College Hockey   CC Tigers and USAFA Falcons Hockey

The folks in Grand Forks have done the math and North Dakota has a 100 percent chance of making the NCAA Tournament field as does Quinnipiac, Minnesota, Miami, Boston College, Mass.-Lowell, and New Hampshire. Click on the link and contact Jim Dahl of Sioux Sports Talk. He can explain the math far better than I ever could.

Here is more info gleaned from his report:

Three other WCHA teams are virtual locks for the NCAAs, too. Minnesota State (99.7 percent), Denver (98 percent) and St. Cloud State (94.1 percent) are very likely to join Minnesota and UND.

Wisconsin must beat Minnesota State on Thursday afternoon to stay in the hunt.

Can get an at-large bid: Yale, Notre Dame, Minnesota State, Niagara, St. Cloud, Denver, Western Michigan, Union, Wisconsin, Providence, Boston University, RPI, Alaska-Fairbanks, Robert Morris.

Needs to win the conference tournament: Brown, Colorado College, Ohio St, Michigan, Connecticut, Canisius, Mercyhurst.

2013 Red Baron WCHA Final Five – Xcel Energy Center – Saint Paul, MN

Games for Saturday, March 23: Broadmoor Trophy Championship Game, 7:07 pm CT

Here is a look at Minnesota State’s Game 3 win over Nebraska-Omaha.

North Dakota has reached the WCHA Final Five for 11 straight years including nine under coach Dave Hakstol.

I did not give CC senior goalie Joe Howe (37 saves) as much ink as I should have in last night’s game story. Here is an attempt to rectify that since he made a huge toe save on Nick Shore on a shorthanded breakaway with 17:17 left in the second.

“That’s the difference in the series right there,” DU coach George Gwozdecky said of Howe’s save on Shore in a Denver Post story. “If we’re up 3-0 at that point, game over, series over, I think. Howe makes an incredible save and they get right back in the game.”

Here is a Pairwise calculator because you didn’t want to spend anytime today out in the spring sunshine did you?

CC is 25th in the Pairwise rankings as of noon Monday.

The Tigers got some respect from the USCHO voters by picking up some points in this week’s national poll. That is a first since Jan. 1.

North Dakota dropped to No. 6 while Minnesota climbed back to No. 1:

USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll

Air Force junior Ryan Timar provides a spark whether it is late in the third period or during dryland training last August.

“He works his butt off on and off the ice and he is a leader on and off as well,” said sophomore defenseman Dan Weisenhofer. “He brings a lot of energy to everything he does. He sets a precedent on the effort that is expected.”

Timar (11 points, 6 goals in 33 games) plays a large role as a defensive forward, playing a lot on the penalty kill and when Air Force (17-11-7) is trying to protect a lead late.

“He does a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff you need and he is on the ice in key situations,” coach Frank Serratore said.

That effort comes from humility.

“I always knew I wasn’t the most talented guy,” Timar said. “I knew I could bring hard work and effort and help the team out best that way. I was more of a scorer when I was younger but the hard work and effort was a constant. I think that is what Frank saw and why he recruited me.”

The final CC radio show of the season  is from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at McCabe’s Tavern in downtown Colorado Springs.

Denver, CC’s opponent in this weekend’s playoff series is tied for fifth in the Pairwise rankings, making the Pioneers a very likely at-large NCAA team, even if they do not advance past the Tigers.

That may not be the worst thing. In 2004, CC swept DU at Magness and the Pioneers had a week off and then went on to win the first of two NCAA championships in a row. The Denver Post talks about why DU wants to advance to the WCHA Final Five regardless.

In contrast, CC is tied for 31st and must win the Final Five championships to get the WCHA’s automatic qualifier.

Quinnipiac remains No. 1 in the USCHO.com poll, where Air Force picked up a few votes, and the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine rankings.

Boston University coach Jack Parker will retire after this season, ending a 40-year run at his alma mater.

Air Force picked up a few votes in the USCHO.com weekly poll. Neither AFA or CC got any from the USA Hockey Magazine pollsters. Quinnipiac remains No. 1 and Minnesota No. 2 in both.

Here is a WCHA-centric polls breakdown. USCHO: 2. Minnesota; 5. North Dakota; 8. St. Cloud State; 10. Minnesota State; 12. Denver; 14. Wisconsin; 16. Nebraska-Omaha. USA Hockey: Same, except Denver is No. 11 and UNO is unranked (poll rates Top 15 only).

Five WCHA teams — Minnesota, UND, SCSU, MSU and Denver — would make the NCAA Tournament judging from the Pairwise rankings, Niagara, once a near shoo-in, is now No. 13 after being swept on the road by Air Force which moved up into a tie for 22nd. CC is tied for 31st. Both the Tigers and Falcons will need to win their league playoffs to get the automatic qualifier.

Bemidji State, currently in 11th-place in the WCHA, is playing its best hockey, just in time for No. 2 Minnesota this weekend.

UMass-Lowell’s hot streak is why the Hockey East playoff picture is as undecided as the WCHA’s. Colorado Springs’ Josh Holmstrom is a big reason why.

Here is the weekly WCHA web media poll:

Former Tiger Jaden Schwartz has an opportunity to step up  into a larger role for the Blues.

Five WCHA teams could make the NCAAs this March. CC may need to win the Broadmoor Trophy for the first time to get the automatic qualifier.

Here are this week’s preview notes (click on school names for links)  for  Minnesota State-Mankato  at Colorado College, Wisconsin at Nebraska-Omaha, Denver at Minnesota,  Michigan Tech at St. Cloud State, and Bemidji State (with video)  at North Dakota.

Alaska-Anchorage takes on nonconference rival Alaska-Fairbanks while Minnesota-Duluth hosts Alabama-Huntsville.

The North Dakota No. 1 goalie job remains up for grabs. Nebraska-Omaha junior Johnnie Searfoss is profiled by the Omaha World Herald.

The 14^th annual Colorado Springs Sports Hall of Fame banquet and induction ceremony is Tuesday, Oct. 29, at the Colorado Springs World Arena.

Nominations will be taken until March 1, and the selections will be made in late March by the Hall of Fame Selection Committee along with nominations for the 2013 Colorado Springs Sports Hall of Fame as well as for the Col. F. Don Miller & Thayer Tutt Sportsman Award.

Nominations for all three can be submitted electronically through our web site at coloradospringssports.org and by clicking on Colorado Springs Sports Hall of Fame on home page.

Nominees not selected in 2013 will be eligible for 5 years. Table and ticket prices will be announced at the same time as the Class of 2013 is officially announced.

Here is the weekly WCHA web media poll (I am one of the voters, FYI).

Air Force home opponent Niagara moved up No. 14 in this week’s USCHO poll while CC’s home foe, Minnesota State. remains No. 9 after a bye weekend. The purple Mavs moved up from No. 8 to No. 7 in the USA Hockey/USA Today poll. The Purple Eagles went up to No. 13 from 15 in the USA rankings.

No. 16 Wisconsin 5, Penn State 0

MADISON — Junior forward Tyler Barnes scored a goal and made three assists while sophomore goalie Joel Rumpel made 22 saves to lead Wisconsin to a 5- 0 nonconference victory over Penn State on Sunday night at Kohl Center.

Here is this week’s WCHA schedule:

Upcoming Schedule
Day	Date	Visiting Team	Home Team	Time
Mon	02/25/13	Penn State	at Wisconsin	7:37 p.m. CT
Fri	03/01/13	Wisconsin	at Nebraska Omaha	6:37 p.m. CT
Fri	03/01/13	Denver	at Minnesota	7:07 p.m. CT
Fri	03/01/13	Bemidji State	at North Dakota	7:37 p.m. CT
Fri	03/01/13	Michigan Tech	at St. Cloud State	7:37 p.m. CT
Fri	03/01/13	Minnesota State	at Colorado College	7:37 p.m. MT
Fri	03/01/13	Alab-Huntsville	at Minnesota Duluth	7:07 p.m. CT
Fri	03/01/13	Alaska Anchorage	at Alaska	7:05 p.m. AT
Sat	03/02/13	Bemidji State	at North Dakota	7:07 p.m. CT
Sat	03/02/13	Denver	at Minnesota	7:07 p.m. CT
Sat	03/02/13	Michigan Tech	at St. Cloud State	7:07 p.m. CT
Sat	03/02/13	Wisconsin	at Nebraska Omaha	7:07 p.m. CT
Sat	03/02/13	Minnesota State	at Colorado College	7:07 p.m. MT
Sat	03/02/13	Alab-Huntsville	at Minnesota Duluth	7:07 p.m. CT
Sat	03/02/13	Alaska	at Alaska Anchorage	7:07 p.m. AT

Six of the eight future National Collegiate Hockey Conference teams were ranked or received votes in the USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Division I men’s ice hockey weekly polls Monday.

For the rest of the article, click here.

The two national polls are remarkably similar. Here are the USCHO rankings and the USA Hockey Magazine poll. The USCHO top 10 follows:

1. Quinnipac

2. Minnesota

3. Miami

4. Boston College

5. New Hampshire

6. North Dakota

7. St. Cloud State

8. Western Michigan

9. Minnesota State

10. Denver