LOOKING BACK

Here were three questions CC fans should ask themselves after this weekend’s home games against Michigan Tech to gauge how the Tigers have progressed.

1. How did the Tigers do on special teams, especially the power play?

Wow. Eight power play goals on the weekend has put Cc atop the WCHA with a league best power play (32.4 percent).

2.  How well does CC penetrate the Michigan Tech zone?

With so little 5 on5 play ti was hard to tell, but the Huskies won the 5-on-5 battle with a 5-2 scoring advantage. they did a good job disrupting CC’s transtition, so this answer is No.

3. Is CC continuing to get a lot of players involved in scoring?

Yes. The power play clicked for lots of players with 18 now recording a point or more so far. CC entered the final series with 17 involved so that’s good progress.

LOOKING FORWARD

1. How does CC respond to its bye week?

A bye week cuts both ways. It’s good for healing, but it can also disrupt the rhythm of a 4-1-1 start. How do the boys respond? Will they come out flat or playing hard? The players say they’re anxious to get going.

2. Does CC win the battle of special teams?

The CC penalty kill (88.6 percent) takes on a potent Duluth power play (23.7) that looks as sharp as the one that knocked the Tigers out of the league playoffs last season. CC has the league best power play (32.4 percent) while Duluth has a good penalty kill (82.7). The difference could the number of power plays the Tigers could draw with Duluth called for the most minutes per game in the WCHA (22.9).

3. Does CC win the battle when the game is 5-on-5?

With plenty of penalties being whistled for and against both teams of late, which team has the edge when neither has the man advantage could be the difference.  The Tigers must get back to cycling down low to generate quality scoring chances.

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