Tommy Middleton collected a career-high three points with two goals and an assist to lead 14^th-ranked Colorado College to a 5-3 victory over No. 16 St. Cloud State Saturday night at Robson Arena.
 
With the victory, CC moves into sole possession of third place in the NCHC with a 10-6 league record (16-9-1 overall) and has the most conference wins in one season since joining the league in 2013.
 
Noah Laba collected a goal and an assist for the Tigers, who beat SCSU at home for the first time since Feb. 22, 2013, snapping an 18-game winless streak on home ice against the Huskies.
 
Middleton opened the scoring with a one-timer from the high slot at the 15:28 mark of the first period. Ray Christy pulled the puck out of the corner and found his linemate Middleton, who beat SCSU goalie Dominic Basse (26 saves) for his third tally of the season.
 
Middleton had a hand in giving the Tigers a 2-0 lead at the 4:06 mark of the second period. He collected the puck in the CC end to start a 2-on-1 and fed Stanley Cooley perfectly for Cooley's fourth goal of the campaign in his 100^th career game.
 
The Huskies (12-9-5, 8-4-4 NCHC) cut the lead in half with a power-play goal at the 6:48 mark of the middle frame. Zach Okabe sent a pass across the crease to Mason Salquist, who beat CC goalie Kaidan Mbereko (22 saves) from the bottom of the right circle.
 
The teams combined for five goals in the third period, with Gleb Veremyev putting the Tigers ahead 3-1 at the 7:37 mark. Veremyev sent a pass to Laba, whose shot was saved by Basse, but went right back to Laba and his rebound shot deflected off Veremyev and in the net.
 
Laba then notched his seventh game-winning goal at 11:35 of the third with a power-play tally. Max Burkholder had a shot from the left circle blocked and the puck found its way onto Laba's stick at the doorstep for his team-high 15^th goal of the season. His seven game winners are tied for the national lead.
 
Kyler Kupka closed the gap to 4-2 with 5:39 remaining with a power-play goal, but Middleton scored his second of the contest with an empty-netter at the 16:11 mark after a St. Cloud State shot was blocked by Nicklas Andrews. Tyson Gross closed the scoring with 40.2 seconds remaining in the third period.
 
Colorado College outshot SCSU, 31-25, with Laba and Barrett Hall each attempting a game-high four. St. Cloud State was 2-for-3 on the power-play while CC was 1-for-3.
 
The Tigers are idle until hosting No. 2-ranked North Dakota, Feb. 16-17, at Robson Arena.