Rylan Schwartz: Tigers remain a contender for WCHA title

MINNEAPOLIS – Rylan Schwartz believes that Colorado College still has a chance of winning the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. It’s probably a long shot, but there’s always hope, right?

A weekend split against No. 4 Minnesota kept No. 11 CC in third place in the WCHA – four points behind the Gophers and two points in back of No. 1 Minnesota-Duluth, which has played two fewer games than both CC and Minnesota. The Tigers have 10 games left, with a home-and-home set against No. 15 Denver; home series against Nebraska-Omaha and Michigan Tech; and road series against Bemidji State and Minnesota-Duluth.

“No team is going to be easy the rest of the year,” Schwartz said, adding that CC “can’t afford to drop spots, but we do have a chance to be able to climb the ladder” in pursuit of its first WCHA title since 2008. “Our team has been maturing,” he said. “The guys in our room know what’s at stake, and they can put together games where we will get better.”

Keeping it in the family

CC defenseman Gabe Guentzel is prepared to handle the smack talk. If his father, Mike, a Minnesota assistant coach, runs his mouth about the Gophers winning, he plans to remind him that he predicted a sweep. Plus, he has a comeback in hand that he has been refining.

“I don’t know how long it will be” until his father stops razzing him, Gabe Guentzel said. “When summer comes, he hasn’t beaten me on the golf course in probably six years.”

Tigers pursued second Rau

Another Rau in black and gold was the dream of CC coach Scott Owens. Yet Minnesota left wing Kyle Rau, the younger brother of former CC center Chad Rau, wasn’t interested in CC, and he’s now a freshman on the top line for the Gophers, already with 25 points.

“We recruited him a little bit,” Owens said. “It became somewhat apparent to us that he was going to stay closer to home.” He noted, “He’s the real deal. He’s tough for his size. He can skate. He has good offensive instincts. He’s at the right place at the right time.”

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