Suddenly, appearing to have saved its best for last, Colorado College is poised to make a serious run during the final weeks of this roller-coaster season.

CC took a huge step toward securing a home-ice berth for the first round of the WCHA playoffs on Saturday, completing a weekend sweep of the University of Minnesota with a 5-3 victory at the sold-out World Arena.

The triumph, which vaulted the Tigers past the University of Wisconsin and into third place in the league standings, extended their unbeaten streak to five games (3-0-2) for the month of February and improved their overall record to 16-9-8. They're 12-8-5 in conference play, and opened up a three-point lead over fifth-place Minnesota Duluth and a four-point spread over sixth-place St. Cloud State.

The sweep was Colorado College's third of the campaign but its first since October.

Twelve different players contributed points in Saturday's contest, which saw the Tigers grab one-goal leads on four separate occasions and score three times in the decisive third period.

Sophomore right wing Stephen Schultz struck for the game winner with 9:45 left to play. Senior left wing Scott McCulloch added an empty-net goal with 1:01 remaining, as CC beat the Gophers for the fourth consecutive time at home.

A trio of juniors – defenseman Nate Prosser along with forwards Mike Testwuide and Brian McMillin – also scored in the victory. McCulloch assisted on Testwuide's tally. Junior defenseman Kris Fredheim helped set up a pair of goals.

Sophomore net minder Richard Bachman finished with 34 saves as Minnesota posted a 37-19 advantage in shots on goal.

The slumping Gophers, who are 1-6-1 in their last eight outings and have fallen into seventh place in the WCHA, got a shorthanded goal and an assist from Ryan Stoa.