This Weekend
Colorado College and 6th-ranked Denver continue the Battle for the Gold Pan with a home-and-home series this weekend. The teams will play at the Broadmoor World Arena on Friday, March 6 at 7:37 p.m., then at Magness Arena on Saturday, March 7, beginning at 8:06 p.m. The games will be broadcast in Colorado Springs on KRDO NewsRadio 105.5 and 92.5 FM and 1240 AM. Saturday's game will be televised on CBS Sports Network.
Last Time Out
The Tigers lost a pair of home games to No. 5 Minnesota Duluth last weekend ... On Friday, Cole Koepke and Scott Perunovich each had a goal and an assist and Hunter Shepard made 20 saves in a 4-2 UMD victory. Koepke opened the scoring at the 3:38 mark of the first period. Justin Richards won a draw back to Koepke, whose shot from the top of the right circle hit CC goalie
Matt Vernon's shoulder and trickled behind him past the goal line. Tanner Laderoute made it 2-0 at 13:08 of the first after putting home a rebound in front after Vernon saved a shot by Koepke. The Tigers cut the lead in half two minutes later when
Chris Wilkie scored his NCHC-leading 21st goal of the season. Wilkie took a touch pass from
Alex Berardinelli just outside the blue line, moved towards the slot and fired a wrist shot that cleanly beat Shepard at the 15:08 mark.
Jack Gates evened things up at 2-2 with his third goal of the season at the 13:22 mark of the second period.
Andrew Gaus wheeled around to the top of the slot and put a shot on net that Gates deflected past Shepard while cutting just in front of the crease.
With 3:18 remaining in the second period, Wilkie was called for a 5-minute interference penalty and ejected from the game. The Bulldogs took advantage as Dylan Samberg scored the eventual game-winning goal from the top of the right circle at the 17:41 mark for a 3-2 lead. Perunovich closed out the scoring with an empty-net goal at the 18:47 mark of the third period .. On Saturday, Minnesota Duluth scored four times in the second period and Hunter Shepard made 27 saves as the 5th-ranked Bulldogs downed CC, 6-1. Noah Cates scored once and added a pair of assists, while Richards and Quinn Olson each had a goal and an assist for UMD. Richards, who had a pair of assists Friday night, put the Bulldogs ahead 1-0 with a wrister from the top of the left circle that snuck past
Matt Vernon at the 14:22 mark of the opening period. The two-time defending national champs put the game away with four goals in the second period. Nick Swaney scored on a wraparound just 59 seconds into the frame, then Luke Loheit made it 3-0 at the 5:40 mark by splitting a pair of Tigers, collecting the puck and beating Vernon from the bottom of the right circle. At that point, Vernon was replaced by
Ryan Ruck. Cates connected on a breakaway at 13:25 and Olson put UMD up by five after finishing a give-and-go with Cates at the 17:21 mark.
Nick Halloran scored the lone goal for the Tigers, a power-play tally at the 11:13 mark of the third period.
Grant Cruikshank's shot from the left dot was saved by Shepard, but the puck snuck behind him and Halloran poked it in for his 11th goal of the season and 95th point of his career. Jade Miller closed out the scoring at the 12:17 mark of the final frame.
Tiger Tales
The Tigers suffered their first-ever loss on Leap Day (3-1-1) ...
Chris Wilkie led the Tigers with five shots in each game ...
McKay Flanagan tied his career high with a +2 on Friday ...
Sam Renlund blocked a career-high three shots on Friday ...
Jack Gates had a career-high four shots on Saturday ...
Ryan Ruck had 23 saves in his first appearance since Jan. 10 ... UMD's 44 shots on Saturday were the third-most by an opponent this season.
Senior Night on Friday
CC's Class of 2020 will be recognized in a pre-game ceremony on Friday. The seven seniors that are on the roster this season, including graduate seniors
Andrew Gaus and
Ryan Ruck, plus
Cole Josefchak, who retired from playing last year, and junior
Jon Flakne, who will graduate in three years, will be honored.
The Gold Pan
This season marks the 27th 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. Each team has hoisted the trophy 13 times in its 26 years of existence.
Second Most Played Rivalry in College Hockey
The 322 games played between Colorado College and Denver are the second most among two schools in college hockey history. Only Michigan and Michigan State have played each other more (328). Denver holds a 182-120-20 in the all-time series.
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 … David Carle (Denver, '12) is in his second 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.
For the Record
Colorado College is 11-19-2 overall and 4-16-2-1 in the NCHC, good for eighth place in the league with 15 points ... Denver is 20-9-5 overall and 10-6-4-3 in the NCHC, good for third place with 37 points.
Scouting the Pioneers
Emilio Pettersen leads Denver with 33 points (12g,21a), followed by Ian Mitchell with 30 (9g,21a) and Cole Guttman (13g,14a) and Brett Stapley (5g,22a) with 27 apiece. Magnus Chrona has appeared in 25 games this season in the net. He has a 15-6-3 record, leads the NCHC in saves percentage (.918) and is second in goals-against average (2.24).
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Up Next
The Tigers will be on the road for the first round of the NCHC playoffs. The best-of-three series will start on Friday, March 13. CC's opponent is yet to be determined. Â
Wilkie Up There in National Stats
Chris Wilkie continues to lead the nation with 163 shots. Wilkie, who leads CC in scoring with 29 points (21g,8a), leads the NCHC and is tied for third in the country with 21 goals.
Halloran Closing in on Century Club
Nick Halloran moved into the top 100 on CC's career scoring list with an assist on Feb. 18 at Western Michigan. With a goal against Minnesota Duluth last Saturday, he has 95 career points (39g,56a), good for 85th place.
Another Tough Schedule
The Tigers' schedule includes 16 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 has six games scheduled against teams that received votes and 10 contests against the last four national champions (North Dakota, Denver and Minnesota Duluth). Â
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).
Second Outdoor Game For Colorado College
The Faceoff at Falcon Stadium against Air Force on Monday, Feb. 17, was the second outdoor game ever for the CC hockey program and the first in Colorado Springs. The Tigers played Denver at Coors Field on Feb. 20, 2016 in the "Battle on Blake."
Hundreds Celebrate Robson Arena Groundbreaking
Never in the storied 80-year history of Colorado College Tiger Hockey has the team played its home games on campus. Thanks to the vision of President Jill Tiefenthaler and the Board of Trustees, along with the generosity of donors, including former CC hockey player Ed Robson '54, P'79, G'11, and many others, that will change in 2021.
President Tiefenthaler and Mr. Robson joined Colorado College Vice President and Director of Athletics
Lesley Irvine, hockey coach
Mike Haviland and Colorado Springs City Council President Richard Skorman in talking about the importance of the Ed Robson Arena at the official groundbreaking ceremony Saturday, Feb. 15, on the CC campus.
New Mascot Coming on Friday
In addition to the Class of 2020, CC's athletic mascot, Prowler, is graduating this Friday night. A new mascot costume, as well as a new name, will be introduced during the first intermission of Friday's game.
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 Saturday's, will also be available on KSBV 93.7 FM in Cripple Creek, Divide, Buena Vista, Monarch and Leadville.