Colorado College vs. Minnesota Duluth When: Friday, Nov. 22, 7:07 p.m. (CT) Saturday, Nov. 23, 7:07 p.m. (CT) Where: Amsoil Arena, Duluth, Minn. Live Streaming: NCHC.tv Live Audio: KRDO Radio Live Stats: CCTigers.com Twitter: @CC_Hockey1 Facebook: Colorado College Hockey Colorado College Game Notes

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This Weekend
Colorado College heads back to Minnesota to take on the two-time defending national champion and ninth-ranked Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs at Amsoil Arena in Duluth, Minn. The puck drops at 7:07 p.m. (CT) on Friday, Nov. 22, and Saturday, Nov. 23. Both games will be broadcast in Colorado Springs on KRDO NewsRadio 105.5 FM, 1240 AM and 92.5 FM and West of Pikes Peak on KSBV 93.7. Saturday's contest will be televised live in the Pikes Peak Region on SOCO CW and in the Denver area on KWGN Channel 2.

Last Time Out
The Tigers swept a pair of games at St. Cloud State last weekend, collecting their first sweep against the Huskies since Dec. 10-11, 2010 ... On Friday, Christiano Versich scored twice and Colorado College was a perfect 3-for-3 on the power play as the Tigers won 4-2. Grant Cruikshank added a pair of assists and Matt Vernon stopped 20 shots for the Tigers in their first road game of the season. Nick Halloran opened the scoring with a power-play goal at the 6:40 mark of the first period and CC doubled the lead when Versich scored a power-play goal of his own just 3:01 into the second period. Will Hammer put SCSU on the board at the 7:25 mark of the second, then Jami Krannila evened the score at the 13:41 mark of the middle frame. Versich, from nearby Kelly Lake, Minn., scored the game winner at the 10:47 mark of the third period with his second power-play goal of the night. Josiah Slavin found Versich at the right point and his wrist shot snuck past a screened Hrenak, then Slavin put the game away with an empty netter for his first career goal with one minute remaining ... On Saturday, five Tigers scored and Ben Copeland collected a pair of assists to lead CC to a 5-2 victory. Halloran opened the scoring for the second consecutive night, this time with a highlight goal at the 17:14 mark of the opening frame. He brought the puck into the zone down the left side, skated towards center ice, spun around 180 degrees and placed a backhander past SCSU goalie David Hrenak. Andrew Gaus put the Tigers ahead 2-0 with a backhander of his own that beat Hrenak just 1:30 into the second period, then freshman Brady Smith scored the first goal of his career at the 6:49 mark of the second to make it 3-0. The Huskies cut the lead to 3-1 with a power-play goal by Easton Brodzinski at the 10:15 mark of the middle period, but Kristian Blumenschein put the Tigers back up by three with his first goal of the season at the 15:09 mark of the second. Chase Brand scored a power-play goal just 2:21 into the third period to make it 4-2, but Versich sealed the deal with an empty-net goal in the final minute for his third goal of the weekend.

Tiger Tales
Friday's win was the first over St. Cloud State since March 4, 2017, snapping a seven-game winless streak against the Huskies ... CC handed the Huskies their first back-to-back losses at home since Nov. 18-19, 2016 vs. North Dakota  ... Versich posted the first multi-goal game of his career on Friday ... Chad Sasaki posted his first career point on Friday with an assist on Slavin's empty-net goal ... The Tigers scored three power-play goals for the first time since Jan. 19, 2019 at Denver ... Vernon is the first Tiger freshman goalie to sweep a road series since Joe Howe at Minnesota State, Nov, 13-14, 2009.

The Coaches
Mike Haviland (Elmira College, '90) is in his sixth 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 Sandelin (North Dakota, '86) is in his 20th season at Minnesota Duluth. He has led the Bulldogs to the 2011, 2018 and 2019 national championships and won the Spencer Penrose Award (Division I Coach of the Year) in 2004.

For the Record
Colorado College is 4-3-1 overall and 2-1-1 in the NCHC after sweeping St. Cloud State last weekend ... Minnesota Duluth is 5-4-1 and 2-1-1 in the NCHC after splitting a pair of games at Miami last weekend ... CC and UMD are tied for third place in the conference with seven points.

Previous Meetings
Colorado College and Minnesota Duluth have met 194 times, with the Bulldogs holding a 102-82-10 advantage in the series. UMD took three of four against the Tigers last season including a two-game sweep in Duluth last November.
 
Scouting the Bulldogs
Scott Perunovich leads the Bulldogs with 13 points (2g,11a) and is tied for the NCHC lead with 11 assists. Nick Swaney follows with eight points (3g,5a), while Noah Cates (5g,2a) and Jackson Cates (4g,3a) each have seven. Hunter Shepard has started all 10 games this season in the net. He has a 5-4-1 record with a 2.30 goals-against average and .902 saves percentage.  

Up Next
The Tigers take Thanksgiving Weekend off before travelling to New Jersey for a weekend series against the Princeton Tigers on Friday, Dec. 6, and Saturday, Dec. 7.

Another Tough Schedule
The Tigers are scheduled to play 18 of their 34 regular-season games this season against teams that are ranked in this week's USCHO.com Top 20 Poll. Colorado College also will play one game against teams that received votes (Dartmouth) and 10 contests against the last four national champions (North Dakota, Denver and Minnesota Duluth).   
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. The arena, with an estimated capacity of 3,400+ seats, will become the permanent home of CC Tiger Hockey and for the first time since the program began in 1938, the hockey team will play games on campus. The arena is expected to open in the fall of 2021.

Solid Power Play Last Three Games
The Tigers were a perfect 3-for-3 on the power play Friday night and are 5-for-14 (35.7%) in the last three games, sporting a 2-0-1 record. In addition, three goals this season have come just one second after a power-play expired. CC is 17th in the country in power-play percentage at 22.2% (8-for-36).  

Very Defensive in Four Wins
In their four victories this season, the Tigers have allowed seven goals, and have given up 19 in the other four games.

On the Air
All CC games in 2019-20, 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.

Tigers Picked Sixth in NCHC Preseason Poll
Colorado College was picked sixth in the 2019-20 NCHC Preseason Poll.

1.    Minnesota Duluth – 218 points (23 first-place votes)
2.    Denver – 178 (2)
3.    Western Michigan – 156 (3)
4.    North Dakota – 143
5.    St. Cloud State – 138
6.    Colorado College – 81
7.    Omaha – 53
8.    Miami – 41

Balanced Scoring
CC has 19 players with at least one point in the first eight games. Wilkie leads the team with 10 points, followed by Halloran with eight, while Copeland and Yoon each have seven.  

First Appearance at the NCHC Frozen Faceoff
After finishing the 2018-19 regular season in sixth place in the NCHC, Colorado College made its first appearance in the NCHC Frozen Faceoff in the six years of the league's   existence last season. By winning the best-of-three series, 2-1, over third-seeded    Western Michigan, the Tigers became the first lower-seeded team to win an NCHC quarterfinal series since St. Cloud State won at Omaha in 2015.

The Gold Pan and Pikes Peak Trophy Come to CC
Colorado College claimed The Gold Pan for the first time since 2014 when the Tigers swept Denver on March 8-9 to close the regular season. In addition, with the 6-1 victory over Air Force on Oct. 13, Colorado College claimed the Pikes Peak Trophy.  

Highest Pairwise Finish in Seven Years
Colorado College finished the 2018-19 campaign 23rd in the Pairwise rankings, the  highest finish to a season since 21st following the 2011-12 season. The Tigers' 17 victories last season were the most since 18 in 2012-13.