This Weekend
Colorado College heads to New Jersey for a non-conference series against Princeton University this weekend. The puck drops at 4 p.m. (ET) on Friday, Dec. 6, and 7 p.m. (ET) on Saturday, Dec. 7. The 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, and streamed live on ESPN+.
Last Time Out
The Tigers dropped a pair of games to No. 8 Minnesota Duluth, Nov. 22-23, at Amsoil Arena ... On Friday, Cole Koepke scored a power-play goal with 18.2 seconds remaining to lift Minnesota Duluth to a 4-3 victory.
Nick Halloran scored twice for the Tigers, including a goal with 1:41 left in the third period that evened the score at 3-3, while freshman
Matt Vernon tied his career high with 43 saves.
Chris Wilkie put the Tigers ahead 1-0 early in the second period, but the Bulldogs evened the score at the 14:15 mark when Jackson Cates placed a shot from the slot past Vernon on the power-play. After a five-minute major and game misconduct for contact to the head against UMD at the 16:48 mark, Halloran took a pass from
Kristian Blumenschein and scored from the right circle for his fourth goal of the season and a 2-1 Tiger advantage heading into the third period. Kobe Roth evened the game at the 4:06 mark of the final frame with a deflection in front of Vernon. Later in the period,
Grant Cruikshank was called for a five-minute major and game misconduct for checking from behind with 5:11 left in the final frame and the Bulldogs capitalized just 19 seconds into the power play as Tanner Laderoute redirected a Noah Cates shot past Vernon. Halloran scored his second of the game with an extra attacker with less than two minutes remaining, then Koepke fired a one-timer from the top of the right circle past Vernon for the game-winning goal ... On Saturday, Noah Cates scored twice and added an assist and Hunter Shepard had 25 saves for a 5-0 UMD victory. Scott Perunovich had three assists after collecting four helpers Friday night for the Bulldogs. Roth opened the scoring with a power-play goal at the 11:46 mark of the first period. The Bulldogs doubled the lead a couple of minutes later when Koepke's wraparound attempt went right through the crease to Justin Richards, who flipped a backhand past
Ryan Ruck at 16:08 of the middle frame. With the Bulldogs on a power play to start the third period,
Zach Berzolla was whistled for a five-minute major for checking from behind and Noah Cates scored from the slot nine seconds into the 5-on-3 to make it 3-0. Cates scored a similar goal with UMD still on the power play at the 3:51 mark and Luke Loheit closed out the scoring at 12:23 of the final frame.
Tiger Tales
Nick Halloran has four goals in his last four games and posted his first multi-goal game (Nov. 22) since Jan. 27, 2018 vs. Miami ... Halloran leads the NCHC in goals/game (0.56) and is fifth in points/game (1.11) ...
Chris Wilkie is tied for second in NCHC in goals/game (0.5) and sixth in pts/game (1.10) ... With an assist on Friday, Nov. 22,
Alex Berardinelli posted a career-high four-game point streak ...
Matt Vernon is fourth in the NCHC with a .907 saves percentage.
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 … Ron Fogarty (Colgate, '95) is in his sixth season at Princeton. He began the hockey program at Adrian College and was the head coach from 2007-14 before taking the same job at Princeton. Fogarty led the Tigers to the 2018 ECAC title.
For the Record
Colorado College is 4-5-1 overall and 2-3-1 in the NCHC after losing twice at Minnesota Duluth. The Tigers are in fifth place in the NCHC with seven points ... Princeton is 1-6-3 overall after dropping a pair of contests in Northern Ireland last weekend to Colgate, 3-1, and New Hampshire, 3-2. Princeton is 0-4-2 in the ECAC.
Previous Meetings
Colorado College and Princeton have met nine times, with CC holding an 8-1 advantage in the series. The teams have not played since Dec. 15, 1990, a 4-3 Colorado College victory in Colorado Springs.
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Scouting the (Princeton) Tigers
Jackson Cressey leads Princeton with eight points (3g,5a), followed by Corey Andonovski with seven (5g,2a) and Christian O'Neill with six (1g,5a). Ryan Ferland has has appeared in seven games this season in the net. He has a 1-4-2 record with a 2.68 goals-against average and .905 saves percentage. Â
Up Next
The Tigers open the Battle for the Gold Pan with a home-and-home series against the Denver Pioneers next weekend. The teams will play at Magness Arena on Friday, Dec. 13, and at the Broadmoor World Arena on Saturday, Dec. 14.
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 five game against teams that received votes and 10 contests against the last four national champions (North Dakota, Denver and Minnesota Duluth). Â
Balanced Scoring
CC has 19 players with at least one point in the first 10 games. Wilkie leads the team with 11 points (5g,6a), followed by Halloran with 10 (5g,5a), while
Bailey Conger (4g,3a),
Ben Copeland (3g,4a) and
Bryan Yoon (0g,7a) each have seven. Â
Very Defensive in Four Wins
In their four victories this season, the Tigers have allowed seven goals, and have given up 28 in the other six games.
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.
Among National Leaders in Fewest Penalties
The Tigers have taken just 39 penalties this season, tied with Yale for the third-fewest in the nation. Dartmouth leads with 23, followed by Harvard with 28.
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
