This Weekend
Colorado College travels to Grand Forks, N.D., for a two-game series against the second-ranked North Dakota Fighting Hawks. The puck drops at 7:37 p.m. (CT), on Friday, Jan. 31, and 7:07 p.m. (CT) on Saturday, Feb. 1. The games will be broadcast in Colorado Springs on KRDO NewsRadio 105.5 and 92.5 FM and 1240 AM as well as KSBV 93.7 FM and streamed live on NCHC.tv. Friday's game will be televised on AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain and Root Sports Northwest.
Last Time Out
The Tigers dropped a pair of home games to Omaha last weekend ... On Friday, Tyler Weiss broke a 4-4 tie with 47 seconds left and Martin Sundberg added an empty-netter as Omaha rallied from a three-goal deficit to defeat Colorado College, 6-4. The Tigers came out of the gate on fire and scored three goals in the first nine minutes of the contest.
Josiah Slavin opened the scoring with his fourth goal of the season at the 4:17 mark. Just over two minutes later,
Chad Sasaki sent a wrist shot from the left point past a screened Saville for his first career goal, then
Jack Gates scored the first shorthanded goal of his career at the 8:33 mark with a beautiful individual play. He outraced an Omaha player for a loose puck, sliced in from the right side and scored on a backhander while flying through the crease after getting tripped for a 3-0 advantage. Omaha started the comeback as Joey Abate scored a shorthanded goal of his own at the 9:10 mark. Less than two minutes later, Teemu Pulkkinen scored when he poked the puck towards the crease and it caromed off
Matt Vernon's stick into the net. Omaha's Dean Stewart evened the game midway through the second period with a power-play goal, but
Grant Cruikshank put the Tigers back up 4-3 with a blast from the top of the left circle on the power play with 2:48 remaining. The Mavericks took advantage of a 5-minute interference call against
Zach Berzolla early in the third when Zach Jordan made it 4-4 at the 3:23 mark. The teams combined for 30 shots in the third period, but neither team capitalized until Weiss' game-winner in the final minute ... On Saturday, despite scoring first, the Tigers fell 4-1.
Nick Halloran gave the Tigers a 1-0 lead at the 5:40 mark of the second. Halloran deflected a shot by
Ben Copeland in front of the net for his eighth tally of the year. Omaha stormed back and took control of the game with three goals in the final 7:23 of the middle frame. Tristan Keck evened the game when he gathered the puck behind the CC net, circled out front and sent a wrister from the top of the right circle past a screened Vernon. Kevin Conley put the Mavericks on top with a rebound goal at the 14:20 mark, then Nolan Sullivan made it 3-1 when he scored on a breakaway with 46 seconds remaining in the period. John Schuldt scored the final goal of the game at the 13:40 mark of the third period.
Tiger Tales
Chris Wilkie led all players with 19 shots during the weekend ...
Connor Mayer blocked a career-high five shots on Saturday ...
Josiah Slavin tied his career high with two points on Friday, while
Bryan Yoon and
Ben Copeland each tied his career high with two assists ... The two losses to Omaha were the first this season when CC outshot its opponent ...
Casey Staum posted his first career point on Saturday.
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 … Brad Berry (North Dakota, '02) is in his fifth season as head coach at UND. Berry was an assistant coach at the school for nine seasons before taking over the helm in May of 2015. He became the first person in the history of NCAA Division I men's hockey to lead his team to a national title in his first year as head coach.
For the Record
Colorado College is 8-13-1 overall and 3-10-1 in the NCHC, good for eighth place in the league with 10 points ... North Dakota is 19-3-3 overall and 10-2-2-2 in the NCHC, good for the league lead with 34 points.
Previous Meetings
Colorado College and North Dakota have played 255 times, with the Fighting Hawks holding a 160-84-11 advantage in the series. The Tigers went 1-3 last season against North Dakota. This is the first and only series vs. UND during the regular season.
Scouting the Fighting Hawks
Jordan Kawaguchi leads North Dakota and the NCHC with 37 points (13g,24a), followed by Matt Kierstad with 23 (4g,19a). Adam Scheel has started 23 of UND's 25 games in the net this season and has a league-leading 2.08 goals-against average and .903 saves percentage. Â
Up Next
The Tigers return home for a two-game series against St. Cloud State, Feb. 7-8, at the Broadmoor World Arena.
Another Tough Schedule
The Tigers are scheduled to play 12 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 11 games against teams that received votes and 10 contests against the last four national champions (North Dakota, Denver and Minnesota Duluth). Â
Halloran Moves Into Top 100
Nick Halloran moved into the top 100 on CC's career scoring list with an assist on Feb. 18 at Western Michigan. With his two points last weekend against Omaha, he has 89 career points (36g,53a), good for a tie for 94th place with Lee Sweatt (2003-07) and Cam Kryway (1969-2000). Â
Wilkie Up There in National Stats
Chris Wilkie leads the nation with 122 shots and shots per game (5.55). He is averaging more than one shot per game more than second place Nick Swaney of Minnesota Duluth (4.52). Wilkie is tied for second in the country with 17 goals.
Top 10 in Fewest Penalties
The Tigers are tied for 10th in the country for fewest penalties taken this season with 90 in 22 games. Â
Very Defensive in Eight Wins
In the eight victories this season, the Tigers have allowed just 15 goals, and given up 66 in the other 14 games.
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.
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).
On the Air
All CC games in 2019-20, 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. Both of this weekend's pre-game shows start 30 minutes before faceoff. The broadcasts also can be heard worldwide via the Internet ... Selected games, including both this weekend, will also be available on KSBV 93.7 FM in Cripple Creek, Divide, Buena Vista, Monarch and Leadville.
