Months ago, all three of the Front Range's collegiate hockey programs firmly were entrenched among the top 12 programs in the nation.

The rigors of the season have taken their toll, particularly on Colorado College and Air Force. With only a few games remaining in the regular season, only the University of Denver is secure in its position for a berth to the NCAA tournament.

Yet DU remains in a dogfight for the MacNaughton Cup, awarded to the Western Collegiate Hockey Association's regular-season champion, while the fortunes of CC and the Falcons could turn on any given shift.

A look at where each program stands heading into this weekend's slate of crucial games:

DENVER

The Pioneers are tied with North Dakota atop the WCHA but will play one fewer league game than the Fighting Sioux during the final two weekends, hosting a two-game series against St. Cloud State that begins tonight at Magness Arena before CC visits for the regular-season finale on March 7.

That makes this weekend's battle with the Huskies, who are fighting for home ice in the first round of the WCHA playoffs, crucial.

"Our fate really is in our own hands right now," forward Kyle Ostrow said. "We need to focus on our own game this weekend."

DU, coming off an impressive 3-1-1 road swing, is tied for fourth in the PairWise rankings, all but clinching a spot in the 16-team NCAA tournament field. The Pioneers need one point to secure home ice in the first round of the WCHA playoffs and also have an opportunity to assure themselves of a top-three slot and allow them to avoid the extra play-in game if they advance to the WCHA Final Five.

"This team is setting its sights on playing well and giving ourselves a chance to win (tonight) and doing the same thing on Saturday," DU coach George Gwozdecky said. "On this team, nobody would be pleased with anything other than that. You can only control your effort and let the cards fall as they may."

COLORADO COLLEGE

As frustrating as this season has been for the Tigers, they still have a chance to play their way off the NCAA tournament bubble, while making a bid for the MacNaughton Cup.

CC, ranked 16th in the PairWise, remains only four points behind DU and the Fighting Sioux going into its series at North Dakota, which begins Saturday and concludes Sunday afternoon.

The Tigers, unbeaten in their past five games (3-0-2), are coming off a stirring sweep of Minnesota that might have marked the re-emergence of forwards Scott McCulloch and Mike Testwuide. Both key contributors have struggled this season, but they combined for three goals and two assists against Minnesota.

"After everything, it's something to still have our fate in our hands," CC center Chad Rau said. "We have three games left that we pretty much have to win."

AIR FORCE

Coach Frank Serratore predicted the midseason slide that has prevented the Falcons from earning an at-large berth to the NCAA tournament, but Air Force has recovered nicely and will play for its first regular-season crown in the Atlantic Hockey Association this weekend at the Rochester Institute of Technology. The teams split a series at Air Force earlier this year, and if they split again, the next tiebreaker would be head-to-head goals differential, which favors the Falcons by one goal entering the series.