(above) Richard Bachman now has a five game playoff losing streak.
From: Colorado Springs Gazette
by Frank Schwab
Colorado College will have to wait another year to win its first National Championship since 1957. CC finished its 53rd consecutive season with a season ending loss and although each one is different, this exit was hardly unexpected. The signs were there for months.
The Tigers were offensively challenged throughout the season, which ended Saturday with a 3-1 loss to Minnesota-Duluth at World Arena. The Bulldogs swept the best-of-three Western Collegiate Hockey Association first-round playoff series and advanced to this week's Final Five with an 18-12-8 record.
CC, which finishes 16-12-10, managed only two goals in the series.
"It's fitting we go out this way, kind of struggling on the power play and not scoring enough goals," senior forward Cody Lampl said.
The Tigers were picked to repeat as league champions before the season and briefly were ranked No. 1 nationally. CC was the only WCHA team to finish as a top-five seed and not advance to the Final Five. The other four top seeds went 8-0 in the first round.
Colorado College finished with their fewest victories since the 1992-93 season, when they went 8-28. CC has lost five straight postseason games and has lost in the first round of the WCHA playoffs three of the past four years.
by Frank Schwab
Colorado College will have to wait another year to win its first National Championship since 1957. CC finished its 53rd consecutive season with a season ending loss and although each one is different, this exit was hardly unexpected. The signs were there for months.
The Tigers were offensively challenged throughout the season, which ended Saturday with a 3-1 loss to Minnesota-Duluth at World Arena. The Bulldogs swept the best-of-three Western Collegiate Hockey Association first-round playoff series and advanced to this week's Final Five with an 18-12-8 record.
CC, which finishes 16-12-10, managed only two goals in the series.
"It's fitting we go out this way, kind of struggling on the power play and not scoring enough goals," senior forward Cody Lampl said.
The Tigers were picked to repeat as league champions before the season and briefly were ranked No. 1 nationally. CC was the only WCHA team to finish as a top-five seed and not advance to the Final Five. The other four top seeds went 8-0 in the first round.
Colorado College finished with their fewest victories since the 1992-93 season, when they went 8-28. CC has lost five straight postseason games and has lost in the first round of the WCHA playoffs three of the past four years.
12 comments:
You know it's good to know there are some constants in life. One of those is CC choking at the end of the year.
....and that LetsGoDU will be there to record every excruciating defeat. :-)
We can always count of LetsGoDU!
Good to see the CC players giving Bachman a group hug, brings a tear to my eye, or is that gas?
Time to begin the Lampl 3-Ways!
I'm certainly not complaining, but it's hard to fathom that their season is over. With all of that returning talent, plus one of the top goalies in the nation....all they could muster is 16 wins....
Weird year in the WCHA.
Time for a coaching change @ CC? Would not be surprised if it happens.
Owens just does not seem to have what it takes to take the CC program to the next level. Lucia took the program and made it respectable/competitive once again but Owens has merely ridden Lucia's coattails.
Given the talent that he has had to work with each year, CC always manages to underachieve for some strange reason. Perhaps they are satisfied with this scenario in the Springs.
This would be one of the most sought after coaching positions available and it would be interesting to see who ends up with the job.
ANON, do you think they would fire Scott Owens after this season? They did win the MacNaughten Cup last year.
But we all know that the Playoffs and the Tournament is what really matter.
They could win the MacNaughten all they want but when they go one and done in the playoffs it doesn't matter.
Owens has done a very good job at CC. CC's players graduate, and Owens is a .600+ career coach, with 7 NCAA appearances and 3 MacNaughton Cups in 10 years of coaching. He also has done a great job against DU, which also counts for a lot. He is long past the era of riding Lucia's coattails.
CC would be stupid to fire him.
Well, if CC does fire Coach Owens, I'm applying for the job. Imagine that, Coach CO14ers leading CC to depths never before imaginable! :)
Goon - The Mc Cup and all of that other BS is meaningless and you know it. You eventually have to win the NCAA Championship (or at the very least get there). If Owens had a couple of Championships under his belt then it would be a different situation but that is not the situation.
Reading Ownen's comments after the loss to UMD he clearly doesn't appear to have a clue as to why his team tanked this season and he also seems clueless as to why they tank each year despite having a ton of talent.
This season CC seemed to be satisfied with beating DU and getting the Pan. Whoop de do. Will you remember that CC won the Pan in 2008 years from now? No. Would you remember if they won the NCAA Championship (just once - not back to back). Yes you would.
Go ahead and keep Owens. It will be the same old same old for years to come and the streak will continue.
Swami - Owens has done a good but far from great job at CC. I don't dispute the figures that you cite re: graduation rates, winning percentages, etc. but the bottom line is that you are paid the big bucks at this level to win the Championship and he had not done that.
At what point does the administration at CC decide that they have given this guy 10 years to build on what The Don established and take it to the next level and that it just ain't gonna happen?
As achsdu17 stated it is indeed the playoffs and NCAA Tournament that really matter.
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