The Colorado College Tigers look to retain the Pikes Peak Trophy against the Air Force Falcons on Friday, Oct. 27, at Cadet Ice Arena. The Tigers are coming off a weekend sweep over Long Island University at Ed Robson Arena. CC hosts Augustana University on Saturday, Oct. 28, at Robson Arena.
 
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
Friday's game 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 starts at 6 p.m.   

Last Time Out
Colorado College posted its second straight sweep to open the season with a pair of victories over Long Island University at Robson Arena ... On Friday, freshman Bret Link scored his first career goal and added an assist and fellow first-year Tyler Dunbar notched his first collegiate goal in a 4-2 win. Jack Millar put the Tigers in front with his first goal of the season at the 3:20 mark of the second period. He collected an LIU pass at the right point and fired a rocket past LIU goalie Brandon Perrone. LIU evened things up four minutes later with a power-play goal from Austin Brimmer. CC regained the lead at the 9:45 mark of the middle frame when Dunbar took a couple of shots against Perrone and the puck finally ended up in the net with several Sharks laying in the crease. Zary scored a power-play goal of his own at 11:21 of the third period to tie the game once again, but Link scored the game winner just over two minutes later off a centering pass from Noah Laba. Nicklas Andrews sealed the game with an empty-netter with 1:10 remaining ... The next night, Zaccharya Wisdom scored the go-ahead goal in the second period and Evan Werner notched two assists in a 3-2 victory. The Tigers struck just 1:22 into the contest. Werner's shot from the right circle was deflected by Tyler Coffey in front and went past LIU goalie Rico DeMatteo. Freshman Max Burkholder notched the first goal of his career with a power-play tally at 15:05 of the opening frame. Burkholder took a pass from Chase Foley and fired a rocket from the left circle that cleanly beat DiMatteo. The Sharks battled back with a goal just 53 seconds later by Josh Zary, who knocked in a rebound after CC goalie Kaidan Mbereko saved a shot from Isaiah Fox, then Chris Pappas evened the score with 1:59 left in the frame with a wrister from the left circle. Wisdom put the Tigers ahead for good at the 5:46 mark of the second when he collected the puck after an LIU turnover and deposited a wrist shot from the bottom of the right circle past DiMatteo for his second goal of the season. It was the Mbereko show after that as the sophomore from Aspen, Colo., made 16 of his 25 saves following Wisdom's goal, including several from point-blank range late in the second and during the final frame.

4-0 For First Time in 12 Years  
Colorado College has a 4-0 record for the first time since the 2011-12 season. That is also the last winning season for the Tigers.   

The Pikes Peak Trophy
In 2013, Colorado College and Air Force established the Pikes Peak Trophy in memory of former CC and Falcons head coach John Matchefts. The winner of the season series between the two teams captures the trophy. If the season series ends in a tie, the team that holds the trophy will retain it. The teams split a pair of games last season, and Colorado College retained the trophy with an 8-0 victory. CC held possession of it since the 2018-19 season.

For The Record
Colorado College is 4-0 after a pair of season-opening sweeps over Union College and Long Island Univ. Air Force is 3-3 after splitting a pair of games at Alaska Anchorage last weekend. The Falcons lost 3-1 on Friday, then collected a 4-3 victory in overtime on Saturday.   

The Coaches
Kris Mayotte is in 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 … Frank Serratore is in his 27th season with Air Force. He previously coached at Denver and has head coaching experience in the USHL and the IHL. Serratore became the seventh active college hockey with 400 victories at his current institution with a victory over Holy Cross in 2019.  

Previous Meetings
Colorado College and Air Force have met 82 times, with the Tigers holding a 66-14-2 advantage in the series.

Up Next
The Tigers host Augustana University at Robson Arena on Saturday, Oct, 28, at 6 p.m.

Tiger Tales
Colorado College is tied second in the nation in goals per game, averaging five per contest (20 in four games) ... Seven of CC's nine freshmen have scored his first career goal in the team's first four games, the other two have not appeared in a game yet this season ... Zaccharya Wisdom is tied for second in the NCHC with a +6 and Gleb Veremyev tied for fifth with a +5 this season ... CC's 20 goals have come on 123 shots, a 16.3 shot percentage, the second-highest in the nation ... LIU's 17 shots last Friday were the fewest allowed by CC in a game since Jan. 8, 2022 (17 by Miami) ... 20 different Tigers have recorded at least one point in the first four games and 18 have multiple points.

Oglevie, West Join Tiger Staff
Andrew Oglevie and Emily West joined the Tigeaching 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.

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).

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.

15 Televised Games This Season
Colorado College is excited to announce a new partnership with SOCO CW, which will televise 13 games during the upcoming 2023-24 season. SOCO CW is available to viewers throughout Colorado Springs, Pueblo and Southern Colorado. CBS Sports Network will televise two games nationally, Jan. 19 vs. Miami and March 8 vs. Denver.

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 Receiving Votes in Both Preseason Polls
Colorado College received votes in both college hockey polls this week. The Tigers received 42 votes in the USCHO.com poll and 12 in the USA Hockey / The Rink Live poll.