Game day: No. 4 CC 5, No. 3 Denver 1

Ice chips:

• CC scored its first power-play goal since Nov. 9 against Minnesota-Duluth. The Tigers went scoreless on 12 power-play chances in a row before defenseman Nate Prosser scored with six seconds left in Friday's third power-play.
• The Tigers won the faceoff battle, edging Denver 37-35. Center Chad Rau led CC, winning 14 of 26 faceoffs.
• What a turnaround. Denver entered the game ranked second in the nation and first in the WCHA with a 1.30 goals against average. The Pioneers scored seven goals last Saturday, but were held scoreless for the final 49 minutes, in which CC scored four goals.
• CC recruit Colten St. Clair attended the game.
  

Quick quips:
Goaltender Richard Bachman on Fredheim's second-period defensive save
"I had no idea (where the puck was). I saw it afterwards. I saw him hit him in the chest, and then he hit it out of mid-air, and then it hit me. That's the only time I saw it when I was down there. I was like, 'Please hit me.'"
Bachman on making saves
"I felt like I was on my back a little bit and scrambling around a bit tonight. For the most part, with the first shot, I felt really confident. As the game went on, I started getting a lot more confidence and started settling things down a little bit."
Bachman on when he started to have fun
"I try to have fun the whole time, but definitely after they scored their first goal. It was like, 'All right, that one's over with. You don't have to worry about anything, just play.' That's kind of when I started having fun with it."
Denver coach George Gwozdecky
"That was my bad. I take full responsibility for that loss. Our team was not ready to go."

From the notebook:

Third period:
End of the third ... Goaltender Richard Bachman goes nuts and continues to make death-defying saves.
9:29 -- Denver center Tyler Ruegsegger gets a game misconduct and has to leave the game after checking defenseman Brian Connelly from behind into the boards by CC's bench.
9:06 -- It was bound to happen sooner or later. Two scuffles broke out in CC's end of the ice, with Denver's Rhett Rakhshani and CC's Cody Lampl squaring off and CC defenseman Ryan Lowery sitting on Denver's Patrick Mullen. Lowery raises the roof on the way into the penalty box, causing forwards Addison DeBoer and Matt Overman to crack up in the press box.
8:59 -- Colorado College 5, Denver 1, pp. With six seconds left in the power play, Denver defenseman Cody Brookwell blocked a shot by defenseman Jack Hillen. Goaltender Peter Mannino was caught splitting and recovered just in time to see the puck, shot by defenseman Nate Prosser, sail into the open net.
Around seven minutes -- Denver right wing Dustin Jackson's backhanded shot from between the hashes is kicked away by Bachman.
5:42 -- Colorado College 4, Denver 1. Left wing Scott Thauwald feeds center Chad Rau, this time from the left circle, and Rau finishes into the net, past goaltender Peter Mannino's left skate. A few hats hit the ice.
1:56 -- Goaltender Richard Bachman's left skate -- possibly the blade only -- saves a tough shot from Denver left wing Rhett Rakhshani.
1:30 -- With goaltender Peter Mannino clear out of the goal, right wing Derek Patrosso bobbles a pass from center Andreas Vlassopoulos, creating one of the bigger collective gasps of the night.

Second period:
19:40 -- Colorado College 3, Denver 1. Left wing Scott Thauwald passes from the top of the right circle into the slot, where center Chad Rau meets the puck and finishes with a wrist shot that beats splitting goaltender Peter Mannino over his right leg-pad.
19:01 -- A furious Denver line rush comes up short when a combination of center Chad Rau, defenseman Jack Hillen and goaltender Richard Bachman create a wall in front of CC's net.
18:13 -- Denver right wing Tom May and left wing Matt Glasser each put shots on Richard Bachman's pads, but center Andreas Vlassopoulos swoops in to clear it out.
14:47 -- With goaltender Richard Bachman laying face-down in the crease, defenseman Kris Fredheim blocks a shot from Denver center Jesse Martin with his chest and, as the puck is sailing towards the net, bats it away.
12:24 -- Defenseman Jake Gannon lays out Denver's Anthony Mainani along the back wall for one of the hardest checks of the night.
9:53 -- Right wing Jimmy Kilpatrick slams his stick on the ice after he deflects left wing Scott Thauwald's pass from the corner into goaltender Peter Mannino.
8:07 -- Goaltender Richard Bachman saves Denver defenseman Chris Nutini's shot from the point, then center Tyler Ruegsegger's rebound attempt is wide right.
4:53 -- On Denver's first power play, goaltender Richard Bachman gloves defenseman Chris Butler's shot from the point. Butler's one-timer from the slot sails wide-right. Bachman makes a full layout, right leg-pad save on center Tyler Ruegsegger's doorstep one-timer.
2:14 -- CC defenseman Jack Hillen has two good shots on a generally dismal power play in which Denver creates three short-handed scoring chances. Lots of CC passes were hitting skates, rather than tape-to-tape.
0:45 -- Denver defenseman Patrick Mullen nearly scored on a no-angle baseline shot like left wing Cody Lampl's first-period goal, but goaltender Richard Bachman saved it.

First period:
19:45 - Denver right wing Anthony Maiani makes a cross-ice pass to center Tyler Ruegsegger, whose one-time attempt flew to the right of the goal.
16:16 -- Colorado College 2, Denver 1. Defenseman Jack Hillen made a heads-up pass to right wing Jimmy Kilpatrick, who slid behind defensemen J.P Testwuide and Cody Brookwell at the blue line. Kilpatrack drove hard to the net, but his shot went high and bounced off of the glass into the slot. Rau skated on and finished into the net.
11:00 -- Colorado College 1, Denver 1. Matched up against center Andreas Vlassopoulos, Denver center Brock Trotter has two shots blocked before a third gets under Vlassopoulos' stick and under goaltender Richard Bachman for the score.
10:33 -- Center Chad Rau gets a great chance off of a faceoff, but it sails wide. A follow-up attempt is smothered by goaltender Peter Mannino.
6:28 -- CC goes on its first power play, but Denver center Tyler Ruegsegger generates more offense playing short-handed than the Tigers.
6:28 -- Center Jesse Martin gets Denver's first shot on net, a wraparound attempt stopped by Bachman.
5:33 -- Colorado College 1, Denver 0. Fourth-line left wing Cody Lampl scores on an no-angle shot from the right side of the net, created when right wing Mike Testwuide (assist for first point of 2007-08 season) created at turnover at the blueline.
-- defense creating turnovers before the puck crosses the blue line
Around the 2:00 mark -- Testwuide comes flying in for his first shift since Oct. 27 and lays a big hit on defenseman Chris Butler, but also takes a big bite of the glass.
1:31 -- Center Tyler Johnson wheels in for the first shot of the game, from the right circle.

Lines:
Colorado College
10 Thauwald--14 Rau--23 Kilpatrick
21 Sweatt--19 Vlassopoulos--16 Patrosso
26 McCulloch--17 Johnson--22 Walsky
2 Lampl--9 McMillin--25 Testwuide

8 Hillen--15 Prosser
7 Fredheim--4 Gannon
11 Connelly--24 Lowery

30 Bachman
31 O'Connell
1 O'Brien

Denver
39 Trotter--21 Bozak--8 Jackson
9 Rakhshani--12 Martin--22 Gifford
19 Ostrow--15 Ruegsegger--16 Maiani
17 Glasser--27 Vossberg--14 May

4 Butler--7 Mullen
5 Thomas--6 Nutini
11 Testwuide--25 Brookwell

29 Mannino
1 Cheverie