Friday night, the Colorado College Tigers took on the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs at home hoping to maintain their unblemished record. And that they did, getting out of the blocks quickly en route to a 5-1 win.
The Tigers scored three first-period goals and senior Justin Morrison scored twice to help his squad move to a perfect 5-0-0.
The Tigers scored their first goal at 7:16 of the first period, by junior forward Shaun Winkler, assisted by freshmen Colin Stuart and Reid Goolsby. All three players picked up their first points of the season.
Quick to take advantage, the Tigers widened the gap to 2-0 on their first power play attempt. Only 22 seconds into a Minnesota-Duluth tripping penalty, junior Chris Hartsburg flipped the puck past Bulldog goaltender Rob Anderson for CC’s second goal at 9:03.
UMD, though, was able to retaliate. Just over two minutes later, senior captain Derek Derow found the back of the net with assistance from freshman winger Junior Lessard.
But Colorado College wasn’t about to let the Bulldogs build up any momentum. At 18:17, senior Justin Morrison notched CC’s third goal of the night, on a play from junior Mark Cullen and fellow senior Mike Colgan. The period ended with the Tigers firmly in command, 3-1.
“I think that was my first slapshot goal in four years,” said Morrison with a laugh.
Anxious to maintain the momentum it had built up in the first period, CC wasted no time extending the lead in the second. At 5:59 of the middle stanza, Mark Cullen snared his second point of the night with a lamplighter from Morrison and Preissing.
Duluth had two power play opportunities in the second period, but the CC defense held on to kill the penalties and maintain the 4-1 lead.
The Colorado College scoring streak continued to burn into the third period. Only 22 seconds had elapsed before Morrison snagged his second goal of the night, as freshman Peter Sejna and Cullen assisted to give CC the 5-1 lead and to wrap up scoring for the game.
Minnesota-Duluth head coach Scott Sandelin said he felt his team got tired late.
“CC played smart in the third,” he said. “They played good defense and didn’t give us many chances to score.”
“I felt like the third period was our best,” said Colorado College head coach Scott Owens. “Overall we played pretty sound defensively, and we generated a lot of shots.”
Sandelin said that his team worked hard and really needed “a couple of breaks.”
“It seems like we’re just not getting any lucky bounces, but you’ve gotta earn those,” he said.
“We could have been sharper and crisper,” said Owens. “We need to skate harder, but it was a good win and I’m pleased.”
