2020-21 Campaign Opens in Omaha
Colorado College opens its 2020-21 regular season on Tuesday, Dec. 8 against the Western Michigan Broncos at Baxter Arena in Omaha, Neb. The puck drops at 11:35 a.m. (CT). The game will be broadcast in Colorado Springs on KRDO NewsRadio 105.5 FM, 1240 AM and 92.5 FM and streamed live on NCHC.tv.

Tigers Heading to The "NCHC Pod"
Due to the ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic, the NCHC announced the 2020-21 season will start with all eight teams playing in Omaha, Neb. With the focus on the health and safety of student-athletes, coaches, staff, and officials, the conference has intentionally attempted to limit team travel. Because of this, NCHC teams have been divided into two divisions based on geography for 2020-21 scheduling purposes: East and West. The East Division consists of Miami, Minnesota Duluth, St. Cloud State and Western Michigan. The West Division consists of Colorado College, Denver, North Dakota and Omaha. Teams will play each of their divisional opponents six times (18 games total) and each cross-division opponent twice (8 games total). The second portion of the season will then take place January through March, with all divisional foes playing each other at home and on the road.

First Game in Over Nine Months
Tuesday's season opener will be the first game for Colorado College in 276 days. The Tigers last played on March 7 in the 2019-20 regular-season finale at Denver. The '19-20 campaign came to a premature end on March 12 as the Tigers were traveling to Grand Forks, N.D., for the first round of the 2020 NCHC playoffs against 2nd-ranked North Dakota. Due to the pandemic, all sports were halted around the country. The Tigers were originally scheduled to open the season in Omaha on Dec. 1, but a positive COVID test on Nov. 17 within the program required a 14-day quarantine for the entire team.

Getting Started
This season marks the 82nd year of varsity ice hockey at Colorado College and eighth 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.

Season Openers
Colorado College is 49-30-2 all-time in regular-season openers. The Tigers are 41-14-1 at home and 8-16-1 on the road (including neutral games). Last season, the Tigers opened with a 3-2 victory over Minnesota at the Broadmoor World Arena.

Up Next
The Tigers will play Omaha on Wednesday, Dec. 9 at 7:35 p.m. (CT). The game will be televised live on AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain and AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh.

For the Record
Colorado College finished the 2019-20 campaign with an 11-20-3 overall record and eighth in the NCHC with a 4-17-3-1 mark ... Western Michigan is 0-3 so far this season, falling to St. Cloud State, Omaha and North Dakota.

Previous Meetings
Colorado College and Western Michigan have met 24 times, with the Broncos holding a 13-6-5 advantage in the series. The Tigers were 0-3-1 against WMU last season, with the teams skating to a 4-4 draw in Colorado Springs on Nov. 2.

The Coaches
Mike Haviland (Elmira College, '90) enters his seventh 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 10th season at Western Michigan. 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.

Cruikshank, Berzolla to Wear the "C"
Junior forward Grant Cruikshank and senior defenseman Zach Berzolla will serve as team captains in 2020-21. Cruikshank, who will be a captain for the second straight year, was the first sophomore in program history to wear the "C". Berzolla was an assistant captain in 2019-20.

Another Tough Schedule
The Tigers' 2020-21 schedule includes 16 of their 26 regular-season games against teams that were ranked in the preseason USCHO.com Top 20 Poll. Colorado College also has eight games scheduled against teams that received votes and 10 contests against the last four national champions (North Dakota, Denver and Minnesota Duluth (x2)).   

14 Newcomers Join the Program
The Tigers welcome transfers Hugo Blixt (Boston University) and Brian Hawkinson      (Miami University) and 12 incoming freshmen to the program. At one point last spring, the incoming class was ranked No. 2 in the country by Neutral Zone.

Robson Arena Coming October of 2021
Never in the storied 80-plus years history of Colorado College Tiger Hockey has the team played its home games on campus. Thanks to the generosity of donors, including former CC hockey player Ed Robson '54, P'79, G'11, along with the vision of former President Jill Tiefenthaler and the Board of Trustees, that will change in 2021. The Ed Robson Arena will be a state-of-the-art, multi-purpose arena with a capacity of 3,400, including bar rail and club level seating.