LetsGoDU

DU Wants To Remain 3rd
CC, North Dakota offer a challenge

By KATE CRANDALL
The Gazette (Colorado Springs)

(left) Colorado College looked poised to win the 2005 Frozen Four until they opened the door of the penalty box and DU dropped six power play goals on CuMac


DENVER - Despite its third place position in Western Collegiate Hockey Association standings, Denver’s work is far from finished heading into this weekend’s final regular-season home-andhome series with Colorado College.

The No. 6 Pioneers, who locked up home ice for the first round of WCHA playoffs last weekend, have two teams — North Dakota and CC — nipping at their heels for a top three finish in the WCHA.

No. 8 North Dakota, which travels to No. 2 St. Cloud State this weekend, trails Denver by two points and Colorado College trails the Pioneers by three.

“There’s not much margin for error, although I’d rather be in this position than the other two teams that are chasing us,” Denver coach George Gwozdecky said.

A top-five finish ensures home ice for the first round of the WCHA playoffs. A topthree regular-season finish alleviates any possibility of competing in the play-in game at the WCHA Final Five.

On top of that, Denver must sweep the Tigers to retain the Gold Pan for the fourth straight season. The traveling rivalry trophy is awarded to the regular-season series winner and CC won the first two meetings.

“I think we’d like to play better than we did in December,” senior goaltender Glenn Fisher said. “We know ourselves a lot better now.”

In the event of a 2-2 split, the team that entered the season with the trophy — Denver — holds onto it.

In other words, CC needs only a tie to reclaim the Gold Pan.

The teams play at Denver on Friday and at a sold-out World Arena on Saturday.

But the Tigers, who have a one-point lead over sixth-place Michigan Tech, will likely need more than a tie to cement a top-five finish.

With a sweep over DU, CC could finish in third or tied for third with North Dakota. In a tiebreaker situation, because CC and North Dakota split the season series, the Tigers would earn third place based on league wins.

If the Pioneers sweep the Tigers, North Dakota sweeps St. Cloud State, Michigan Tech sweeps Minnesota and Wisconsin sweeps Minnesota-Duluth, CC could finish seventh and end up on the road.

With only one win against DU, the Tigers need first-place Minnesota to claim at least one win against Michigan Tech to stay within the top five.

“There’s a lot on the line with the Gold Pan and the WCHA playoff positioning, national tournament ramifications, it doesn’t get much bigger than this,” Gwozdecky said.