NOTE:
 
For those of you out there interested in taking a good look at Colorado
College and Denver (especially you WCHA fans who may not have seen them
yet), next Sunday's DU-CC matchup will be on Prime at 2 pm (mountain
standard time).
 
If anyone is interested in seeing how these two teams play, but won't be
seeing the game (no Prime or no local coverage), I'll be taping the game,
and would be happy to send out copies...
 
 =============================================================================
 
After this weekend's sweep of Denver by Minnesota, it looks like Denver's
starting lose sight of the top two spots in the WCHA. Although the Pioneers
still have four conference matchups with Colorado College to go, I think
that the Pioneer's hopes for a high finish will come down to their
performance in this coming weekend's series.
 
Likewise, I think that this is the CC Tigers' first real chance to prove
themselves; a sweep at DU will not only show that they're a better squad
(as the Denver Cup loss hangs over their heads -- for now), but will
increase their standings in the polls, as well as the RPI and the CHODR. Of
course, if they split the series -- or get swept themselves -- then
Minnesota may very well emerge as the prominent WCHA powerhouse the
preseason polls predicted.
 
From the games I've seen (and what I've read...) here's a few thoughts on
the WCHA title contenders. I'd be really interested to hear from others out
there their opinions of these three, as I've been limited to TV games and
CC and DU home games.
 
Minnesota:
IMHO, the most solid, deep, talented team in the WCHA, possibly in the
country. Earlier criticisms pointed to inconsistent play, but they've gone
12-0-1 since a November 11 loss to the Pioneers, and have played VERY
consistently. From what I've seen of the Gophers, they never lose their
focus during the game (although they lose their cool and get into fights),
and play all 3 periods strongly. They have a large number of talented
offensive weapons, combining ecxellent passing, skating, and playmaking
skills, and appear to have shored up their defense in recent weeks. The
only question mark I see here is the goaltending -- but then, this is an
area of the Gophers that I haven't really heard or seen too much of.
 
Colorado College:
Quite possibly the fastest skating and most dangerous (offensively) team in
the country. In all the games I've seen, the Tiger forwards do an
incredible job creating breakaways and odd-man rushes, leaving opposing
defensemen behind them to watch from the blue line; this team has, can, and
will take opponents out of the game in a matter of minutes. Perhaps CC's
biggest strength here is that after opening up any size of lead, the
offense never lets up, keeping it's lead seemingly unbreakable; poll-rival
Boston University on the other hand, which frequently allows its opponents
to keep "within range," never seems to have the game put away until the
final 10 minutes. The Tiger defense and goaltending should definitely be
applauded for this, as they play a very frustrating, physical game, where
even the smallest poke-check may turn into a breakway for Geronazzo or
McNeil. My question mark about the Tigers here is how they handle the close
games; they had the lead against Denver, but couldn't open the gap up wide
enough, and couldn't take the lead when the score was knotted up. One
should also consider here CC's earlier performances against Air Force (a
very, very near loss) and St. Cloud State (where they trailed by a 2-goal
margin, tied it up, and trailed again before finally winning). How will the
Tigers be able to handle a solid 3-period performance from a skilled
opponent?
 
Denver:
After watching this weekend's series against the Gophers, my opinion of
this team has dropped somewhat. While they've proved they can win the "big"
games -- early November against Minnesota, the Denver Cup over CC -- it
looks like they may have trouble maintaining such a high level of momentum
and play. Against the Tigers, DU improved its play each period, and shut CC
out entirely in the third. Against Minnesota this weekend however, the
first game saw the Pioneers lose momentum with each period (although they
played better in the 3rd than in the 2nd, but they couldn't score at all).
And while the talent of their first line with Laaksonen and Andersen is
evident, the depth of skill throughout the team is definitely in question.
However, if the defense can pull itself together and prevent fewer
breakaways and 2-on-1 situations, the recent stellar tending of Mullin and
Wallinheimo should be able to hold Denver at the top of the WCHA.
 
 
All in all, it seems right now that Minnesota's poised to take its turn in
the driver's seat. The CC-DU games next weekend shouldn't affect the
Gophers' position in the polls or rankings, and we can only wait for the
next Gophers-Tigers series. Colorado College, despite setting a WCHA record
for an unbeaten streak (18), will have to play two solid games next weekend
against Denver in order to remain at the top. Likewise, this weekend may
just mark Denver's last chance to remain in the title hunt.
 
 
greenie
 
S P O O N ! !
(go  BU)
 
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