Coming Up
Colorado College travels to Duluth, Minn., for a weekend series against the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs, Dec. 2-3, at Amsoil Arena. The first game of the series on Friday, Dec. 2, is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. (MT). Live streaming and live stats links for the game can be found on the CC Hockey schedule page at CCTigers.com.

Getting Started
This season marks the 84th year of varsity ice hockey at Colorado College and 10th 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.

How To Watch / Listen
Friday's game will be televised live on AT&T SportsNet, broadcast in the Colorado Springs area and Southern Colorado on KRDO NewsRadio 105.5 FM / 95.5 FM / 1240 AM with the 'Voice of the Tigers' Ken Landau, and streamed live on NCHC.tv.

Last Time Out
The Tigers dropped a pair of games to fourth-ranked St. Cloud State, Nov. 18-19, at Ed Robson Arena. On Friday, in a game that saw a crazy bounce on each of the first two goals, SCSU edged the Tigers, 3-1. After a scoreless first period, the Huskies took a 1-0 lead on the craziest bounce of the night. While killing a penalty, Brendan Bushy flipped the puck into the air from deep in his own zone. The puck landed just in front of CC goalie Kaiden Mbereko, took a bounce to his left and found its way into the net at the 17:44 mark of the second period. The Tigers received some luck of their own to even the score at 5:31 of the third period. Noah Laba collected the puck along the left boards, cut through the middle and his centering pass deflected off the stick of SCSU's Ryan Rosborough and through the legs of goalie Jaxon Castor. Dylan Anhorn notched the game-winning goal with just 3:32 remaining in the final frame. Mbereko stopped Micah Miller's point-blank shot, but the puck squeezed through a scrum in front of the net to Anhorn, who placed a wrister from the left circle just inside the left post. Mbererko headed to the bench following a time out with 2:16 to play, and Zach Okabe closed the scoring with an empty-net goal with 11 seconds left in the third. Castor finished with 28 saves, including a stop on a point-blank shot by CC's Brett Chorske midway through the second period that kept the game scoreless. Mbereko had 26 saves ... On Saturday, Okabe scored twice and added an assist and Dominic Basse posted a shutout as the Huskies blanked Colorado College, 5-0. Jack Rogers opened the scoring just 5:03 into the contest. Bushy took a shot from the right boards that Rogers tipped past Mbereko from the slot. The Huskies doubled the lead when Josh Luedtke's shot from the top of the right circle deflected off Bryan Yoon's skate in front of the net and slid past Mbereko at the 13:02 mark. Grant Cruikshank made it 3-0 with 3:54 remaining in the opening frame with a one-timer from the slot on the power play. Matt Vernon replaced Mbereko (seven saves) at the first intermission. The Huskies added a goal early in the second period to extend the lead to 4-0. The Tigers had a great chance to cut the deficit to two, but Brett Chorske whiffed on a shot right in front of Basse, and the Huskies turned it into a 2-on-1 rush. Veeti Miettinen had his shot blocked by Vernon, but Okabe put the rebound in an open net. Okabe then closed the scoring with his second goal of the night at the 16:04 mark of the third period.

The Coaches
Kris Mayotte is in his second season at the helm of the Tigers. He came to Colorado College after serving two years as an assistant coach at the University of Michigan. Mayotte was an assistant coach for Providence College when the Friars won the NCAA Division I title in 2015. In addition, he has won a pair of gold medals and a bronze in four stints as an assistant coach with Team USA at the World Junior Championships … Scott Sandelin is in his 23rd 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.

Up Next
The Tigers return home for a weekend series against the Omaha Mavericks at Robson Arena, Dec. 9-10.

Previous Meetings
The Tigers and Minnesota Duluth have met 204 times, with the Bulldogs holding a 108-85-11 advantage in the series. The teams split a pair of games earlier this season at Robson Arena. The Tigers won, 5-0, on Nov. 4, as Kaidan Mbereko posted his first career shutout, while the Bulldogs captured a 3-1 victory the following night.

Tiger Tales
Hunter McKown leads the nation with seven power-play goals ... Noah Laba leads the team with 11 points (7g,4a), followed by McKown (7g,3a), Stanley Cooley (4g,6a) and Bryan Yoon (1g,9a) with 10 ... Laba is tied for third in the NCHC and tied for fifth in the nation among freshmen with seven goals ... Colorado College is fourth in the NCHC and ninth in the nation in power-play percentage (24.6%) ... Kaidan Mbereko is second in the country among freshmen in save percentage (.920) and third in goals-against average (2.38) ... The Tigers are third in the NCHC and sixth in the nation with 17 power-play goals.   

Mbereko Named NCHC Goaltender of the Month
Freshman Kaidan Mbereko was named the NCHC Goaltender of the Month for November. Mbereko, from Aspen, Colo., was a rock in net for the Tigers in November, starting all six games as CC began conference play. He earned two wins and a tie and while compiling a .945 save percentage, which ranks second in the NCHC in November. Mbereko's 1.68 goals-against average is also second among NCHC netminders this month. He racked up 155 saves in November, tying for third in the NCHC, while averaging 25.83 saves per game. Mbereko opened the month with his first collegiate shutout, collecting a career-high 34 saves on Nov. 4 in a 5-0 win over then-No. 19 Minnesota Duluth. He matched his 34-save total the following weekend in a 2-1 win at Miami on Nov. 12. Mbereko also stopped 32 shots on Nov. 5 in the series finale with the Bulldogs, giving up only two goals. He was named the NCHC Goaltender of the Week twice in November, earning it for his performance in the split with UMD, Nov. 4-5, and for his win and tie at Miami the next weekend. On the season, Mbereko has a 3-5-1 record, while boasting a .920 save percentage, which is third in the NCHC. He also lowered his GAA to 2.38 on the year, tying for fifth in the NCHC. Mbereko is now eligible for Hockey Commissioners' Association (HCA) National Goaltender of the Month. The HCA November national honors are expected to be announced on December 7.

Another Tough Schedule
The Tigers are scheduled to play 18 of their 34 regular-season games against teams that competed in the 2022 NCAA Division I Hockey Championships, including 12 against five of the last six national champions (Denver, Minnesota Duluth and North Dakota).

Leadership for 2022-23 Season
Graduate student Bryan Yoon and junior Logan Will are the team co-captains for Colorado College this season, while junior Hunter McKown and sophomore Stanley Cooley are serving as alternate captains. Yoon, a defenseman from Parker, Colo., returns to the CC squad for a fifth season in '22-23 and served as team captain last year. Will, from Ames, Iowa, tied for second on the team with 18 points (6g,12a) in '21-22.

Three Tigers on Team USA at World Juniors
Kris Mayotte, Hunter McKown and Kaidan Mbereko represented the United States at the 2022 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championships. The tournament, which was originally canceled on Dec. 29, 2021, due to COVID-19 issues, was played August 9-20 in Edmonton, ALB. Mayotte served as an assistant coach with Team USA for the fourth time, while Mbereko was Team USA's starting goaltender and McKown made his first appearance at the WJC.

Tigers Picked Sixth in NCHC Preseason Poll
Colorado College was picked eighth in the 2022-23 NCHC Preseason Poll.
1.    Denver – 180 points (19 first-place votes)
2.    North Dakota – 160 (4)
3.    Minnesota Duluth – 136
4.    St. Cloud State – 115
5.    Western Michigan - 86
6.    Colorado College – 64
7.    Omaha - 59
8.    Miami - 28

Second Season at Robson Arena
Never in the storied history of Colorado College Tiger Hockey had the team played its home games on campus prior to the 2021-22 campaign. Thanks to the generosity of donors, including former CC hockey player Ed Robson '54, along with the vision of former President Jill Tiefenthaler and the Board of Trustees, that changed on October 8, 2021, when the Tigers and St. Lawrence battled in the first regular-season game at Ed Robson Arena. Colorado College ranked No. 1 in the nation last season with percentage of attendance vs. capacity, at 104.5 percent. The capacity of Robson Arena is 3,407 and CC averaged an attendance of 3,559.

CC to Have 14 Games Televised This Season
11 of Colorado College's 34 games will be televised live on AT&T SportsNet, including 10 from Ed Robson Arena, while the Princeton game on New Year's Eve will be broadcast live in Colorado Springs and throughout the Southern Colorado region on KRDO NewsChannel 13. Road games at Air Force on Saturday, Oct. 29, and Denver on Friday, March 3 will be televised on Altitude 2 and CBS Sports Network, respectively.