College Hockey   CC Tigers and USAFA Falcons Hockey

Former Tiger Mike Testwuide continue to find the score sheet with the Abbotsford Heat. Jack Hillen is on a roll for the surging Capitals.

Richard Bachman gets some well-deserved love for his backup work for Dallas. He was named the NHL’s Third Star of the Week after winning each of his three starts with a 1.08 GAA and a .963 save percentage prior to Monday’s 5-2 loss to Chicago. The NHL correspondent said he played well.

Mark Stuart knows that this could be his last run at the playoffs with Winnipeg.

Joey Crabb recorded a career-high four points, including a hat trick in Sunday’s win for AHL Hershey.

The Denver athletic director told the Denver Post George Gwozdecky was fired because the contract talks went on too long. Pioneers coach Jim Montgomery talks about his new job. Here is the USCHO article on the Monday press conference.

Beat writer Mike Chambers has an article and three blog posts from the press conference: an interview with Denver AD Peg Bradley-Doppes; two Pioneers express support for their new coach and George Gwozdecky has plenty of job openings to consider.

Ohio State is one of those high-profile (the school, not the program) openings.

Here is my feature on Air Force backup goalie David Bosner and his efforts to stay in the program, which led to a rare law school appointment.

The Rylan Schwartz signing is generating some buzz among the San Jose bloggers. Here is one take on his NHL potential and another on all the college free agent signings.

Schwartz, who will wear No. 24 for Worcester,  did not play Saturday or Sunday. His next chance is Tuesday night at AHL Bridgeport.

In the span of 26 hours this weekend, former Tiger Jack Hillen had a child, played two hockey games, assisted on a goal, fell down, and assisted on another goal. What did you accomplish on your days off?

“A lot going on, a lot going on,” Hillen said. “I’m blessed. I just need to get some sleep.”

Bill Sweatt was sent down to AHL Chicago after one game played for Vancouver (no points, minus-1 rating).

In the wake of coach George Gwozdecky’s firing, U.S. NTDP U18’s Gage Ausmus has decommitted from Denver, futureconsiderations.ca is reporting.

DU has a serious PR problem according to the Denver Post’s Terry Frei.

Some folks view of the ECAC, often called the EZAC, may change their view of the league since there is a chance of an all-ECAC national championship game this weekend.

I wrote a feature on former Tiger Arthur Bidwill’s success with the ECHL Colorado Eagles and included a list of others playing in the CHL, ECHL and overseas.

CC senior Rylan Schwartz made the jump to the pros on Friday as I reported here.

Apparently, so has Denver sophomore goalie Juho Olkinuora, who signed a free-agent contract with the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday,  according to TSN.

This probably has little to do with the firing of longtime coach George Gwozdecky. Olkinuora was the all-rookie team goalie as a freshman and all-WCHA as a sophomore and probably struck a deal while his stock was rising.

But that leaves Denver in a tough situation.

Incoming senior Sam Brittain (Panthers draft pick) is the only goalie on the roster for next season with no goaltender recruits committed according to Chris Heisenberg’s consistently accurate list.

Of course, that can change if DU finds another summer recruit as it did with the Finn when Brittain underwent surgery two offseasons ago.

Rumors are that Denver plan to move quickly to find Gwozdecky’s replacement. The NCAA signing period starts up April 17 so there is ample motivation to resolve the situation soon.

In other free agent news,  San Jose hit the college  forward market hard this past week with the announced signings of  Schwartz, Minnesota State’s Eriah Hayes, Ohio State junior Chris Crane (2010 draft pick) and Western Michigan’s Dane Walters.

Union junior goalie Troy Grosenick is also reportedly leaving early for the Sharks. All five are headed to AHL Worcester.

Here is a list, started by the Grand Forks Herald’s Brad Schlossman, that I have added to this morning in an attempt to keep up with the offseason comings and goings.

 NCHC early signings

Denver

Scott Mayfield, so, D, N.Y. Islanders

Juho Olkinuora, so. G, Winnipeg Jets

Minnesota Duluth
Chris Casto, so, D, Boston Bruins

Nebraska Omaha
Andrej Sustr, jr, D, Tampa Bay Lightning

North Dakota
Derek Forbort, jr, D, Los Angeles Kings

Western Michigan
Dan DeKeyser, jr, D, Detroit Red Wings

Big 10 early signings

Michigan
Jacob Trouba, fr, D, Winnipeg Jets
Jon Merrill, jr, D, New Jersey Devils

Minnesota (four of top 5 scorers)
Mark Alt, jr, D, Philadelphia Flyers

Zach Budish, jr, F, Nashville Predators

Nick Bjugstad, jr, F, Florida Panthers

Nate Schmidt, jr, D, Washington Capitals

Erik Haula, jr, F, Minnesota Wild

Ohio State
Chris Crane, jr, F, San Jose Sharks

NCHC departures (seniors)

Colorado College

Andrew Hamburg, F, ECHL San Francisco

Joe Marciano, D, ECHL Orlando

Rylan Schwartz, F, San Jose Sharks

North Dakota

Corban Knight, F, Florida Panthers

Danny Kristo, F, Montreal Canadiens

Andrew MacWilliam, D, Toronto Maple Leafs

Western Michigan

Dane Walters, F, San Jose Sharks

Luke Witkowski, D, Tampa Bay Lightning

The waiting is finally over for Colorado College senior and NCAA Division I leading scorer Rylan Schwartz.

The Wilcox, Sask. native signed a two-year, two-way entry-level contract with the San Jose organization on Friday. He flies Saturday morning to the Sharks’ American Hockey League affiliate in Worcester, Mass.

“It was my only NHL offer so it was a bit of a no-brainer,” Schwartz said. “It’s nice to be on a team that wants me. I just spent the last two weeks training, waiting and waiting.”

Worcester (29-30-2-6) has nine regular-season games left starting with Saturday night. The Sharks are in 13th place, seven points out of the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot.

“Hopefully I get in a few games and have a chance to prove myself,” he said.

The 5-foot-10, 205-pound center participated in the Sharks’ development camp last summer. Contract terms were not disclosed.

Schwartz will hand in his senior thesis in the next couple weeks to earn a history degree.

He is the third of the seven Tiger seniors to enter the pro ranks this offseason. Andrew Hamburg (one game, no points) and Joe Marciano (three games, no points) both entered the ECHL last week. Hamburg was released by the San Francisco Bulls and Orlando did not make the playoffs.

He finished his college career by moving into the national scoring lead (53 points, 20 goals) after he tallied a team-record 10 points in six playoff games.

“Rylan had a very impressive season with Colorado College under head coach Scott Owens,” executive vice president and general manager Doug Wilson said. “He has improved each of his four collegiate seasons and we look forward to helping him continue to develop and advance his career.”

His 33 assists are third in the nation. He is three points ahead of Hobey Baker Hat Trick finalist and St. Cloud State senior Drew LeBlanc, whose team advanced to the Frozen Four next weekend.

Schwartz tied Scott Swanson (1995-99) for 26^th all-time in program history with 159 career points (100 assists) in 156 games, 14 fewer than Swanson.

Sometimes it comes down to being there: Former Tiger Richard Bachman picked up a win while facing no shots on goal  in Dallas’ victory over the Wild Friday night.

Jack Hillen is logging a lot of minutes for the Capitals since his return from injury.

Colorado Springs native Ben Holmstrom skated in practice for the first time since a knee injury.

He will not return to action this season for AHL Adirondack.

Bemidji State has commits from the Fitzgerald triplets (Gerry, Leo and Myles) who starred in the movie “Baby Geniuses” and the subsequent sequel “Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2.” 

They  have fared better in hockey than the movies as the Western College Hockey Blog points out in the previous link. They are the Nos. 1-3 scorers for the Victoria Grizzlies of the BCHL.

The looming NHL trade deadline has five CC seniors still awaiting word on their future playing careers.

“I am just waiting for an opportunity to present itself,” goalie Joe Howe said on Wednesday.

It doesn’t matter if you are one of the six free agents or a draft pick like wing Scott Winkler.

He was drafted five years ago by a management team that no longer heads the Dallas organization.

“Five years is a long time ago,” he said Wednesday afternoon. “I have not heard much so far. I would love to play anywhere.”

The 1 p.m. MT April 3 trade deadline is a factor because organizations are not sure what their depth will be at the ECHL and AHL level; where the seven Tigers may get their start.

A good example is the Jarome Iginla trade that sent St. Cloud State forward Ben Hanowski and Yale’s Kenny Agostin into Calgary’s talent pool from the Penguins organization. Expect other moves that will shift draft pocks around, affecting available roster spots at the minor league level.

Once the North American possibilities become clear, some Tigers will consider going overseas to play. European league pay can be better than ECHL salaries and has other perks for a single guy who can share an apartment with several teammates.

“I want to stay here but I would consider overseas if the situation is right,” center Rylan Schwartz said. Schwartz leads Division I with 53 points (20 goals) and is getting some feelers already.

Ultimately, the seniors, which also includeswing William Rapuzzi, need to be patient and be ready to move the moment the ink is dry.

“Right now, we are all just waiting by the phone,” defenseman Mike Boivin said. “Once it happens we will be ready to go.”

Wing Andrew Hamburg and defenseman Joe Marciano were the first to sign. Both made their ECHL debuts Wednesday night.

Marciano made two shots for Orlando while Hamburg played for the  San Francisco Bulls. Neither recorded a point.

Former Tiger Richard Bachman’s stay in the AHL was a short one.

Bachman, 25, returned to Dallas after playing two games for Texas with a 2-0-0 record with a .929 save percentage and a 2.00 goals against average (GAA).

The 5-foot-10, 180-pound goaltender went 5-1-0 for the AHL affiliate this season. The Salt Lake City native, who calls Highlands Ranch home, has appeared in 26 NHL contests (10-8-2, .894 saves, 3.13 gaa). He was Dallas’ fourth-round selection (120th overall) in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.

Cody Lampl was suspended for Monday’s game after being called for kneeing by ECHL officials over the weekend.

Brian McMillin scored a power-play goal to lift Allen to a win in its CHL regular-season finale.

Nate Prosser is interviewed (video) after his hometown of Elk River was chosen as the site for Hockey Day Minnesota 2014. Definitely worth the click seeing where he grew up playing pond hockey.

Western Michigan junior defenseman Dan DeKeyser is leaving the Broncos as expected while Minnesota-Duluth sophomore defenseman Chris Casto is also headed to the pros. That raises the total to three so far this offseason.

Former Tiger Jack Hillen is playing right now against the Bruins after being injured in the Capitals’ season opener. His Caps teammate Joey Crabb scored earlier this week.

Brian Connelly moved into the power play quarterback role and scored twice Thursday for the AHL Houston Aeros. He replaced former North Dakota standout Chay Genoway, who was traded to the Capitals by the Wild, in that role.

Mike Testwuide scored the only Abbotsford goal in the 4-1 loss.

Testwuide was suspended for three games for charging in a game on March 13. The charging incident resulted in a goalie interference call that knocked the Texas starter out of the game.

The former CC captain drew a fight (video) from the Stars enforcer on his next shift following the penalty.

Toledo defenseman Cody Lampl, a former Tiger, signed a player tryout agreement with the Grand Rapids Griffins of the American Hockey League on Wednesday.

Lampl, 26, has played 53 games this season for Toledo, scoring five goals with eight assists. The native of Ketchum, Idaho is  plus-16, which leads the Walleye.

He played in one game with AHL Abbotsford during the 2010-11 season.

Lampl has played professionally for Utah, Idaho (pictured), and Las Vegas in the ECHL.

Grand Rapids, a Red Wings affiliate, plays at Milwaukee Friday and Sunday with a road game at Peoria in between. The Griffins (30-18-2-2) are in second place in the AHL’s Western Conference behind Texas and leads the Midwest Division with seven weeks left in the regular season.