Colorado College Tigers (6-27-1, 4-19-1 NCHC) vs. #2 North Dakota Fighting Hawks (28-5-3, 19-4-1-1 NCHC)
Fri. March 11, 7:37 pm | Sat./Sun., March 12/13, 7:07 pm
Ralph Engelstad Arena (11,634)
Grand Forks, ND

Radio: KRDO 1240 AM/105.5 FM (Ken Landau) | Listen Live
TV: Midco Sports Network
Live Streaming: NCHC.tv | Watch Friday's Game | Watch Saturday's Game | Watch Sunday's Game
Website: www.CCTigers.com
Twitter: CC_Hockey1
Facebook: Colorado College Tiger Hockey
Game Notes: Colorado College | North Dakota

This Weekend
Colorado College travels to Grand Forks, N.D., for the first round of the 2016 NCHC playoffs this weekend against No. 1-seed and second-ranked North Dakota at Ralph Engelstad Arena. The best-of-three series begins on Friday, March 11 at 7:37 pm (CT). Game 2 on Saturday, March 12 and Game 3 (if necessary) on Sunday, March 13, will each begin at 7:07 pm.

Last Weekend
Fifth-ranked St. Cloud State swept Colorado College at the Broadmoor World Arena in the final weekend series of the regular season ... On Friday, the Huskies took advantage of a late goal in each of the first two periods to capture a 5-2 victory. SCSU's Ethan Prow scored with 15.9 seconds left in the first period to break a 1-1 tie and Jimmy Schuldt broke the game open with a wrister that beat Tiger goalie Jacob Nehama (Allen, TX) with just 0.2 seconds left in the second period to give the Huskies a 4-2 lead. Junior Matt Hansen (St. Cloud, MN) and freshman Ben Israel (Bloomfield Hills, MI) each had a goal and an assist for the first two-point game of his career. Nehama made 50 saves, the second-most in a game in his career ... On Saturday, St. Cloud State scored a team-record four shorthanded goals Saturday night en route to a 9-3 win. SCSU scored three of their shorthanded goals while Nathan Widman was in the box after he was called for a charging major at the 2:34 mark of the second period. The Tigers took advantage early in the power play when freshman Mason Bergh (Eden Prairie, MN) took a cross-ice pass from Hansen and broke a scoreless tie 1:07 into the extra-man advantage. Freshman Cole McCaskill (Kamloops, BC) also assisted on Bergh's fourth goal of the season. Things then went downhill in a hurry for the Tigers as Robby Jackson, Patrick Russell and Kalle Kossilla scored, the last two on breakaways, within a span of 2:41 to give the Huskies a 3-1 lead with CC still on the power play. Joey Benik made it 4-1 later in the second period with a shot from the end line that banked off junior netminder Derek Shatzer (Highlands Ranch, CO), who made his first career start and finished with 24 saves. Senior Cody Bradley (Tampa, FL), playing in his final game at The Broadmoor World Arena, scored his seventh goal of the season early in the third period to cut the lead to 4-2, but St. Cloud State scored the next five goals before McCaskill put one past backup goaltender Rasmus Reijola with 1:18 left in the contest.  

For the Record
Colorado College finished in eighth place in the NCHC with a 6-27-1 overall and 4-17-1 (13 points) record in league play this season … North Dakota won the league title with a 28-5-3 overall and 19-4-1-1 (59 points) mark in the NCHC in league play.  

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 … Brad Berry (North Dakota, '02) became the 16th head coach in program history on May 18, 2015. Berry completed his ninth season as an assistant coach at UND in 2014-15. He served two stints in that role, first from 2000-01 through 2005-06 and again from 2012-13 through 2014-15. During his nine years on the UND staff, Berry helped lead the program to eight NCAA Tournament appearances and five NCAA Frozen Four berths.

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
Freshman forward Brock Boeser leads the Fighting Hawks and is No. 2 in the NCHC in scoring with 43 points (25g,18a), including a league-high 25 goals. He is followed by seniors Drake Caggiula with 39 (18g,21a) and Nick Schmaltz with 34 (5g,29a). Schmaltz is third in the league with 29 assists. Goaltender Cam Johnson is 18-3-1 and is No. 2 in the nation with a 1.63 goals-against average this year.
 
Previous Meetings
North Dakota holds a 152-80-11 advantage in the all-time series with Colorado College. The Tigers have just one victory in the last 14 meetings, a 3-2 triumph in game two of the 2014 NCHC first-round series in Grand Forks, N.D. North Dakota went 3-0-1 against the Tigers this season, with CC earning a 5-5 tie in Grand Forks on Jan. 22. The all-time series results are on page 6 of this release.

NCHC First-Round Schedule
All Games Friday, Saturday and Sunday (if necessary)
(8) Colorado College at (1) North Dakota
(7) Western Michigan at (2) St. Cloud State
(6) Omaha at (3) Denver
(5) Miami at (4) Minnesota Duluth

Conference Tournament History
Colorado College is 58-78 all-time in conference postseason play. The Tigers were 41-51-2 during first-round series' in the WCHA (a two-game, total-goal series was played prior to the 1987-88 season, best-of three series since then), and they are 1-4 in the NCHC the past two seasons, with both series played at North Dakota.

Fejes Leads Team in Scoring
Senior Hunter Fejes (Anchorage, AK), one of four Tigers that made his final appearance at The Broadmoor World Arena last weekend, continues to lead the team in scoring with a career-high 22 points (13g,9a). He had two goals and two assists in the 5-5 tie against North Dakota on Jan. 22 and has five points (2g,3a) against the Fighting Hawks this season. His previous high scoring season was 19 points (5g,14a) last season.

Three Others Post Career-Highs This Season     
In addition to Fejes, three other Tigers have posted a career-high number of points this season. They are junior Luc Gerdes (18 points) and sophomores Teemu Kivihalme (15) and Duggie Lagrone (3).  

Tough Schedule This Year
Six of Colorado College's 12 opponents this season, North Dakota (#2), Boston College (#3), St. Cloud State (#5), Denver (#6), UMass-Lowell (#11) and Omaha (#17), are ranked in this week's USCHO.com Top 20 poll. In fact, the Tigers played 16 games against teams ranked in the Top 10 at the time of the game. CC's opponents have a combined record of 210-148-46, good for a .577 winning percentage.

Scoring Picked Up Second Half of Season
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 22 games, CC has 54 goals and 86 assists for 140 points. In addition, 16 of the team's 21 power-play goals have come in the last 22 contests.

Upperclassmen Coming Through As Well
After scoring just five of the team's first 15 goals this season, CC's juniors and seniors have scored 35 of the last 54 goals.

First League Road Win
CC's 5-2 victory at fourth-ranked St. Cloud State on Jan. 9 was the first league road win for Mike Haviland. It had been nearly two years since the Tigers last won a conference game on the road, a 3-2 victory at Denver on Feb. 21, 2014. It was also the first win against a Top 5 ranked team since a 2-0 triumph over No. 1 Minnesota at the WCHA Final Five on March 22, 2013.  
 
Consecutive GWG a Rare Feat
Fejes posted the game-winning goal in each game against Miami earlier this season. His back-to-back game winners 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. Fejes is tied for seventh in the NCHC with two game-winners in league play.

Fejes Feasts on Fridays
Fejes has scored 18 of his team-leading 22 points this season on Friday nights. He has at least one point in eight of the team's last 10 Friday night games and has 15 points (8g,7a) in those games.    

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. Nehama had 50 saves against St. Cloud State last Friday night, becoming the first Tiger with two 50-save performances in the same season since the 1987-88 season (Derek Pizzey).

First Empty-Netter in a While
Junior Sam Rothstein's (Minnetonka, MN) empty-net goal against Nebraska Omaha on Friday, Jan. 29 was CC's first since February 22, 2014.

Nehama Earns NCHC Honor
Nehama was named the Bauer NCHC Goalie of the Week following CC's split at St. Cloud State. Nehama made 81 saves during the weekend, including 47 in the team's 5-2 victory on Jan. 9. He was named the league's Rookie of the Week following CC's sweep of Miami, Dec. 4-5, while fellow freshman Trey Bradley (Tampa, FL) was named the NCHC Rookie of the Week after CC split with Air Force, Nov. 27-28.

2-For-3 at UAH
In the 5-2 victory over Alabama Huntsville on Dec. 18, Fejes and Gerdes 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.

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).

Comeback vs. Miami The First in a While
CC's 2-1 comeback victory over Miami 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.
 
Scoring Brothers
Cody and Trey Bradley 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). The Bradley's collected an assist on each other's goal during the series at Minnesota Duluth.

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.

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.