CC goalie O'Connell ready if he's called

Every time the puck hit the back of the net, whether in practice or games, Colorado College goaltender Drew O'Connell would react.

As a freshman and sophomore, he couldn't help it.

O'Connell's shoulders would sag and he'd burn holes into the ice with his eyes.

Though O'Connell has only started one of the No. 3 Tigers' 12 games this season, he conveys confidence through his body language, both on and off the ice.

"He's got a little bit of a swagger to him," said captain Jake Gannon, O'Connell's closest friend on the team.

Coach Scott Owens said O'Connell has a "good chance" to make his second start of the season this weekend at Alaska-Anchorage.

O'Connell, who saved 17 of 20 shots in the Tigers' 5-3 win over Alabama-Huntsville on Oct. 11, said he has accepted that getting scored upon is part of the gig.

"Now I keep my eyes up," said O'Connell, who starred at Anchorage's Service High School before becoming the Waterloo (Iowa) Black Hawks' Rookie of the Year in the U.S. Hockey League. "I don't dwell on it. I just get ready for the next shot. ... I think I have come along in that sense. I had that mind-set that I never wanted to get scored on."

After being the go-to guy for the bulk of his hockey career, O'Connell backed up Matt Zaba as a freshman and sophomore and Richard Bachman last season.

"I've faced a little bit more adversity here than anywhere else, so I've had to deal with that and I've learned from it," he said.

Out of his six starts last season, O'Connell had a shutout against Anchorage and made 27 saves in last season's final regular-season game, a 3-1 win over Denver.

"He came back from the summertime in a great frame of mind," Owens said. "You can see it. He carries himself well. He's attentive, he's not slouched back, he's forward and up. We notice that a ton. ... He took another step and we're seeing that this fall."

In a competitive game of 3-on-3 at a recent practice, O'Connell's team cheered as the senior made save after save after save.

Though easier said than done, O'Connell said he has reached a point where he is able to bring the same intensity to practice as he does to games.

"The way he approaches practice, this year especially, he's taking it a lot more serious," center Chad Rau said. "Not to say he wasn't before, but you can just tell that he has that extra edge to him this year and he's working hard. It's what we need."

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