Colorado College Tigers (1-1-0)  vs. #7 UMass-Lowell River Hawks (0-0-2)

Fri./Sat., Oct. 14/15, 7:37/7:07 p.m.
The Broadmoor World Arena (7,380)
Colorado Springs, Colo.

Game Notes: Colorado College | UMass Lowell
Radio: KRDO 1240 AM/105.5 FM (Ken Landau)
TV: None
Live Streaming: www.nchc.tv
Website: www.CCTigers.com
Twitter: CC_Hockey1
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ColoradoCollegeHockey

This Week
Colorado College plays its first games of the 2016-17 season at home this weekend with a two-game series against the UMass-Lowell River Hawks at The Broadmoor World Arena. The puck drops at 7:37 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 14, and 7:07 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 15. Both games will be broadcast in Colorado Springs on KRDO NewsRadio 105.5 FM and 1240 AM, and streamed live on NCHC.tv.

Last Week
The Tigers split a two-game series at UMass last weekend to open the 2016-17 season. On Friday, Ryan Wischow made 31 saves in his collegiate debut to lead the Minutemen to a 3-0 victory. After a scoreless first period in which the Tigers outshot UMass, 12-4, Jonny Lazarus gave the Minutemen a 1-0 lead at the 11:03 mark of the second period with a power-play goal. Anthony Petrella and William Lagesson each added a goal in the third period. CC freshman goalie Alex Leclerc (Longueuil, QUE) showed well in his first collegiate appearance, turning away 15 shots, including some from point-blank range ... On Saturday, the Tigers exploded for three goals in the first eight minutes en route to a 7-4 victory. Six of the goals were scored by freshmen, including two by Branden Makara (Gloucester, ONT) who opened the scoring just one minute into the contest, then notched his second at the 7:15 mark to make it 3-0. Fellow freshmen Kristian Blumenschein (Kelowna, BC), Bryce Van Horn (Kimball, MI) and Cole Josefchak (Calgary, ALB) each had a goal and an assist and sophomore Trey Bradley (Tampa, FL) recorded a career-high three assists. Leclerc made 14 saves for his first collegiate victory.

Season Openers
Following the loss to UMass last Friday, Colorado College is now 47-29-2 all-time in regular-season openers. The Tigers are 40-13-1 at home and 7-16-1 on the road (including neutral games). CC has won 14 of its last 15 regular-season openers, dating back to a 6-2 loss to North Dakota in '01-02.

Up Next
Colorado College returns to the East Coast to take on No. 6/9 Boston College on Friday, Oct. 21, and New Hampshire on Saturday, Oct. 22.

For the Record
Colorado College is 1-1 after its split at UMass last weekend … UMass Lowell is 0-0-2 after a pair of ties with Minnesota Duluth at home last weekend.

The Coaches
Mike Haviland (Elmira College, '90) enters his third 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 … Norm Bazin (UMass-Lowell, '94) is in his sixth year at UMass-Lowell. He has a record of 124-57-18 with the River Hawks and led them to the NCAA Frozen Four in 2012-13. Bazin was an assistant coach at Colorado College from 2000-08 before taking the head coaching position at Hamilton College, where he spent three season before moving to UMass-Lowell.

Previous Meetings
Colorado College holds a 7-6 advantage in the all-time series with UMass-Lowell, including a 5-3 victory in the NCAA quarterfinals in 1996. The River Hawks, however, have won the last four meetings, including a pair of one-goal wins last season in Lowell.

On the Air
All CC games in 2016-17, 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 ... Selected games will also be available on KSBV 93.7 FM in Salida, Buena Vista and Monarch.

Scoring Outburst Saturday Night
CC's seven goals last Saturday were the most in one game since defeating Boston College 8-4 in the NCAA Midwest Regional on March 25, 2011. The Tigers' four goals in the first period Saturday were the most since scoring four in the second period vs. Denver on Feb. 9, 2013. CC defeated the Pioneers, 6-5, in overtime that game.

Fewest Shots Allowed In Over a Year
UMass' 18 shots Friday night were the fewest allowed by CC since Nebraska Omaha had 14 on Jan. 17, 2015. In fact, the Minutemen were held to 18 shots each game, marking the first time since Jan. 15 (Alaska-Anchorage, 17) and Jan. 21 (Alabama Huntsville, 17), 2011 that CC allowed less than 20 shots in consecutive games.

Every Point by an Underclassman
All 15 points (7g, 8a) last Saturday were scored by either a freshman or a sophomore. Every goal was scored by a Tiger playing in his second career game, including five freshmen and sophomore Westin Michaud (Cloquet, MN), who missed the '15-16 season due to an injury.

This Year's Leadership
Senior forward Sam Rothstein (Minnetonka, MN) will serve as team captain for the second consecutive year in 2016-17. Rothstein, who was the first junior to be named captain at CC since Mark Stuart in 2004-05, scored 15 points (6g,9a) last season and has 49 (18g,31a) in 101 career games. He is the first Tiger to be captain for two seasons since Eric Rud in 1995-96 and '96-97 ... Senior forward Luc Gerdes (Eden Prairie, MN), the team's leading returning scorer with 18 points (7g, 11a), and sophomore Andrew Farny (Steamboat Springs, CO), who was third on the team among freshmen with three goals last year, are the assistant captains this season.

Six Opponents Played in Postseason    
Six of Colorado College's 13 opponents this season played in the NCAA Division I Hockey Tournament last season. Defending national champion North Dakota along with fellow NCHC foes, Denver, St. Cloud State and Minnesota Duluth joined Boston College and UMass-Lowell among the 16 teams in the tournament.

A Bunch of Scoring Returns
This year's returners accounted for 145 of the team's 187 points (77.5 percent) last season, including 51 of the 71 goals scored (71.8%). Gerdes is the team's top returning scorer with 18 points (7 goals, 11 assists), followed by Bradley with 16 (9g,7a) and Rothstein and junior defenseman Teemu Kivihalme (Savage, MN) with 15 apiece.

Tough Schedule Last Season ...     
Colorado College finished the 2015-16 season with the fifth-toughest schedule in the country, according to the Division I RPI. In fact, NCHC schools occupied the top seven spots on the list. Last year, CC played 21 of its 36 games, including 13 of its last 17, against teams ranked in the top 12 in the country.

... And Again This Year
Seven of Colorado College's 13 opponents this season are ranked in this week's USCHO.com Top 20 poll. In fact, six of them, North Dakota (No. 1), Minnesota Duluth (No. 4), Boston College (No. 6), St. Cloud State (No. 7), UMass-Lowell (No. 8) and Denver (No. 10), are ranked in the top 10. Also, Air Force is ranked No. 18 this week. The Tigers will play 18 of their 34 games against those teams. Five other opponents, Miami, Nebraska Omaha, Cornell (possible opponent), Western Michigan and Wisconsin, received votes.

Tigers Add 10 Newcomers
CC's 10 freshmen bring plenty of impressive statistics and acheivements to the program. Up front, Alex Berardinelli (Pittsburgh, PA) enjoyed an all-star 2015-16 season (55 points, 33 goals) with the Lone Star Brahmas of the North American Hockey League, while Van Horn and Max St. Pierre (Orleans, ONT) were key contributors for the Carleton Place Canadians, who won the 2015 Canadian junior national championship and advanced to the 2016 semifinals. Nick Halloran (Draper, UT) had 45 points (21 goals) with the Trail Smoke Eaters of the British Columbia Hockey League, while Kade Kehoe (Saskatoon, SASK) led the Cowichan Valley Capitals with 55 points (22 goals) in 57 regular-season games and Makara finished seventh in the CCHL with 64 points (39 assists) in 60 regular-season games last season. On the blue line, Blumenschein helped the West Kelowna Warriors to the 2016 Royal Bank Cup championship, while Josefchak and Alex Pernitsky (Unity, SASK) were blue-liners on the runner-up team, the Lloydminster Bobcats. Leclerc, who also played for Lloydminster, tied for the AJHL lead with 31 victories last season.

Number Change
Sophomore defenseman David Radke (Orinda, CA) is wearing a new number in 2016-17, switching from No. 20 to No. 7.

Three Posted Career-Highs Last Season     
Three Tigers posted a career-high number of points last season. They were Gerdes (18 points), Kivihalme (15) and junior Duggie Lagrone (Plano, TX) with three.  

CC Receives $8 Million Gift for New On-Campus Practice Arena     
Colorado College alumnus Edward J. Robson has given the college $8 million to build a new on-campus hockey arena. The facility, which will be located on the west side of Nevada Avenue between Dale and Cache La Poudre streets, is part of a campus master plan the college's Board of Trustees approved in 2015. CC's Division I hockey team will practice in the new facility and continue to play its games in the Broadmoor World Arena.
The new facility, which will be named the Edward J. Robson Arena, is a $10 million project that the college will break ground on during the 2018-19 academic year. It will replace the Honnen Ice Arena, the college's current on-campus facility, and include about 900 seats. In addition to the varsity team, the new arena will serve intramurals, the college's club teams, student life activities and community hockey leagues.
Robson, who graduated from CC in 1954 and received an honorary degree from the college in 2014, credits former CC hockey coach Cheddy Thompson for the program's success, calling him the "father of CC hockey." Thompson guided the college's hockey team to the program's first NCAA championship in 1950 and the team went 149-72-6 with six NCAA bids during his 10-year career as head coach at the college.
Robson Arena will be constructed using sustainable building practices and materials, building on the college's commitment to sustainability. Currently the Honnen Ice Arena is the least energy-efficient building on the Colorado College campus. In 2015, CC received a gold-star rating from the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS), improving on a silver designation awarded the previous year.