The Colorado College Tigers open their 2023-24 regular season this Friday, Oct. 13, against Union College at Ed Robson Arena. The game is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. (MT). The teams will also battle on Saturday, Oct. 14, at 6 p.m. Live streaming and live stats links can be found on the CC Hockey schedule page at CCTigers.com.

Getting Started
This season marks the 85th year of varsity ice hockey at Colorado College and 11th 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 Listen / Watch
Both games this weekend will be broadcast live 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. The pregame show on Friday starts at 6 p.m. Friday's game will be televised on SOCO CW. Click here to view all the channels for Friday's game.  

Season Openers
Colorado College is 50-31-3 all-time in regular-season openers. The Tigers are 42-15-1 at home and 8-16-2 on the road (including neutral games). Last season, the Tigers opened with a 6-2 victory over Alaska Anchorage at Ed Robson Arena.

The Coaches
Kris Mayotte enters his third 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. Mayotte graduated from Union College in 2006 … Josh Hauge is in his second season as head coach at Union College. He led Union to a 14-19-2 record and a home playoff game in the first round of the ECAC Hockey Tournament in his first season. Hauge served seven seasons on the bench at fellow ECAC Hockey member Clarkson University, including the last three years as the associate head coach.

For The Record
Colorado College finished the 2022-23 campaign with a 13-22-3 overall record and a 6-15-3 mark in the NCHC, good for seventh place in the league's final standings. The Tigers swept Western Michigan in Kalamazoo in the first round of the NCHC playoffs, the first road playoff sweep in program history. Colorado College is the only team in the NCHC to win mulitple first-round road series in the 10-year history of the league.

Previous Meetings
Colorado College and Union College have met six times, with the Tigers holding a 4-1-1 advantage in the series. The teams last played early in the 2021-22 campaign. Union won the opener, 2-1, and the squads skated to a 3-3 draw, in Schenectady N.Y.   

Exhibition Win Over Simon Fraser
Noah Laba scored twice and the Colorado College hockey team tallied five goals in the final two periods to defeat Simon Fraser University, 6-3, in an exhibition game last Saturday at Robson Arena. Tyler Coffey opened the scoring at the 8:04 mark of the first period, but SFU's Tristen Cross evened the score with a power-play goal just 51 seconds into he second period. Tiger captain Logan Will put CC up for good just 30 seconds later off a beautiful feed from Max Burkholder. Laba extended the lead at the 5:29 mark. Ryan Beck started the play with a shot that Henderson saved. Bret Link retrieved the puck in the corner, moved along the boards and found Laba, who scored from point-blank range. Tyler Dunbar scored 1:52 into he final frame off a rebound, then Laba notched his second of the contest at the 9:15 mark. With the Tigers shorthanded, Connor Mayer found Laba along the left boards. Laba split a pair of Simon Fraser defenders while cutting to the middle and placed a shot over SFU goalie Andrew Henderson's shoulder. The Red Leafs scored a couple of power-play goals after Laba was disqualified from the game, but Link scored an empty-netter with 44 seconds remaining for the game's final goal.

First Appearance in NCHC Championship Game
The Tigers appeared at the NCHC Frozen Faceoff for the second time, and upset No. 3-ranked Denver, 1-0, in the semifinals, advancing to their first NCHC Championship Game. Colorado College made its first appearance in a conference title game since the 2013 WCHA final, a 3-2 loss to Wisconsin. The Tigers fell to St. Cloud State, 3-0, in the 2023 title game.

Oglevie, West Join Tiger Staff
Andrew Oglevie and Emily West joined the Tiger coaching staff during the summer as an assistant coach and director of hockey operations/video coach, respectively. Oglevie comes to CC after spending one season as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Notre Dame, while West was an assistant coach at Ohio State for three seasons and helped the Buckeyes to the national title in 2022. West won a national title in 2012 as a player at the University of Minnesota.

Leadership Named for 2023-24 Season
Senior forward Logan Will has been named team captain for the 2023-24 season, while junior forward Stanley Cooley, senior defenseman Jack Millar and senior forward Ray Christy will serve as assistant captains. Will, from Ames, Iowa, appeared in 33 games and posted 12 points (5g,7a) last season. A team captain last season, Will has 34 points (14g,20a) in 88 games at Colorado College. Cooley, an assistant captain as a sophomore in '22-23, finished third on the team last year with 20 points (6g,14a) and 85 shots. He has appeared in all 74 games in his two seasons at CC. Millar has appeared in 97 games as a Tiger and has 19 career points (4g,15a), including seven (1g,6a) in 38 games last season as a junior. He is second among returners with 146 career blocked shots. Christy picked up four points (1g,3a) in 30 games last season. He has seven career points (3g,4a) in 69 career games.

Another Tough Schedule
The Tigers are scheduled to play 12 of their 34 regular-season games against teams that competed in the 2023 NCAA Division I Hockey Championships, and 12 against five of the last seven national champions (Denver, Minnesota Duluth and North Dakota).

Ironmen Last Season
Seven Tigers, including returners Jack Millar, Stanley Cooley, Ryan Beck and Ethan Straky, played in all 38 games last season.

10 Newcomers on '23-24 Roster
Colorado College added nine freshmen and one transfer to the roster for the upcoming season. They are: Max Burkholder (D, Dubuque Fighting Saints - USHL), Tyler Dunbar (D, Lincoln Stars - USHL), Antonio Fernandez (D, Lincoln Stars - USHL), Bret Link (F, Fargo Force - USHL), Drew Montgomery (F, Omaha Lancers - USHL), Riley Stuart (F, Dubuque Fighting Saints - USHL), Klavs Veinbergs (F, Lincoln Stars - USHL), Evan Werner (F, Tri-City Storm - USHL), and Zaccharya Wisdom (F, Cedar Rapids Roughriders - USHL). In addition, goalie Henry Wilder is a junior transfer from Boston College. This recruiting class was ranked No. 10 in the country by NeutralZone.net.

Mbereko Named To Preseason All-NCHC Team
Sophomore goaltender Kaidan Mbereko was named the goalie on the 2023 Preseason All-NCHC Team by a vote of league media members. Mbereko, who collected 23 of the 27 votes cast, is the first Tiger named to the preseason all-conference team since forward Nick Halloran in 2018. Mbereko, a member of the College Hockey News All-Rookie and NCHC Second Teams last season, was named a finalist for three of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference's 11 major awards in 2022-23. He was one of three finalists for Goaltender of the Year, Rookie of the Year and Three Stars Award.


CC to Televise 15 Games This Season
Colorado College is excited to announce a new partnership with SOCO CW, which will televise 15 games during the upcoming 2023-24 season. SOCO CW is available to viewers throughout Colorado Springs, Pueblo and Southern Colorado. Both CC vs. DU games at Ed Robson Arena will also be available on The CW in Denver and Northern Colorado, as well as up to 10 games on KGJT in Grand Junction and Western Colorado.

Tigers Picked Seventh in NCHC Preseason Poll
Colorado College was picked seventh in the 2023-24 NCHC Preseason Poll.

1.    Denver – 199 points (11 first-place votes)
2.    North Dakota – 175 (12)
3.    St. Cloud State – 155 (2)
4.    Western Michigan - 126 (2)
5.    Minnesota Duluth – 123 (1)
6.    Omaha - 113
7.    Colorado College – 89
8.    Miami - 28

Colorado College Received Votes in Both Preseason Polls
Colorado College received votes in both preseason college hockey polls for the first time since 2019. The Tigers received 13 votes in the USCHO.com poll and 22 in the USA Hockey / The Rink Live poll. CC received five votes in this week's USCHO.com poll.