CC hockey: Three things to watch vs. Minnesota-Duluth

Three things to watch Friday and Saturday as Colorado College hosts Minnesota-Duluth:

1. Respond to the bye week
A bye week cuts both ways. It’s good for healing, but it can also disrupt the rhythm of a 4-1-1 start. How do the guys respond? Will they come out flat or playing hard? The players say they’re eager to get going.

2. The battle of special teams
The CC penalty kill (88.6 percent) takes on a potent Duluth power play (23.7) that looks as sharp as the one that knocked the Tigers out of the league playoffs last season. CC has the league’s best power play (32.4 percent) while Duluth has a good penalty kill (82.7). The difference could come down to the number of power plays the Tigers could draw as Duluth is called for the most minutes per game in the WCHA (22.9).

3. Does CC win the battle when the game is 5-on-5?
With plenty of penalties being whistled for and against both teams of late, the team that has the edge when neither has the man advantage could be the difference. The Tigers must get back to cycling down low to generate quality scoring chances.