The 20th-ranked Colorado College Tigers travel to Minneapolis, Minn., this weekend for a series against the No. 9/10 Minnesota Golden Gophers, Jan. 7-8, at 3M Arena. Sunday's game begins at 4 p.m. (CT), while Monday's contest is scheduled to begin at 6 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 at Minnesota 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. Sunday's contest will be televised live in the Southern Colorado region on SOCO CW and streamed on BigTen+ as well as TSN+ in Canada.  

Last Time Out
The Tigers swept No. 1 North Dakota, Dec. 8-9, with a pair of 3-2 overtime victories ... On Friday, Noah Laba scored the game-winning goal 35 seconds into overtime, giving the Tigers their first victory over a top-ranked team in nearly seven years. The Tigers, who trailed 2-0 midway through the second period, won their first game against a top-ranked team since Jan. 7, 2017, and snapped a 15-game winless streak against the Fighting Hawks. Early in the 3-on-3 overtime period, Laba gathered the puck behind his own net, charged down the left side, cut in front of the net and beat UND goalie Ludvig Persson for his third game-winning goal of the season and career. Chase Foley collected his career-high second assist of the game on the play. North Dakota led 2-0 midway through the second period thanks to goals from Dylan James and Louis Jamernik V,  but the Tigers roared back with a pair of goals later in the middle frame to even things up. Jack Millar scored his second goal of the season with a shot from the right point at 13:40 of the second period, assisted by Nicklas Andrews and Evan Werner. CC then tied it up with 21.3 seconds left in the period thanks to a power-play goal from Max Burkholder. Burkholder took a pass from Foley and cleanly beat Persson from the left circle, collecting the Tigers' first extra-man goal since No. 10 at Miami. Neither team scored in the third period and the Tigers were not even credited with a shot on goal in the frame, setting up the second overtime game for CC in the last three games. Mbereko was outstanding, making 32 saves, including 23 in the final two periods ... On Saturday, Gleb Veremyev scored on a breakaway 2:54 into overtime, marking the first sweep by the Tigers in Grand Forks in 30 years. Veremyev took a pass from Stanley Cooley during the 3-on-3 overtime period and found himself all alone against UND goalie Ludvig Persson. Veremyev put a backhand past Persson to lock in CC's second NCHC sweep of the season. Team captain Logan Will scored twice and Kaidan Mbereko had 22 saves as CC improved to 9-6-1 overall and 4-4-0 in the NCHC. Will put the Tigers on the board just 1:51 into the contest with his fourth goal of the season. Ryan Beck and Bret Link helped force a turnover in the North Dakota end, and Will, who hit the post three times last Saturday night against Arizona State, beat Persson from the slot. Jackson Kunz evened the game with a power-play goal at the 12:51 mark of the second period, but Will notched his second of the game just 10 seconds later to put the Tigers back on top. UND's Garrett Pyke made it 2-2 with 1:59 remaining in the middle frame with a shot from the left point that eluded Mbereko. For the second straight night, neither team scored in the third period to force the extra frame. Each team attempted 24 shots, including a game-high four by Will. Persson finished the game with 21 saves ... The Tigers defeated Minot State, 7-1, in an exhibition game on Dec. 29, at Ed Robson Arena.

Ranked For First Time in 11 Years  
Following the sweep at No. 1-ranked North Dakota, Colorado College is ranked 20th in both major Division I polls, the first time the Tigers are ranked since Dec. 2, 2012.       The Tigers are in the USCHO.com poll for the first time since a No. 19 ranking on Dec. 2, 2012, and in the USA Hockey / The Rink Live poll since being ranked 14th on Nov. 12, 2012, which also marks the last date CC was ranked in both polls. The last game Colorado College played as a ranked team (#19) was on Dec. 8, 2012, a 4-4 draw vs. #4 Minnesota at the Broadmoor World Arena.

Historic Sweep  
Colorado College posted its first sweep at North Dakota since Nov. 26-27, 1993, and the first over a No. 1-ranked team since Jan. 8-9, 2005, at Minnesota.

Best Start in 12 Years  
Colorado College's 9-6-1 record after 16 games is the best since the 2011-12 season (started 11-5). The Tigers are tied for 18th in the country with nine victories.  

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 … Bob Motzko (St. Cloud State, '87) is in his sixth season as head coach at Minnesota. He spent the previous 13 years as the head coach at St. Cloud State and was an assistant coach with the Gophers from 2001-05. Motzko has led Minnesota to back-to-back NCAA Frozen Four appearances and an NCAA runner-up finish last year.

Previous Meetings
Sunday's game will be the 257th meeting between the two teams. Minnesota owns a 162-86-8 record against the Tigers, including a 96-29-1 mark in Minneapolis. The teams last played in the season-opening series of the 2019-20 season, splitting a pair of games at the Broadmoor World Arena. They last played in Minneapolis on Jan. 21, 2012.  

Mbereko Named NCHC Goaltender of the Month
Colorado College sophomore Kaidan Mbereko was named the NCHC Goaltender of the Month. Mbereko started all four Colorado College games in December, posting a 2-1-1 record. He ranked third in the NCHC with a .926 save percentage and a 1.95 goals-against average during the month. Mbereko racked up 100 saves, averaging 25 saves per game, while allowing only two goals in each of his four starts. Mbereko compiled 46 saves in a series with future NCHC member Arizona State to start the month. He racked up 34 stops, including 19 in the first period, in a 2-2 overtime tie on Dec. 1 for his second-highest save total of the season. His best outings came a week later, when he backstopped CC to a pair of 3-2 overtime wins at then-No. 1 North Dakota. Mbereko compiled 32 saves in the series opener on Dec. 8 before making 22 more stops in another overtime win a night later.

Youngsters Scoring  
Freshmen and sophomores have combined for 33 of the team's 49 goals and 76 of the 126 points. 17 of CC's last 23 goals have been scored by freshmen or sophomores.  

Up Next
The Tigers resume NCHC play with a weekend series at Minnesota Duluth, Jan. 12-13.

Tiger Tales
CC's 5-1 record on the road is the best after six games since the 2002-03 season (4-0-2) ... This is the first season since 2019-20 that the Tigers have two road sweeps in one campaign (St. Cloud State and Princeton) ... The last time CC had two road sweeps in conference play was 2010-11 (Michigan Tech and St. Cloud State) ... CC is fifth in the NCHC and tied for 26th in the nation in goals per game, averaging 3.1 per contest (49 in 16 games) ... Logan Will is fifth in the NCHC with a .599 faceoff win percentage ... Gleb Veremyev is tied for 11th in the NCHC with a +10 this season ... Noah Laba is tied for the lead in the NCHC and tied for sixth in the country with three GWG ... Laba is tied for second in the nation with two shorthanded goals ... Max Burkholder is tied for seventh in the league with a team-high three power-play goals ... Nicklas Andrews is tied for fifth in the NCHC with 25 blocked shots ... The Tigers are second in the NCHC and ninth in the country with a .542 faceoff winning percentage.

Minnesota Connections
Colorado College has six players on the roster from the state of Minnesota: Jake Begley (Mahtomedi), Max Burkholder (Chaska), Chase Foley (Mendota Heights), Ray Christy (St. Paul), Connor Mayer (Champlin) and Nikolai Charchenko (Victoria) ... Mayer is the only current Tiger that played against the Gophers in 2019, collecting an assist during the series ... CC's Director of Hockey Operations Emily West played collegiately at Minnesota, helping the Gophers to the NCAA Division title in 2012. She finished her playing career with 158 points.   

Three Future Tigers Sign National Letter of Intent
Three future Tigers recently signed a National Letter of Intent to attend and play hockey at Colorado College. The players are forwards Jordan Brisson (Chicago Steel – USHL),  Cooper Conway (Omaha Lancers - USHL) and Coy Pighin (Drumheller Dragons - AJHL).
This group joins six players, forwards Owen Beckner and Gavin Lindberg, defensemen Philippe Blais-Savoie, Ryan Koering and Fisher Scott, and goaltender Carsen Musser, who previously signed an NLI with Colorado College.

16 Televised Games This Season
Colorado College is excited to announce a new partnership with SOCO CW, which will televise 14 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