CC is a very young, hard working team that is gelling at the right time. That's not to say they don't have any talent - but when you compare their skill level and more importantly their experience to BC and other top teams they're definitely less dynamic. They do play a similar up tempo, attacking game to BC, but with only 3 seniors and 4 juniors who play regularly, they're still developing as a team. They will roll four lines no matter what - the 4th line was on the ice with about 2 minutes to go in their deciding first-round WCHA playoff series with a one goal lead. However, they will ride their top 4 defensemen - the top pair often logs 30+ minutes a game. Joe Howe has been good in net, but recently has seemed to give up a very soft early goal before stealing a few late in the game.
Basically, at even strength CC will attack, pressure the opponents everywhere, and finish their checks. They're just as aggressive on the PK. Their downfall has been on the PP, where they have given up a ton of shorthanded goals (11, if I remember correctly). They have 4 F and 1 very offensive defenseman on the top PP unit, and they get burned often. I think the best thing they could do in practice this week is to put a reliable defenseman on the point of their top PP unit.
If they have a weakness other than on the PP, it's at defense. They're solid but not great, and have a few guys who think offense first.
That sounds like a pretty lukewarm description, but part of it has been the opposition they've faced this year. I'd bet that they've faced either the toughest schedule in the country during the second half of the year or nearly the toughest. The average KRACH rating of their opponents since January 22 is HIGHER than the average KRACH of the 16 team NCAA field. That means they've been facing NCAA-tournament caliber teams every week for 8 weeks, and they've won just over half of those games. It also means that they haven't been dominating at all during that stretch, so it's easy to overlook how well they've been playing. When they have won during that stretch it's been due to outworking their opponents, and using that effort to make up for an experience deficit. CC has had some teams in the past that had the dominating kind of skill that BC has this year, but this isn't one of those CC teams.
Blues fans will want to watch Jaden Schwartz. The things that set him apart are his hockey IQ and his vision. He sees and then makes plays that noone at this level should see. But, they're often pretty subtle - a pass that you didn't see coming, or something like that. I don't think he's a spectacular skater, or has a particularly hard or accurate shot, or anything else that would stand out in a skills competition. You can not really notice him on the ice as a great player and check the box score and see that he set up all 3 goals CC scored that game. He does all the little things right as well - he times his cross in front of the net just so he arrives when the puck is passed there, and he is responsible defensively. Jaden led the WCHA (not just freshmen - the entire league) in points per game with 1.47. He missed part of the year with a broken ankle, so his totals were modest.
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