The Colorado College Tigers travel to Grand Forks, N.D., for a weekend series against the No. 1-ranked team in the country, the North Dakota Fighting Hawks, Dec. 8-9, at Ralph Engelstad Arena. Friday's game starts at 6 p.m. (MT), while Saturday's contest is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. (MT). Live streaming and live stats links can be found at CCTigers.com.

85 Years of CC Hockey
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 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. In addition, Friday's contest will be televised live in Southern Colorado on SOCO CW and in Canada on TSN3.  

Last Time Out
Colorado College tied and lost against Arizona State last weekend at Robson Arena ... On Friday, Danny Weight and Logan Will scored and Kaidan Mbereko had 34 saves in a 2-2 draw. Following a scoreless, five-minute overtime period, Arizona State scored once in the three-player shootout, while the Tigers were unable to score. Weight opened the scoring with his first goal of the season at the 7:38 mark of the first period. Jack Millar's shot from the right point was tipped in front by Stanley Cooley and saved by TJ Semptimphelter, but Weight was on the doorstep and snuck a shot past the ASU goalie. The Sun Devils battled back with a pair of goals in the middle frame. Benji Ekerle completed a 2-on-1 rush with Kyle Smolen and beat Mbereko at 2:41 of the period, then Tyler Gratton pounded home a rebound shot on the power play after Mbereko stopped a shot by Jackson Neidermayer from the slot. After getting outshot 32-21 in the first 40 minutes, the Tigers clamped down defensively, allowing just four shots in the third period and overtime combined. Will evened the score 2:18 into the third period with an outstanding hustle play. Max Burkholder's shot from the point was deflected by Ryan Beck in front. Semptimphelter got a piece of it and the puck trickled towards the goal line, where Will got a stick on it for his third goal of the season. The Tigers killed off a roughing penalty late in the third against Gleb Veremyev to force overtime, where the Tigers had some good looks, including a shot by Noah Laba from the slot the clanged off the right post with 50 seconds remaining. Evan Werner also squarely hit the pipe on CC's first attempt in the shootout after Mbereko made a save on Matthew Kopperud. Kyle Smolen scored on ASU's second attempt, while Semptimphelter saved shots from Beck and Will to seal the shootout for the Sun Devils ... On Saturday, despite outshooting 12th-ranked Arizona State by a 38-14 margin, Colorado College couldn't find the back of the net and fell to the Sun Devils, 2-0. Alex Young put the visitors on the board at the 13:07 mark of the first period. He collected the puck in the neutral zone and moved down the left side before cutting in front the net and placing a shot past Mbereko, then Alexander made it 2-0 with a shorthanded goal on a wrister during a clean breakaway just 2:11 into the second period. After holding an 8-7 advantage in shots after 20 minutes, the Tigers put 30 on goal the rest of the game, compared to just seven for ASU. However, CC was snakebit as Will and Burkholder combined to hit the post five times, with Will hitting the pipe twice within two minutes midway through the second period, then once in the third. Will was all over the ice on Saturday, attempting a game- and career-high eight shots on goal in addition to the three that clanged off the pipe, and won 12 of 16 faceoffs. The Tigers, who held an 86-25 advantage in total shots for the game, equaled their season high with 38 on target.

History vs. No. 1  
Friday's game will be CC's 47th against the No. 1-ranked team in the country. The Tigers are 12-26-8 overall and have a 13-game winless strerak (0-9-4) against top-ranked teams. The last time Colorado College played a No. 1 team was Nov. 5-6, 2021 against St. Cloud State at Robson Arena, and the last victory came on Jan. 7, 2017, a 2-1 win at Minnesota Duluth.

Best Start in 11 Years  
Colorado College's 7-6-1 start is the best since the 2012-13 season (also started 7-6-1) after 14 games. The Tigers are tied for 27th in the country with seven victories.  

Youngsters Scoring  
Freshmen and sophomores have combined for 30 of the team's 43 goals and 68 of the 110 points. 14 of CC's last 17 goals have been scored by freshmen or sophomores.  

Up Next
The Tigers return home for an exhibition game against Minot State on Friday, Dec. 29, beginning at 7 p.m.

100 Career Games
Senior Logan Will played his 100th career game vs. Western Michigan on Nov. 18. Fellow seniors Jack Millar and Nicklas Andrews also hit the century mark this season.  

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 … Brad Berry is in his ninth season as head coach at North Dakota. Berry was an assistant coach at the school for nine seasons before taking over the helm in May of 2015. He became the first person in the history of NCAA Division I men's hockey to lead his team to a national title in his first year as head coach.

Previous Meetings
Colorado College and North Dakota have met 269 times with UND holding a 173-84-12 advantage in the series, including a 104-23-8 mark in Grand Forks. The Fighting Hawks are 14-0-1 in the last 15 games against the Tigers, dating back to a 3-1 CC victory the Broadmoor World Arena on March 1, 2019.

Tiger Tales
Friday's game was the first overtime contest for Colorado College this season ... CC is tied for fourth in the NCHC and tied for 25th in the nation in goals per game, averaging 3.1 per contest (43 in 14 games) ... Freshman Drew Montgomery will face his older brother, Dane, this weekend ... Logan Will is fifth in the NCHC with a .591 faceoff win percentage ... Gleb Veremyev and Zaccharya Wisdom are tied for 19th in the NCHC with a +7 this season ... Max Burkholder is tied for 10th in the league with a pair of power-play goals ... 21 Tigers have recorded at least one point in the first 13 games, while 19 have multiple points and have scored at least one goal as Danny Weight notched his first goal of the season last Friday.

Colorado College Receiving Votes in USCHO.com Poll
Colorado College received one vote in the USCHO.com poll this week. The last time CC was ranked in the Top 20 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.

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 1 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