The University of Wisconsin Badgers (21-12-7) and Colorado College
(18-18-5) faceoff tonight in the championship game of the Red Baron WCHA Final
Five at 7:00 pm. Central.
You can watch that game on DirecTV channel 668 FSN, if you don’t
have cable.
This is an important game for both teams.
The winner goes the NCAA playoffs. The Tigers if they lose,
they’re season is over. The same may happen for the Wisconsin Badgers if they
don’t win tonight as well, it’s up to the Pairwise math.
Wisconsin is currently sitting at 17th in the Pairwise so they’re definitely
a bubble team.
After the win last night, Colorado College Tiger goalie Joe Howe
summed it up with the quote of the weekend, “Rylan [Schwartz] put a quote on
the board from Mike Babcock [Redwings head coach] you don’t have to win three
games, you have to win one game three times.”
I have told people that the Tigers have one of the best lines in
college hockey and the opposition has had a tuff time stopping Rylan Schwartz,
Alexander Krushelnyski and the local boy Charlie Taft (Edina, Minnesota).
Regardless of the record, the Tigers are a good hockey teams and are peaking at
the right time. The Tigers have also won five of their last six games.
Last night, the Tigers looked as if they had watched some game
film from the BSU and Minnesota series. At times, it looked like C.C. used some
of the same offensive strategies. On one play, the Tigers chipped the puck up
the glass and the forward from C.C. skated into the puck and got a quick shot
on net that Adam Wilcox made a big save on. If Wilcox doesn’t make that save,
it’s a 3-0 game.
You have to give credit, where credit is due. The Tigers beat DU
(20-13-5) in games, they beat UND (21-12-7) and Minnesota (26-8-5).
Colorado College
Tigers: Rylan Schwartz (19g-32a—51pts), Alexander Krushelnyski
(15g-27a—42pts), William Rupuzzi (15g-20a—35pts), Scott Winkler (13g-15a—28pts), Archie Skalbeck
(12g-11a—23pts)Defense: Mike Boivin (14g-14a—28pts) Eamonn
McDermott (3g-20a—23pts), Peter Stoykewych (2g-9a—11pts). Goalies:
Joe Howe 14-11-4, 2.97 GAA, .915 save percentage, Josh Thorimbert 4-7-1, 3.73
GAA, .873 save percentage.
Wisconsin Badgers: Forwards: Michael
Mersch (23g-13a—36pts), Mark Zengerle (9g-21a—31pts), Nic Kerdiles
(9g-21a—30pts), Joseph Labate (9g-13a—22pts), Tyler Barnes (14g-15a—21pts), Defense: Jake McCabe
(3g-17a—20pts) John Ramage (8g-10a—18pts). Goalies: Landon Peterson
6-4-3, 2.01 GAA, .926 save percentage, Joel Rumpel 15-8-4, 2.21 GAA, .921 save
percentage.
Cross-posted at the Hockey Writes Combine
