Jake Gannon, a senior defenseman and captain for CC last season, was awarded the WCHA’s annual $10,000 postgraduate scholarship. Gannon wants to get a master’s degree in business. Gannon is an economics major with a 3.62 grade-point average and is scheduled to graduate from CC later this month.

Forward Bill Sweatt will return to Colorado College for his senior season. Sweatt will be CC’s leading returning scorer. He had 12 goals and 11 assists last year. His 23 points ranked fourth on the Tigers.
“I’m really excited to come back,” Sweatt said.
CC coach Scott Owens said having Sweatt’s experience will help next season. Owens said during a meeting Sweatt told him he wanted to come back so he could finish school.
“I think he understands the value of a degree in this day and age,” Owens said.
CC also recently got two commitments for the 2009-10 freshman class: goaltender Hudson Stremmel, who played with highly-touted incoming CC freshman defenseman John Moore with the USHL’s Chicago Steel last year, and forward William Rapuzzi, who played in the USHL with the Green Bay Gamblers.
Stremmel was 11th in the USHL with a 3.19 goals-against average this past season. Rapuzzi had 21 goals and 30 assists with Green Bay.

For what will be a young team in transition, Colorado College’s early schedule in 2009-10 is loaded with home games.

From the start of the regular season on Oct. 9 against Northeastern through the first annual meeting against the Denver on Dec. 4, 11 of CC’s first 15 games are at World Arena. The only road games are Oct. 16-17 at Wisconsin, which is the start of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association schedule, and a Nov. 13-14 trip to Minnesota State.

CC coach Scott Owens said the schedule is difficult, featuring some tough non-conference teams and the typical challenging WCHA slate, but having many home games early will help.

“We’re basically starting with young players and players that haven’t played much,” Owens said. “It’s a good schedule for us. It could give us some confidence and let the team come together.”

CC also plays DU in Denver on Dec. 5, and finishes the regular season with another home-and-home weekend at Denver on March 5 and at CC on March 6. The Tigers host Air Force on Feb. 5.

CC will also play in the Florida College Classic in Estero, Fla. Dec. 29 and 30.

2009-10 Colorado College hockey schedule

Sat., Oct. 3 Calgary (exhibition)
Fri.-Sat., Oct. 9-10 Northeastern
Fri. -Sat., Oct. 16-17 at Wisconsin
Fri.-Sat, Oct. 23-24 Michigan Tech
Fri.-Sat, Nov. 6-7 Minnesota-Duluth
Fri.-Sat., Nov. 13-14 at Minnesota State-Mankato
Fri.-Sat., Nov. 20-21 Robert Morris University
Fri. -Sat., Nov. 27-28 Alaska-Anchorage
Fri., Dec. 4 Denver
Sat., Dec. 5 at Denver
Fri.-Sat., Dec. 11-12 at St. Cloud State
Tues., Dec. 29 vs. Cornell (Florida College Classic in Estero, Fla.)
Wed., Dec. 30 vs. Maine or Princeton (Florida College Classic in Estero, Fla.)
Fri. -Sat., Jan. 8-9 at Minnesota-Duluth
Fri.-Sat., Jan.15-16 Wisconsin
Fri.-Sat., Jan. 22-23 at Alaska-Anchorage
Fri.-Sat., Jan.29-30 St. Cloud State
Fri., Feb. 5 Air Force
Sat., Feb. 6 Mercyhurst
Fri.-Sat., Feb. 19-20 at Minnesota
Fri.-Sat., Feb. 26-27 North Dakota
Fri., March 5 at Denver
Sat., March 6 Denver

Colorado College passed out its annual hockey awards at the year-end banquet, and senior center Chad Rau won three.
Rau won the Thayer Tutt Award as the team’s most valuable player, the M.B. Hopper Award as leading scorer and the Steve Ebert Award, given to the player that displays a combination of dedication, desire, ability and sportsmanship.
Senior Eric Walsky and junior forward Brian McMillin split the Dave Peterson Award for most improved player. Senior defenseman Jake Gannon won the Rodman Award, given to the player who demonstrates the highest degree of sportsmanship and leadership. Defenseman Gabe Guentzel won the Bob Johnson Award given to the team’s top freshman. The Joni Brandner Memorial Award, given to an individual “who has given his or her heart and soul through dedication to Tiger hockey,” was presented to Karen Crews, a fan and longtime employee of the college who retired this spring.
Also, junior right wing Mike Testwuide was named the team’s captain for next season.

The group trying to save football, softball and water polo – the three sports CC discontinued two weeks ago – will have a rally on campus Tuesday from 12-1:30 p.m. The rally will be at the Worner Center, on the corner of N Cascade Ave. and E Cache la Poudre St. There will be speakers, entertainers, letter-writing booths and petition tables, and graduating football player Billy Blaustein says there will be free food, including 100 pounds of ground beef from his former teammate Tyler Skavdahl’s ranch in Nebraska. The affected athletes, parents and alums have been trying to rally support on campus and also raise funds in an effort to get CC’s administration to reverse course and keep the sports going at the school.

I exchanged a couple of text messages with Bill Sweatt today, and the CC junior forward said he hasn’t decided if he’ll be back for next season or if he will sign with the pros. With defenseman Brian Connelly and goaltender Richard Bachman leaving early already, Sweatt’s return would help if he comes back.

As for Bachman, he just couldn’t pass up a pretty good opportunity to join a Dallas Stars franchise that isn’t too deep at goaltender. Now CC has to regroup at goaltender. I’m hoping to have a story in the Gazette this week discussing the future at that position.

Defenseman Brian Connelly has gone pro after his junior season with CC, signing with Chicago. He’ll report to the Blackhawks’ AHL affiliate in Rockford. Connelly’s departure isn’t great news for the Tigers – he was third on the team with 27 points this season – but CC will have a strong defensive corps next year. The Tigers have plenty of talent returning and add top recruit John Moore.

Forward Bill Sweatt said today he hasn’t made a decision. Goaltender Richard Bachman is another candidate to leave early.

The Tigers’ season is over. Despite a couple of scoring chances in the third period, including when defenseman Nate Prosser missed a wide open net early in the period, CC couldn’t get on the board. The Tigers pulled goaltender Richard Bachman with a little more than two minutes remaining in a last-ditch attempt to save their season. Duluth moves onto the Final Five next weekend. The Tigers have now lost five straight postseason games.

The Tigers have a big hold to climb in the final 20 minutes if they want to avoid elimination. CC had power-play opportunities but couldn’t tie the game, then Michael Gergen scored for Duluth 11:33 into the period to give the Bulldogs a two-goal lead. The Tigers were very upset when it appeared they would get a two-man advantage on a Duluth penalty, but CC center Chad Rau was also sent to the penalty box for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, apparently for taking a dive. That came when the Tigers trailed by only one goal, and it took away some of their momentum. The Tigers have two goals in five periods, and now need to at least match that in the third or start the offseason.

Needing a win, the Tigers fell behind by two goals in the first 11:04 of the game. CC started in the worst possible way, taking penalties and giving Duluth some power plays. The Bulldogs have the best power-play percentage in the WCHA. Both of CC’s penalties ended up resulting in goals. The Tigers looked dead, until Scott McCulloch put in a rebound off a Brian Connelly shot on a power play to pull CC to within a goal. CC goaltender Richard Bachman made a number of good saves with Bulldogs forwards all alone against him, which kept CC in the game. Duluth put 13 shots on net in the first period.