Right wing Eric Walsky earned offensive player of the week honors for his four-goal performance, the Western Collegiate Hockey Association announced Tuesday.

Walsky follows up goaltender Richard Bachman as CC’s second weekly award winner of the season. Bachman earned defensive player of the week honors last week.

From the WCHA:

WCHA Offensive Player of the Week • Eric Walsky, Sr., F, Colorado College
Colorado College right winger Eric Walsky, who scored four goals to lead his No. 2-ranked Tigers to a 7-4 conference victory over visiting league rival North Dakota last Saturday night, is the Red Baron® WCHA Offensive Player of the Week for November 11-17.
A 5-11, 195-pound senior from Anchorage, Alaska, Walsky twice brought Colorado College back from deficits in the game on Nov. 7, scoring a tying power-play goal in the first period and another tying goal in the second period. He then completed his hat trick by scoring the eventual game-winning goal at 14:04 of the second and then added an insurance goal at 8:51 of the third as the Tigers earned a 7-4 win over the Fighting Sioux.
In addition to his four-goal outburst, Walsky also fired 10 shots on goal in the series and earned a +2 plus/minus rating. On the 2008-09 season, he ranks second among his CC teammates in scoring with seven goals, five assists and 12 points in the first 10 games.

With the Dallas Stars sporting the worst goals-against average (GAA) in the NHL — their 3.83 team GAA is more than two-tenths worse than the Atlanta Thrashers’ GAA — it’s not surprising that fans and beat writers alike are analyzing the future.

The Dallas Morning News’ Mike Heika, who covers the Stars, threw out the idea of bringing in goaltender Richard Bachman next season and handing him the reins.

Bachman, a fourth-round pick by the Stars in 2006, is ranked higher in the Stars’ system than current backup goaltender Tobias Stephan. (Take it with a grain of salt: amid more salient analysis, the writer says Bachman “needs to avoid psyching himself out when the spotlight is on him.” I don’t recall a time when I have seen that happen.)

Anyway, this is a developing story, but I wanted to give you a heads-up on the latest Bachs-buzz.

Goaltender Richard Bachman was named WCHA defensive player of the week and Inside College Hockey player of the week for his 84-save performance against Denver last weekend. He is also featured on the New York Times’ hockey blog this week.

From the WCHA:

WCHA Defensive Player of the Week • Richard Bachman, So., G, Colorado College
Colorado College goaltender Richard Bachman, who backstopped the No. 1-ranked Tigers to three of four points in a conference home-and-home series with arch-rival Denver last weekend, is the Red Baron® WCHA Defensive Player of the Week for November 4-10.
A 5-10, 165-pound sophomore from Highlands Ranch, Colo., and the reigning WCHA Player of the Year, Bachman stopped 84 of 88 shots on goal in the series for a .955 saves percentage, limited the Pioneers to just one power-play goals in 19 man-advantage attempts, and earned the No. 1 star of the game both nights. He had 44 saves in a 2-2 overtime tie at Denver last Friday (Oct. 31) and then had 40 stops in Colorado College’s 3-2 victory over DU last Sunday in Colorado Springs.
Bachman, a draftee of the National Hockey League’s Dallas Stars, has not allowed more than two goals in a game this season as the Tigers have stretched their season-opening unbeaten streak to eight games at 5-0-3.

Gazette photographer Justin Edmonds captured this beauty of shot. This is goaltender Richard Bachman making a glove save while in a full split to stymie Denver defenseman Patrick Wiercioch with 55.9 seconds left. The Pioneers had pulled goaltender Marc Cheverie with 1:15 left in the game.

The Tigers scored on their first power play of the game when center Chad Rau fed right wing Eric Walsky in the slot. He beat goaltender Rob Nolan gloveside with a blazing wrist shot.

CC nearly took a 2-0 lead about eight minutes into the period when center Brian McMillin appeared to tap in a puck during a scramble in front of the net. After a review by the officials, it was determined that the puck did not cross the goal line before it was knocked away by a Michigan Tech defenseman. McMillin concurred with the call after the game.

Goaltender Richard Bachman’s shutout streak(dating back to CC’s game against Michigan State last season) was snapped at 162:34, just more than two minutes into the second period. The Tigers had just finished killing a 5-on-3 penalty when Michigan Tech’s Jordan Baker and Alex Macleod crashed the net, knocking the puck under Bachman.

After being outshot 14-7 in the second, the Tigers came out blazing in the third. Less than three minutes into the third, left wing Bill Sweatt converted Walsky’s cross-slot pass, beating Nolan over his right shoulder. On their third power play of hte period, right wing Stephen Schultz tucked a no-angle shot inside the near post and over Nolan’s left shoulder to give CC a 3-1 lead. With Nolan pulled for the final 2:29, Huskies’ center Brett Olson beat Bachman with 21.2 seconds left. But Walsky tapped in Sweatt’s leading pass with 1.8 seconds remaining to seal the win for CC.

Some things that didn’t make the game story or notes

**Recruit Dakota Eveland attended Saturday’s game. A forward for the Omaha Lancers (USHL), Eveland is not expected to return from an undisclosed injury until mid-November.

**As of 10:26 p.m. MT, CC was one of five teams left with a perfect penalty kill. The Tigers (28 of 28) have killed by far the most penalties. Three more and CC will tie last year’s mark of 31 consecutive kills.

**CC rolled three power-play units, using players from its top three lines. More on this next week.

Colorado College
21 Sweatt — 14 Rau — 22 Walsky
26 McCulloch — 19 Vlassopoulos — 28 Schultz
23 Hall — 17 Johnson — 5 DeBoer
18 Overman — 9 McMillin — 25 Testwuide

11 Connelly — 15 Prosser
7 Fredheim — 4 Gannon
10 Guentzel — 24 Lowery

30 Bachman
31 O’Connell

Michigan Tech
22 Baker –18 Gagne — 9 Gwilliam
28 Kitti — 15 Kattelus — 14 Macleod
7 Lord — 16 Olson — 17 Reddick
11 Soley — 19 Royer — 21 Boyer

12 Kinrade — 8 Vanwagner
5 Dobson — 24 Kivisto
20 Vlaisavljevich — 26 Cousens

37 Nolan
30 Robinson

Michigan Tech 0 1 1 2

Colorado College 1 0 3 4

First period – 1. CC, Walsky (Rau, Prosser), 3:23, pp. Penalties – Soley, MTU (checking from behind), 2:28; Sweatt, CC (tripping), 6:46; Kitti, MTU (holding), 9:06; Kivisto, MTU (delay of game), 12:07; Johnson, CC (interference), 16:57; Rau, CC (roughing), 20:00.

Second – 2. MTU, Baker (Macleod, Royer), 2:34. Penalties – Sweatt, CC (boarding), :32; Bunger, MTU (interference); Dobson, MTU (tripping), 8:16; Overman, CC (elbowing), 12:11; Schultz, CC (boarding), 17:10.

Third – 3. CC, Sweatt (Walsky, Rau), 2:45. 4. CC, Schultz (Vlassopoulos, Fredheim), 9:47, pp. 5. MTU, Olson (Gwilliam), 19:39. 6. CC, Walsky (Sweatt), 19:58, en. Penalties – Soley, MTU (hooking), 4:36; Kitti, MTU (tripping), 5:40; Dobson, MTU (holding), 9:26; Prosser, CC (holding), 11:53.

Shots on goal – MTU 10-14-11-35. CC 13-7-16-36. Power-play Opportunities – MTU 0 of 7, CC 2 of 8. Goalies – MTU, Nolan 12-7-13 (35 shots, 32 saves), 0-3. CC, Bachman 10-13-10 (35 shots, 33 saves), 3-0. A – 6,451. T – 2:22. Referees – Brad Albers, Craig Welker. Linesmen – Bob Keltie, Butch Mousseaux.

What sophomore slump?

CC goaltender Richard Bachman hasn’t shown any indication of one in his first 120 minutes. Granted, Bachman has faced only 35 shots in his two outings, but he has two shutouts to show for it.

Friday’s 2-0 win over Michigan Tech was Bachman’s sixth shutout in 37 career games (five against Western Collegiate Hockey Association opponents) and the 27th time that he allowed two or fewer goals.

The win over Michigan Tech serves as a bit of redemption for Bachman–”It felt good,” he said–as the Huskies were the only WCHA team that Bachman didn’t win against last season. (CC tied and lost in Houghton.) The 5-2 loss on Saturday night was Bachman’s worst outing against a WCHA opponent and the seven goals allowed were the most he gave up in a series last season.

A first-team All-American last season and the WCHA coaches’ preseason pick to repeat as player of the year this season, Bachman set the tone for CC during a slow start against the Huskies.

On the first 10 minutes, in which Michigan Tech had three power plays:

The first nine and a half minutes, it was crazy. We kind of came out to a slow start for us, I thought. Maybe it was just because it was the first night of WCHA play and everyone was talking about how we haven’t beat them much in the last seven or eight games. Maybe the nerves were a little higher. I think after that first 10 minutes or so, we settled down and started playing our game, shutting them down in our zone. But there were a few mistakes here or there and a couple bad rebounds on myself that just caused a little chaos. But we handled the pressure and got over it.

On what changed thereafter:

Our forwards starting coming back a lot better toward our goal line, getting down lower and getting that puck and making break-out passes and getting out of the zone. As far as the D goes, they just got more and more confident and were passing the puck a little sharper and just making a few more smarter plays with the puck. … They were probably 99 percent effective on rush defense.

On how he stays focused when facing 20 or fewer shots per game:

I try and keep things the same (mentally), but it’s definitely a little more difficult. In that second period tonight, they had five shots or something and there were long stretches, like 10 minutes, where I wasn’t seeing any action. … The rush defense was really good, so there were never really any grade-A’s on those chances. I had time to get refocused while they were on the other end.

Recruit Jaden Schwartz, who is pegged to join the Tigers for the 2010-11 season, was picked first overall by the Tri-City (Neb.) Storm in the USHL Futures Draft on Tuesday. Schwartz plays for the Notre Dame Hounds (Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League), the same program that produced current CC defenseman Kris Fredheim. Schwartz’s brother, Rylan, is expected to join the Tigers next fall.

Another notable pick is Kyle Rau, younger brother of CC’s top scorer, Chad Rau, who went in the third round, 26th overall to the Sioux Falls (S.D.) Stampede. Head coach Kevin Hartzell said the younger Rau was “the best ninth grader in the state of Minnesota” and that “many feel that Kyle could end up being every bit as good if not better than his older brother.” I wonder if CC has the inside track in recruiting.

Back to the No. 1 selection of Schwartz–

To give you an idea what kind of recruiting coup this is for the CC hockey program: the last recruit to be picked No. 1 overall in the USHL Futures draft was none other than goaltender Richard Bachman. That gives the Tigers two No. 1 overall picks in three years. Not too shabby.

See the draft results here.

After Alabama-Huntsville goaltender Blake MacNicol made several eye-popping saves, the Tigers finally cracked him when right wing Eric Walsky passed to center Chad Rau at the bottom of the left circle. Rau’s wrist shot whizzed between MacNicol’s left ear and his glove and hit the top shelf to give CC the lead it had been fighting for. The Tigers outshot the Chargers 44 to 16.

Key points:

–As predicted, the rules changes resulted in more penalties. CC had nine power play opportunities to Huntsville’s five. Both teams were scoreless on the PP. The bulk of the penalties were hooking, but a couple interference calls were whistled on faceoffs. With the increase in offensive-zone faceoffs and the 2-and-2 referee system, there’s increased scrutiny on contact between the wings during the faceoffs. It’ll take some getting used to.

–The defense was much, much tighter tonight after a weak first period in Monday’s exhibition. I thought defenseman Brian Connelly demonstrated confidence as the de facto leader of the defensive corps (after the graduation of Jack Hillen). I think the Tigers got a great pick-up in freshman Gabe Guentzel, who is playing point on Rau’s power-play unit. Of course, Richard Bachman was a sponge in net. Will Drew O’Connell play tomorrow? That’d be my guess.

–As for the offense, there was far too little possession in the first period and far too many unnecessary backhand passes and shots. If the Tigers keep their game simple on Saturday, they should score quite a bit. I’ll be interested to see what changes are made to the lines for Saturday’s game. I thought CC missed Scott McCulloch’s maturity on Friday; he was out with a strained hip flexor. “Nothing serious,” he said.

–The Tigers start 1-0 at World Arena, where they were 12-2 last season.

**Kurt Russell was rumored to be at Friday’s game. His son, Wyatt, with long-time partner Goldie Hawn is a sophomore goaltender for the Chargers, but was scratched for Friday’s game in favor of junior Blake MacNicol and sophomore Cameron Talbot, the starter.

**Check out this sweet photo of Jack Hillen in Newsday. As one of the earlier links stated, Hillen’s spot on the New York Islanders’ roster comes with a timestamp. He and fellow rookie Josh Bailey are expected to be demoted just as soon as veterans Chris Campoli and Andy Sutton are healthy. This will be a good chance for Hillen to gain some experience. Unfortunately, the Islanders start 0-1.

**CC named a ‘team to watch’ by the Boston Globe. But the Tigers’ situation is better than Marrapese-Burrell indicates: CC only lost 2 of 6 top scorers since McCulloch was granted an extra season of eligibility.

A couple of points to ponder (there was plenty to take in!):

–We all knew that CC has depth in the forward lines (just glance at the line-up), but in Monday night’s exhibition, I was more taken by the Tigers’ depth in goal. Goaltender Richard Bachman made some spectacular saves to keep the score 2-0 and showed increased nimbleness over last season as he moved in the crease. Then, senior Drew O’Connell made his case for CC’s most improved player since last season’s exhibition. He came off the bench for the final 30:34 and saved 10 of 10 shots. But more importantly, O’Connell’s confidence stood out to me. I could feel it eminating up in the press box and when I spoke with him after the game. He’s been in the zone in practice as well. Look for a story about the strides the goaltenders made in the off-season later this week.

–How many points is Chad Rau going to put up per night? That was the question on my mind after Rau sliced through the slot on multiple occasions, leaving Alberta players in his dust. Any predictions out there?

–Who is David Civitarese (4 shots, 1 goal) going to end up playing with? The freshman has been the odd-man out in practice and was the extra skater Monday, filling in on different lines. He combined well with Rau and seemed to be in sync with Bill Sweatt. Looping back to the idea of forward depth: I don’t envy the coaches’ decisions on Thursday nights, especially when Stephen Schultz (lower body) and Nick Dineen are cleared for contact. With a healthy lineup, the Tigers 15 forwards to choose from.

–As a last point, I thought the fourth line — centered by Brian McMillin with Matt Overman and Dan Quilico on the wings — did a nice job defensively and also generated some quality chances. McMillin finished second with five shots (to Rau’s seven).

I’m interested to hear who or what jumped out at you during Monday’s exhibition, so please post a comment if you get a chance.

FIRST TEAM
———–
F - Chad Rau, Sr., Colorado College
F - Ben Smith, Jr., Boston College
F - Ryan Lasch, Jr., St. Cloud State
D - Mark Mitera, Sr., Michigan
D - Jamie McBain, Jr., Wisconsin
G - Richard Bachman, So., Colorado College

SECOND TEAM
———–
F - Justin Mercier, Sr., Miami
F - Erik Condra, Sr., Notre Dame
F - Tyler Bozak, So., Denver
D - Kyle Lawson, Jr., Notre Dame
D - Matt Gilroy, Sr., Boston University
G - Jeff Lerg, Sr., Michigan State

PLAYERS TO WATCH
—————-
Note: This is a “watch” list, and not an “honorable mention” list. These
are other players we deem most intriguing to keep an eye on, and not
necessarily the next best group.

F - Aaron Palushaj, So., Michigan
F - Lee Jubinville, Sr., Princeton
F - Tim Crowder, Sr., Michigan State
F - Matt Beca, Jr., Clarkson
F - Joe Whitney, So., Boston College
F - Colin Wilson, So., Boston University
F - Garrett Roe, So., St. Cloud
F - James vanRiemsdyk, So., New Hampshire
F - Brock Bradford, Sr., Boston College
F - Benn Ferriero, Sr., Boston College
F - Dion Knelsen, Jr., Alaska
F - Ryan Duncan, Sr., North Dakota
F - Colin Greening, Jr., Cornell
F - Joe Colborne, Fr., Denver
F - Mark Olver, So., Northern Michigan
F - Jordan Schroeder, Fr., Minnesota
D - Joe Charlebois, Sr., New Hampshire
D - Lane Caffaro, Sr., Union
D - Tim Filangieri, Sr., Boston College
D - Alex Biega, Jr., Harvard
D - Josh Meyers, Sr., Minnesota-Duluth
D - Matt Taormina, Sr., Providence
G - John Muse, So., Boston College
G - Alex Kangas, So., Minnesota
G - Brian Foster, Jr., New Hampshire
G - Marc Cheverie, So., Denver
G - Billy Sauer, Sr., Michigan
G - Brad Thiessen, Jr., Northeastern
G - Andrew Braithwaite, Jr., Merrimack

See write-up here.