Tigers Travel to Grand Forks for NCHC Playoffs
Colorado College travels to Grand Forks, N.D., this week for the 2021 NCHC Playoffs. CC, the seventh seed, will face No. 2-seed St. Cloud State at Engelstad Arena on Friday, March 12, beginning at 1:37 p.m. (MT). 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.

Updated Playoff Format due to Pandemic
The NCHC's postseason tournament format, location and dates are changing this year. The entire NCHC Tournament will take place at Ralph Engelstad Arena and will be a single-elimination format. Quarterfinals will occur on Friday and Saturday, March 12-13, while the semifinals and championship will take place on Monday, March 15 and Tuesday, March 16, respectively. No third-place game will occur.

Final Two Games vs. Denver Canceled
Due to a combination of positive COVID-19 tests, contact tracing and subsequent quarantining of individuals within the Colorado College hockey program, the final regular-season series between Colorado College and Denver scheduled for Thursday, March 4, in Denver and Saturday, March 6, in Colorado Springs, was canceled. Per NCHC policy for 2020-21, the canceled games will be considered no contests, having no impact on either team's record. With the cancelations, Colorado College and Denver both finished the regular season with 22 conference games, two short of the 24 scheduled NCHC games. Per NCHC Policies and Procedures, the Conference used points-per-game to determine the final order of the standings and seedings for the NCHC Tournament where teams do not complete all 24 games.

Conference Postseason History
Colorado College is 61-87 all-time in conference postseason play. The Tigers were 41-51-2 during first-round series' in the WCHA (a two-game, total-goal series was played prior to the 1987-88 season, best-of three series since then), and are 4-11 in the NCHC, including a three-game series win at Western Michigan in 2019. The 2020 postseason was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tiger Tales
CC's eight power-play chances against Denver on Feb. 27 were the most in a game since getting eight at Arizona State on Dec. 15, 2018 ... Zach Berzolla is third in the country in blocked shots (65) and blocks per game (2.95) ... Ben Copeland tied his career high with six shots for the second consecutive game Feb. 27 at Denver.

Cruikshank Named All-NCHC Honorable Mention
Junior co-captain Grant Cruikshank was named to the All-NCHC honorable mention team earlier this week. Cruikshank finished the regular season with a team-high eight goals and third on the team with 10 points. He scored six goals in eight games during the NCHC Pod, before missing six games during the middle of the season with appendicitis.

For the Record
Colorado College finished the regular season with a 4-16-2 record, while St. Cloud State is 15-9-0 entering the NCHC Tournament.

Previous Meetings
The Tigers and St. Cloud State have met 109 times, with the Huskies holding a 51-50-8 advantage in the series. The Huskies beat CC, 4-3, in overtime during the NCHC Pod, then won 4-0 in St. Cloud on Feb. 20.

Scouting The Tigers
Josiah Slavin (5g,8a) leads the Tigers with 13 points, followed by Ben Copeland with 11 (4g,7a) and Grant Cruikshank with 10 (8g,2a). Dominic Basse has played in 17 of the team's 22 games and has a 3.18 goals-against average and .895 saves percentage.

Scouting the Huskies
Veeti Miettinen (10g,12a) leads the Huskies in scoring with 22 points, followed by Nick Perbix (5g,13a) with 18 and Nolan Walker (7g,9a) with 16. David Hrenak has appeared in 20 of SCSU's 24 games in net this season, posting a 2.63 goals-against average and a .904 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 … Brett Larson (Minnesota Duluth, '95) is in his third season as head coach at St. Cloud State after spending three seasons as an assistant coach at Minnesota Duluth. He also was an assistant with the Bulldogs from 2008-11 and helped Minnesota Duluth win the NCAA Division I national title in 2011 and again in 2018.

Another Tough Schedule
Prior to the final two regular-season games vs. Denver, the Tigers had played 13 straight contests against ranked teams. The 2020-21 schedule included 14 of the 22 regular-season games against teams that are ranked in this week's USCHO.com Poll. Colorado College also had six games scheduled against teams that received votes and 12 against the last four national champions (North Dakota, Denver and Minnesota Duluth (x2)).

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.

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.

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.

Cruikshank and Slavin Nominated for Hobey Baker Award
Grant Cruikshank and Josiah Slavin are among 50 student-athletes nominated for the 2021 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).