Colorado College Tigers (0-0) vs. UMass Minutemen (0-0)

Friday, Oct. 9, 7:37 p.m. | Saturday, Oct. 10, 7:07 p.m.
The Broadmoor World Arena (7,380)
Colorado Springs, Colo.

Radio: KRDO 1240 AM/105.5 FM (Ken Landau, play-by-play) | Listen Live
TV: CET | Comcast 105/900 (Friday only | Brian Roth, Marty Cesario)
Live Streaming: NCHC.tv/cc | Watch Friday | Watch Saturday
Website: www.CCTigers.com
Twitter: CC_Hockey1
Facebook: Colorado College Tiger Hockey
Game Notes: Colorado College | UMass

This Week
Colorado College opens the 2015-16 regular season this weekend with a two-game series against the UMass Minutemen at The Broadmoor World Arena. The puck drops at 7:37 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 9 and 7:07 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 10. Both games will be broadcast in Colorado Springs on KRDO NewsRadio 1240 AM and 105.5 FM and streamed live on NCHC.tv. Friday's game will be televised by Comcast Entertainment Television.

Getting Started
This season marks the 77th year of varsity ice hockey at Colorado College. This is the Tigers' third season in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference. CC was a charter member of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (1951-52) for 62 seasons before joining the NCHC with seven other schools in 2013.

Season Openers
Colorado College is 47-27-2 all-time in regular-season openers. The Tigers are 40-12-1 at home and 7-15-1 on the road (including neutral games). Last season, the Tigers opened with a 3-2 victory at home over Alabama-Huntsville. Colorado College has won its last 13 regular-season openers, dating back to a 6-2 loss to North Dakota in 2001-02.

Up Next
Following this weekend's games, the Tigers take to the road for the first time this season, traveling to Lowell, Mass., to take on the 14th-ranked UMass-Lowell River Hawks on Oct. 16-17.

For the Record
Colorado College finished the 2014-15 season with a 6-26-3 record, including a 2-19-3 mark in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference … UMass was 11-23-2 overall last season and 5-16-1 in Hockey East action. The Minutemen finished 12th in the conference in 2014-15.

The Coaches
Mike Haviland (Elmira College, '90) is in his second season at the helm of the Tigers. He came to Colorado College after serving one year as head coach of the Hershey Bears (AHL). Haviland was an assistant coach for the Chicago Blackhawks from 2008-12, helping the team win the Stanley Cup in 2010 … John Micheletto (Dartmouth, '90), a 23-year coaching veteran who spent nine years at Hockey East rival Vermont including five seasons as associate head coach, enters his fourth year at UMass in 2015-16. He has a 31-64-9 record with the Minutemen.

Previous Meetings
Colorado College holds a 4-2 advantage in the all-time series with UMass. The Minutemen, however, have won the two meetings, including a 5-4 overtime win at the 2007 Lightning Hockey Classic in Tampa, Fla. The TIgers have won all four games at home in the series.

On The Air
All CC games in 2015-16, home and away, will be broadcast live throughout Southern Colorado on KRDO NewsRadio 105.5 FM and 1240 AM, featuring Ken Landau with the play-by-play. Pre-game shows start 37 minutes before faceoff. The broadcasts also can be heard worldwide via the Internet.

This Year's Leadership
Junior forward Sam Rothstein (Minnetonka, MN) will serve as the team captain in 2015-16. Rothstein, the first junior to be named captain at CC since Mark Stuart in 2004-05, scored 14 points (6g,8a) as a sophomore and has missed just four games his first two seasons … Senior forward Cody Bradley (Tampa, FL), who led the team in scoring with 30 points last season, and junior forwards Zach Aman (Johnstown, PA) and Christian Heil (Westminster, CO), will be the alternate captains.

Seven Opponents Played in Postseason    
Seven of Colorado College's 12 opponents this season played in the NCAA Division I Hockey Tournament last season. NCHC foes North Dakota, Denver, St. Cloud State, Miami, Nebraska Omaha and Minnesota Duluth as well as Boston College were among the 16 teams to battle for the national championship last spring. North Dakota and
Nebraska Omaha advanced to the national semifinals.

A Pair of Tigers Drafted
Two players on this year's roster have been drafted by National Hockey League teams.  Senior forward Hunter Fejes (Anchorage, AK) was drafted in the sixth round of the 2012 draft by the Phoenix (now Arizona) Coyotes, while sophomore defenseman Teemu Kivihalme (Savage, MN) was drafted by the Nashville Predators in the fifth round of the 2013 draft.

Number Changes
Three returning Tigers will each wear a new number in 2015-16. Fejes will move from No. 11 to No. 18, while Aman moves from No. 26 to No. 21 and Heil moves from No. 15 to No. 11.

Hanson Retires, Named Student Assistant Coach
Senior Jared Hanson (Palmer, AK), one of eight student-athletes in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference named to the league's 2014-15 Scholar-Athlete Team, will not play his final season at CC and will serve as a student assistant coach.

Bradley Topped CC in Scoring Last Season
Cody Bradley led the Tigers last season with career-high totals for goals (10), assists (20) and points (30). He tied for 12th in the NCHC in assists and recorded at least one point in a team-high 21 of CC's 35 games.

Meteoric Rise in the Power Play
Colorado College finished the 2014-15 season tied for 13th in the country (59 teams) for power-play success at 20 percent (26-for-130) this season. The Tigers, who went 5-of-52 (9.6 percent) and were ranked 50th in the nation with a man advantage after its first 11 games, were 21-for-78 (29.2 percent) in their last 24 contests beginning on Dec. 5. They had the fourth-best PP percentage in the country during that time frame.
 
Several Career-Highs Last Season     
In addition to Cody Bradley, seven other returners posted a career-high number of points last   season. They were Fejes (19), Luc Gerdes (12), Matt Hansen (10), Peter Maric (nine), Heil (seven), Aman (five) and Michael King (one).  

Tough Schedule Last Season ...     
Colorado College finished the 2014-15 season with the seventh-toughest schedule in the country, according to the Division I RPI. In fact, the eight NCHC schools occupied the top eight spots on the list. CC played 21 of its 35 games last year, including 13 of its last 17, against teams ranked in the top 12 in the country.

... And Again This Year
Eight of Colorado College's 12 opponents this season are ranked in the USCHO.com preseason Top 20 poll. In fact, four opponents, Boston College, Minnesota Duluth, North Dakota and Denver, are ranked in the top 5. The Tigers will play 26 of their 34 games against teams in the top 17 of the preseason poll.

Tigers Down Calgary in Exhibition
Freshman Westin Michaud (Cloquet, MN) scored a pair of power-play goals and three teammates each had a goal and an assist as Colorado College defeated the University of Calgary, 6-2, in an exhibition hockey game Saturday night at The Broadmoor World Arena.

Michaud, one of 14 first-year players on CC's team this season, scored both of his goals in the second period, the second coming on a five-minute power-play after Calgary's Mike Winther was called for a major cross-checking penalty and a 10-minute misconduct. Michaud's two scores gave the Tigers a 5-0 lead with just over five minutes to play in the frame.