CC passes character test

Saturday night games in a Western Collegiate Hockey Association game can say a lot about a team’s character, especially for a team that gave away a win the night before.

No. 11 Colorado College passed the character test with flying colors at World Arena, putting together 60 solid minutes to rout No. 20 Minnesota-Duluth 6-2 and garner the split.

The win ended the Bulldogs’ four-game win streak in Colorado Springs that included a 4-3 come-from-behind win Friday.

“They took it to us here and we didn’t want that to happen again,” said senior wing Bill Sweatt, who finished with two goals and one assist. “We took it up a notch the whole game.”

Sweatt certainly did midway through the second period to break a 1-1 tie and give CC a 3-1 lead headed into the third period.

Sweatt scored on a centering pass from Nate Prosser, beating Minnesota-Duluth goalie Brady Hjelle high glove side with 13:36 left. 115 seconds later, Sweatt found William Rapuzzi in front of the Bulldogs net. He passed as he was leveled against the boards.

Rapuzzi took the short pass from behind the net and skated across the face of the goal as he was knocked to the ice, tucking the puck inside the far post by Hjelle for a 3-1 lead. It proved to be the game-winner because this time, CC (5-2-1, 4-1-1 WCHA) didn’t collapse into a defensive shell in the third period.

“It was a character win,” Colorado College coach Scott Owens said. “It was a tough, rough, physical game and we relatively kept our composure.”

Minnesota-Duluth (6-3-1, 3-2-1) did not. Included among the 11 Bulldog penalties in the third, junior Chad Huttel left the bench to attack CC’s Stephen Schultz with 4:16 left and was ejected.

“We knew we had to bring the physical aspect of our game,” Tigers senior Kris Fredheim said. “They got frustrated but our guys stood up and played smart. Let them go to the (penalty) box.”

CC finished the game at 4 for 7 with the man advantage with three power-play goals in the third to end it.