The 10th-ranked Colorado College Tigers, winners of eight of their last nine games, play their final regular-season road series this weekend, Feb. 23-24, against the No. 19 Omaha Mavericks at Baxter Arena. Both games are scheduled to start at 7 p.m. (CT). Live streaming and live stats links can be found at CCTigers.com.

How To Listen / Watch
Both games at Omaha 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 and streamed on NCHC.tv.

Last Time Out
The Tigers swept No. 2-ranked North Dakota last weekend at Robson Arena ... On Friday, Zaccharya Wisdom scored four goals and added an assist and Ryan Beck collected four assists in a 7-1 victory. Klavs Veinbergs posted a career-high four points and Kaidan Mbereko had 23 saves. Veinbergs opened the scoring at the 7:54 mark with the first period, but Riese Gaber evened the game at the 9:22 mark. Gleb Veremyev put the Tigers ahead to stay with his 10th goal of the season at the 18:02 mark off an assist from Wisdom. The Tigers put the game away with three goals in the second period, starting with Wisdom making it 3-1. Veinbergs sent the puck towards the net and Wisdom knocked it out of the air past UND goalie Ludvig Persson at the 13:24 mark of the middle frame. Tyler Coffey made it 4-1 with a wrister from the left circle, then Wisdom notched the final three tallies of the game, with the first of the three chasing Persson after another power-play goal at the 16:12 mark of the second. Wisdom collected his hat trick, the first by a Tiger since Hunter McKown on Dec. 9, 2022, on the power play at 4:35 of the third period, then closed the scoring with 7:33 remaining in the game. Beck assisted on three of Wisdom's goals and Veinbergs' opening goal. Mbereko, who was named a semifinalist for the Mike Richter Award earlier this week, was stellar once again, making 12 of his 23 saves in the first period ... On Saturday, it was the Mbereko show in a 6-2 win, collecting a career-high 43 saves, including 19 in the first period. Veremyev scored twice and Noah Laba had a goal and two assists. UND's Abram Wiebe opened the scoring at the 5:49 mark, but Jack Millar evened things up just 14 seconds later when he took a Laba pass from behind the net and beat Persson with a blast from the top of the slot. Late in the first period, the penalty boxes started to fill up. UND's Louis Jamernik was called for slashing at the 16:02 mark, giving the Tigers a power play, but Beck went to the box for hooking 48 seconds later. At the 17:11 mark, Laba was called for a five-minute major for boarding. When Jamernik left the box, the visiting team had a 5-on-3 advantage for 51 seconds. CC killed off the two-man advantage and it looked like it would get out of the period tied, but Cameron Berg gave the Fighting Hawks a 2-1 lead with 8.9 seconds remaining in the frame. The Tigers erased the remaining 2:11 of the Laba major at the start of the second period, thanks to Mbereko stopping six shots during that span. However, Stanley Cooley was whistled for tripping at the 2:30 mark and UND went right back on the power play. Mbereko made four saves during those two minutes and kept his team in the game. North Dakota had 19 shots during its five power plays, but converted just once. Evan Werner scored the first of five consecutive Tiger goals at the 17:00 mark of the second by deflecting a shot from Max Burkholder past Persson to make it 2-2. Logan Will put CC ahead for good at 4:19 of the third period, then Veremyev scored twice in a 60-second span and Laba closed the scoring with an ENG.

Best Start in 16 Years  
Colorado College's 18-9-1 record after 28 overall games and 12-6-0 mark after 18 conference games are the best since the 2007-08 season (20-7-1 and 15-3-0). The Tigers are tied for 11th in the nation with 18 wins.   

What a Weekend For Wisdom
With his four goals and one assist in Friday's 7-1 victory over North Dakota, Zaccharya Wisdom became the first Tiger to score four times in one game since Ben Copeland (also a freshman) against Western Michigan on Jan. 23, 2019. Wisdom is the eighth player in the NCHC to post four goals in a game. His three power-play goals on Friday were the most by a CC player in a game since William Rapuzzi against Alaska Anchorage on Jan. 22, 2010. After adding a pair of assists in Saturday's 6-2 victory, Wisdom was named the NCHC Forward of the Week. He is the first Tiger with seven points in a weekend since Jaden Schwartz (2g,5a) at Michigan Tech, Dec. 3-4, 2010.   
First Winning Record in 12 Years  
Colorado College's victory Friday night clinched its first winning regular season since the 2011-12 campaign. CC's 18 wins ties for the most in a season since 2010-11 (23). The 2011-12 and '12-13 teams each won 18 games.   

Big Move in the National Polls  
Colorado College moved up in both Division I national polls this week. The Tigers are No. 10 in the USCHO.com poll and the USA Hockey / The Rink Live poll. This is CC's first appearance in the Top 10 since Feb. 6, 2012.  

Mbereko Named Richter Award Semifinalist
Colorado College goaltender Kaidan Mbereko has been named a semifinalist for the Mike Richter Award, given annually to the top goaltender in men's NCAA Division I hockey since 2014. He is the lone NCHC goalie and sophomore to make the list of 10 semifinalists. Three finalists will be announced in early March and the winner will be announced in April during the NCAA Frozen Four in St. Paul, Minn.

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 … Mike Gabinet is in his seventh season as head coach at Omaha after serving as the team's associate head coach during the 2016-17 season. Prior to that, he was the head coach of the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology in 2015-16.

Previous Meetings
The Tigers and Omaha have met 47 times, with the Mavericks holding a 27-14-6 advantage in the series, including a 15-5-5 mark in Omaha. This is the first meeting between the teams this season. CC went 2-1-1 vs. the Mavericks last season.

Laba and Mbereko Named Hobey Baker Nominees
Sophomores Noah Laba and Kaidan Mbereko are among 84 student-athletes nominated for the 2024 Hobey Baker Award. The Hobey Baker Award is presented annually to the collegiate hockey player who best demonstrates strength of character both on and off the ice, contributes to the integrity of his team and displays outstanding skills in all phases of the game. Consideration is given for scholastic achievement and sportsmanship. Colorado College has had two winners since the first Hobey Baker was awarded in 1981, Peter Sejna (2003) and Marty Sertich (2005).

Up Next
The Tigers return home to face Minnesota Duluth, March 1-2, at Robson Arena.

Tiger Tales
Colorado College is 8-2 in its last 10 games vs. ranked opponents and has lost just once in regulation in its last 14 games ... The Tigers are 9-3 on the road, the best mark after 12 road games since the 2004-05 season (9-2-1) ... CC's 10-goal margin (13-3) against No. 2 North Dakota is the largest in a weekend sweep since Dec. 10-11, 2004, against Alaska Anchorage (13-3) ... Friday night, CC had three players with at least four points in a game since Oct. 20, 2001 (7-1 win over UMass) ... The Tigers are second the nation with a .551 faceoff winning percentage ... Noah Laba is second in the nation with seven game-winning goals, the most by a Tiger in one season since Brett Sterling had eight during the 2005-06 campaign ... Laba is the first Tiger to record at least 22 points in each of his first two seasons at CC since Jaden Schwartz (2010-11 and '11-12).

Three is the Number
The Tigers are 15-1 this season when scoring three or more goals. The only loss was a 4-3 defeat at the hands of Augustana. CC is 17-4-1 when it allows three goals or less.

Youngsters Scoring  
Freshmen and sophomores have combined for 61 of the team's 91 goals and 142 of the 233 points. 40 of CC's last 57 goals, including 21 of the last 29, have been scored by freshmen or sophomores.  

Mbereko and Laba Earn Monthly NCHC Awards
Noah Laba and Kaidan Mbereko were named the NCHC Player and Goaltender of the Month, respectively, for January. Laba tied for the NCHC lead with seven goals and tied for fifth with 10 points. Three of his seven goals were game-winners, the most in the league. All three GWG came in overtime, including each game at #12 Western Michigan last weekend. Mbereko, meanwhile, led the NCHC with six wins and 234 saves in January. He finished second in the league with a .921 save percentage and tied for fourth with a 2.52 GAA. He was also named the NCHC Goaltender of the Month for December.

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