Colorado College Tigers at Western Michigan Broncos

Game Notes: Colorado College | Western Michigan
Dates: Mar. 15 | Mar. 16 | Mar. 17 (if nec.)
Time: 7:05 pm (ET)
Location: Kalamazoo, Mich.
Venue: Lawson Ice Arena (3,667)
Radio: KRDO NewsRadio 105.5 FM
TV:  None
Live Streaming: NCHC.tv
Series: Western Michigan leads 11-7-4
First Game: 12/20/02, CC won 8-4
Last Game: 2/23/19, CC won 8-2
Streak: Colorado College - 1

This Week
Colorado College travels to Kalamazoo, Mich., this weekend for the first round of the 2019 NCHC playoffs against the 12th-ranked Western Michigan Broncos. The best-of-three series at Lawson Ice Arena begins on Friday, March 15 at 7:05 pm. (ET). The 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 at NCHC.tv.

Last Time Out
The Tigers swept 6th-ranked Denver last weekend to reclaim the Gold Pan for the first time since 2014 ... On Friday, Mason Bergh and Trey Bradley each had a goal and an assist and Alex Leclerc had 26 saves in a 2-1 victory at Magness Arena. The Tigers took advantage of an early Pioneer penalty when Bergh took a pass from Bryan Yoon and placed a wrist shot from the top of the right circle just inside the far post behind Denver goalie Filip Larsson just 1:26 into the contest. Bradley, who collected the other assist on Bergh's goal, had a chance to make it 2-0 midway through the frame, but his shot from the slot to an open net sailed high. He made up for it with 1:39 remaining in the period as he scored on a rebound after a great individual play by Bergh resulted in a shot and a Denver penalty to make it a two-goal advantage. Colin Staub cut the Tiger lead in half at the 11:31 mark of the second period by knocking in a rebound after Leclerc saved a shot from the point by Slava Demin. The Tigers killed a penalty early in the third period and the Pioneers' Ryan Barrow knocked the puck out of the air past Leclerc later in the period, but it was immediately waved off by the referee for a high stick, then confirmed after an official review. Leclerc, who was sharp as ever in the final frame, kept it a one-goal game with 13:20 remaining in regulation when he moved across the crease and stoned Barrow's back-door attempt. The Tigers had a couple of chances to get an insurance goal as Grant Cruikshank went just wide on a breakaway with 6:25 left and Cole McCaskill missed an empty net from center ice with 50 seconds left. The Pioneers had an extra skater for the final 1:40 but the Tigers, and Leclerc, held on ... On Saturday, Cruikshank scored 1:45 into the game and Leclerc made sure the goal held up as CC once again upset Denver, 1-0, at the Broadmoor World Arena. Leclerc made 30 saves for his second shutout of the season and the eighth of his career. He allowed just one goal to the Pioneers during the weekend as CC needed a sweep to even The Gold Pan series with its northern neighbors at 13 apiece. Cruikshank scored his 11th goal of the season after Trevor Gooch came out from behind the net and sent the puck across the crease. Cruikshank was there on the opposite side and hit the open net past Denver goalie Devin Cooley. Neither team officially scored in the second period, however, DU's Colin Staub put the puck in the net with 14:07 remaining in the frame, but it was immediately waved off by the referee and upheld after a review for hitting it in with his hand. Denver picked up the pressure in the third period and kept the puck in the CC end for a good chunk of the final 20 minutes. Leclerc made 12 saves and the Tigers recorded nine of their 22 blocked shots in the third period. Jarid Lukosevicius came the closest to scoring in the final frame when he deflected a shot off the post, then his own rebound was saved by Leclerc with eight minutes remaining. The Tigers then survived the final 1:58 with Cooley on the bench in favor of an extra skater.

Tigers Finish Sixth in the NCHC
The Tigers finished in sixth place in the NCHC standings and earned its best seeding in the conference playoffs since a fifth-place finish in the WCHA in 2011-12. CC's nine conference wins this season were the most since the 2012-13 campaign (11).

Conference Tournament History
Colorado College is 59-84 all-time in conference postseason play. The Tigers were 41-  51-2 during first-round series' in the WCHA (a two-game, total-goal series was played prior to the 1987-88 season, best-of three series since then), and are 2-10 in the NCHC first round the past five seasons, with the first seven games played at North Dakota and the last five at Denver.

For The Record
Colorado College is 15-17-4 overall and finished the NCHC regular season with a 9-12-3 mark ... Western Michigan is 20-13-1 overall and 13-10-1-1 in conference play after sweeping Miami last weekend in Oxford.

Previous Meetings
Colorado College and Western Michigan have met 22 times, with the Broncos holding a 11-7-4 advantage in the series. The teams split a pair of games last month in Colorado Springs, with WMU winning 5-4 in overtime on Feb. 22 and the Tigers claiming an 8-2 victory the following night. CC did not play at Western Michigan this regular season.

Tiger Tales
Bradley leads the Tigers in scoring with 31 points (14g,17a), followed by Westin Michaud with a career-high 25 (10g,15a). Gooch (10g,12a) and Bergh (6g,16a) each have 22 and Yoon has 21 (2g,19a). Leclerc has a 15-16-4 record with a 2.54 GAA and .919 saves  percentage. He is tied for third in the nation among goalies with two assists.  

Scouting the Broncos
Colt Conrad leads the Broncos and is tied for second in the NCHC with 36 points (10g,26a). He is tied for for the league lead in assists. Hugh McGing follows with 30 points (16g,14a), while Josh Passolt has 29 (16g,13a). Trevor Gorsuch has played in 29 games this season and sports a 18-9-1 record. He is third in the NCHC and tied for 10th in the country with 18 victories and has a 2.80 GAA and .905 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.

Century Club Watch
With his goal and assist last Friday night at Denver, Bergh has 99 career points (42g,57a) and is tied with Cliff Purpur (1968-71) for 75th on CC's career scoring list. With one more point, he will be the 75th member of CC's Century Club. The last Tiger to join the Century Club was Alexander Krushelnyski on Feb. 22, 2014.

Bradley and Leclerc NCHC Honorable Mention; Yoon All-Rookie
Bradley and Leclerc were named honorable mention by the NCHC earlier this week, while Yoon was selected to the All-Rookie Team by the league's head coaches. Yoon earned the most votes of any freshman defenseman in the league and is the first Tiger to earn a spot on the team since Carolina Hurricanes d-man Jaccob Slavin in 2014.

Leclerc Repeats as NCHC Goalie of the Week
After backstopping the sweep against 6th-ranked Denver, Leclerc was named the Bauer Goaltender of the Week by the NCHC for the second consecutive week. He saved 56 of 57 shots against the Pioneers, good for a 0.97 goals-against average and a .982 saves percentage, both tops in the league for the week. Leclerc leads the league and is third in the country with 999 saves this season and is No. 5 on CC's career list with 2,884.

Very Defensive in 15 Wins
In their 15 victories this season, the Tigers have allowed 21 goals, and have given up 74 in the other 21 games. In its last six games, all against ranked teams, Colorado College is 4-2 and has allowed just seven goals.

Senior Class Scoring
Colorado College is tied for the NCHC lead and tied for fifth in the country with 122 points (45g,77a) scored by a senior class. The Tigers' Class of 2019 has 45 goals this season, which is eighth in the nation. Mercyhurst leads the nation with 145 points.

SPECIAL Teams
Since Feb. 8, covering a span of nine games, the Tigers have the second-best penalty-kill (93.9%) in the country, killing 31 of their 33 penalties. In addition, CC has the seventh-best power-play percentage (28.6%/8-for-28) in the country during the same time.

Four Goals ...
Freshman Ben Copeland scored four goals on Feb. 23 against Western Michigan, the first CC player to score four times in a game since Andrew Hamburg against Air Force on Oct. 19, 2012 and the first Tiger freshman with four goals since Jay McNeill against Air Force on Nov. 11, 1992. Copeland is the second Division I player in the country to score four goals in a game this season (Arizona State's Johnny Walker on Oct. 27 vs. Omaha) and the first DI freshman to score four goals in a game since New Hampshire's Patrick Grasso on Oct. 29, 2016 vs. Merrimack. He is also the second player to score four goals in an NCHC conference game in the history of the league. Joey Benik of St. Cloud State had four goals vs. WMU on Nov. 14, 2015.

Four Assists ...
Meanwhile, Gooch gathered four assists in the same game, becoming the first CC player to collect four helpers in a game since Jaden Schwartz at Michigan Tech on Dec. 3, 2010.

Five in a Period
Colorado College scored five goals in the third period on Feb. 23 against Western    Michigan, the first time since Nov. 6, 2010 (6 in the third period vs. Denver) with at least five goals in one period.

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 20 of CC's 36 regular-season games were 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. Each of CC's final 11 games of the regular season were against ranked teams, including nine against teams ranked in the top eight.

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.

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.

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).

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 6-1 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.