College Hockey   CC Tigers and USAFA Falcons Hockey

Click here for a video interview with Alexander Krushelnyski.

Click here for the video of Krushelnyski’s first goal and the excellent Mike Boivin pass that set it up.

CC 4, No. 9 Minnesota State 1

Colorado College hopes to finish the season strong. The Tigers took a big step in that direction with a dominant third period against No. 9 Minnesota State-Mankato.

CC broke a 1-1 tie with three third-period goals, two by junior Alexander Krushelnyski, to down the Mavericks 4-1 Friday night before an announced crowd of 6,481 fans at World Arena.

“We got better as the game went on and Mankato showed why they have 20 wins so far this season,” Tigers coach Scott Owens. “This was a good team win. We have room to get better. I am proud of how the guys played tonight.”

The game-winner came only 2:59 into the final period when Tigers wing Archie Skalbeck gutted out a greasy goal.  The junior won a puck battle with Mavericks defenseman Zach Palmquist  in the slot and lifted the puck past freshman goalie Stephon Williams’ left shoulder to give the Tigers the 2-1 lead and their second power-play goal of the game.

The hard-work score exemplified how the Tigers bounced back from a lackluster performance last Saturday.

“We didn’t think we played very well last Saturday and we wanted to come out and play a good hard game tonight,” Skalbeck said. “Everybody is pretty happy about tonight and hopefully tomorrow we can come out with a better mindset then we did last Saturday and come out with a sweep here. “

For more of the game story, go to gazette.com/sections/sports/cchockey/ later tonight.

NOTEBOOK

Former Tiger Sauer garners national award

Former Colorado College player and coach Jeff Sauer will receive the 2013 Legend of Hockey award from the Hobey Baker Memorial Award Foundation at its annual banquet May 22 in St. Paul, Minn.

Sauer is the only person to coach 31 seasons in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association and is also the winningest coach.

The former Tigers player joined coach Bob Johnson as an assistant at CC in 1966, then followed Johnson to Wisconsin for a similar role in 1968. Sauer was head coach at CC from 1971-82 until taking over the Badgers.

Sauer became the first coach to win the NCAA tournament title in his initial season.  He won a second title in 1990. Sauer retired in 2002. Sauer is fifth all-time in games coached (1,244) and is eighth overall in wins at 655. In league play at Wisconsin, Sauer’s teams finished amongst the top three teams in 14 of his 20 seasons and won league titles in 1990 and 2000.

Sauer will coach the U.S. national deaf and sled hockey teams at their world championships this month and next.

Past honors include the Distinguished Achievement Award from USA Hockey in 2000 and the Lester Patrick Award for outstanding contributions to hockey in the U.S. by the NHL in 2011.

Senior Night is Saturday

Tiger fans are asked to arrive about 10 minutes early for the pregame ceremony honoring the seven seniors on the CC team. They are: Mike Boivin, Andrew Hamburg, Joe Howe, Joe Marciano, William Rapuzzi, Rylan Schwartz, and Scott Winkler. Tickets remain available.

Winkler breaks out of funk

CC senior Scott Winkler put in a strong performance, recording a goal and assisting the game-winner by Archie Skalbeck to help the Tigers tie the game and pull ahead.  It was Winkler’s first points since two goals at North Dakota on Jan. 12.

“He did a nice job,” Tigers coach Scott Owens said. “He was pretty good down low. That was good to see.”

Playoff intensity already

The odds are most Tiger fans will not get to see their team play live this postseason, but they got a little taste of that intensity during Friday’s game.

An important 5-minute power play that led to the tying goal was set up by a kneeing call against MSU’s Matt Leitner and a 5-minute contact to the head and game misconduct (available Saturday) against Zach Lehrke.

While Mankato played a physical game, most of CC’s penalties were due to fatigue, with both Eamonn McDermott and Mike Boivin caught out on the ice too long during the third period, Owens said.

CC finds room over final 40 minutes

Minnesota State’s 1-2-2 defensive formation proved sound in the first period, limiting CC to one shot through the first few minutes and keeping the puck below the Tigers’ goal line early.

CC handled the forecheck better after the first few minutes and started to develop better scoring chances, prompting MSU to take a timeout with 5:49 left in the opening stanza after its fourth icing call.

CC continued to find more room, eventually leading to three high-end scoring chance including a 3-on-1 shorthanded breakaway that went awry when Alexander Krushelnyski paused and then missed the net less than a minute into the third period.

He more than atoned for it with two goals later that period.

“He will definitely get less grief about that now,” Owens said, then laughed.

Slap shots

An opening goal by Rylan Schwartz was immediately waved off after the referee ruled the senior knocked the puck in with his hand after a scramble and rebound in front of the MSU net. … It was CC’s fourth win over a Top 10 team in the past six weeks.

WCHA Roundup

No. 10 Denver 2, No. 2 Minnesota 0

MINNEAPOLIS — Sophomore goaltender Juho Olkinuora stopped 33 shots while sophomore forward Ty Loney scored a goal and an assist to lead Denver to a 2-0 win against Minnesota on Friday night at Mariucci Arena.

No. 7 St. Cloud State 5, Michigan Tech 3

ST. CLOUD — St. Cloud State (20-12-1, 17-7-1 WCHA) stayed in control of first place in the WCHA with a big 5-3 victory over Michigan Tech (10-17-4, 6-15-4 WCHA) on Friday at the National Hockey and Event Center in St. Cloud, Minn.

The victory increased SCSU’s league points to 35, which keeps the Huskies three points ahead of second-place North Dakota (32 points) with three regular-season games remaining. A SCSU win and losses by UND and Minnesota would clinch the MacNaughton Cup for the Huskies for the first time since joining the league in 1990.

No. 16 Wisconsin 4, No. 13 Nebraska-Omaha 3

OMAHA — Sophomore forward Brendan Woods scored the game-winner at 18:18 of the third period to lift Wisconsin to a 4-3 victory against Nebraska Omaha on Friday night at CenturyLink Center.

No. 6 North Dakota 4, Bemidji State 2

GRAND FORKS — Sophomore forward Mark MacMillan scored two goals and an assist and junior forward Mitch MacMillan added a goal and an assist to lead North Dakota to a 4-2 win against Bemidji State on Friday night at Engelstad Arena.

Minnesota-Duluth 4, Alabama-Huntsville 2

DULUTH — Sophomore forward Justin Crandall and sophomore defenseman Chris Casto each registered a goal and an assist to lead Minnesota Duluth to a 4-2 victory against Alabama-Huntsville on Friday night at AMSOIL Arena.

Alaska-Fairbanks 2, Alaska-Anchorage 1 OT

FAIRBANKS — Garrick Perry scored his second of the season late in the second period for UAF while Alex Gellert forced overtime with a power-play goal in the third.  Cody Kunyk scored the game-winner 2:10 into the extra time.

Colorado College 4, No. 9 Minnesota State 1

Minnesota State              0              1              0              –1

Colorado College              0              1              3              –4

First period – No scoring. Penalties – none.

Second period – 1. MSU, Margonari (Leitneer, McInnis) 3:38; 2. CC, Winkler (Boivin, Schwartz) 12:43 (PP). Penalties – MSU, Leitner, kneeing, 10:29; MSU, Lehrke, 5-minute contact to the head, game misconduct, 10:54; CC, Hamburg, holding, 13:49; CC, Bradley, roughing, 16:16; MSU, Blueger, roughing, 16:16.

Third period –3. CC, Skalbeck (Winkler, Harstad) 2:58 (PP); 4. CC, Krushelnyski (Boivin) 9:26; 5. CC, Krushelnyski (McDermott) 16:36 (SH, EN). Penalties – MSU, Gaede, tripping, 1:23; CC, McDermott, boarding, 11:34; CC, Boivin, tripping, 16:20.

Power play – MSU 0-3, CC2-4. Shots on goal – MSU 11-5-16 – 32; CC 6-9-12 –27. Saves-minutes – MSU, Williams 6-8-9 – 59:44; CC, Howe 11-4-16 – 60:00. Referees – Sterns, Bokai. Linesmen – Keltie, Staudte. Attendance – 6.481.

A stretch of six solid games by Colorado College came to a screeching halt Saturday night.

St. Cloud State dominated play and held the hosts to only 10 shots through two periods and 19 for the game as the Western Collegiate Hockey Association-leading Huskies cruised to a 5-2 victory.

“They played like a team desperate to get a split,” said Tigers coach Scott Owens. “Tonight, they played like a first-place team in a tough league.”

St. Cloud State scored three times in the second period, including one by Ben Hanowski with 2.2 seconds remaining, to take command. The CC offense showed little ability to reverse the momentum, mustering only 10 shots through 40 minutes.

Huskies freshman Kalle Kossila one-timed a pass from Andrew Prochno to beat CC senior goalie Joe Howe glove side with 14:38 left. The second about four minutes later when a pass into the crease by Ethan Prow was tapped in by Cory Thorson who had camped out in front.

Hanowski’s goal came off a big save by Huskies sophomore goalie Ryan Faragher on a breakaway for CC senior Scott Winkler, who has not recorded a point in seven games-plus. SCSU collected the rebound and sent it up ice to Hanowski for a breakaway score.

The Huskies, trying to keep their slim lead in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association standings for the third week in a row, led 4-1 headed into the third.

CC continued to struggle to get shots on net, managing only five in the second after recording only five in the opening 20 minutes.

Colorado College made the most of its few chances early.

CC junior defenseman Eamonn McDermott made another of his excellent outlet passes and senior Rylan Schwartz took advantage, hauling in the long pass at the middle of the SCSU blue line and splitting the two surprised Husky defenders for a breakaway.

He beat Huskies sophomore goalie Ryan Faragher with a low shot to give CC a 1-0 lead. It was only the 11^th time this season the Tigers scored first. CC is 6-4 through the first 10 games.

Both teams spent the first couple minutes feeling each other out with the first shot on goal by SCSU’s Nic Dowd with 16:33 left in the opening period.

That soon ended with McDermott’s excellent outlet pass to Schwartz.

SCSU would battle back when freshman Jonny Brodzinski forced the puck into the CC net a moment before he collided with senior netminder Joe Howe. The goal was confirmed by video review.

CC went 13:50 without a shot after Schwartz’s goal.  Scott Winkler fired a shot on net with 2:22 left in the opening period. SCSU out shot the Tigers 7-5 in the first 20 minutes.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. –   Kyle De Laurell scored two goals as Air Force beat RIT, 5-3, in an Atlantic Hockey Association game Friday, Feb. 22, at the Frank Ritter Arena in Rochester, N.Y.

With the win, Air Force remains in second place in the league with 31 points. RIT fell to seventh place with 23 points. Air Force can clinch a first-round bye on Saturday with a win over RIT.

“This was a great win for us,” head coach Frank Serratore said. “We had to come from behind to win on the road and you have to be able to do that if you aspire to be a champion. We played a great third period.”

It was Air Force’s first win at RIT in five games.

Air Force (15-10-7, 13-6-5 AHA) and RIT (12-14-15, 10-10-4) conclude the two-game series on Saturday at 7:05 p.m. ET in Rochester, N.Y.

Here is the Denver Post’s game story on No. 10 Denver’s 5-4 home win over No. 6 North Dakota and the USCHO.com recap.

No. 2 Minnesota, now only a point back in the WCHA standings, had to mount a strong third period to put away ninth-place Minnesota-Duluth.

Here is the St. Cloud Times’ take on Friday’s 4-3 win by Colorado College. and the Gazette game story. Columnist David Ramsey talked to unhappy Tiger fans.

Now that Air Force is one win away from making the AHA quarterfinals, the Falcons are ranked at No. 31 in the Pairwise Rankings while CC moved up from No. 31, to 30 and now into a tie for 29th. Looks like both teams will have to win their postseason tournament to make the NCAAs.

Colorado College slammed the door moments into the third period and managed to keep it shut against the Western Collegiate Hockey Association leaders.

Tigers sophomore Charlie Taft scored 33 seconds into the period and scored the eventual game-winner with 5:52 remaining as CC knocked off No. 7 St. Cloud State 4-3 Saturday night to pick up two valuable league points and extend its unbeaten streak to six games (3-0-3).

“The (Rylan) Schwartz line had not played that well but they stepped up right away in the third period and then they took it over,” said Tigers coach Scott Owens.

Schwartz centers  the No. 1line with Taft and left wing Alexander Krushelnyski and all three factored into the three goals that pushed the Tigers (12-14-5, 9-10-4 WCHA) ahead 4-2 late in the final period.

Taft scored the eventual game-winner when he beat sophomore netminder Ryan Faragher high glove side off a cross-ice pass from Krushelnyski with 5:52 left in the third for a two-goal lead.

It was Taft’s second of the period and fifth this season after he scored 33 seconds into the third to tie the game at 2-2 off a pass from Schwartz to delight the 6,672 fans at World Arena.

“It’s pretty easy when you have guys like Schwartz and Krush setting you up,” said Taft, who had his first multi-goal college game. “It is a huge win for us.”

Both team’s defenses tightened up in the second period with both teams generating nine shots each and clearing out the few meaty rebounds. CC killed off SCSU’s only power-play opportunity so far.

Earlier, Colorado College fought back after falling behind on two St. Cloud State goals only 11 seconds apart. Junior Jeff Collett took a pass from the corner by freshman Peter Maric and forced the puck past SCSU sophomore netminder Ryan Faragher to make it 2-1 midway through the first period.

It was Maric’s second assist of his career and second in three games.

The goal turned the momentum firmly into the Tigers’ camp, led by the fourth line and sustained by the others.

The hosts showed some good physical play, using a good forecheck after the first CC goal to create some turnovers in the Huskies’ zone that led to about four minutes of near-continuous pressure by the Tigers that drew a hearty cheer from the crowd.

Another defensive breakdown led to a critical second goal for St. Cloud State only 11 seconds after the No. 7-ranked Huskies scored the opening goal.

Freshman Jonny Brodzinski scored on a pinpoint shot over CC senor goalie Joe Howe’s left shoulder after taking a crossing pass from Nic Dowd.

Only 11 seconds later, center Joe Rehkamp recorded his fifth assist of the season when he found defenseman Andrew Prochno all alone by the CC left post for the easy tap-in. Howe had no chance on that goal.

Colorado College fought back after falling behind on two St. Cloud State goals only 11 seconds apart. Junior Jeff Collett took a pass from the corner by freshman Peter Maric and forced the puck past SCSU sophomore netminder Ryan Faragher to make it 2-1 midway through the first period.

It was Maric’s second assist of his career and second in three games.

The goal turned the momentum firmly into the Tigers’ camp, led by the fourth line and sustained by the others.

The hosts showed off some good physical play, using a good forecheck after the first CC goal to create some turnovers in the Huskies’ zone that led to about four minutes of near-continuous pressure by the Tigers that drew a hearty cheer from the crowd.

Earlier, another defensive breakdown led to a critical second goal for St. Cloud State only 11 seconds after the No. 7-ranked Huskies scored the opening goal.

Freshman Jonny Brodzinski scored on a pinpoint shot over CC senor goalie Joe Howe’s left shoulder after taking a crossing pass from Nic Dowd.

Only 11 seconds later, center Joe Rehkamp recorded his fifth assist of the season when he found defenseman Andrew Prochno all alone by the CC left post for the easy tap-in. Howe had no chance on that goal.

Air Force needed a hero to step forward.

Two did, and they were not the usual suspects most of the 2,107 fans on hand expected to spark a stirring 3-2 comeback win over Canisius on Saturday night.

Sophomore Scott Holm scored twice in the third period, including banging home a rebound for the game-winner with 8:22 remaining, as the second-place Falcons swept the Golden Griffins at Cadet Ice Arena.

It was the third-liner’s sixth and seventh goals this season.

“No shot is a bad shot, especially when the goalie is scrambling,” said Holm, who said the game-winner ranked up there as a college highlight with a playoff score he had as a freshman. “I think it is important for a lot of people on our team to be stepping up and scoring goals. It is a good sign of a deep team.”

For the rest of the article, click here.