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Rylan Schwartz
Casey B. Gibson

Men's Ice Hockey Athletic Communications

Time to right the ship

Series against North Dakota presents Tigers with an opportunity to see what they're made of

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No one's ready to press the panic button, but this weekend could mark the dawn of "do-or-die" time for Colorado College.

Conspicuously lacking a nickname, the University of North Dakota visits the World Arena for the first time since January 2011, taking on slumping CC in a two-game Western Collegiate Hockey Association series between teams currently tied for fifth place in the league standings.

The Tigers, 7-6-1 overall and 4-2 in conference play, are in the throes of a four-game winless streak highlighted by last Friday's 4-4 come-from-behind tie with then No. 3-ranked University of New Hampshire. On the verge of victory a night later, with a 5-4 lead in the third period against Yale, they ended up on the wrong end of a 6-5 overtime decision. 

Opponents have scored 22 goals during the current 0-3-1 drought.

On the positive side, Colorado College has been generating its share of offense. Ranked fifth nationally, with 3.71 goals per game for the season, CC actually has lit the lamp more than any team in the country with 52 tallies through its first 14 outings. Senior forwards William Rapuzzi and Rylan Schwartz, who have recorded 17 points apiece, are among four players tied for the WCHA overall lead while five other Tigers have 12 or more.

North Dakota, 3-1-2 in league play, is 6-4-2 overall after splitting at the University of Notre Dame in non-conference action last weekend. Led offensively by senior forward Danny Kristo's 14 points (5g,9a), UND is ranked No. 7 this week by U.S. College Hockey Online and No. 8 by USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine.

The Tigers, meanwhile, have slipped from No. 14 to No. 18 in the USCHO poll while dropping out of USA Today's Top 15. They have lost four consecutive times to North Dakota since prevailing by a 4-2 count in a nationally televised contest at home nearly two years ago.







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