Colorado College Tigers at Arizona State Sun Devils

Game Notes: Colorado College
Dates: Friday, Dec. 14 / Saturday, Dec. 15
Times: 7:05 pm
Location: Tempe, Az.
Venue: Oceanside Ice Arena
Radio: KRDO NewsRadio 105.5 FM
TV: None
Live Streaming: Pac-12.com
Series: Colorado College leads 1-0-1
First Game: 12/16/17, CC won 4-0
Last Game: 12/17/17, Tie 4-4
Streak: Tie - 1

This Weekend
Colorado College hits the road for a weekend series against the No. 15/13 Arizona State Sun Devils at Oceanside Ice Arena in Tempe, Ariz. Both games start at 7:05 p.m. (MT) and will be broadcast in Colorado Springs and the Pikes Peak Region on KRDO NewsRadio 105.5 and 92.5 FM, and 1240 AM, as well as KSBV 97.3 West of Pikes Peak.

Last Time Out
The Tigers split with Vermont last weekend at the Broadmoor World Arena ... On Friday, Westin Michaud, Troy Conzo and Trevor Gooch each recorded a goal and an assist Friday night to lead Colorado College to a 5-2 victory. Despite controlling the play for most of the first period and outshooting Vermont, 14-7, the Tigers trailed 1-0 after 20 minutes.  Matt Alvaro opened the scoring at the 11:34 mark after collecting the puck following a blocked shot and beating Alex Leclerc with a wrist shot from the top of the right circle. Conzo tied the game with his second goal of the year at the 3:45 mark. Gooch sent a through pass to Christiano Versich at the Vermont blue line. Versich collected the pass, spun around and found Conzo, who cleanly beat Vermont goalie Stefanos Lekkas from the slot. The Tigers took the lead for good when Michaud took a pass from Alex Pernitsky at the Vermont blue line and found himself one-on-one with Lekkas. Michaud's wrister went just inside the left post from the slot to make it 2-1 with 4:22 remaining in the period. Trey Bradley knocked home his own rebound for an insurance goal 1:20 into the third period. After Nick Halloran hit Bradley streaking down the slot, Lekkas stopped Bradley's first shot, but not his second and it was 3-1. It stayed that way until the final 1:26 of the game, when the teams combined for three goals. With Lekkas on the bench for an extra skater, Conor O'Neil scored to cut the lead to 3-2, but Gooch scored an empty-netter with 36 seconds remaining and Grant Cruikshank notched his third of the season with 13 seconds to play. Leclerc finished the game with 22 saves, including a couple of point-blank saves early in the second period and a tremendous glove save on a wraparound attempt by Alvaro with eight minutes remaining in the third period. Lekkas had 36 saves for the Catamounts ... On Saturday, Lekkas stopped 48 shots and Vermont rallied with two second-period goals to defeat Colorado College, 2-1. Gooch opened the scoring just 3:51 into the contest after forcing a turnover behind the Vermont net. Michaud gathered the puck and found Ben Copeland, whose shot from the right circle was stopped by Lekkas. The puck went to Gooch at the left circle and his shot slid under the sprawling goalie. Despite getting outshot 18-8 in the second period, Vermont struck twice in the frame to take a 2-1 lead after 40 minutes. Jake Massie scored a power-play goal with a wrist shot from the point at the 5:25 mark to even the game, then Vlad Dzhiosvili deflected a shot past Leclerc at 9:17 to give the Catamounts the lead. Neither team scored in the third, despite a couple of power plays for each team. The Tigers tried to even the score after Alvaro was called for hooking at the 3:51 mark, but only two of CC's seven shots made it to Lekkas and he stopped both. CC's rally seemed to be derailed with 2:13 remaining when Bryan Yoon was assessed a five-minute major and game misconduct, but Massie took a high-sticking call with 17 seconds left. Just after the faceoff, Versich had a look from the slot, but Lekkas made his final save of the night to preserve the victory.

For The Record
Colorado College is 7-7-2 overall and 2-5-1 in the NCHC after last weekend's split against Vermont ... Arizona State is 12-6 after sweeping Princeton, 4-0 and 3-2, on the road last weekend.

Previous Meetings
Colorado College and Arizona State have played two times, both last season at the Broadmoor World Arena. The Tigers hold a 1-0-1 advantage, posting a 4-0 victory and 4-4 draw last year.

Tiger Tales
Halloran (4g,8a) leads the Tigers in scoring with 12 points, followed by Michaud (5g,6a) and Bradley (4g,7a) with 11 apiece. Gooch (6g,4a) and Mason Bergh (5g.5a) each have 10. Two others have nine, including Alex Berardinelli, who shares the team lead for goals with Gooch. Leclerc has a 7-6-2 record with a 2.48 GAA and .916 saves percentage. He is tied for the national lead among goalies with two assists this season.  

Scouting the Sun Devils
Johnny Walker leads the Sun Devils with 19 points (13g,6a) and is tied for the national lead with 13 goals. Brinson Pasichnuk has 14 points (7g,7a), followed by Anthony Croston and Tyler Busch with 13 apiece (4g,9a). Joey Daccord has played every game in the net this season and sports a 12-6 record, along with a 2.28 GAA and .927 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 … Greg Powers (Arizona State, '99) is in his 11th season as the head coach at his alma mater. This is ASU's third season with a full NCAA Division I schedule. Powers was three-time ACHA Division I All-American goaltender at Arizona State and named the AHCA Division I Coach of the Year in 2014.

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
Colorado College travels to the East Coast for games against Merrimack on Monday, Dec. 31 and Maine on Wednesday, Jan. 2.

Most Shots in Eight Years
The 49 shots by Colorado College last Saturday were the most in a game by the Tigers since putting the same number on net at Michigan Tech on Dec. 4, 2010. It marked the sixth consecutive game CC outshot its opponent, the longest streak since the 2013-14 season. The Tigers have recorded at least 30 shots in six straight games for the first time since early in the 2009-10 campaign.

Very Defensive in Seven Wins
In their seven victories this season, the Tigers have allowed 12 goals, and have given up 30 in the other nine games.

Balanced Scoring
CC has 22 players, including Leclerc, with at least one point in the first 16 games, while 17 Tigers have scored at least one goal this season.
 
Bergh Cracks Top 100
Bergh moved into the top 100 on CC's career scoring list with a pair of goals at Omaha two weekends ago. He is tied with William Rapuzzi (2009-13) and Greg Hampson (1979-83) for 97th place with 87 points (41g,46a).

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 30 minutes before faceoff. The broadcasts also can be heard worldwide via the Internet ... Selected games, including both this weekend, will also be available on KSBV 93.7 FM in Cripple Creek, Divide, Buena Vista, Monarch and Leadville.

Played Top Two Back-to-Back, Again
By playing No. 2 St. Cloud State and No. 1 Minnesota Duluth back-to-back last month, Colorado College faced the nation's top two teams in consecutive weekends for the third consecutive season. Two years ago, the Tigers faced No. 2 Denver, followed by No. 1 Minnesota Duluth at home. Last season, CC played at No. 2 St. Cloud State, followed by No. 1 Denver.

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.

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 24 of CC's 36 regular-season games are scheduled against teams that are ranked in this week's USCHO's Top 20 poll, including 12 against the last three national champions (Minn. Duluth, Denver and North Dakota), the most of any team in the country.

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.

Strong Out of the Gate
The Tigers have outscored their opponents 37-24 in the first two periods this season. CC has led or been tied after two periods in 12 of its 16 games.

No Penalties Last Friday
Colorado College was not called for a penalty last Friday night, the first time the Tigers were not whistled since Dec. 14, 2013 at Wisconsin. Vermont was called for two penalties in the game, marking the fewest combined penalties in a CC game since that same contest at Wisconsin, in which there were zero penalties. The Tigers lead the nation in fewest penalties called per game at 3.44.

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.

Berardinelli Tied for National Lead with Two Shortys
Berardinelli, who scored five of his team-leading six goals in the first five games this season, leads the NCHC and is tied for the national lead with two shorthanded goals. He scored both SHG during the same penalty Oct. 13 against Air Force. Berardinelli is the first collegiate player to score two shorthanded goals during the same penalty since Feb. 5, 2016 (Minnesota State's Bryce Gervais did it in a 5-1 victory over Bowling Green).

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.