Thorimbert not rewarded in loss, CC splits with Minnesota

MINNEAPOLIS – Jeff Collett exhaled, then he hunched over his stick as he slowly slid across the ice. When he reached Josh Thorimbert, he delivered a message of condolence.

“I should have had that one,” Collett said while wrapping his arm around Thorimbert.

Collett got rejected on a prime chance from the slot in the waning moments, and 35 saves by Thorimbert were wasted Saturday because of more offensive woes as No. 11 Colorado College settled for a weekend split with a 2-1 loss to No. 4 Minnesota at Mariucci Arena.

With an extra attacker giving CC (14-9-1, 11-7 Western Collegiate Hockey Association) a load of pressure, William Rapuzzi centered a pass for Collett, but Kent Patterson (17-9-1) covered enough ground to deny him at the right post with six seconds left. “He was out far challenging me, and he made a good play,” Collett said. “I couldn’t get it past him.”

A tie would have been a fitting reward for Thorimbert, who stopped seven shots on five Minnesota power plays, all of which were killed. The Tigers held a 1-0 lead after Jaden Schwartz scored in the first period, before Minnesota (17-9-1, 13-5) pulled even behind a short-handed goal by Nate Condon less than three minutes later and stormed ahead in the second on a goal by Nico Sacchetti, a fourth-line right wing who hadn’t tallied all season.

The margin for error for Thorimbert (9-4) was simply much too small, mainly due to poor puck control and sloppy passing that contributed to an 0-for-4 effort on the power play; a 37-20 deficit in shots and a 34-21 deficit on faceoffs; and seven penalties, including four in a frustrating second period in which the momentum shifted for good. Plus, the Gophers were energized in front of 10,000-plus fans enjoying “Hockey Day Minnesota,” while CC was without injured players Dakota Eveland, Eamonn McDermott and Michael Morin.

“The (defeat) had nothing to do with him,” Collett said of Thorimbert. “He stood on his head for the second night in a row,” having collected 38 saves Friday in a 2-1 win. “We tried to generate chances. We had a few. We could have capitalized on a few more.” And there “was not a lot of room, despite it being an Olympic sheet,” CC coach Scott Owens said, adding he doubts he has “seen our power play this out of sync in a couple years.”

On the short-handed goal, the eighth that CC has allowed, Minnesota nearly was offsides for a two-on-two rush, and when Condon rifled the puck, Thorimbert said he “just saw a sight of it for a quick second. I just couldn’t get it.” On the game-winner, a rebound from Sacchetti two seconds after CC killed a penalty that resulted in Patterson hurting his right arm, “I should have made that save,” Thorimbert said. “I feel we deserved better fate.”

Owens plans to spend the bye week (CC doesn’t play again until Feb. 3-4 against No. 15 Denver) fine-tuning a power play that’s being slowed by players “wrapping pucks around the wall instead of taking tape-to-tape passes,” Gabe Guentzel said. Owens noted, “We’re not moving our feet. We’re not making good, safe passes to get things started.”

MINNESOTA 2, COLORADO COLLEGE 1

Colorado College       1          0          0 – 1

Minnesota                   1          1          0 – 2

First period – 1. CC, J. Schwartz 8 (Collett, R. Schwartz), 15:02. 2. Minnesota, Condon 9 (Matson, Patterson), 17:41 (sh). Penalties – J. Schwartz, CC (hooking), 4:27. Guentzel, CC (roughing), 12:37. Bjugstad, Minnesota (roughing), 12:37. Parenteau, Minnesota (cross-checking), 17:18.

Second – 3. Minnesota, Sacchetti 1 (Budish, Alt), 5:16. Penalties – Matson, Minnesota (roughing and slashing), 2:27. Hall, CC (roughing), 2:27. Winkler, CC (hooking), 2:49. Civitarese, CC (goaltender interference), 3:14. Boivin, CC (slashing), 8:05. Budish, Minnesota (cross-checking), 11:11. Alt, Minnesota (tripping), 18:48.

Third – None. Penalties – Marciano, CC (cross-checking), 8:13.

Shots on goal – CC 6-8-6-20. Minnesota 6-12-19-37. Power-play opportunities – CC 0 of 4. Minnesota 0 of 5. Goalies – CC, Thorimbert 5-11-19 (37 shots-35 saves). Minnesota, Patterson 5-8-6 (20-19). Attendance – 10,087. Time – 2:30. Referees – Marco Hunt, Derek Shepherd. Linesmen – Sam Shikowsky, Nick Bradshaw.

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