This Weekend
Colorado College returns home for a two-game series against the Omaha Mavericks at the Broadmoor World Arena. The puck drops at 7:30 p.m., on Friday, Jan. 24, and 4:00 p.m., on Saturday, Jan. 25. Both games will be broadcast in Colorado Springs on KRDO NewsRadio 105.5 FM, 1240 AM and 92.5 FM and streamed live on NCHC.tv. Friday's game will be televised live in the Rocky Mountain Region on AT&T SportsNet.
Last Time Out
The Tigers dropped a pair of games to Western Michigan in Kalamazoo last weekend ... On Friday, five Broncos scored in a 5-2 victory. WMU took a 1-0 lead when Ethen Frank scored on the power play at the 7:27 mark of the first period. Wade Allison made it 2-0 at the 14:44 mark of the opening frame with a wrist shot from the top of the right circle that went over the shoulder of CC goalie
Matt Vernon, then Hugh McGing put the Broncos ahead 3-0 just 53 seconds into the second period by completing a 2-on-1 rush with Mattias Samuelsson.
Chris Wilkie did his best to keep the Tigers in the game, scoring the next two goals to cut WMU's lead to one. He took a lead pass from
Nick Halloran and scored on a breakaway at the 5:06 mark, then scored again off another pass from Halloran at the 11:37 mark for his second of the game. The Tigers never got the equalizer and Lawton Courtnall put the Broncos back up by a pair with a goal at the 5:13 mark of the third period. Rhett Kingston closed the scoring when his shot from the left corner deflected off a CC defender's stick and ended up going over Vernon's shoulder with 7:23 remaining in the third period ... On Saturday, Dawson DiPietro and Allison each collected four points as WMU won 6-2. DiPietro notched a hat trick and added an assist, while Allison scored a goal and assisted on three others for the Broncos. McGing opened the scoring with a shorthanded goal at the 3:49 mark of the opening period.
Grant Cruikshank evened things up later on the same Tiger power play with a rebound goal at 4:53 of the first. DiPietro gave the Broncos the lead for good at the 10:43 mark with his first goal of the game and the Broncos pulled away in the second period with three goals. DiPietro scored his second of the game at the 5:26 mark after a blocked shot from Austin Rueschhoff went right to DiPietro at the bottom of the right circle and he had an open net. Brett Van Os made it 4-1 at 17:27 after putting in his own rebound, then Allison scored off another rebound with 8.8 seconds left in the middle frame for a 5-1 Bronco lead.
Alex Berardinelli gave the Tigers a bit of hope early in the third period with a power-play goal at the 1:44 mark, but that hope was short lived, however, as DiPietro collected his third of the game just 23 seconds later, completing an odd-man rush with Rueschhoff, who finished the game with two assists.
Tiger Tales
Grant Cruikshank collected a career-high 12 shots on Saturday ...
Connor Mayer posted a career-high five shots on Saturday and led CC with three blocked shots on Friday ...
Nick Halloran led the Tigers with three points (all assists) during the weekend ...
Matt Vernon finished the series with 70 saves ...
Chris Wilkie's five-game goal streak came to an end ... On Saturday, the Tigers scored multiple power play goals for the fourth time this season.
Up Next
The Tigers head back out on the road for a two-game series at North Dakota, Jan. 31-Feb. 1.
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 … Mike Gabinet (Omaha, '04) is in his third season as head coach at Omaha after serving as the team's associate head coach during the 2016-17 season. Prior to that, he was the head coach of the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology in 2015-16.  Â
For the Record
Colorado College is 8-11-1 overall and 3-8-1 in the NCHC, good for eighth place in the league with 10 points ... Omaha is 9-10-5 overall and 3-6-3 in the NCHC, good for a sixth-place tie with 12 points.
Previous Meetings
Colorado College and Omaha have met 29 times, with the Mavericks holding a 15-9-5 advantage in the series. The team's only played twice last season, with the Tigers going 1-0-1 in Omaha.
Scouting the Mavericks
Taylor Ward leads Omaha with 20 points (13g,7a), followed by Kevin Conley with 18 (8g,10a) and Tyler Weiss with 16 (3g,13a). Isaiah Saville has started 18 of Omaha's 24 games in the net this season and has a 2.89 goals-against average and .898 saves percentage. Â
Halloran Moves Into Top 100
Nick Halloran moved into the top 100 on CC's career scoring list with his assist last Saturday night at Western Michigan. He has 87 career points (35g,52a), good for a tie for 98th place with
Trey Bradley (2015-19), William Rapuzzi (2009-13) and Greg Hampson (1979-83). Â
Wilkie on a Scoring Spree
Chris Wilkie had his career-high five-game goal scoring streak snapped on Saturday at Western Michigan. It was the longest streak by a Tiger since
Nick Halloran scored in five straight during the 2017-18 campaign. Wilkie had eight goals in that span. The reigning National Player of the Month leads the country in shots per game (5.11), is tied for the national lead with 17 goals and is second in goals per game (0.85).
Faceoff at Falcon Stadium
The Colorado College and Air Force hockey teams will meet in the Faceoff at Falcon Stadium, presented by Centura, on Monday, Feb. 17, at 5 p.m. MT. This will be the second outdoor game ever for the CC hockey program and the first in Colorado Springs. The game in Falcon Stadium will be the 78th meeting between the Tigers and Falcons. CC currently has possession of the Pikes Peak Trophy and owns a 61-13-2 advantage in the series. Tickets for the Faceoff at Falcon Stadium are available for $25 and can be purchased online at https://aftickets.com/faceoffatfalconstadium, or by contacting the Air Force ticket office at (719) 472-1895. Colorado College fans are encouraged to purchase tickets in the designated CC sections – L23, M23, L24 and M24.
Another Tough Schedule
The Tigers are scheduled to play 13 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 12 games against teams that received votes and 10 contests against the last four national champions (North Dakota, Denver and Minnesota Duluth). Â
Very Defensive in Eight Wins
In their eight victories this season, the Tigers have allowed just 15 goals, and have given up 56 in the other 12 games.
Top 10 in Fewest Penalties
The Tigers are tied for seventh in the country in fewest penalties taken this season.     CC has been whistled for only 80 infractions in 20 games. Â
Robson Arena Unanimously Approved by City Council
On Tuesday, Dec. 10, the Colorado Springs City Council unanimously approved the Ed Robson Arena project. Colorado College, in partnership with Colorado Springs' City for Champions initiative, unveiled a proposal to build 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. A groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 15, 2020, and the arena is expected to open in the fall of 2021.
Wilkie and Halloran Nominated for Hobey Baker Award
Chris Wilkie and
Nick Halloran are among 79 student-athletes nominated for the 2020 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).
