Bachman recognized...again.

In case you missed it, goaltender Richard Bachman picked up his third Defensive Player of the Week honor from Western Collegiate Hockey Association Tuesday, the fifth time he has received recognition from the league. The Tigers remain ranked fourth in both weekly polls.

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Think Colorado College has a candidate for the Hobey Baker Award? Want to throw your weight behind Air Force's Eric Ehn, who was a top-three finalist last season? Go to hobeybaker.com and follow the 'Vote for Hobey' links.
**I tried it Thursday afternoon to see if I could give more instruction, but it didn't seem to be active yet.

Sign of things to come?
Bemidji State, which plays CC at World Arena on Jan. 18, will present its case to WCHA officials for admittance into the 10-team league on Jan. 13. With the demise of the Wayne State program, which is playing its final season this year, the five-team College Hockey America conference shrinks to four programs and the future of programs at BSU, Robert Morris, Niagara and Alabama-Huntsville looks bleak. Because a conference with fewer than six teams is not permitted to receive an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, the ability of CHA schools to recruit and be competitive would be extinguished. The CHA, which was started to help new programs make the transition to Division I, was granted an exception in 2005 that ends after this season.

Tiger Tracks
NHL:
It's nothing new for long-time Tigers fans who watched Mike, Colin and Mark Stuart come through the ranks, but it's still neat to think about what Colin's recent call-up to the Atlanta Thrashers means to his family back in Rochester, Minn.

A look at the downside of being a back-up goaltender in the NHL gives Curtis McElhinney a shout-out for his work in 131 minutes of play this season.

AHL:
Former Colorado College center Brett Sterling was named a starter for the 2008 AHL All-Star game's U.S. team, announced Thursday. The game will take place January 28 in Binghamton, N.Y. He'll be joined by fellow CC alums Toby Petersen (Iowa Stars) and defenseman Brian Salcido (Portland Pirates).

ECHL:
Would-be senior James Brannigan, who departed CC in the summer only to be released by the Augusta Lynx (ECHL), got a belated Christmas present. Depleted by the call-up of former CC teammate Aaron Slattengren (who enjoyed a brief stint with the Manitoba Moose (AHL)), the Lynx signed Brannigan to a player try-out contract (a 25-game agreement) on Dec. 27. On Slattengren's first night back in Georgia, Brannigan scored his first professional goal on former teammate Matt Zaba, who stopped 35 of 41 shots in the Charlotte Checkers' loss.

Meanwhile, Trevor Frischmon could play his last AHL game Friday, when his PTO contract expires.

USHL/Recruiting Front:
Recruit Nick Dineen, who is slated to join the Tigers this fall, was named to the 2008 USHL Top Prospects/All-Stars game, to be played Jan. 29 in Green Bay, Wis.