Tigers Travel to Minnesota to Face UMD and SCSU
Colorado College heads to Minnesota for a pair of NCHC games this weekend. The Tigers take on eighth-ranked Minnesota Duluth on Thursday, Feb. 18, at Amsoil Arena at 6:07 p.m. (CT), and No. 6 St. Cloud State on Saturday, Feb. 20, at the National Hockey Center, beginning at noon (CT). Both games will be broadcast in Colo. Springs on KRDO NewsRadio 105.5 FM, 1240 AM and 92.5 FM and streamed live on NCHC.tv.

Make Up Games From The Pod
This weekend's games were originally scheduled for the NCHC Pod in Omaha in December, but were postponed when the Tigers arrived late due to a positive COVID-19 test and subsequent quarantine prior to the Pod.   

Last Time Out
Despite a pair of goals from senior co-captain Grant Cruikshank, Colorado College dropped a 3-2 decision to 10th-ranked Omaha Saturday at Baxter Arena. Kirby Proctor scored from the left point with 61 seconds left in the third period to break a 2-2 deadlock. The Mavericks rallied from a 2-0 deficit to sweep the six-game series with the Tigers this season. Cruikshank, who missed six games with appendicitis and returned to the lineup Friday night, opened the scoring at the 13:10 mark of the first. He slid down the slot, took a pass from Hunter McKown and beat Omaha goalie Isaiah Saville from the inside of the right circle for his team-high seventh goal of the season. CC goalie Dominic Basse kept the Mavericks off the scoreboard with nine saves in the first period, including a beautiful kick save on Kevin Conley during an Omaha power play with two minutes left in the frame. Cruikshank struck again at the 3:45 mark of the second to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead. He collected the puck at the blue line, skated down the left side and blasted a one-timer past Saville. For the second straight night, the Tigers were called for a five-minute major for contact to the head and a game misconduct, this time to senior co-captain Zach Berzolla at 13:02 of the second period. The Mavericks got on the board during the power play when Matt Miller deflected Jonny Tychonick's shot from the point past Basse with 2:54 remaining in the frame. Taylor Ward evened the game at 2-2 at the 12:31 mark of the third period. Tyler Weiss skated in from the right side and put a shot on Basse, but Ward was there to clean up the rebound. Basse finished with 29 saves for the Tigers, while Saville had 26 saves for Omaha.

Up Next
The Tigers take on sixth-ranked St. Cloud State on Saturday, Feb. 20, beginning at 12 p.m. (CT), at the National Hockey Center.  

Tiger Tales
Omaha's 46 shots on Friday were the most by a CC opponent since Minnesota Duluth had 47 on Nov. 22, 2019 ... Senior co-captain Zach Berzolla leads the country in blocked shots per game (3.17) and tied for first in blocks (57) ... Grant Cruikshank has both multi-goal games for the Tigers this season (last Saturday at Omaha and Dec. 13 vs. Minnesota Duluth).

Last Four Games of Gold Pan Series Finalized
CC and Denver have finalized the remaining games of the Gold Pan series. The Tigers and Pioneers will now meet in a pair of Thursday-Saturday home-and-home series over the final two weekends of the regular season. CC will host DU on Thursday, Feb. 25 and Saturday, March 6, and the teams will play at Magness Arena on Saturday, Feb. 27 and Thursday, March 4. The March 6 game will be televised on AT&T SportsNet.

For the Record
Colorado College is 3-13-3 after Saturday's loss at Omaha ... Minnesota Duluth is 12-7-2 after losing a pair of games at Western Michigan last weekend.   

Previous Meetings
The Tigers and Minnesota Duluth have met 195 times, with the Bulldogs holding a 103-82-10 advantage in the series. CC defeated the Bulldogs, 4-1, on Dec. 13 in Omaha, Neb., during the NCHC Pod.

Scouting The Tigers
Josiah Slavin (5g,7a) leads the Tigers with 12 points, followed by Ben Copeland with 11 (4g,7a) and Grant Cruikshank with 10 (8g,2a). Dominic Basse has played in 14 of the team's 18 games and has a 3.14 goals-against average and .893 saves percentage

Scouting the Bulldogs
Nick Swaney leads the Bulldogs and is tied for second in the NCHC in scoring with 23 points (9g,14a). Cole Koepke (12g,7a) and Jackson Cates (8g,11a) follow with 19 points apiece. Ryan Fanti has appeared in 16 of UMD's 21 games in the net, with a 2.29 goals-against average and .908 saves percentage.  

The Coaches
Mike Haviland (Elmira College, '90) is in 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 … Scott Sandelin (North Dakota, '86) is in his 21st season at Minnesota Duluth. He led the Bulldogs to the 2011, 2018 and 2019 national championships and won the Spencer Penrose Award (Division I Coach of the Year) in 2004.

Another Tough Schedule
The Tigers have played each of their last 11 games against ranked teams. The 2020-21 schedule includes 14 of the 24 regular-season games against teams that are ranked in the Top 10 of this week's USCHO.com Poll. Colorado College also has eight games scheduled against teams that received votes and 12 against the last four national champions (North Dakota, Denver and Minnesota Duluth (x2)).

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, healong 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.

On the Air
All CC games in 2020-21, 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. The broadcasts also can be heard worldwide via the internet.

Matthew Gleason Joins Program
Matthew Gleason, a finalist for the Minnesota Mr. Hockey Award in 2020, has been added to Colorado College's 2020-21 hockey roster. A native of St. Paul, Minn., Gleason opened the 2020-21 campaign with the Chicago Steel of the United States Hockey League (3g,3a in 13 games) following a stellar high school career. As a senior captain at Cretin-Derham Hall High School in St. Paul, Gleason tallied 78 points (36g,42a) in 27 games during the 2019-20 season and was named the Star Tribune's Metro Player of the year, joining former Tiger and 2005 Hobey Baker winner Marty Sertich on that list of recipients. Gleason tallied 225 points (123g,102) in 107 career high school games and led Cretin-Derham Hall in scoring all four years. He also played 57 games in the Upper Midwest HS Elite Hockey League and 13 games over three years in the USA Select Festival.

Tigers Opened the Season At The "NCHC Pod"
Due to the ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic, the NCHC opened the 2020-21 season 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. CC arrived to the Pod late due to a postiive COVID-19 test within the program and subsequent 14-day quarantine for the entire team. The Tigers played eight games within a span of 12 days, and will make up games against St. Cloud State and Minnesota Duluth during the second half of the season.

Berzolla Named NCHC Defenseman of the Week
Zach Berzolla was named the NCHC Defenseman of the Week by the league office Wednesday. Berzolla played a big role at both ends of the ice for Colorado College in its series against No. 11 Omaha. The team co-captain scored his first goal of the season, and only the fourth of his career in 123 career games, late in the third period in Monday's series opener to bring CC within one in a 3-2 loss. The goal was also his first point of the season. He then added the lone assist on the Tigers' first goal Tuesday that tied the game at 1-1 in an eventual 3-2 overtime loss as CC picked up one point in the standings. Defensively, Berzolla blocked four shots in Monday's game and two more on Tuesday, while helping CC go 4-for-5 on the penalty kill in the series. He finished the weekend with a goal and an assist for his first two points of the season, while blocking six shots, firing four shots on goal and finishing with an even plus/minus.