Colorado College Tigers (4-16, 2-8 NCHC) vs. #4/5 St. Cloud State Huskies (16-4, 8-2 NCHC)

Fri./Sat., Jan. 8/9, 7:37/7:07 pm (CT)
Herb Brooks National Hockey Center (5,159)
St. Cloud, MN

Radio: KRDO 1240 AM/105.5 FM (Ken Landau) | Listen Live
TV: CBS Sports Network (Friday Only | Ben Holden, Dave Starman, Shireen Saski)
DirecTV 221 | DISH 158 | Comcast 170/846 | Prism 643/1643
Live Streaming: NCHC.tv (Saturday Only) | Watch Saturday's Game
Website: www.CCTigers.com
Twitter: CC_Hockey1
Facebook: Colorado College Tiger Hockey
Game Notes: Colorado College | St. Cloud State

This Week
Colorado College enters the New Year with a two-game NCHC series against the No. 4/5 St. Cloud State Huskies this weekend, Jan. 8-9, at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud, MN. The puck drops at 7:37 p.m. (CT) on Friday and 7:07 p.m. on Saturday. Both games will be broadcast in Colorado Springs on KRDO NewsRadio 1240 AM and 105.5 FM. Friday night's game will be televised nationally on CBS Sports Network, while Saturday's contest will be available on NCHC.tv.
 
Last Time Out
The Tigers split a pair of games at Alabama Huntsville in their final series of 2015. On Friday, Dec. 18, CC won its first road game of the season and fourth in the last six games overall with a 5-2 victory. Senior Hunter Fejes (Anchorage, AK) and junior Luc Gerdes (Eden Prairie, MN) paced the Tigers with three points apiece. Fejes opened the scoring with nine minutes left in the first period, then CC pulled away late in the second period with a pair of goals within a span of 44 seconds. Junior Matt Hansen (St. Cloud, MN) put in a wrister with 1:46 left in the frame for his first goal of the season, then Fejes scored his second of the game with 1:02 remaining, an unassisted goal for the eventual game-winner. The Tigers piled it on in the third as Gerdes made it 4-1 when he redirected a blast by freshman Ben Israel (Bloomfield Hills, MI) 3:12 into the third period and junior captain Sam Rothstein (Minnetonka, MN) scored off a Gerdes pass about two minutes later for a 5-1 edge ... On Saturday, Rothstein scored the the team's lone goal in a 2-1 loss. Sophomore Teemu Kivihalme (Savage, MN) and Gerdes assisted on Rothstein's fourth goal of the season.  Freshman Jacob Nehama (Allen, TX) made 65 saves during the weekend, including 34 on Friday.  

For the Record
CC is 4-16 overall and 2-8 in the NCHC ... St. Cloud State is 16-4 overall and 8-2 in the league after sweeping Arizona State (2-1 and 4-1) at home last weekend. The Huskies lost an exhibition game to the U.S. Under-18 team, 7-6, on Sunday.

Up Next
The Tigers are idle next weekend before traveling Grand Forks, N.D., for a series against North Dakota on Jan. 22-23.    

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 … Bob Motzko (St. Cloud State, '87) is in his 11th season as head coach of the Huskies. The 2014 NCHC Coach of the Year led his team to the league's inaugural Penrose Cup championship with a 15-6-3 conference record. Motzko has guided the Huskies to five NCAA Division I tournament appearances in 2007, '08, '10, '13 and '14 as well as the 2013 NCAA Division I Frozen Four.

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.

Scouting the Opposition
Senior Kalle Kossila (4g,11a) leads the Huskies and is fourth in the NCHC in scoring with 25 points (8g,17a). He is followed by fellow seniors David Morley (8g,15a) and Jimmy Murray (8g,14a) with 23 and 22, respectively. Junior Charlie Lindgren is 15-4 in the nets this season. He leads the league in wins and is third in goals-against average (1.86) and saves percentage (.931).  
 
Previous Meetings
Colorado College holds a 46-40-7 advantage in the all-time series with St. Cloud State and a 20-15-5 record in St. Cloud. The Huskies, however, are 9-1-1 in the last 11 games vs. CC and swept the Tigers at The Broadmoor World Arena last season. The all-time series results are on page 4 of this release.
 
2-For-3 at UAH
In the 5-2 victory over Alabama Huntsville on Dec. 18, Gerdes and Fejes became the first CC duo with three points in the same game since Alexander Krushelnyski and Rylan Schwartz each had three in a 5-1 victory over Minnesota Duluth on Jan. 19, 2013. Gerdes has 10 points (2g,8a) in the last seven games, while Fejes has eight points (6g,2a) in the last six games.

Most Goals This Season
CC's five goals on Dec. 18 were the most in a game since a 5-0 victory over Western Michigan on Feb. 28, 2015 at The Broadmoor World Arena. The last time CC scored at least five goals in a road game was Nov. 2, 2012, a 5-4 win at Wisconsin.

Scoring Streaks
Fejes and Gerdes each tied his career high on Dec. 18 with at least one point in three and four consecutive games, respectively. Neither recorded a point on Saturday, Dec. 19. Rothstein has the longest current scoring streak on the team at three games.

Minnesota Connections
Six Tigers are from the state of Minnesota, including junior Matt Hansen, who hails from St. Cloud.   

First League Sweep at Home in Three Years
Prior to the sweep over Miami, Dec. 4-5, the last time CC swept a league opponent at home was Nov. 9-10, 2012 against Bemidji State when both teams were members of the WCHA.   

Three in a Row
With the victory over Air Force and sweep of Miami, the Tigers owned their first three-game winning streak under Mike Haviland. The team's last three-game streak was from Feb. 15 to Feb. 22, 2014 (defeated Western Michigan once and Denver twice).

Upperclassmen Coming Through Lately
After scoring just five of the team's first 15 goals this season, CC's juniors and seniors have scored 17 of the last 24 goals, including the last seven.
    
Comeback vs. Miami The First in a While
CC's comeback on Dec. 4 marked its first win when trailing in the third period since a 4-3 victory over St. Cloud State at home on Feb. 22, 2013.
 
A Break From The Top 20
After playing 10 consecutive games against teams ranked in the top 20, the Tigers' last eight games were against unranked opponents. The 10 teams CC has played this season have a combined record of 87-72-25, good for a .541 winning percentage.

Penalty Kill Stays Strong
Colorado College killed off four of UAH's six power plays during the last series and has erased 53 of the last 63 overall (84.1%) heading back to the second period of the Oct. 16 game at UMass-Lowell. The Tigers have a 79.5% penalty kill percentage for the season.

Scoring Brothers
Senior Cody and freshman Trey Bradley (Tampa, FL) each gathered an assist on freshman Trevor Gooch's (Mantua, NJ) goal against UMass-Lowell on Oct. 16, becoming the first set of brothers to record a point on a CC goal since March 9, 2012 (Jaden and Rylan Schwartz). The two combined again on Dec. 5 as Trey assisted on Cody's second-period goal against Miami. That was the first time a CC player assisted on his brother's goal since March 2, 2012 (Rylan assisted on Jaden's goal).

On The Road For a While
The Tigers played 12 of their first 16 games at home and will not play again at The Broadmoor World Arena until Jan. 29, 2016. In fact, 14 of the first 16 games were played in the state of Colorado, including road games at Denver and Air Force.

Consecutive GWG a Rare Feat
Fejes' back-to-back game-winning goals against Miami, Dec. 4-5, were the first by a Tiger since Nick Dineen posted the GWG in each game of a series sweep against Wisconsin on Nov. 18-19, 2011.

Scoring Has Picked Up Last Eight Games
Entering the game against Air Force on Friday, Nov. 27, Colorado College had 15 goals and 27 assists for 42 points in 12 games. In the last eight games, CC has 24 goals and 35 assists for 59 points. Seven of the team's 12 power-play goals have come in the last eight games as well.

Nehama Records Most Saves in 18 Years
Nehama's 52 saves at UMass-Lowell on Oct. 16 were the most in one game by a CC goalie since Judd Lambert made 60 in a four-overtime victory (1-0) over Wisconsin on March 8, 1997.  

Tough Schedule This Year
Seven of Colorado College's 12 opponents this season are ranked in this week's USCHO.com Top 20 poll, including five that are ranked in the top eight. Five of the 10 teams CC has already played, North Dakota (#1), Boston College (#7), UMass-Lowell (#10), Denver (#17) and Minnesota Duluth (#19), are all ranked in the top 20 this week.

This Year's Leadership
Junior forward Sam Rothstein (Minnetonka, MN) is serving 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 in his career … 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) are the alternate captains.

Injury Bug Has Hit Hard
Five Tigers that played in the exhibition game against Calgary and were expected to be fixtures in the lineup have missed a total of 58 games this season due to injury.  

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.

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

Matt Zaba Added to Coaching Staff
Matt Zaba, a 2007 graduate of Colorado College, was named as a volunteer coach for the CC hockey team prior to this season. Zaba, who ranks No. 3 on the school's list for career goaltending wins with 55, will work exclusively with the team's netminders.

Once in a Lifetime Opportunity ... Outdoor Game
The 302nd meeting between in-state rivals Col­orado College and the University of Denver will certainly be unlike any other in the 65-year his­tory of the series. The schools announced they will play an outdoor hockey game at Coors Field in Denver on Saturday, Feb. 20, 2016. Dubbed the 'Battle on Blake,' this will be the first colle­giate hockey game ever played at Coors Field and marks the first time that CC and DU have faced off in an outdoor match. The game will be played one week prior to the Colorado Avalanche hosting the Detroit Red Wings at Coors Field as part of the Coors Light NHL Stadium Series.