“We wanted to keep it loose,” Testwuide said of the practice, which featured 3 on-3 scrimmages. “We’ve had a good start to the season and we have a good theme going: hard work on the ice and a loose atmosphere in the locker room.”

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Post from: Eye of The Tigers

“He’s a natural leader,” Owens said.

The assistant captains will be voted on by the team early in the season.

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CC, which has a reputation from smaller, quick skaters, has certainly placed greater emphasis on the physical side of the game since I’ve been covering them. It got me thinking: How much do you think size could help CC compete down the stretch, especially in the NCAA tournament, which is played primarily on NHL-sized sheets? Is that the missing ingredient in March and April?

*Speaking of Schultz: The sophomore said he has recovered from concussions that shortened his freshman season.

*No contact: Hitting was fairly limited on Monday, but freshman Nick Dineen sported a non-contact jersey nonetheless. He’s recovering from an off-season shoulder surgery, which trainer Jason Bushie said is progressing nicely.

*No sign of slump: From the saves goaltender Richard Bachman was making, it’s pretty clear the sophomore took his summer seriously (no big surprise there). The one moment that sticks out in my mind was when he made a quality three-man rush look pathetic, making an initial save and then coming all the way across the net to save another shot to the upper left corner with his glove.

My last casual observation was how many faces on the ice were familiar. Sure, it helps that I’ve been doing this for a while now. But the truth is that the Tigers return quite a bit, including their All-American goaltender, eight of their top 10 scorers and five experienced defensemen (Brett Wysopal left the program in the off-season). Their main losses are defenseman Jack Hillen, who ranks as one of CC’s top offensive-defensemen in program history, and Jimmy Kilpatrick, who ranked third in team scoring last year.

So that brings me to another question, what do you see as CC’s biggest question mark this season? And just how optimistic are you allowing yourself to be?

Where are they now?
Jimmy Kilpatrick, who this time last year was thinking he might miss two months of the season recovering from hip surgery, is taking part in the Anaheim Ducks’ rookie camp with hopes of catching on. In the rookies’ second scrimmage, held in Las Vegas against the San Jose Sharks’ rookies, Kilpatrick got credit for a goaltender screen from his linemate. The organization has stocked up on ex-WCHA players, including former CC defenseman Brian Salcido, Denver’s Ryan Dingle and Minnesota’s Stu Bickel. At rookie camp, there’s even more: St. Cloud’s Nate Dey, Alaska-Anchorage’s Charlie Kronschnabel, Denver’s Adrian Veideman and Andrew Thomas.

On the East Coast, Jack Hillen started rookie camp with the New York Islanders on Monday. Having signed a two-year deal in the spring, Hillen will try to land an Islanders roster spot. Also at Islanders rookie camp is former Denver goaltender Peter Mannino.

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Wednesday update:

After 14 scoreless minutes, Bill Sweatt put the Red team ahead for good in a 5-0 win over the White team.

The Montreal Gazette points out that Mike Testwuide (and brother J.P.) and Canadiens owner George Gillett share the same hometown.

Andrew’s Dallas Stars blog talked to Scott Winkler, a recruit pegged for 2009 who is at Dallas Stars development camp. Now we know that Winkler’s dad, a Canadian, played pro hockey in Norway and Winkler’s family still lives here. Good stuff.

Thursday update:

Scott Winkler gets another positive review at Dallas Stars development camp, this time referred to as a “gem.”

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As a quick side note, Mike Testwuide (and his brother, J.P., who is Denver’s captain), will be at Montreal Canadiens development camp today–the number in the story (eight CC players) was correct, I just neglected to include the info about Mike.

Here’s what McCulloch had to say:

When did you know you would have the option to come back for a fifth year?

Coach called me two weeks after the season and let me know they’d changed the rules and I’d be able to play a fifth year if I wanted to. It was another option — it’s always nice to have options — and I was kind of just waiting to see what Chicago was feeling and where they were with me. There wasn’t a ton of interest with them and so on June 30, I decided I’d like to come back a fifth year and play another year and finish off my college career on a good note.

How do you feel about the Chicago Blackhawks not signing you and where do you go from here? [Ed. note: The Blackhawks drafted McCulloch as one of 15 forwards in the sixth round of the 2004 draft]

I didn’t have the strongest year obviously and I knew that they had 15 forwards in one year and signed a lot of guys into their system already. There might be another team with fewer forwards in their system, that might not be so stacked and might have a little more room. I’ll be a free agent [as of August 15] and that’s a good thing. I think last year I put a lot of pressure on myself; your senior year always want to do well. Now I have a second chance at it and not a lot of people get that chance. I hope I can stay relaxed and play the way I know I can play.

At what point last season did you feel like you played your best?

It was when I came back from my concussion — that’s when I got rolling there. The puck started going in the net and I felt like I was playing better than I had most of the year. I didn’t play terrible the rest of the time, but I was really inconsistent with putting the puck in the net and that’s got to be better.

Why do you think you were better post-concussion?

Once you step out of the normal routine of being in the games you get a chance to think about the game and the things you can do better and the things you can change. … It translated when I got back on the ice. When I came back, I tried to keep it simple because I hadn’t played in three weeks. That’s a key to my game, not trying to do too much.

Do you think the interim period between graduation and deciding to come back to CC will have the same effect?

It’s more just the opportunity to put an exclamation point on my college career that has had ups and downs and end on a strong note. We have a great team coming back and it gives me an opportunity to prove myself.

Coach Owens said you’ll be wearing the final ‘A.’ After the way last season ended and being the most experienced guy on the roster with 129 games, what does that mean to you?

I’m very excited, especially to be a leader again. The senior class is a great group of kids and I have a lot of good friends there. I think last year we had a good season, but we were disappointed with what happened in the playoffs.

When I interviewed you after Michigan State, you thought your time at CC was over.

I thought my college career was over. Then, two weeks later, I found out: ‘You’re going to get another shot to do this.’

So what does this mean academically? [Ed note: McCulloch will pursue a degree in Comparative French Literature. A three-time WCHA Scholar Athlete, McCulloch graduated with a bachelor's in economics in May.]

I got the minor, so I only need five classes to get another degree. It’s another thing in my back pocket — you can’t play hockey forever. [In regards to the Comparative French Literature major] I would like to live in Canada when I’m older and I think it will look good on the resume and open up other fields of work for me. CC is great school. I like the set-up there. It’s comfortable for me. …When I found out I might be able to come back, I wasn’t even supposed to take an eighth-block class. It’s weird to be a senior in an eighth-block class, but it was just to make sure I only had to take five if I came back.

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“I’m still a little shaky,” Testwuide said, all smiles and sweat-drenched after the game. “The guy dove. I think. I don’t really know what happened after that. I’m just so excited right now.”

This is how left wing Bill Sweatt described the final sequence: “We just went back into the d-zone and (Jack Hillen) threw it up the wall to me. It hit my skate and deflected out of the zone. Wuider (Mike Testwuide) just took it. He came across the ice with speed and he just bulldozed those guys and he took his big body to the net and just buried it. That’s all I can say. …All of a sudden, he beats the guy and he’s falling down but he gets the shot off. Then I see it just going into the empty net and I just jump in the air.”

Testwuide also scored the game-tying goal in the third period.

When asked about it, Testwuide needed a little reminder.

“Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah,” he said, nodding with faint recognition. “I got the puck and I waited and waited. The guy went down on his knees–waited. I knew I was going to bury it five-hole. I let it go as hard as I could and it went in the net.”

All around, the Tigers admitted it was a shaky start to their playoff run.

Said coach Scott Owens: “It’s nice not to have to play a third game this time of the year. Even if you’re fortunate enough to win that third game, it takes a toll on your team when you’re playing so many meaninigful games right now. I’m proud of our guys. They didn’t get panicked. We’re 2-1 going into the third period and found a way to win the game.”

CC is in a three-way tie for second in the PairWise rankings (USCHO.com, College Hockey News), which are used to simulate the NCAA tournament selection process.

The Tigers will return to the World Arena — where they have an 18-2 record — for the NCAA West Regional on March 28.

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Post from: Eye of The Tigers

Anchorage took the lead just 6:05 into the first when defenseman Kane LaFranchise rocketed a shot from the top of the left circle through traffic and past goaltender Richard Bachman.

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Post from: Eye of The Tigers