The Colorado College Tigers return home for weekend series against the 16th-ranked Western Michigan Broncos, Nov. 17-18, at Ed Robson Arena. Friday's game starts at 7 p.m., while Saturday's contest is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. Live streaming and live stats links can be found 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. Friday's contest will be televised on SOCO CW in the Colorado Springs area and Southern Colorado.

Last Time Out
The Tigers swept a pair of games at Miami University last weekend ... On Friday, Noah Laba and Gleb Veremyev each scored twice and Kaidan Mbereko made 31 saves to lead Colorado College to a 5-1 victory. Laba added a pair of assists, while Nicklas Andrews added a goal and a helper. Laba notched the first two goals of the contest. After Riley Stuart was called for a 5-minute checking from behind penalty just 6:25 into the contest, Laba scored CC's first shorthanded goal of the season at the 7:58 mark when he carried the puck down the right side and beat Miami goalie Logan Neaton from the bottom of the right circle. Laba's second of the game came at the 15:27 mark of the opening frame. Veremyev and Zacchaya Wisdom had their 2-on-1 broken up, but Wisdom stuck with the play and found Laba open in the slot. Following a 5-minute major call against Miami with 4:08 remaining in the first period, Andrews and Veremyev scored within 58 seconds of each other to make it 4-0, the first time CC scored four goals in one period against an NCHC opponent since Dec. 9, 2022, scoring four in the third period of a 6-3 victory over Omaha. Veremyev notched his second of the game at the 13:25 mark of the second period, and Matthew Barbolini put the RedHawks on the board with a power-play goal at 5:24 of the third period ... On Saturday, Laba scored twice and Mbereko had 31 saves for the second straight game as CC completed the sweep with a 4-1 win. The Tigers extended their unbeaten streak to 11 (9-0-2) against the Redhawks, including a 7-0-1 mark in the last eight contests in Oxford. Laba opened the scoring with his fifth goal of the season and third of the weekend. He rushed down the right side with the puck, cut in front of the net and still had the puck after circling to the top of the left circle, then put a shot past Miami goalie Logan Neaton, who was still on his stomach after the initial rush. Veremyev collected an assist on the play, extending his career-best point streak to six games. CC doubled its lead just two minutes into second period as Ryan Beck scored his first goal of the season. Bret Link sent a beautiful pass from the right circle to a streaking Beck at the bottom of the left circle and Beck hit the open net. The RedHawks cut the lead in half when Max Dukovac scored from below the left circle at the 5:08 mark of the second period. Laba scored his second of the game and second shorthanded goal of the weekend at the 17:31 mark of the middle frame with a breakaway to make it 3-1 and Drew Montgomery put the game away with an empty-net goal with 13 seconds left in the final period.

Best Start in 11 Years  
The Tigers have a 7-3 record for the first time since the 2012-13 season. Colorado College is tied for third in the country with seven victories.  

Laba, Mbereko Earn Weekly NCHC Awards
Sophomores Noah Laba and Kaidan Mbereko were named the NCHC Forward and Goaltender of the Week, respectively, following CC's sweep at Miami. Laba had four goals including two SHG, and two assists for six points, while Mbereko had 61 saves and allowed just two goals during the weekend.

Youngsters Scoring  
Freshmen and sophomores have combined for 29 of the team's 40 goals and 65 of the 101 points. 13 of CC's last 14 goals have been scored by freshmen or sophomores.
 
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 … Pat Ferschweiler is in his third season as head coach at Western Michigan after spending two seasons as an associate head coach with the program. Prior to rejoining the WMU staff, he spent four years as an assistant coach for the Detroit Red Wings.

Previous Meetings
Colorado College and Western Michigan have met 39 times, with WMU holding a 22-11-6 advantage in the series. The Broncos lead the series, 8-6-4, in Colorado Springs. The Tigers swept WMU in the first round of the NCHC playoffs in Kalamazoo last season, and snapped a 12-game winless streak (10-0-2) with their win on Friday, March 10.

Up Next
After a break during the Thanksgiving weekend, the Tigers remain at home for a weekend series against the Arizona State Sun Devils, Dec. 1-2, at Robson Arena. Friday's game will start at 7 p.m., while Saturday's contest is scheduled to begin a 6 p.m.

Tiger Tales
Colorado College is second in the NCHC and tied for fourth in the nation in goals per game, averaging 4.0 per contest (40 in 10 games) ... Laba is the first Colorado College player to score two goals in consecutive games since Chris Wilkie vs. Princeton in 2019 and the first with a shorthanded goal in back-to-back contests since Chad Rau vs. Wisconsin on Nov. 16-17, 2007 ... Seven of CC's nine freshmen have scored his first career goal in the team's first eight games ... Gleb Veremyev is fifth in the NCHC with a +11 this season, Zaccharya Wisdom is sixth at +10 and Connor Mayer and Ethan Straky are tied for eighth at +8 ... Max Burkholder is tied for fifth in the league with a pair of power-play goals ... 20 Tigers have recorded at least one point in the first seven games, while 19 have multiple points and 17 have scored at least one goal.

Colorado College Receiving Votes in Both Preseason Polls
Colorado College received votes in both Division I college hockey polls this week. The Tigers received 54 votes in the USCHO.com poll, good for 22nd place and 46 in the USA Hockey / The Rink Live poll, good for 21st. The last time CC was ranked in either poll was Dec. 2, 2012, when the Tigers were #19 in the USCHO poll.

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 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.

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 2018.

17 Televised 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. 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