Tigers' special teams adapt to rules

Just three games into the season, Colorado College is learning to adjust to an increase in special teams play.

The Tigers have averaged seven power-play chances per game - as compared with 4.5 last season - which tends to disrupt their ability to develop an offensive rhythm in 5-on-5 situations, left wing Scott McCulloch said, especially for those who don't play on the special teams.

"We're so deep with all of our forwards and we try to get everyone going, but on penalty kill only seven players play that, so that pulls other guys out of the game," McCulloch said. "They've got to do a really good job of staying in it because they're going to have to sit for 4 or 5 minutes and go out and have a good shift."

With the new rules, referees have upped their enforcement of penalties like interference, holding and hooking.

All about the shorties

Before McCulloch's short-handed goal in the first period Friday night, Michigan Tech was the only Western Collegiate Hockey Association school to score a short-handed goal.
The Tigers racked up 10 short-handed goals last season with center Chad Rau accounting for six of them as the nation's leading short-handed goal scorer. Four of those short-handed goals came against Wisconsin.

Slap shots

Forwards Dan Quilico and Matt Overman and defensemen Arthur Bidwill and Ted Behrend were healthy scratches. ... Forward Nick Dineen was also scratched. He's recovering from an offseason shoulder surgery and is expected to receive medical clearance next Friday.