Clawing and scratching: Tigers look to stay alive in playoff race

After being swept by the University of Minnesota in a two-game series last weekend, the Colorado College Tigers return home this weekend to the World Arena where they will face off against WCHA rival University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux in a critical two-game series matchup. The two-game series has huge implications for both teams in that the winner could quite possibly clinch a home-ice playoff game for the WCHA portion of the NCAA playoffs which start next month. 

For the Tigers, a loss this weekend could very well eliminate them from playoff contention. In recent rankings released by Pairwise, a computerized ranking system that simulates the selection process for the 16-team NCAA tournament, the Tigers were ranked No. 17. The Tigers have also tumbled in the national rankings as USA Hockey Magazine and CBS Sports ranked them as No. 12 and No. 13 respectively. Earlier in the season, the Tigers were ranked as high as No.3.

The Tigers and the Fighting Sioux are no strangers to each other and tonight’s series opener will be the 217th time the two have faced off against each other in a rivalry that began on February 12, 1948. The Fighting Sioux have won 175 of those games while the Tigers have won just 75. The two teams have tied ten times in the 216-game span. The Tigers, however, are 10-6 against the Fighting Sioux at the World Arena. The Tigers have also won 9 of their last 12 games against the Fighting Sioux dating back to the 2001-2002 season.

Having matching 11-10-3 records in conference play, the Tigers and Sioux enter tonight’s matchup well out of WCHA title-contention. However, a sweep by either the Tigers or the Fighting Sioux, coupled with a loss by Minnesota-Duluth, would guarantee that team of This Friday night, at the World Arena, the Colorado College Tigers will play host to their rival up the street, the Air Force Falcons in a non-conference series matchup for local bragging rights. The Tigers will also host Mercyhurst College on Saturday night.

The past month has been a tough one for the Tigers. After starting the season 12-4-3, the Tigers hoped that their success would carry into the 2010 part of the season; it has done everything but that. Since the beginning of this year, the Tigers have lost six of their last ten games including losses to WCHA rivals the Univerisity of Minnesota-Duluth, the University of Wisconsin, the University of Alaska Anchorage, and St.Cloud State University. Despite the losses, the Tigers did split all their WCHA games except with the University of Minnesota-Duluth who in early January swept the Tigers 2-5 and 1-4. The University of Minnesota-Duluth currently holds first place in the WCHA conference while the Tigers are tied with the University of Wisconsin for fourth place. With 25 total points, the Tigers are just three points behind the University of Minnesota-Duluth who has 28 points. If the Tigers beat the Falcons this weekend it will do little in terms of their WCHA standing but more importantly it would help them build momentum as they head into a critical stretch in which six of their last seven games of the season will be against WCHA opponents, including first place Minnesota-Duluth. 

The Tigers skate into this weekend’s matchup coming off a superb win against St.Cloud State University in which they rallied from a 4-3 deficit to score three goals in the third period to win the game 6-4. Aided by their second ranked power-play offense, the Tigers took the lead on a power-play goal by junior defenseman Ryan Lowery who scored the winning goal with just under five minutes to play. Senior winger Addison DeBoer set up Lowery’s game winner when he tied the game with seven minutes left to play. Senior winger Bill Sweat was again superb as he added two of his own goals as well as assisting Lowery’s game winner. The Tigers will no doubt need another strong effort this weekend against a talented Air Force team. 

Friday will mark the 66th time that the Tigers and Falcons have faced off against each other since the rivalry began during the 1969-1970 season. The Tigers own a commanding lead in the series having gone 52-7-2 overall. More importantly, the Tigers have won all the previous eight meetings at the World Arena. Before last season, in which they lost 4-1 to the Falcons at Cadet Ice Arena, the Tigers had defeated the Falcons 25 straight times. The one and only time the Tigers have met Meychurst was during the 2002 season in which they skated to a 10-2 victory. 

The Falcons boast top-scoring threats in 2008-2009 All-American Jacques Lamoureux who has 17 goals and 17 assists on the season. Lamoreax is also tied for second in the nation for power-play goals, with 10 so far this season. Another threat, senior goalie Andrew Volkening has started every game for the Falcons this season and boasts 2.58 goals-against-average as well as a 91 percent-save-average. 

Meychurst College boasts top scoring threats in junior forwards Brandon Coccimiglio and Scott Pitt. The duo has combined for 20 goals and 31 assists and will no doubt create havoc for the Tiger defense.

With little at stake in terms of WCHA standing, the Tigers could use this weekend as a momentum builder as they head into a stretch in which they will face three of WCHA teams, including a double-header with the University of Denver to close the regular season. If the Tigers can win-out, or at the least win their WCHA games, they could very well be at the top of the WCHA come playoff time.