Colorado College Tigers vs. Denver Pioneers

Game Notes: Colorado College | Denver
Date: Saturday, March 23
Time: 3:38 pm (CT)
Location: St. Paul, Minn.
Venue: Xcel Energy Center (17,954)
Radio: KRDO NewsRadio 105.5 FM
TV: None
Live Streaming: NCHC.tv
Series: Denver leads 179-120-20
First Game: 1/6/50, CC won 16-0
Last Game: 3/9/19, CC won 1-0
Streak: Colorado College - 2

Next Game
Colorado College battles the fifth-ranked Denver Pioneers in the third-place game of the NCHC Frozen Faceoff on Saturday, March 23, beginning at 3:38 p.m (CT). The game 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.

Last Time Out
Westin Michaud scored twice and Bryan Yoon collected a pair of assists for Colorado College Friday afternoon, but it wasn't enough as No. 1-ranked St. Cloud State defeated the Tigers, 5-2, in the first semifinal of the NCHC Frozen Faceoff at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn. Patrick Newell had a goal and an assist, while Blake Lizotte and Kevin Fitzgerald each added a pair of assists for the Huskies, who advanced to the championship game Saturday evening. Michaud put the Tigers on the board first with a power-play goal at the 9:47 mark of the opening period. He took a pass from Trey Bradley and placed a shot just inside the near post from the left circle past SCSU goalie David Hrenak. Yoon collected his team-high 22nd assist on the play. The Huskies evened the game with a power-play goal by Newell at the 12:27 mark, then Nolan Walker put SCSU ahead, 2-1, just 24 seconds later. CC's comeback attempt took a hit with 4:06 remaining in the first period when Trevor Gooch was called for a five-minute major and game misconduct for direct contact to the head along the boards against Jack Poehling. The Tigers killed the penalty, and Tiger goalie Alex Leclerc made several spectacular saves in the middle frame, but he couldn't stop Robby Jackson, who redirected a Spencer Meier pass out of the air at the 9:38 mark to make it 3-1. Jack Ahcan made it 4-1 at the 7:21 mark of the third period, when his shot deflected off a CC defender's stick and went through Leclerc's legs. The Tigers were primed to cut into the lead when SCSU's Nick Perbix was called for hooking at the 10:08 mark and Jon Lizotte whistled for a checking from behind major and game misconduct 36 seconds later. Haviland pulled Leclerc (22 saves) for a 6-on-3 advantage, but the Huskies killed off Perbix's penalty. Michaud cut the lead to 4-2 with 58 seconds left on the major with his second of the game at the 14:47 mark of the final period, deflecting a wrist shot by Yoon past Hrenak. Nick Poehling scored two minutes later from the left circle for the final goal of the game. The Tigers outshot SCSU, 33-27, including an 11-2 advantage on the power play. CC was 2-for-7 with a man advantage, while St. Cloud State was 1-for-4. Hrenak finished the game with 31 saves.

First Appearance at the NCHC Frozen Faceoff
Colorado College is making its first appearance in the NCHC Frozen Faceoff in the six years of the league's existence. The Tigers were the first lower-seeded team to win an NCHC quarterfinal series since St. Cloud State won at Omaha in 2015.

Most Wins in Six Years
Last Monday's victory at Western Michigan was the Tigers' 17th this season, posting the most victories in one season since the 2012-13 campaign (18).

Bergh Joins Century Club
With his goal last Saturday night against WMU, Bergh became the 75th player in the history of Colorado College Hockey to join the Century Club. He is the first Tiger to join the 100-point club since Alexander Krushelnyski on Feb. 22, 2014. His assist last night gave him 104 career points (43g,61a), good for 69th place on the school's career scoring list.

For The Record
Colorado College is 17-19-4 overall and finished the NCHC regular season with a 9-12-3 mark ... Denver is 21-11-5 overall after dropping a 3-0 decision to Minnesota Duluth in the other semifinal on Friday. The Pioneers finished third in the league with an 11-10-3-3 record.

Previous Meetings
Colorado College and Denver have played 319 times, with the Pioneers holding a 179-120-20 advantage in the all-time series. The Tigers own a 2-1-1 record against Denver this season and captured The Gold Pan with a 1-0 victory at home on March 9. This is the second-most played rivalry in college hockey history. Only Michigan and Michigan State have played each other more (324).

Tiger Tales
Bradley leads the Tigers in scoring with a career-high 33 points (14g,19a), followed by Michaud with a career-high 30 (13g,17a). Bergh has 27 (7g,20a), while Yoon (3g,23a) has 26 and Gooch a career-high 23 (11g,12a). Leclerc is 17-18-4 this season with a 2.62 GAA and .917 saves percentage.  

Scouting the Pioneers
Liam Finlay leads the Pioneers with 32 points (13g,19a). Jarid Lukosevicius (17g,10a)     and Emilio Petterson (6g,21a) follow with 27 apiece. Filip Larsson and Devin Cooley have each played in 19 games this season. Larsson has a 12-5-2 record, while Cooley is 10-6-2.  

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 … David Carle (Denver, '12) is in his first 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.

SPECIAL Teams
Since Feb. 8, covering a span of 13 games, the Tigers have the second-best penalty kill (93.5%) in the country, fighting off 43 of their last 46 penalties. In addition, CC has the sixth-best power-play percentage (26.7%/12-for-45) in the country during the same  time frame.

Very Defensive in 17 Wins
In their 17 victories this season, the Tigers have allowed 24 goals, and have given up 84 in the other 23 games. Colorado College has allowed just 20 goals in its last 10 games. In that time span, dating back to an 8-2 victory over Western Michigan on Feb. 23, Leclerc is tied for the national lead with six victories.

Balanced Scoring
The Tigers have six players with 20 points or more for the first time since 2012-13.

Yoon With Most Points by a Frosh in Eight Years
Yoon's 26 points are the most by a Colorado College freshman since current St. Louis Blues forward Jaden Schwartz had 47 (17g,30a) during the 2010-11 campaign, and the most by a CC freshman defenseman since Scott Swanson had 48 (13g,35a) in 1995-96. With his two assists last night, he passed Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin, who had 25 (5g,20a) his first season at CC in 2013-14.

Senior Class Scoring
Colorado College is second in the NCHC and third in the country with 135 points (50g,85a) by a senior class. The Tigers' Class of 2019 is third with 85 assists and tied for fifth with 50 goals. Mercyhurst leads the nation with 57 goals and 145 points.

History vs. No. 1
After Friday's game, Colorado College has now played 44 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 12-24-8 overall against top-ranked teams.

Bradley and Leclerc NCHC Honorable Mention; Yoon All-Rookie
Bradley and Leclerc were named honorable mention by the NCHC last 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 Slavin in 2014.

Tough Schedule Again This Season
After playing 21 of its 36 games against ranked teams last season, the Tigers were at it again this year. Tonight's game against No. 5 Denver will be CC's 25th this season against a team ranked in the USCHO.com top 20 poll, including 16 Top 10 teams, and 12 against the last three national champions (Minn. Duluth, Denver and North Dakota), the most of any team in the country. Saturday's game will be the 16th consecutive contest against a ranked team, the longest streak in program history.

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

Leclerc Repeats as NCHC Goalie of the Week
After backstopping the sweep against 6th-ranked Denver to close the regular season, 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 country with 1117 saves this season and is No. 5 on CC's career list with 3,002.