Colorado College Tigers vs. Denver Pioneers

Game Notes: Colorado College | Denver
Dates: Friday, Mar. 8 / Saturday, Mar. 9
Times: 7:07 pm / 7:07 pm
Venues: Magness Arena (Friday) | Broadmoor World Arena (Saturday)
Radio: KRDO NewsRadio 105.5 FM
TV:  Altitude 2 (Friday) | AT&T SportsNet (Saturday)
Live Streaming: NCHC.tv
Records: Colorado College 13-17-4, 7-12-3 | Denver 19-8-5, 11-8-3-3
Series: Denver leads 179-118-20
First Game: 1/6/50, CC won 16-0
Last Game: 2/26/19, DU won 1-0
Streak: Denver - 1

This Weekend
Colorado College continues the battle for The Gold Pan and wraps up the 2018-19    regular season this weekend, March 8-9, against the 6th-ranked Denver Pioneers. Friday's game is at Magness Arena in Denver, while Saturday's contest is at the Broadmoor World Arena, both scheduled to begin at 7:07 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, with Friday's also on 93.7 KSBV (West of Pikes Peak). Both games can also be seen on the internet at NCHC.tv. Friday's game will be televised on Altitude 2, while Saturday's will be on AT&T SportsNet.

Last Time Out
The Tigers split a pair of games with No. 20 North Dakota at home last weekend ... On Friday, Bryan Yoon and Trey Bradley each had a goal and an assist and Alex Leclerc recorded 34 saves in his 100th career game to lead Colorado College to a 3-1 victory.  The Tigers scored two power-play goals and killed all seven of North Dakota's extra-man opportunities. Leclerc was a big reason for the excellent penalty kill, saving 14 shots during UND's seven power plays. He kept North Dakota scoreless for nearly 59 minutes with some spectacular saves, including several from point-blank range. After two scoreless periods, Grant Cruikshank put the Tigers on the board at the 2:31 mark of the final frame. Cruikshank slid down the slot, took a pass from Troy Conzo and beat Peter Thome for his 10th goal of the season. The Tiger power play then took over as Yoon scored the eventual game-winner at the 13:13 mark with a blast from the point that got through traffic and snuck past Thome. Following a hooking call to UND's Gabe Bast, Bradley scored an empty-netter on the power play, his team-leading 13th, with 2:01 remaining to seal the deal. Andrew Peski scored for the Fighting Hawks with 1:03 remaining for the final goal of the game. Thome finished with 31 saves, while UND held a 35-34 advantage in shots ... On Saturday, North Dakota scored twice in the first period and held on late in the third for a 2-1 victory. The Tigers came out flying from the start, getting a 2-on-1 right of the opening faceoff, but Westin Michaud's shot from the slot was saved by UND goalie Peter Thome. Thome then stoned Cruikshank on a clean breakaway 90 seconds later. Cole Smith and Matt Kierstad scored twice in the final 2:19 of the first period to give North Dakota a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes. The Fighting Hawks kept the momentum in the second period, killing an early CC power play and outshooting the Tigers, 15-3, in the middle frame. Thome kept CC off the board with a point-blank glove save off the stick of Christiano Versich and turning away a partial breakaway by Alex Berardinelli. Each team had a power-play opportunity early in the third period, and after UND's Rhett Gardner was called for tripping at the 17:48 mark, Michaud won the faceoff and Versich scored with a wrister from the slot three seconds later to cut the lead in half. Leclerc was on the bench for the final 1:25 of the game and CC attempted four shots in those 85 seconds, including one by Cruikshank that floated just outside the left post with 12 seconds remaining. Leclerc finished with 34 saves for the second consecutive night, while Thome had 24. UND held a 36-25 advantage in shots and both teams were 1-for-4 on the power play.

Senior Night on Saturday
CC's senior class will be recognized in a pre-game ceremony on Saturday. The eight seniors that are on the roster this season, plus Nate Kwiecinski, who retired from playing last year, will be honored.

For The Record
Colorado College is 13-17-4 overall and 7-12-3 in the NCHC. The Tigers have clinched sixth place in the league ... Denver is 19-8-5 overall and 11-8-3-3 in conference play after winning and tying at Omaha last weekend, and in third place in the NCHC.

The Gold Pan
This season marks the 26th 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. Denver has hoisted the trophy 13 times and Colorado College 12 in its 25 years of existence.

Previous Meetings
CC and Denver have played 317 times, with the Pioneers holding a 179-118-20 advantage in the all-time series. The teams tied, 4-4, in Denver on Jan. 19 and Denver downed the Tigers, 1-0, on Jan. 26 at the Broadmoor World Arena. This is the second-most played rivalry in college hockey history. Only Michigan and Michigan State have played each other more (324).

Up Next
Colorado College will be on the road for the best two-of-three first round of the NCHC playoffs, March 15-17. The Tigers have clinched the No. 6 spot and will play the No. 3 seed in the first round.   

Tiger Tales
Bradley leads the Tigers in scoring with 29 points (13g,16a), followed by Michaud with a career-high 25 (10g,15a) and Trevor Gooch with a career-high 21 (10g,11a). Mason Bergh (5g,15a) and Yoon (2g,18a) each have 20. Leclerc has a 13-16-4 record with a 2.66 GAA and .916 saves percentage. He is tied for second in the nation among goalies with two assists this season.  

Scouting the Pioneers
Liam Finlay leads the Pioneers and is tied for fourth in the NCHC with 32 points (13g,19a). Emilio Petterson follows with 26 points (6g,20a) and is sixth in the league in assists. Devin Cooley has played in 18 games this season and has a 10-5-2 record, while Filip Larsson has a 10-3-2 record in 15 appearances.  

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.

Leclerc Named NCHC Goalie of the Week
After allowing just four goals in three games, Leclerc was named the Bauer Goaltender of the Week by the NCHC. He saved 97 of 101 shots last week, good for a 1.36 goals-against average and a .960 saves percentage, both tops in the league for the week.

Very Defensive in 13 Wins
In their 13 victories this season, the Tigers have allowed 20 goals, and have given up 74 in the other 21 games.

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.

Century Club Watch
With his two assists on Jan. 23 vs. Western Michigan, Bergh has 97 career points (41g,56a) and is tied with Chuck Reinking (1965-68) and Ron Reichert (1978-82) for 79th on CC's career scoring list. The last Tiger to join the Century Club was Alexander Krushelnyski on Feb. 22, 2014.

Senior Class Scoring
Colorado College is tied for sixth in the country with 116 points scored by a senior class. The Tigers' Class of 2019 has 43 goals this season, which is tied for seventh in the nation. Mercyhurst leads the nation with 141 points and 55 goals.

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 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. Each of CC's final 11 games of the regular season will be against ranked teams, including nine against teams ranked in the top eight.

Not a Lot of Whistles
Colorado College is one of the least penalized teams in college hockey. The Tigers rank fifth in the nation for fewest penalties called per game (3.68) and sixth in fewest       penalty minutes per game (8.79). 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.

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).

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 30 minutes before faceoff, with a 60-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 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.