Colorado College Tigers at Omaha Mavericks

Game Notes: Colorado College | Omaha
Dates: Friday, Feb. 23 / Saturday, Feb. 24
Time: 7:07 pm (CT)
Location: Omaha, Neb.
Venue: Baxter Arena (7,898)
Radio: KRDO NewsRadio 105.5 FM / 1240 AM
TV: None
Live Streaming: NCHC.tv
Records: Colorado College 13-13-4, 7-10-3-2 NCHC | Omaha 15-14-1, 8-12-0-0 NCHC
Rankings: Colorado College rv/-- | Omaha 14\14
Series: Omaha leads 14-8-3
First Game: 10/13/06, Tied 2-2
Last Game: 11/11/17, CC won 4-0

This Weekend
Colorado College heads to Omaha, Neb., for its final road series of the regular season against the 14th-ranked Omaha Mavericks at Baxter Arena. Both games 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 streamed live at NCHC.tv. The teams split a pair of games in Colorado Springs, Nov. 10-11.   

Last Time Out
The Tigers and second-ranked Denver split a pair of games last weekend ... On Friday, Henrik Borgstrom and Jarid Lukosevicius each had a goal and an assist the Pioneers to a 5-1 victory in front of a season-high crowd of 6,750 fans at The Broadmoor World Arena. Borgstrom opened the scoring at the 14:27 mark of the first period when he banked a shot from behind the net off CC goalie Alex Leclerc. The Pioneers then tacked on three goals in the second period to take a 4-1 lead after 40 minutes. After Colin Staub scored just one minute into the middle frame to make it 2-0, Tiger freshman Brian Williams cut the lead in half with his third goal of the season at the 10:36 mark. Williams took a pass from Tanner Ockey at the left-wing boards, cut in to the middle and fired a wrister from the slot past Denver goalie Tanner Jalliet. That was all Jalliet allowed behind him and Kohen Olischefski increased the lead back to two goals with a tally at the 13:14 mark. Logan O'Connor made it 4-1 with just 11 seconds left in the period, then Lukosevicius capped the scoring at the 5:49 mark of the third. Jalliet made 18 saves before giving way to Dayton Rasmussen with 1:04 left in the game, while Leclerc had 36 saves for the Tigers. Denver outshot Colorado College, 41-20, including a 12-4 mark in the third period and each team went 0-for-5 on the power play ... On Saturday, behind a 40-save shutout from Leclerc, Nick Halloran's team-leading 18th goal and a great defensive effort, CC upset the Pioneers, 1-0, at Magness Arena. The Tigers posted a 1-1-2 overall record vs. Denver and collected five of a possible six points against the defending national champions at Magness Arena this season. With the Tigers on the power play late in the first period, Halloran fired a wrist shot from the high slot that slipped past Jalliet with 28.1 seconds remaining in the frame. Westin Michaud won a faceoff in the Denver zone and Halloran collected the puck, moved to the middle and scored his fourth game-winner of the season. Leclerc stopped 13 shots in the first period, then was spectacular in the second, when Denver outshot the Tigers, 18-7. The sophomore goalie, who topped the 40-save mark for the fifth time this season, was helped immensely by the Tiger defense, which limited the Pioneers to just nine shots in the third period and only four shots on four power-play opportunities. Colorado College handed the Pioneers their first shutout of the season and first blanking at home since Nov. 2, 2012.   

Up Next
The Tigers return home to face the Western Michigan Broncos in the final series of the  regular season, March 2-3, at The Broadmoor World Arena.  

First 1-0 Victory in Over Seven Years
CC's victory over Denver on Saturday was its first 1-0 win since Oct. 23, 2010 at
Minnesota State. It also marked the first shutout in a true road game for the Tigers since a 3-0 victory at Wisconsin on Nov. 3, 2012.
 
Very Defensive in 13 Wins
In their 13 victories this season, the Tigers have allowed just 20 goals, including three shutouts, which are the most in one season since 2010-11 (5).

For the Record
Colorado College is 13-13-4 overall after splitting with Denver last weekend. The Tigers are 7-10-3-2 in the NCHC, good for 26 points and sixth place, just two points behind fifth-place Western Michigan ... Omaha is 15-14-1 overall and 8-12-0-0 in league play. The Mavericks have 24 points and are in seventh place in the NCHC.

The Coaches
Mike Haviland (Elmira College, '90) is in his fourth season at the helm of the Tigers. He led the Tigers to the Florida College Hockey Classic title last season. Haviland came to Colorado College after serving one year as head coach of the Hershey Bears (AHL) and was an assistant coach for the Chicago Blackhawks from 2008-12, helping the team win the Stanley Cup in 2010 … Mike Gabinet (Omaha, '04) is in his first season as head coach at Omaha after serving as the team's associate head coach during the 2016-17 season. Prior to that, he was the head coach of the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology in 2015-16.    

Scouting the Mavericks
David Pope leads the Mavericks and is tied for second in the NCHC with 39 points  (20g,19a), and leads the league in goals. Tyler Vesel is second on the team with 28 points (11g, 17a), followed by Zach Jordan (14g,10a) and Jake Randolph (5g,19a) with 24 apiece. Junior goalie Evan Weninger is 13-11 this season with a 3.55 goals-against average and an .892 saves percentage.

On the Air
All CC games in 2017-18, home and away, will be broadcast live throughout Southern Colorado on KRDO NewsRadio 105.5 and 92.5 FM, as well as 1240 AM, featuring Ken Landau with the play-by-play. The pregame show begins 37 minutes prior to the start of the game. The broadcasts also can be heard worldwide via the Internet ... Select games, including both this weekend, also will be available on KSBV 93.7 FM in Cripple Creek, Divide, Buena Vista, Monarch and Leadville.

Halloran Holds on to NCHC Scoring Lead
Halloran, who was held pointless last Friday night for just the fourth time in his last 21 games, continues to hold the top spot in the NCHC scoring race with 41 points. He is fourth in the country in scoring.

Fastest to 13 Wins in Six Years
With Saturday's victory at Denver, the Tigers achieved their 13th win of the season, more than the team's win total in each of the last four seasons, and earlier than any season since the 2011-12 campaign. That season, CC won its 13th game on Jan. 13.

Bergh and Halloran Nominated for Hobey Baker Award
Mason Bergh and Halloran are among 74 student-athletes nominated for the 2018 Hobey Baker Award. The Hobey Baker Award is presented annually to the collegiate hockey player who best demonstrates strength of character both on and off the ice, contributes to the integrity of his team and displays outstanding skills in all phases of the game. Colorado College has had two winners since the first Hobey Baker was awarded in 1981, Peter Sejna (2003) and Marty Sertich (2005).

No Seniors This Season
Colorado College is one of only two Division I programs in the country without a senior on the 2017-18 roster. Boston College is the other. However, BC does have a graduate student on its roster this season.

Several Career Highs This Season
Seven Tigers, Halloran (41), Bergh (34), Trey Bradley (25), Michaud (22), Trevor Gooch (17), Kristian Blumenschein (13) and Ben Israel (10), have already posted a career-high in points after 30 games this season.

Saturday Success
With the victory at Denver, the Tigers continued their success on Saturday this season, posting a 9-4-2 record. All four losses were against ranked teams and seven of the nine wins have been by one goal.

Still Undefeated When Leading After Two
The 1-0 victory at Denver last Saturday improved CC's record to 11-0-1 when leading after two periods this season. The Tigers were ahead 1-0 after 40 minutes at Denver.

Halloran Fastest to 40 Points in 12 Years
Halloran reached the 40-point mark in 28 games, the fewest by a Tiger since Brett Sterling needed 27 during the 2005-06 campaign. He is the first Tiger to score 40 points in a season since Rylan Schwartz (53) and Alexander Krushelnyski (43) in 2012-13.

Most Goals Since 2013
Colorado College has 86 goals this season, the most in one campaign since scoring 133 in 2012-13.

Tigers Continue to Receive Votes in USCHO.com Poll
Colorado College received five votes in the this week's USCHO.com poll, good for 25th place. The Tigers also are tied for 23rd in the latest PairWise rankings.

Top Line Continues to Shine
Halloran, Bergh and Bradley have combined for at least six points in six of CC's last 16 games. Halloran leads the nation with 10 first-period goals and is tied for the national lead with 26 points at home, while Bergh is tied for sixth in the nation with eight power-play goals. Bradley, meanwhile, has a career-high 20 assists and 25 points this season.

Another Tough Schedule
After playing the second-toughest schedule in the country last season, the Tigers are at it again this year. Five of Colorado College's 13 opponents this season played in the NCAA Division I Hockey Tournament last season and 20 of CC's 34 regular-season games, including eight of their last 10 and each of the remaining four, this season are against teams ranked in the top 17 of this week's USCHO.com poll.

Most PPG in Three Years
The Tigers' three power-play goals vs. Miami on Jan. 26 were the most in one game since scoring the same amount in a 4-1 victory at UConn on Jan. 6, 2015.

Outstanding in One-Goal Games
Following Saturday's 1-0 victory at Denver, the Tigers are 8-3 in one-goal games this season. That is the most one-goal victories in a season since winning 11 during the 2012-13 campaign.

Halloran Repeats as NCHC Player of the Month
Halloran was named the NCHC Player of the Month for January, becoming the first player in NCHC history to be named the sole Player of the Month in consecutive months. Denver's Joey LaLeggia was the co-Player of the Month in February of 2015, then won the award outright the following month. Halloran was named the Player of the Month for December after racking up eight points in six games, helping the Tigers post a 2-1-3 record during the month. In January, he led the NCHC by averaging 2.00 points per game, tied for the league lead with seven assists and 12 points, and tallied three points in half of the six games.

Fastest Two Goals in Six Years
The two goals in 17 seconds by Michaud and Halloran on Dec. 16 against Arizona State were the fastest by Colorado College since Nov. 25, 2011, when Nick Dineen and Ryan Schwartz scored 16 seconds apart in a 7-6 loss at North Dakota.

Junior Class Scoring
CC and Omaha own two of the highest-scoring junior classes in the nation:
 

Rank	School	G-A-Pts
1.	St. Cloud State	51-108-159
2.	Denver	49-86-135
3.	Union	44-82-126
4.	Colorado College	47-78-125
5.	Canisius	33-88-121
13.	Omaha	27-64-91

Colorado College and St. Cloud State are tied for the national lead with 20 power-play goals by their junior class.
 
Ockey to Play 100th Game Saturday
Junior co-captain Tanner Ockey is scheduled to play in his 100th career game Saturday. Mason Bergh played his 100th last Friday at home against Denver, while Andrew Farny hit the century mark on Saturday in Denver.