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Colorado College officially faces off the 2012-13 season at home this week when the Tigers take on Clarkson University of the ECAC in a two-game non-conference series at the World Arena. 

The puck drops at 7:37 p.m. (MT) Friday and 7:07 p.m. Saturday.

Friday's contest marks the official 2012-13 opener for both teams, which both played exhibition games at home last Sunday. The Tigers skated to a 3-1 victory over the University of British Columbia. Clarkson dropped a 6-2 decision to Carleton University (of Ottawa, Ontario).

This will be CC's 54th and final season as a member of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association before leaving to launch the new National Collegiate Hockey Conference in '13-14. WCHA coaches and media personnel have picked Colorado College to finish seventh in the 12-team standings.

The Tigers, who continue non-league play through the entire month of October, are unbeaten (9-0-3) in a dozen previous encounters with this week's opponent. The rivalry dates back to March 14, 1957, when the teams met in the NCAA semifinals at the old Broadmoor Ice Palace and CC advanced to the national championship game with a 5-3 victory. The Golden Knights last visited Colorado Springs in early February of 2008, falling twice (5-2, 6-1) to Colorado College at the World Arena. The squads skated to a pair of ties (1-1, 2-2) the last time they saw each other, in Potsdam, N.Y., in late October of that same year.

Neither is ranked in this week's national polls published on Monday by U.S. College Hockey Online and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine. CC is, however, listed among teams receiving votes in both.