This Weekend
Colorado College opens up the Battle for the Gold Pan with a home-and-home series against the eighth-ranked Denver Pioneers. The game on Friday, Dec. 13, is at Magness Arena, beginning at 7:07 p.m., while the contest on Saturday, Dec. 14, is at the Broadmoor World Arena, beginning at 7:07 p.m. Both games will be broadcast in Colorado Springs on KRDO NewsRadio 105.5 FM, 1240 AM and 92.5 FM and streamed live on NCHC.tv. Friday's game will be televised on Altitude 2 and Saturday's on AT&T SportsNet and Root Sports Northwest.
Last Time Out
The Tigers swept Princeton last weekend at the Hobey Baker Rink ... On Friday,
Chris Wilkie had two goals and an assist and
Grant Cruikshank scored twice for a 7-2 victory.
Matt Vernon posted 40 saves, while
Jack Gates and
Connor Mayer each added a career-high two assists. Liam Grande put Princeton on the board at the 9:51 mark of the first period, but CC answered just 1:15 later when
Alex Berardinelli scored his first goal of the season, putting home a rebound after Ryan Ferlund saved a shot by
Josiah Slavin. Freshman
Sam Renlund then put CC ahead for good with the first goal of his career at the 13:07 mark. Gates took a shot from the left circle that popped up in front of the net and Renlund batted it out of the air past Ferlund.
Nick Halloran put the Tigers ahead 3-1 at the 8:08 mark of the second with his sixth goal of the season, then Wilkie made it 4-1 at the 13:46 mark of the middle frame. After Christian O'Neill scored a power-play goal for Princeton at the 15:45 mark of the second to make it 4-2, Cruikshank pushed the CC lead back to three with his third goal of the season at 18:56 of the second. Vernon kept the lead at 5-2 with a leg pad save on a shorthanded breakaway by Spencer Kersten in the final seconds of the middle frame. Wilkie scored his second of the game at the 12:59 mark of the third to make it 6-2 and Cruikshank notched the Tigers' first shorthanded goal of the season at the 13:48 mark for the final goal ... On Saturday, Wilkie scored his second goal of the game 19 seconds into overtime Saturday to give Colorado College a 2-1 victory. Following a Princeton icing early in the extra frame, Renlund won the draw and Halloran touched the puck to Wilkie, who beat Princeton goalie Jeremie Forget from the top of the slot for the first game-winning goal of his career. Goalie
Ryan Ruck made a season-high 40 saves and was just 31.2 seconds away from the fifth shutout of his career, but O'Neill scored on the power play and with Forget on the bench for a 6-on-4 advantage. Following a scoreless first two periods, Wilkie put CC ahead 1-0 at the 2:12 mark of the third, coverting a 2-on-1 with Halloran following a save by Ruck, who collected the second assist of his career.
Tiger Tales
The sweep was the first by CC over a non-conference opponent on the road since Oct. 28-29, 2011 at RPI ... The Tigers have two road sweeps in one season for the first time since the 2011-12 season ... Saturday's victory was CC's first overtime win since Jan. 20, 2018 at Western Michigan, snapping a streak of 12 winless overtime games (0-5-7) ...
McKay Flanagan and
Patrick Cozzi each recorded the first point of his career on Friday ...
Jack Gates and
Connor Mayer each posted his first career multi-point game Friday. Â
Tigers Won The Gold Pan in '18-19
Colorado College captured the Gold Pan for the first time since 2014 last season. The  Tigers swept Denver in a home-and-home series, 2-1 in Denver and 1-0 at The Broadmoor World Arena, during the final weekend of the regular season to post a 2-1-1 record against the Pioneers.
The Gold Pan
This season marks the 27th anniversary of The Gold Pan. Established by former head coaches Don Lucia of Colorado College and Frank Serratore of Denver in 1993-94, the Gold Pan has been awarded every season since to the team that prevails in the regular-season series between CC and DU. In the event of an even split of the four games, the team currently in possession of the trophy keeps it. Each team has hoisted the trophy 13 times in its 26 years of existence.
Second Most Played Rivalry in College Hockey
The 320 games played between Colorado College and Denver are the second most among two schools in college hockey history. Only Michigan and Michigan State have played each other more (326). Denver holds a 180-120-20 in the all-time series.
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 … David Carle (Denver, '12) is in his second season as head coach at Denver. He served as an assistant coach for the Pioneers the previous four and a half seasons following a season and a half as an assistant coach with the Green Bay Gamblers of the USHL. He is the youngest active head coach in Division I.
For the Record
Colorado College is 6-5-1 overall and 2-3-1 in the NCHC after sweeping Princeton last weekend. The Tigers are in fifth place in the NCHC with seven points ... Denver is 9-4-3 overall and 1-3-2-1 in the NCHC after losing and tying at Arizona State last weekend. The Pioneers are tied for sixth place in the NCHC with six points.
Scouting the Pioneers
Emilio Pettersen leads Denver with 13 points (2g,11a), followed by Liam Finlay and Ian Mitchell with 12 points (3g,9a) apiece. Bobby Brink leads the Pioneers with six goals and has 11 points. Magnus Chrona has appeared in 13 games this season in the net. He has a 7-4-2 record and is second in the NCHC in goals-against average (2.22) and saves percentage (.918). Â
Up Next
The Tigers will be idle until participating in the Dartmouth Ledyard Classic in Hanover, N.H., Dec. 28-29. CC will face Dartmouth on Saturday, Dec. 28, and St. Lawrence on Sunday, Dec. 29.
Another Tough Schedule
The Tigers are scheduled to play 16 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 nine game against teams that received votes and 10 contests against the last four national champions (North Dakota, Denver and Minnesota Duluth). Â
Wilkie Named NCHC Forward of the Week and NCAA No. 1 Star
Chris Wilkie, who scored four goals and added an assist in Colorado College's sweep at Princeton last weekend, was named the Bauer Forward of the Week by the National Collegiate Hockey Conference and the No. 1 Star by the NCAA. Wilkie scored a pair of goals in each game and also had a hand in both game-winning goals in the sweep, including the first game-winner of his career 19 seconds into ovetime in Saturday's 2-1 victory. On Friday, he tied a season high with three points and assisted on the game-winner to make it 3-1 in the second period. He fired four shots on goal and was +3, while earning First Star of the Game.
Balanced Scoring
CC has 21 players with at least one point in the first 12 games. Wilkie leads the team with 16 points (9g,7a), followed by Halloran with 13 (6g,7a), while
Bailey Conger has nine (4g,5a),
Bryan Yoon eight (0g,8a),
Ben Copeland seven (3g,4a) and
Grant Cruikshank six (4g,2a). Three Tigers have five points. Â
Very Defensive in Six Wins
In their six victories this season, the Tigers have allowed just 10 goals, and have given up 28 in the other six games.
Robson Arena Unanimously Approved by City Council
On Tuesday, Dec. 10, the Colorado Springs City Council unanimously approved the Robson Arena project. Colorado College, in partnership with Colorado Springs' City for Champions initiative, 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. A groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 15, 2020, and the arena is expected to open in the fall of 2021.
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 Friday's contest, 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
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