Hall scores late, Thorimbert propels CC to upset of Minnesota

MINNEAPOLIS – Josh Thorimbert made one error, then he needed a pick-me-up in the worst way. And on a night in which Colorado College’s top playmakers were shut down, in which everything was a grind for the Tigers, the smallest guy on the ice delivered.

Tim Hall scored on a rebound with 36 seconds left, less than a minute after the lone goal that Thorimbert allowed tied the game, and No. 11 CC showed newfound resolve Friday in breaking out of a funk with a 2-1 victory over No. 4 Minnesota at Mariucci Arena.

David Civitarese set up the game-winner (the second in 124 career games for Hall) with a faceoff that he won, and after William Rapuzzi whacked at the puck, Hall muscled a shot from the slot past Kent Patterson (16-9-1) at the left post. All the drama sucking the life out of 10,000-plus screaming fans who were banking on overtime when Nick Bjugstad’s extra-attacker goal rallied Minnesota to a 1-1 stalemate a mere 41 seconds earlier.

Hall said Civitarese told him, “Get to the backdoor. I’m going to try to go forward.” After Civitarese prevailed on the draw, “luckily the puck ended up back there,” Hall said, “and I got it across the goal line.” He added, “I ended up on the ice. The (defensemen) kind of had me all tangled up. But luckily, I got my stick clean, and I just tapped it in.”

Starting for the eighth time in 10 games, Thorimbert (9-3) stood strong – he looks more and more confident – through every situation imaginable, with 38 saves while Minnesota (16-9-1, 12-5 Western Collegiate Hockey Association) bombarded him with high-quality chances. In the first, he turned back 15 shots; in the second, Kyle Rau rang a laser off the crossbar and he denied Nate Condon’s breakaway; and in the third, he never flinched as CC (14-8-1, 11-6) killed a five-minute major for Archie Skalbeck’s check from behind.

The consistency from Thorimbert perhaps epitomizes the sustained effort that the Tigers, within two points of Minnesota and No. 1 Minnesota-Duluth in the WCHA, require over the final 11 games, especially on the heels of a 2-3-1 stretch that opened the second half. Overcoming adversity was the theme for CC, which went ahead 1-0 in the second period on Nick Dineen’s goal but was 0 for 4 on the power play; was held to 27 shots, only three from Jaden and Rylan Schwartz; and lost Dakota Eveland and Michael Morin to injuries.

“I thought we got rewarded, and we battled and competed,” said CC coach Scott Owens, whose team broke a four-game losing streak against Minnesota and won at Mariucci for the second time in nine tries. Thorimbert noted, “Tight games like that, we need to find a way to win, and we did. … These points are huge. We put ourselves in a good position.”

COLORADO COLLEGE 2, MINNESOTA 1

Colorado College       0          1          1 – 2

Minnesota                   0          0          1 – 1

First period – None. Penalties – J. Schwartz, CC (hooking), 5:43. Matson, Minnesota (boarding), 13:05.

Second – 1. CC, Dineen 13 (Krushelnyski), 4:04. Penalties – Ambroz, Minnesota (boarding), 10:41. Bjugstad, Minnesota (cross-checking), 15:55.

Third – 2. Minnesota, Bjugstad 20 (Hansen, Alt), 18:43 (ex). 3. CC, Hall 2 (Rapuzzi, Civitarese), 19:24. Penalties – Budish, Minnesota (tripping), 5:08. Skalbeck, CC (checking from behind and game misconduct), 7:37.

Shots on goal – CC 9-9-9-27. Minnesota 15-11-13-39. Power-play opportunities – CC 0 of 4. Minnesota 0 of 2. Goalies – CC, Thorimbert 15-11-12 (39 shots-38 saves). Minnesota, Patterson 9-8-8 (27-25). Attendance – 10,007. Time – 2:10. Referees – Marco Hunt, Derek Shepherd. Linesmen – Sam Shikowsky, Nick Bradshaw.

Contact Brian Gomez: 719-636-0256 or brian.gomez@gazette.com. Facebook: Brian Gomez. Twitter: @gazettehockey. Google+: Brian Gomez. YouTube: Colorado College Hockey, Covered by The Gazette. For the CC homepage, visit www.gazette.com/sections/sports/cchockey. For the CC blog, visit http://cchockey.freedomblogging.com.