Injury Update for CC-DU Series

For CC:
--Right wing Addison DeBoer returned to practice for the first time since he was injured Feb. 22 at Minnesota-Duluth. DeBoer had separated his left shoulder, but looked strong during a 45-minute skate involving a lot of shooting drills. DeBoer was wearing a noncontact jersey.
--Defenseman Kris Fredheim, who missed six games with a shoulder injury earlier this season, was back at practice Tuesday after missing the second half of Saturday's game against Minnesota State-Mankato with what he termed an "upper-body injury." Fredheim was also in a noncontact jersey.
--Goaltender Richard Bachman, defensemen Jack Hillen and Jake Gannon, and right wing Eric Walsky took Tuesday's practice off. As the season winds down, coach Scott Owens will often designate off days for certain players to keep them healthy and fresh down the stretch.

I'm at Denver today working on material for this weekend's series and I also attended the 2008 Frozen Four press conference (separate posting above), where I spoke to Denver coach George Gwozdecky.

Gwozdecky had this to say about sophomore Tyler Ruegsegger, who has been out for a month with a groin injury but returned to practice this week:
"He did not have a lot of negative effects from practice. Obviously, his conditioning and his timing are not there because he's been off for a month. But the biggest issue with his injury was not as big of a problem as he thought it was going to be. So, he's made some great progress. You've got to give a lot of credit to our medical staff and Tyler because they've worked tirelessly on his rehab. There is a good chance that he will be in the lineup Friday and, if not Friday, Saturday."

Ruegsegger had 10 goals and 10 assists in 24 games before his injury, including a goal and an assist in Denver's 3-2 win over CC at Magness Arena in November.

Mankato Eve

When Colorado College looks back on one weekend that made a difference in its quest for the MacNaughton Cup and a top seed in the NCAA West Regional, it may look no further than the St. Cloud State series.

The Tigers stretched their lead to 4-1 just 24 seconds into the second period in Friday's game (Feb. 8) and went on to win 5-3 after the Huskies put the pressure on.

On Feb. 9, CC suffered its first -- and so far, only -- home loss of the season, falling behind 3-1 after a period and eventually losing 4-2.

That series was sandwiched between two dominating performances: the sweep of Clarkson and the road sweep of Minnesota-Duluth, in which the Tigers shut out Duluth both nights.

Coach Scott Owens hopes CC can become a model of consistency, starting with this weekend's series against No. 10 Minnesota State-Mankato, a squad that has won seven of its past nine.

"As soon as you think it's automatic, that's when you get into trouble," Owens said after the Tigers' final skate before the series in which they could clinch the MacNaughton Cup. "We're on a one-game losing streak at home. We can't go on autopilot and expect to win."

Coming off of the defensive corps' strongest performance of the season last weekend at Duluth, defenseman Jack Hillen said his fellow defensemen have adapted a playoff mentality and hope to cut down on the amount of shots allowed this weekend.

"It was a good lesson after we lost to St. Cloud," said Hillen, the top-scoring Western Collegiate Hockey Association defenseman with 28 points. "We didn't play that well. Against Duluth, we got into a roll a little bit. ... It was maybe a good reminder to play hard every night, that we've got to play well no matter what. But no one's dwelling on the loss."

Captain Scott Thauwald, who returns to the lineup for the first time since Feb. 9, said that if anything, CC's focus and intensity has only increased this week with the knowledge that two wins gives the Tigers a share of the MacNaughton Cup. If North Dakota loses or ties a game at Duluth this weekend, CC will win the Cup outright with two victories over Mankato.

Again, Thauwald pointed to the loss to St. Cloud State as added inspiration in CC's bid for its first regular-season title since it shared one with Denver in 2004-05.

"It wasn't necessarily the worst thing in the world," he said. "It was a good eye-opener. Guys are fired up because we lost the last time we played at home. We're ready to start a new streak here."

Because right wing Stephen Schultz (concussion) will not return to the lineup this season and left wing Addison DeBoer (separated shoulder) will be out this weekend, the Tigers will have just 12 forwards plus converted defenseman Brett Wysopal at their disposal.

Notes:
1,000 tickets remain for Friday's game against Mankato...400 tickets remain for Saturday's game...CC's regular-season finale against Denver on March 8 is sold out.

Anticipated CC lines for Friday:
Bill Sweatt--Chad Rau--Mike Testwuide
Scott McCulloch--Andreas Vlassopoulos--Jimmy Kilpatrick
Scott Thauwald--Tyler Johnson--Eric Walsky
Brett Wysopal or Dan Quilico--Brian McMillin--Matt Overman

No. 4 CC 0, No. 13 Minnesota-Duluth 0 (end of 1st)

Tied 0-0 after a period, two unfortunate plays will make the going tough for Colorado College over the next two periods against Minnesota-Duluth.
Midway through the period, left wing Addison DeBoer took a blind-sided open-ice check and was able to drag himself to the bench, where he gripped his left shoulder, grimaced and rocked back and forth. When a penalty was whistled less than two minutes later, DeBoer and trainer Jason Bushie left the ice. DeBoer has not returned.
Then, DeBoer got some company in the locker room when defenseman Nate Prosser checked Duluth's Andrew Carroll into the boards and was called for checking from behind and the accompanying game misconduct, which will make him ineligible for the last 40 minutes tonight. Duluth didn't get much off of the subsequent five-minute power play, but still has 2:15 left in the man-advantage.

Gameday: CC at New Hampshire

Notes:
1. G Drew O'Connell gets his first start of the season.
2. RW Jimmy Kilpatrick returns to action after an August hip surgery, a full week before scheduled.
3. D Ryan Lowery makes his CC debut.
4. W Addison DeBoer and W Matt Overman are healthy scratches.
5. Sell-out home-opener crowd at the Whittemore Center in Durham, N.H.

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

31 O'Connell
30 Bachman
1 O'Brien

New Hampshire
21 vanRiemsdyk--22 Radja--39 Fornatero
11 Pollastrone--9 LeBlanc--12 Butler
8 Collins--17 Forney--14 Sislo
15 Dries--23 DeSimone--20 Thompson

4 Switzer--19 Flaishans
2 Fritsch--7 Charlebois
18 Krates--5 Kapstad

32 Regan
29 Foster

Final Thoughts, Calgary exhibition

Here are some quotes from Eric Walsky, a junior who is in his first season playing for Colorado College after transferring from Alaska-Anchorage following the 2005-06 season. Walsky had a goal and an assist and finished plus-1, as did linemates Addison DeBoer and Stephen Schultz, in the 4-3 win over the University of Calgary.

On his first shift with Colorado College
It was really nice to get back out there. The first shift I didn’t try to do too much. I just wanted to feel it out a little bit and play it safe. No, I felt good. I didn’t feel like I missed a whole season or anything. I felt comfortable. My vision’s still a little bit off and so is my speed.

Was your first outing as a Tiger as you envisioned it?
It was kind of what I anticipated but I didn’t feel like I saw everything. I felt a step behind compared to what I would have really liked to have felt. It’s still really early on and it was a good start. It gives me a little confidence going into the regular season.

How did the team approach the depleted lineup?
Everyone was really anxious to play and nobody really conserved their energy too much in hopes that they’d have a reserve in the end but, uh, it was a little conservative merely because of the fact that it was the first game of the season and nobody felt too comfortable out there. Everyone was gripping their sticks a little bit.

How did it go with linemates Addison DeBoer and Stephen Schultz?
It was good, I really like playing with them. Schultz and I, I feel like we have good chemistry, even though we didn’t too much possession of the puck together but I think we stuck together out there.

Feel like you're really part of the team now?
I don’t feel like I’m in the limbo anymore, kind of on the team but not on the team at the same time.

***
Coach Scott Owens on practice this week:
We’re going to work very hard in practice this week because we have to. We have to improve our conditioning and our defensive play.

Tiger Tracks and Practice Notes

After watching classmate Brandon Straub compete Sunday at Avalanche rookie camp in Centennial, former Colorado College goaltender Matt Zaba boarded a plane bound for New York on Wednesday. According to Newsday's New York Rangers beat writer, Zaba is displaying his Tiger pride at Rangers training camp.

Former Tiger Mark Cullen (1998-02) signed a one-year contract with the Detroit Red Wings in July. He's one of 68 players on the Red Wings' training camp roster.

This is a little old, but better late than never: Tyler Liebel, a right wing who played for CC from 2000 to 2004, will return to the Wichita Thunder of the Central Hockey League this season.

***

Some notes from captain's practice (Tuesday, Sept. 11)

The Tigers didn't scrimmage, aside from a chippy game of continuous 3-on-3 hockey at the north end of the rink. Freshman Tyler Johnson, who is listed as 5-foot-8, 155 pounds, caught some glass-bending checks from junior defenseman Jake Gannon. Johnson's hands are as quick as advertised. A few of Johnson's shifty moves to goal prompted 'oohs' and 'ahhs' from the onlooking players, so maybe Gannon was hoping to toughen Johnson up for significant minutes this season. I will look into this at the next practice.

Aside from the 3-on-3, CC did tons of skating, shooting and conditioning drills. I happened to be sitting at the south end of the rink during one round of 4-on-goal. Freshman goaltender Richard Bachman stopped eight or nine shots and rebounds during one impressive succession, which left some of the forwards shaking their heads in disbelief. The drill was not intended to be a "goalie success" drill.

Injured alternate captain Jimmy Kilpatrick (hip labrum) appeared in sweats and watched practice from behind the glass with trainer Jason Bushie and strength coach Mark Stephenson. The practice was scheduled from 9:15-10:15, but Stephenson put the Tigers through a few extra conditioning drills at the end.

Lastly, it took me about 10 minutes to figure out that sophomore forward Addison DeBoer was on the ice because I simply did not recognize him. In a few months time, DeBoer is taller, his neck is thicker and his shoulders are broader -- all indications that some hard work occurred over the summer. After the skate, I spoke with him about his summer training regimen.

In addition to skating "a lot" and training six days a week, DeBoer also worked 40 hours a week for the City of Spring Lake Park (Minn.), his hometown, picking up trash, landscaping and working on other public works projects.

DeBoer added at least 10 pounds and "an inch or so," which puts him at 6-foot, 190 pounds, he said.

"It was bound to happen sooner or later," DeBoer said of his growth spurt.

He said he can tell the difference on the ice. So can I.

***

Other notes:
--Some might have missed the audio slideshow that Gazette photographer Todd Spoth and I produced about Straub's experience at Avalanche rookie camp. Check it out here.

--For those of you that will be out of the area over the Thanksgiving weekend, it might behoove you to know that Denver's new Webcast service will carry the Nov. 24 CC-DU matchup at Magness Arena. It'll cost you $8.95, but you know how the Visa commercials go.