Tigers tightening up on defense, locking down on opponents

A 5-4 overtime defeat last month against St. Cloud State was tough for Colorado College to swallow. Not because of the fact CC lost two points in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association race, but because the Tigers were so porous on defense, so easy to attack.

Since then, No. 10 CC has “put an emphasis on taking it to the next level,” Tigers coach Scott Owens said. The evidence of a turnaround is in the undeniable improvement in the defensive zone, with CC allowing five goals and going 10 for 11 on the penalty kill in the past four games to build momentum for a weekend road series against Bemidji State.

No longer do CC’s opponents have the luxury of non-challenged rushes into the slot, the propensity to take freewheeling shots from the circles, the comfort of unobstructed passes through the neutral zone, as if they were the Harlem Globetrotters tossing the ball on the perimeter against the Washington Generals. The Tigers (15-9-2, 12-7-1 WCHA) frankly have tightened up – the result of better spacing, more communication and a ton of hustle.

“If we can maintain that, that translates well for these games in February and March,” Owens said, adding that CC assistant Joe Bonnett has “stressed with the defensemen to take fewer chances. We’ve stressed with the defensemen not to get so spread out. And we’ve encouraged the forwards to have the third man high instead of getting trapped.”

Owens concedes that “goaltending is half the battle,” and Josh Thorimbert stopped 73 of 76 shots in a split at No. 2 Minnesota, then recorded the first shutout of the season Friday at No. 14 Denver. After Thorimbert (upper body) went down Saturday, Joe Howe denied all 17 shots he faced in preserving a 2-2 tie against Denver, and Howe probably will play both games against Bemidji State (13-12-3, 7-10-3) since Thorimbert remains sidelined.

The Tigers also haven’t committed as many penalties, only 20 in the past four games, “so it doesn’t wear you down,” said Owens, whose team is giving up 2.69 goals, while hitting at 80 percent on the penalty kill. The focus has been on “trying to play with more of a team defensive mentality, and I think it has been helping,” CC defenseman Joe Marciano said. “We’ve been keeping the score low, and it’s giving us a chance to win every game.”

In practice, Bonnett has preached to “stay between the dots,” said CC defenseman Gabe Guentzel, who has a team-leading 68 blocked shots, five of which came Saturday. “If we get outside, that’s when our mistakes happen. … Keep it simple, and we’ll be fine.”

24-game league schedule for NCHC

The Colorado Springs-based National Collegiate Hockey Conference will have a league schedule of 24 games when action begins for CC and seven other teams in 2013-14. The format announced Wednesday calls for 12 conference games in each half of the season, creating openings for 10 nonconference games to reach the 34-game NCAA limit. “A 24-game conference schedule is the most desirable,” NCHC commissioner Jim Scherr said.

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