Colorado College Tigers vs. Western Michigan Broncos

Game Notes: Colorado College | Western Michigan | NCHC
Dates: Friday, Feb. 22 | Saturday, Feb. 23
Times: 7:37 pm | 4:37 pm
Location: Colorado Springs, Colo.
Venue: Broadmoor World Arena (7,380)
Radio: KRDO NewsRadio 105.5 FM
TV: AT&T SportsNet (Saturday)
Live Streaming: NCHC.tv
Records: CC 11-14-4, 5-9-3-0 NCHC | WMU 17-10-1, 10-7-1-1 NCHC
Series: Western Michigan leads 10-6-4
First Game: 12/20/02, CC won 8-4
Last Game: 3/3/18, WMU won 8-2
Streak: Western Michigan - 1

This Weekend
After the final bye weekend of the 2018-19 season, Colorado College opens a five-game homestand at the Broadmoor World Arena, Feb. 22-23, against the Western Michigan Broncos. Friday's game will begin at 7:37 p.m., while Saturday's is scheduled for 4:37 p.m. 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, and streamed live on NCHC.tv. Saturday's contest will be televised live on AT&T SportsNet (Rocky Mountain, Southwest, and ROOT Sports Northwest).
 
Last Time Out
The Tigers took No. 1 St. Cloud State to a couple of overtimes, Feb. 8-9, but could only squeeze one point out of the weekend ... On Friday, Trevor Gooch and Erik Middendorf each scored a first-period goal and Alex Leclerc had 33 saves as the teams skated to a 2-2 draw, allowing CC to snap St. Cloud State's streak of 12 consecutive wins at home to start the season. SCSU's Ryan Poehling scored a 4-on-3 goal one minute into the frame to give the Huskies the extra point in the NCHC standings. Nick Poehling opened the scoring just 1:17 into the game by deflecting a shot from Jack Ahcan over Leclerc's shoulder. Gooch evened the game at 1-1 at the 6:02 mark, then Middendorf put the Tigers ahead at the 9:38 mark of the first with a deflection of his own, tipping a shot from Cole McCaskill past David Hrenak for his sixth of the campaign. The Tiger defense was stellar in the second period, allowing just six shots and holding St. Cloud State scoreless in the middle frame for just the third time this season. The Huskies evened things up at the 8:17 mark of the third when Jack Poehling skated out of the corner and beat Leclerc from the high slot to send the game to overtime ... On Saturday, Patrick Newell scored with 1:07 remaining in overtime to give the Huskies a 5-4 come-from-behind win. Newell took a centering pass from Robby Jackson and beat Leclerc from the slot to complete the rally after trailing, 4-2, with four minutes left in regulation. Nick Perbix scored with 3:51 remaining in the third period to make it 4-3, then Newell tied it just 56 seconds later with a shot from the right point that caromed off a Tiger defender and Leclerc before trickling past the goal line. Grant Cruikshank scored a pair of power-play goals and Gooch and Kristian Blumenschein each added a goal to give the Tigers a 4-2 lead midway through the second period. After Cruikshank scored his first with just 37 seconds left in the first period to cut SCSU's early two-goal lead in half, Blumenschein started the second-period spree at the 5:42 mark by taking a pass from Mason Bergh and sending a blast from the slot on one knee past Hrenak to even the score at 2-2. Following a cross-checking call to SCSU's Jimmy Schuldt, Cruikshank connected again on the power play. Trey Bradley's centering pass was deflected in front of the net, where Cruikshank turned and knocked the puck out of the air past Hrenak for the first multi-goal game of his career. Gooch made it 4-2 at the 10:19 mark after taking a centering pass from Blumenschein and placing it past Hrenak, who was subsequently pulled in favor of Jeff Smith. The Tigers held on to the two-goal lead for nearly 26 minutes until Perbix's goal. Blumenschein notched a goal and an assist for his first multi-point game of the season, while Bradley, Bryan Yoon and Chris Wilkie each posted a pair of assists. Leclerc tied his season high with 43 saves.

For The Record
Colorado College is 11-14-4 overall and 5-9-3-0 in the NCHC, good for sixth place in the conference ... Western Michigan is 17-10-1 and 10-7-1-1 in conference play after splitting a series with North Dakota at home last weekend. The Broncos are in third place in the NCHC.

Previous Meetings
Colorado College and Western Michigan have met 20 times, with the Broncos holding a 10-6-4 advantage in the series. The teams split four games last season, with each winning once on the other team's home ice.

Up Next
The Tigers resume the Battle for the Gold Pan on Tuesday, Feb. 26 at the Broadmoor World Arena, beginning at 7:07 p.m. This is the make-up game from Jan. 18 when the Pioneers were unable to get to Colorado Springs due to adverse weather and travel conditions. Next weekend, Colorado College hosts North Dakota, March 1-2.   

Tiger Tales
Bradley leads the team in scoring with 23 points (11g,12a) this season, followed by Westin Michaud with 19 (8g,11a) and Bergh with 17 (5g,12a). Leclerc has an 11-13-4 record, with a 2.74 GAA and .913 saves percentage. He is tied for the national lead among goalies with two assists this season.  

Scouting the Broncos
Colt Conrad leads the Broncos and is tied for fifth in the NCHC with 28 points (8g,20a). He is tied for third in the league in assists. Hugh McGing follows with 27 points (13g,14a), while Josh Passolt has 26 (16g,10a). Trevor Gorsuch has played in 23 games this season and sports a 15-6-1 record. He is tied for ninth in the country with 15      victories and has a 2.44 GAA and .918 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 … Andy Murray (Brandon University, '72) is in his eighth season at Western Michigan. In his first year with the program, Murray led WMU to its second CCHA Tournament Championship as the Broncos defeated Michigan, 3-2, in the CCHA final. Murray has 10 years of NHL head coaching experience, spending six seasons at the helm of the Los Angeles Kings and four with the St. Louis Blues.

History vs. No. 1
Following its series at top-ranked St. Cloud State, Colorado College has played 43 games against the nation's No. 1-ranked team dating back to the beginning of the USCHO.com poll prior to the 1997-98 season. The Tigers are 12-23-8 overall against top-ranked teams, including an 8-10-5 record on the road vs. No. 1. CC's last win against a No. 1 team was on Jan. 7, 2017, a 2-1 victory at Minnesota Duluth.

Century Club Watch
With his assist at St. Cloud State on Feb. 9, Bergh has 94 career points (41g,53a) and is tied with Guy Hildebrand (1969-73) for 84th place on CC's career scoring list. The last Tiger to join the Century Club was Alexander Krushelnyski on Feb. 22, 2014.

Very Defensive in 11 Wins
In their 11 victories this season, the Tigers have allowed 17 goals, and have given up 66 in the other 18 games.

Not a Lot of Whistles
Colorado College is one of the least penalized teams in college hockey. The Tigers rank third in the nation for fewest penalties called per game (3.55) and seventh in fewest    penalty minutes per game (8.69). 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.

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 16 of CC's 36 regular-season games are scheduled against teams that are ranked in this week's USCHO's Top 20 poll, with 12 against the last three national champions (Minn. Duluth, Denver and North Dakota), the most of any team in the country. Five of CC's final seven games this season are against teams currently ranked in the top eight in the country.

Highest Ranked Victory at Home in Nearly Eight Years
With the 4-1 victory on Feb. 1, No. 3 Minnesota Duluth was the highest-ranked team Colorado College had defeated at home since the Tigers downed No. 2 Denver, 3-2, on Feb. 4, 2011.  

Senior Class Scoring
Colorado College is second in the NCHC and fifth in the country for goals scored by a senior class. The Tigers' Class of 2019 has 39 goals this season, just one behind Omaha for the NCHC lead. Mercyhurst and Ohio State are tied for the national lead with 46.

Lots of Plusses
Bradley, who was on the ice for all of CC's goals and recorded a career-high +4 rating on Feb. 1 against Minnesota Duluth, has 11 points (6g,5a) in his last 10 games. Meanwhile, Wilkie tied his career high with a +3 against the Bulldogs on Feb. 1.

Nine Straight Road Games
With the postponement of the Jan. 18 home game against Denver, the Tigers played nine consecutive true road games between Dec. 8 and Feb. 1, marking the longest such streak in program history. CC has played eight in a row on the road several times and played 12 straight games away from home, which included four neutral site games,    during the 1965-66 season.

First Road Sweep Since 2012
With a couple of victories at Miami, Jan. 25-26, the Tigers completed their first regular-season weekend sweep on the road since Nov. 2-3, 2012 at Wisconsin. It also marked the first sweep against an NCHC opponent since Dec. 4-5, 2015 against Miami at home.   

Defensemen Double Their Scoring
All three goals in the 3-2 victory at Miami on Jan. 26 were scored by defensemen, doubling the goal output of the blue-line corps prior to that game. Defensemen had            accounted for just three of the team's 75 goals in the first 24 games of the season.

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.

Coaching History at Maine
When the Tigers battled Maine on Jan. 2, it marked the first time in college hockey history that both head coaches owned a Stanley Cup ring as an assistant coach in the NHL. Mike Haviland was an assistant with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2010, while Maine's Red Gendron was on the staff of the New Jersey Devils when they won the Cup in 1995.
 
Michaud and Bradley Nominated for Hobey Baker Award
Michaud and Bradley are among 81 student-athletes nominated for the 2019 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).

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. Friday's pre-game shows start 60 minutes before faceoff, with a 30-minute pregame show on Saturday. The broadcasts also can be heard worldwide via the Internet ... Selected games, including this Friday's, will also be available on KSBV 93.7 FM in Cripple Creek, Divide, Buena Vista, Monarch and Leadville.

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 between 3,000 and 3,650 seats, would become the permanent home of CC Tiger Hockey and for the first time since the program began in 1938, the hockey team would play games on campus.

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.

Mason Bergh a Finalist for Senior CLASS Award
Bergh has been selected as one of 10 finalists for the 2018-19 Senior CLASS Award for hockey. 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.