Game day: New Hampshire 4, CC 2 (final)

Third-period goals:
Colorado College 1, New Hampshire 2: Brad Flaishans (Craig Switzer, Matt Fornataro), 4:33, pp.
Just 35 seconds into a 101-second five-on-three scenario, Switzer's pass from the point was one-timed by Flaishans from the top of the left circle. The slap shot beat Bachman inside the left post.
"There was a power-play blast and there was a lot of traffic," coach Scott Owens said of the goal.

Colorado College 2, New Hampshire 2: Scott McCulloch (Jack Hillen, Andreas Vlassopoulos), 9:52, pp.
Hillen ripped a shot from the point and McCulloch and Bill Sweatt crashed the net, punching the rebound past goaltender Brian Foster.

Colorado College 2, New Hampshire 3: Paul Thompson (Danny Dries, Joe Charlebois), 10:08.
Sixteen seconds after CC's game-tying score, Charlebois' slap shot from the outside edge of the right circle was tipped by Dries on the near post and batted in by Thompson backdoor.

Colorado College 2, New Hampshire 4: Peter LeBlanc (Jerry Pollastrone), 19:53, en.
After a neutral zone turnover created a 2-on-1 rush, defenseman Brian Connelly overcommitted to LeBlanc, who drove past him and finished in the empty net.

Post-game quotes:
Coach Scott Owens
--On the two-referee, two-linesman system
"The two-man system is something that's being experimented with this year, I thought it went reasonably well. I would give it a thumbs-up based on this weekend."
--On goaltender Richard Bachman
"You know what? Three goals against in a road game, his first road game, five goals in three games against teams rated top-six in the country, you know, that’s a good start for the young man."
--Concerned about CC's penalty kill, which gave up three goals on 10 power plays?
"I’m not concerned. I just hate putting so much pressure on our special teams by not generating a goal or a goal and a half a game on five-on-five and that’s an area we’ve really got to get better at here."

Defenseman Jack Hillen
--On what the Tigers learned this weekend
"What it takes to win on the road. Obviously we’re not good enough right now. You can’t just come into a barn, especially a team that’s as good as UNH, and not put a full road game together. We made too many mistakes. We did a lot of good things right, you can certainly take those away. But as a senior and a veteran on this team, I’m looking at goals after we just get one. ...It’s a whole different atmosphere coming into a place like this than playing at home and w e’ve got to learn and we’ve got to learn pretty quick or it’s going to get away."
--On playing from behind on the road
"It’s hard. It’s harder to come back on the road because you don’t get that momentum from the crowd. You feel like you’re on your own and you don’t get the breaks from the refs. I’m not saying that’s what caused the game, I’m just saying you’re not going to get anything going your way, you’ve got to make your own momentum and it’s that much harder on the road. If you’re playing catch up, it’s not a good recipe for road wins."

Left wing Scott McCulloch
--On what CC's 5-on-5 offense needs
"I think that’s just not playing in the tough areas. We’ve got a lot of skilled forwards but it’s getting the puck to the paint and being there and getting traffic in front of the goalie. I think that’s an area we need to improve on, especially being an older team, it’s something that we should already be doing. I think we need to improve big-time on that. Usually we do a good job down low, but it’s taking the puck to the net with authority and having bodies there and that’s where it’s tough to play, it’s in front of the net. That triangle in front, that’s where the goals are scored and I think we need to do a better job of getting there."
--On why the Tigers' forecheck struggled to contain New Hampshire
I think we had a few turnovers, just not taking care of the puck and maybe missing a few lanes. But they’re a great team, they move the puck really well through the neutral zone, that’s their strength. You’re not always going to be able to stop that team, but I think in all areas, bearing down would help out.

Inside the stats:
--New Hampshire had the faceoff edge, 39-32. For CC, Chad Rau won 12/20 faceoffs and Vlassopoulos earned 11/22 wins.
--CC scored on two of seven power plays, as did the Wildcats, but had 16 shots to New Hampshire's seven on the man-advantage.
--In the first and second period, Bachman faced just seven shots from the slot. By contrast, in the third period, eight of UNH's 12 shots came from the slot.

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Tiger Tracks:
Tonight's American Hockey League showdown between the Lake Erie Monsters and the Iowa Stars was a CC-studded affair. Defenseman Brandon Straub helped the Monsters to a 3-2 win, in which Stars captain Toby Petersen had a goal and Stars alternate captain Marty Sertich was held to a single shot.