Colorado College Tigers at Merrimack Warriors

Game Notes: Colorado College
Dates: Monday, Dec. 31
Times: 4:00 pm (ET)
Location: North Andover, Mass.
Venue: Lawler Rink (2,549)
Radio: KRDO NewsRadio 105.5 FM
TV: None
Live Streaming: merrimackathletics.com
Records: Colorado College 7-9-2 | Merrimack 4-12-1
Series: Colorado College leads 3-0
First Game: 10/14/06, CC won 5-1
Last Game: 12/30/17, CC won 2-1
Streak: Colorado College - 3

Next Time Out
Colorado College heads to the East Coast for a New Year's Eve game against Merrimack College in North Andover, Mass., beginning at 4:00 p.m. (ET). The game 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 lost a pair of games at No. 15/13 Arizona State, Dec. 14-15, in Tempe ... On Friday, Johnny Walker and Joshua Maniscalco each scored twice and the Sun Devils scored the final four goals in a 4-2 victory. After a scoreless first period, Trey Bradley gave the Tigers a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal at the 8:59 mark of the second period. Nick Halloran sent a cross-ice pass to Bradley, who beat ASU goalie Joey Daccord from the right circle for his fifth of the season. Ben Copeland made it 2-0 just 42 seconds later when Alex Berardinelli found him charging down the slot from behind the net. Copeland beat Daccord just inside the right post for his fourth goal of the campaign. The Sun Devils cut the lead in half at the 11:13 mark when Tyler Busch won a faceoff back to Maniscalco, whose shot from the point found its way past CC goalie Alex Leclerc.    Walker scored the next two goals, including the game winner midway through the third with a shot from the left circle that snuck between Leclerc's pad and the near post. Maniscalco added an empty-netter with 36 seconds left in the game for the final margin ... On Saturday, Walker scored two more goals and Daccord had 31 saves in a 4-0 victory. The two teams battled to a scoreless first period for the second consecutive night.The Tigers did everything but score in the second period, while Austin Lemiuex and PJ Marrocco each had a goal and an assist in the middle frame and the Sun Devils led 2-0 after 40 minutes. Daccord came up huge as CC held a 14-8 advantage in the second period and had three power-play opportunities. Daccord made several saves from point-blank range, including a couple by Trevor Gooch just before the odd-man rush that led to Lemieux's goal. The Tigers found themselves in a great position to close the gap early in the third period with a 5-on-3 advantage for one minute, but a hooking penalty on Halloran wiped it out. ASU killed the remaining 13 seconds of the 4-on-3 power play, then Walker scored during the ensuing Sun Devil power play to make it 3-0 at the 4:49 mark. Walker then scored his second of the game and fourth of the weekend with a power-play goal with 1:38 left in the contest.

Up Next
Colorado College continues its journey along the East Coast with a game against Maine on Wednesday, Jan. 2. It is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m (ET) and will be televised in the Rocky Mountain Region on Altitude Sports.

For The Record
Colorado College is 7-9-2 overall and 2-5-1 in the NCHC ... Merrimack is 4-13-1 entering its home game against Denver on Dec. 28. The Warriors are 2-8 in Hockey East play.

Previous Meetings
Colorado College and Merrimack have played three times, including twice in the last two seasons. The Tigers have won all three games, most recently a 2-1 victory at the Broadmoor World Arena last season and a 3-0 win at the Florida College Hockey Classic in December of 2016.

Tiger Tales
Halloran (4g,9a) leads the Tigers in scoring with 13 points, followed by Westin Michaud and Bradley (5g,7a) with 12 apiece. Mason Bergh (5g,6a) has 11, while Berardinelli and  Gooch each have 10 points and a team-high six goals. Leclerc has a 7-8-2 record with a 2.61 GAA and .910 saves percentage. He is tied for the national lead among goalies with two assists this season.  

Scouting the Warriors
Tyler Irvine leads the Warriors with 13 points (5g,7a), followed by Johnathan Kovacevic with 10 (3g,7a) and Chase Gresock with nine (3g,6a). Craig Pantano has played 15 games in the net this season and sports a 4-8-1 record, along with a 3.38 GAA and .887 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 … Scott Borek (Dartmouth, '85) is in his first season as the head coach at Merrimack after spending three seasons as the associate head coach at Providence College and 13 years in the same capacity at New Hampshire. He was the head coach at Lake Superior State for five seasons

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.

Shot Streaks Snapped
The Tigers' streaks of six straight games with at least 30 shots and outshooting their opponets were snapped Dec. 14 when Arizona State held a 37-25 advantage. The 49 shots by Colorado College on Dec. 8 against Vermont were the most in a game by the Tigers since Dec. 4, 2010.

Very Defensive in Seven Wins
In their seven victories this season, the Tigers have allowed 12 goals, and have given up 38 in the other 11 games.

Balanced Scoring
CC has 22 players, including Leclerc, with at least one point in the first 18 games, while 17 Tigers have scored at least one goal this season.
 
Bergh Cracks Top 100
Mason Bergh moved into the Top 100 on CC's career scoring list with a goal at Omaha on Dec. 1. With his assist on Dec. 14 against Arizona State, Bergh is tied
with Jaden Schwartz (2010-12) and Aaron Slattengren (2002-06) for 95th place with 88 points (41g,47a).

Not a Lot of Whistles
Colorado College is one of the least penalized teams in college hockey. The Tigers are fourth in the nation for fewest penalties called per game (3.72) and eighth in fewest penalty minutes per game (8.94). CC was not called for a penalty against Vermont on Dec. 7, 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.

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 during this road trip, 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 39-28 in the first two periods this season. CC has led or been tied after two periods in 13 of its 18 games.

Berardinelli Tied for Second in Nation 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 second in the nation 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.

McCaskill to Hit Triple Figures
Cole McCaskill will play his 100th career game for Colorado College against Merrimack. He joins Gooch and Ben Israel, each with 112, as players that have reached 100 career games this season.