After a phenomenal regular season in which the Tigers claimed their third WCHA regular season title in six years Colorado College found themselves in a familiar position in the postseason: facing adversity and an early exit from both the WCHA playoffs and the NCAA tourney.  

Arriving in St. Paul, expectations remained high for CC as most people had them penciled in to a date with Denver or North Dakota for the conference championship. They were also, as they had been all season, everyone’s favorite to be the No.1 seed in the West Regional in Colorado Springs. But after dropping an overtime thriller 3-2 to upstart Minnesota in the semis and uncharacteristically allowing three power-play goals to North Dakota in a 4-2 defeat in the consolation game, the Tigers slipped to the No. 2 seed out West and a date with defending national champion Michigan State in round one.

Although the Tigers were granted new life and home ice in the tournament, the Spartans, led by goaltender Jeff Lerg (41 saves), proved to be too much. In a 3-1 Michigan State victory Lerg stopped the first 35 Colorado College shots, not allowing one to get by him until just under eight minutes to go in the game. Lerg was not the only goaltender who turned heads in this game however, as freshman Richard Bachman matched him save for save until midway through the second when the Spartans found the back of the net for all three of their goals in a ten minute span.

Bachman was one of the bright spots for the Tigers this season and was the second player, after Wisconsin goaltender and NHL standout Curtis Joseph, in the 56 year history of the WCHA to win both the conference player of the year and rookie of the year awards in the same season. The freshman netminder led the league in win percentage, saves percentage, goals against average and shutouts, setting Tiger records with both a 1.75 GAA and .937 save percentage. Along with Bachman and center Chad Rau, WCHA defensive player of the year Jack Hillen, who led the NCAA in points for defenseman with 37, made up half of the WCHA first team. 

            Sending the Western Collegiate Hockey Association tournament champs to their intra-conference rival’s home ice for a first round match up in the NCAA Tournament doesn’t seem like a just reward for a great season. Nonetheless that’s the situation the Denver University Pioneers (26-14-1), winners of the 2008 WCHA Red Baron Final Five playoff title, found themselves in at the Kohl Center.

Unfortunately DU will not get the opportunity to play at the Pepsi Center in Denver for the Frozen Four.

Playing in Madison, Wisc., against a University of Wisconsin Badgers (17-17-7) team that split the regular season series with DU, provided a daunting task for the Pioneers. If the red and white sea of fans were tough to overcome, the red pipes behind the goalies proved to be even tougher. Pioneer players ricocheted four shots off the crossbars in the first two periods, and goalie Peter Mannino had a shot hit the crossbar and bounce off his back into the goal. Despite out-shooting the Badgers 32-26 they lost the game 6-2.

The Pioneers finished the season as the overall No. 4 ranked team in the country. It was their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since winning back-to-back national championships in 2004-05.

DU defeated the Minnesota Golden Gophers 2-1 to win their fifteenth WCHA championship, a league record. Senior goaltender Peter Mannino set the school’s all-time shutouts record this season at 15. He is third all-time in shutouts in the WCHA. Mannino and Andrew Thomas will participate in the NCAA Skills Challenge during the Frozen Four on Friday, April 11.

The Air Force Academy hockey team was left to ponder what might’ve been, again. For the second straight year the Falcons (21-12-6) were on the verge of pulling off a major upset in the first round of the NCAA tournament. For the second straight year the Falcons came up short.

The loss capped an end to a successful season. The Falcons beat the Mercyhurst Lakers 5-4 in double overtime to win the Atlantic Hockey Association championship for the second year in a row. The feat was impressive considering they’re the only team to have won the AHA championship in consecutive years.

Winning the AHA championship earned the Falcons a No. 4 seed in the Northeast Regional and the right to face No. 1 seed Miami (Ohio) Redhawks. The Falcons brought the nations longest unbeaten streak, 8-0-1, into Worcester, Mass. for the start of the NCAA Tournament.

The Redhawks jumped out to a 1-0 lead 19 seconds into the game but the Falcons clawed back. They tied the score, and then took the lead in the second period when freshmen Derrick Burnett scored his seventh goal of the season and senior Josh Print scored his first.

The Falcons were unable to secure the lead when the Redhawks tied the game midway through third period. With five minutes to go in overtime the overall No. 2 ranked team in the nation dashed all hopes of an AFA upset and won the game 3-2.

Last year AFA took a 3-1 lead over the No. 1 overall ranked Minnesota Gophers into the third period before falling 4-3 in regulation.

The first round game saw Hobey Baker finalist Erich Ehn make a triumphant return to the ice after suffering an injury in January that many thought was season ending. Although he couldn’t propel his team to a historic upset he was very proud of the teams ascension to the top of the Atlantic Hockey Association, a rank they intend to hold for years to come.