To nobody's suprise, Colorado College still has some work to do as this 2009-10 season unfolds.
Despite Saturday's 4-3 loss to Northeastern University at the World Arena, however, the Tigers can build on knowing they were a play or two away from sweeping a team that ranked among the nation's best a year ago.
The visitors from Hockey East got a goal and two assists from junior right wing Chris Donovan, and combined with a solid performance in net by freshman Chris Rawlings, it was enough to earn a split of their season-opening weekend series with CC.
Rawlings, who started between the pipes for the second consecutive night, bounced back from Friday's 4-2 defeat by stopping 34 of 37 shots on goal. The Tigers had plenty of chances to score more than three times, but the 6-5, 210-pound product of North Delta, British Columbia, emerged as the difference maker.
Senior right wing and team captain
Mike Testwuide scored twice for Colorado College, which trailed 3-1 after the opening period and played from behind all night.
Junior goaltender
Tyler O'Brien, making the first official start of his collegiate career, recovered from that opening frame to keep his team in contention the rest of the way. O'Brien finished with 24 saves including a number of key stops on Northeastern opportunities from point-blank range.
Testwuide's second red lighter of the game, during a CC power play late in the second period, cut Northeastern's lead to 3-2 with 1:25 left in that middle frame. But the Huskies restored their two-goal cushion just 29 seconds later, when Donovan shelved a rebound past O'Brien after defenseman Jim Driscoll fired from the opposite side of the ice.
That proved to be the game winner, as junior forward Tyler Johnson beat Rawlings during another power play midway through the final frame to pull the Tigers back within a goal. It was the second tally of the weekend for Johnson, who struck for the game winner in Friday's victory.
Tyler McNeely, Robbie Vrolyk and Garrett Vermeersch scored in the first period for Northeastern.
