Colorado College Tigers vs. No. 2 St. Cloud State Huskies

Game Notes: Colorado College | St. Cloud State
Dates: Friday, Nov. 2 / Saturday, Nov. 3
Times: 7:37 pm / 6:07 pm
Location: Colorado Springs, Colo.
Venue: Broadmoor World Arena (7,380)
Radio: KRDO NewsRadio 105.5 FM
TV: None
Live Streaming: NCHC.tv
Records: Colorado College 4-1-1 | St. Cloud State 5-1-0
Rankings: Colorado College rv/rv | St. Cloud State 2/2
Series: Series Tied, 48-48-7
First Game: 1/23/89, SCSU won 5-2
Last Game: 11/18/17, SCSU won 5-1
Streak: St. Cloud State - 2

This Weekend
Colorado College wraps up its six-game homestand and opens NCHC play this weekend with a two-game series, Nov. 2-3, against the nation's No. 2 team, the St. Cloud State Huskies. The games will be broadcast in Colorado Springs on KRDO NewsRadio 105.5 and 92.5 FM, and 1240 AM, and streamed live on NCHC.tv.

Last Time Out
The Tigers posted a 1-0-1 record, Oct. 19-20, at home against New Hampshire ... On Friday, Alex Leclerc had a season-high 39 saves, including 16 in a wild third period, as the two teams skated to a 3-3 draw. Mike Robinson had 34 saves for UNH, including point-blank chances by CC's Westin Michaud and Bryan Yoon in the final seconds of overtime. After CC's Grant Cruikshank scored in the first period and UNH's Max Gildon in the second, Alex Berardinelli scored his team-high fifth goal of the season at the 6:08 mark of the third period after taking a pass from Tanner Ockey. The Tigers' lead lasted just 16 seconds, however, as Angus Crookshank evened the score at the 6:24 mark. CC took the lead for the third time in the game when Chris Wilkie scored on a 5-on-3 power play at 8:09 of the third period. Trey Bradley and Mason Bergh assisted on the play. But the Wildcats fought back and evened the score again as Liam Blackburn scored his first goal of the season at the 9:43 mark of the third. Both teams had scoring chances in the final minutes, as Leclerc stoned Jackson Pierson on a 2-on-1 chance with just less than three minutes to play in regulation, then CC had a 2-on-1 chance of its own with time running out in the third but Robinson saved a shot by Bergh to send the game to overtime ... On Saturday, Bradley collected a goal and two assists and CC scored all four goals in the first period to extend their unbeaten streak to four games with a 4-2 victory. Bradley scored just 1:43 into the contest, but the Wildcats tied the game when Ara Nazarian scored on the power play at the 6:50 mark. At the 7:52 mark of the opening frame, Ty Pochipinski scored his first collegiate goal on his first collegiate shot to give the Tigers a 2-1 lead. The first two-goal lead of the weekend came courtesy of Nick Halloran, who scored his second of the season at the 10:37 mark after Bradley found him open in the slot. Robinson releived starter Ty Taylor after Taylor made six saves and gave up three goals. The Wildcats cut the lead to 3-2 when Richard Boyd collected the puck at his own blue line, flew into the Tiger zone and fired a slap shot that got past Leclerc and moved the back of the net, but did not stay in the net. Play continued on for another minute or so, until a stoppage and video review showed the goal was good. Pochipinski was not the only Tiger to score his first career goal Saturday as Bryan Yoon did the trick with 2:11 remaining in the first. The puck squirted out to the slot after a scrum in front of the UNH net and Bradley found Yoon for the game-winner to make it 4-2. The teams played nearly two full periods with no scoring until Marcus Vela scored as Robinson was on the bench for an extra skater with 2:31 remaining in the third period to cut the Tiger lead to 4-3. Robinson exited the ice again with 2:09 left on the clock, but Cruikshank blocked a couple of UNH shots and the Wildcats did not come up with another shot on goal.

For The Record
Colorado College is 4-1-1 after the 1-0-1 weekend vs. New Hampshire ... St. Cloud State is 5-1-0 after defeating Boston College, 7-0, last Thursday and falling to Northeastern, 3-2, on Saturday.

Previous Meetings
Colorado College and St. Cloud State have met 103 times, with each team winning 48 games and there have been seven ties. SCSU swept the Tigers in St. Cloud last season.  

Scouting the Huskies
Jack Ahcan leads the Huskies and is second in the NCHC in scoring with 10 points (1g,9a). He is tied for second in the nation in assists. Patrick Newell follows with nine points (4g,5a). David Hrenak and Jeff Smith have each played three games this season. Hrenak is 3-0 and Smith is 2-1. Hrenak is second in the NCHC with a 1.00 GAA and .958 saves percentage.  

The Coaches
Mike Haviland (Elmira College, '90) is in his fifth 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 … Brett Larson (Minnesota Duluth, '95) is in his first season as head coach at St. Cloud State after spending three seasons as an assistant coach at Minnesota Duluth. He also was an assistant with the Bulldogs from 2008-11 and helped Minnesota Duluth win the NCAA Division I national title in 2011 and again in 2018. He also served as head coach and GM for the USHL team in Sioux City and as the associate head coach at Ohio State.

Happy 80th
This season marks the 80th year of varsity ice hockey at Colorado College and sixth season as a member of 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 prior to the 2013-14 campaign.

Up Next
The Tigers return to the road for the first time since the season-opening weekend for a two-game series against defending national champion Minnesota Duluth, Nov. 9-10, at Amsoil Arena in Duluth, Minn.

Best Start in Seven Years
Following the victory and tie against New Hampshire, the Tigers are 4-1-1 this season, the best start after six games since a 5-1 record opened the 2011-12 campaign.

Berardinelli's Five Goals Tied for NCHC Lead
Berardinelli notched his fifth goal of the season against New Hampshire on Oct. 19, tying him with Denver's Liam Finley for the most in the NCHC. He has scored in four of CC's five games this season, including two shorthanded tallies during the same penalty Oct. 13 against Air Force. Berardinelli leads the country with two SHG. He is the first collegiate player to score two shorthanded goals during the same penalty since Feb. 5, 2016, when Minnesota State's Bryce Gervais did it in a 5-1 victory over Bowling Green.

Very Defensive in Four Wins
In their four victories this season, the Tigers have allowed just six goals, compared to allowing seven in their tie and loss.

Cruikshank's Season-Opening Point Streak Ends
With his goal on Friday, Oct. 19 against New Hampshire, Cruikshank recorded at least one point in each of the first five games this season, becoming the first Tiger to accomplish that feat since Jaden Schwartz in 2011-12. Cruikshank did not record a point the following night to end the streak. Cruikshank's six points (2g,4a) ties for second among freshmen in the NCHC and ties for seventh in the country.

On the Air
All CC games in 2018-19, home and away, will be broadcast live throughout Southern Colorado on KRDO NewsRadio 105.5 and 92.5 FM and 1240 AM, featuring Ken Landau with the play-by-play. Both of this weekend's pre-game shows start 37 minutes before faceoff. The broadcasts also can be heard worldwide via the Internet.

Haven't Scored 10 in Nearly 16 Years
The 10 goals scored by Colorado College in the season opener at Alaska Anchorage were the most in one game since defeating Mercyhurst, 10-2, on Nov. 30, 2002, and the most in a road game since a 10-1 triumph at Northern Michigan on Oct. 25, 1995. The eight-goal margin was the largest since theat Mercyhurst game.

Almost Everyone is Back
The Tigers return 98% of their goals and points from last season, the highest percentage of all Division I teams, including the line of Bergh, Bradley and Halloran, which produced 116 points (44g,72a) last season and is the NCHC's top returning line. Ironically, those three did not score any of CC's 10 goals Saturday night at Alaska Anchorage and notched a goal and two assists during the weekend.

Tough Schedule Again This Season
After playing 21 of its 36 games against ranked teams last season, the Tigers are at it again this year. Four of Colorado College's 15 opponents this season played in the NCAA Division I Hockey Tournament last season and 18 of CC's 36 regular-season games are scheduled against teams that were ranked in the USCHO's Top 20 preseason poll, including 12 against the last three national champions (Minnesota Duluth, Denver and North Dakota), the most of any team in the country.

Halloran Named to NCHC Preseason Team
Halloran was named to the NCHC Preseason All-Conference Team last month. Halloran and Minnesota Duluth sophomore defenseman Scott Perunovich led all honorees in voting, receiving 24 votes each. Last season, Halloran ranked third in the NCHC with 45 points on 19 goals and 26 assists in 37 games, en route to first-team All-NCHC and second-team All-America honors. He is the first Tiger to be selected to the preseason team since current Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin in 2014-15.

Pikes Peak Trophy Comes to CC
With the victory over Air Force on Oct. 13, Colorado College claimed the Pikes Peak Trophy for the first time. In 2013, Colorado College and Air Force established the Pikes Peak Trophy in memory of the former head coach of both schools, John Matchefts. Matchefts compiled a record of 54-88-3 in five seasons (1966-71) at the Colorado College helm before posting a ledger of 154-150-6 in 11 years (1974-85) with Air Force. The Tigers now own a 61-13-2 all-time record against Air Force.

New On-Campus Arena on the Horizon
Colorado College, in partnership with Colorado Springs' City for Champions initiative, has   unveiled a proposal to build the Edward J. Robson Arena as an on-campus competition arena. If approved, this new facility with 3,000 permanent seats would become the permanent home of CC Tiger Hockey and, for the first time since the program's founding in 1938, the CC hockey team would be able to play games on campus.

Leclerc Named NCHC Goalie of the Week
Colorado College junior goalie Alex Leclerc was named the Bauer NCHC Goalie of the Week after extending his career-high unbeaten streak to five with a win and tie two weekends ago against New Hampshire. In Friday's 3-3 tie, he made a season-high 39 saves, including 16 in the third period and three in overtime. Leclerc then posted his fourth victory of the season with 27 saves in a 4-3 triumph on Saturday. Leclerc, who stopped an NCHC-high 66 shots during the weekend, is 4-0-1 this season with a 1.68 goals-against average and a .938 saves percentage.

Just Missed Being Ranked
Colorado College is the top team outside the USCHO.com Top 20 and USA Today/USA Hockey Top 15 rankings this week. The Tigers collected 71 votes in the USCHO.com poll, nine less than No. 20 Miami, and 23 in the USA Today/USA Hockey poll, 33 less than No. 15 North Dakota. The last time CC was ranked was Dec. 3, 2012 (No. 19 in the USCHO.com poll).   

Mason Bergh a Candidate for Senior CLASS Award
Bergh has been selected as a candidate for the 2018-19 Senior CLASS Award for hockey. He is one of the 15 men's hockey student-athletes that were selected for excelling both on and off the ice. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition.