with Bulldogs forwards all alone against him, which kept CC in the game. Duluth put 13 shots on net in the first period.

If CC’s season ends tonight, the Tigers are going down with their normal lineup from the past few weeks. The only change is on the fourth line, where Tim Hall replaces Addison DeBoer. The rest stays the same for a must-win game. If the Tigers beat Minnesota-Duluth, the third and deciding game of the WCHA playoff series will be Sunday night.

One thing to keep an eye on in this game – the Bulldogs had great success shooting high on CC goaltender Richard Bachman, and that was obviously their strategy coming into the series. It will be interested to see if Bachman adjusts. Here are the lines:

- Cody Lampl, Chad Rau, Eric Walsky

- Bill Sweatt, Andreas Vlassopoulos, Mike Testwuide

- Scott McCulloch, Matt Overman, Brian McMillin

- Tim Hall, Tyler Johnson, Stephen Schultz

Defense:

- Nate Prosser, Jake Gannon

- Brian Connelly, Ryan Lowery

- Gabe Guentzel, Kris Fredheim

Justin Fontaine’s goal for Duluth early in the third period put the game out of reach for CC. The Tigers need to win two in a row to advance to the Final Five, or their season will be done. They might need to win a pair of games at the Final Five to extend their season to the NCAA Tournament, but that should long way from their thoughts now. CC has to play better Saturday to keep its season alive.

The Tigers fell behind 3-0 on a goal by Jordan Fulton, but gave themselves some hope going into the third period on Eric Walsky’s late goal. Walsky’s goal came near the end of a two-man advantage in which CC was getting booed by its home fans after not getting a quick goal. Duluth goaltender Alex Stalock, one of the best in the WCHA, has been pretty good, but the Tigers have a chance if they can get a quick goal in the third period.

The Tigers are in some trouble. Not only is senior forward Cody Lampl done for the night because of a checking-from-behind penalty, but CC will play from behind. Duluth scored a pair of power-play goals, one on the five-minute power play that followed Lampl’s penalty. Josh Meyers and MacGregor Sharp have Duluth’s goals. CC has played pretty well, putting 12 shots on net with plenty of good chances, so the Tigers aren’t done yet. But they’ll have to get back in the game against a very good defensive Bulldogs team.