The Colorado College Tigers, who are receiving votes in the USCHO.com preseason poll, open their 2025-26 regular season this weekend with a series against 10th-ranked UConn at Ed Robson Arena. The opening game on Friday, Oct. 3, is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. (MT). Saturday's contest will start at 6 p.m. Live streaming and live stats links can be found on the CC Hockey schedule page at CCTigers.com.

87 Years of Tiger Hockey
This season marks the 87th year of varsity ice hockey at Colorado College and 13th 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, and streamed live on NCHC.tv with the 'Voice of the Tigers' Ken Landau. Friday's game will be televised live on SOCO-CW in the Southern Colorado area, MTN-TV, NESN and DirecTV National Chaneel 628 with Landau and former Tiger Brandon Straub.
 
Season Openers
Colorado College is 52-31-3 all-time in regular-season openers. The Tigers are 44-15-1 at home and 8-16-2 on the road (including neutral games). Last season, the Tigers opened with a 4-3 overtime victory over Northern Michigan at Ed Robson Arena. 

The Coaches 
Kris Mayotte enters his fifth 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, and was an assistant coach for Providence College when the Friars won the NCAA Division I title in 2015. Mayotte was the NCHC Coach of the Year following the 2023-24 campaign … Mike Cavanaugh is in his 13th season at UConn. He led the Huskies to an appearance in the NCAA Tournament last season. Prior to taking over the UConn program in 2013, Cavanaugh was an assistant coach for 18 years at Boston College. During his time at BC, he helped guide the Eagles to four national titles (2001, 2008, 2010 and 2012).  

For The Record  
Colorado College finished the 2024-25 season with an 18-18-1 overall record and 11-12-1 mark in the NCHC, good for a sixth-place finish. The Tigers have posted back-to-back non-losing seasons for the first time since 2010-11 and '11-12.   

Previous Meetings
Colorado College and UConn have met just one time, with the Tigers claiming a 4-1 victory in Bridgeport, Ct., on Jan. 6, 2015.     

Another Tough Schedule  
The Tigers are scheduled to play 11 of their 34 regular season games aginst teams that played in the 2024 NCAA Division I Tournament, and 14 against eight of the last 10 
national champions (Minn. Duluth, Denver, North Dakota, Providence and Western Michigan). CC will also play 16 games against teams ranked in the preseason USCHO.com Top 20 poll.  

Burkholder Named Second-Team All-NCHC
Sophomore Max Burkholder was named to the 2024-25 All-NCHC Second Team by league coaches and media. Burkholder, who tied for the team lead with 20 assists and tied for second with 26 points, collected 44 of a possible 85 points. He is the first CC defenseman to earn All-NCHC honors since Jaccob Slavin was a first-team selection in 2014-15. 

2024-2025 Second-Team All-NCHC
F: Aidan Thompson, Denver, Jr. – 55 points (6 first-team votes)
F: Lukas Sillinger, Arizona State, Gr. – 31 points (1)
F: Sam Stange, Omaha, Gr. – 29 points
D: Max Burkholder, Colorado College, So. – 44 points (5)
D: Noah Beck, Arizona State, Gr. – 42 points (2)
: Hampton Slukynsky, Western Michigan, Fr. – 39 points (5)

2025-26 Leadership
Senior goaltender Kaidan Mbereko and junior defenseman Max Burkholder have been named team captains of the Colorado College hockey team for the 2025-26 season, while junior forward Drew Montgomery and sophomore forward Owen Beckner will serve as assistant captains. Mbereko, a 2024 First-Team All-American, posted a 15-15-1 record last season with a .905 save percentage and 2.65 goals-against average. Burkholder was a second-team all-NCHC pick last season after tying for the the team lead with 20 assists and tied for second with 26 points. Montgomery tied for the team lead with 10 goals in '24-25 and finished with a career-high 18 points in 34 contests. Beckner led the team in scoring with 27 points, the most by a CC freshman since Scott Swanson had 48 in 1996-97.

Tiger Tales 
Colorado College led the NCHC and tied for No. 3 in the country in faceoff percentage (54.5%) last season ... Klavs Veinbergs finished second in the NCHC in faceoff percentage (59.0%), followed by Gavin Lindberg in seventh (55.6%) ... The Tigers were third in the NCHC and 14th in the country in penalty killing (83.3%) ... Owen Beckner led the team with 27 points, the most by a CC freshman in a season since Scott Swanson had 48 in 1995-96 ... Beckner and Max Burkholder tied for 19th in the NCHC with 20 assists, the most by a Tiger in a season since Bryan Yoon had 23 in '18-19 ... Kaidan Mbereko enters the 2025-26 campaign ranked No. 7 in program history with 45 career victories.

Most 20-Point Scorers in Six Years 
Six Tigers collected at least 20 points in '24-25, tying the most in one season (2018-19) since the 2012-13 campaign (7). Owen Beckner (7g,20a) led the team with 27 points, followed by Max Burkholder (6g,20a), Noah Laba (10g,16a) and Ty Gallagher (9g,17a) with 26 apiece, and Zaccharya Wisdom (8g,13a) and Bret Link (7g,14a) each with 21. Laba and Drew Montgomery led the team with 10 goals apiece, while Beckner and Burkholder topped the squad with 20 assists.

Laba and Veremyev Signed NHL Contracts
Juniors Noah Laba (New York Rangers) and Gleb Veremyev (New York Islanders) each signed a two-year, entry-level NHL contract following the 2024-25 season. In addition, Ty Gallagher signed with the AHL's Providence Bruins.

Most NHL Draft Picks on Roster in Two Decades
The 2025-26 roster has nine players that have been drafted by the NHL. That ties for the third-most on a roster in program history. The 2003-04 and '04-05 rosters each had 10 draft picks, while there were nine on the 2002-03 and '24-25 rosters. 

In the Top 20 Most of the Season  
Colorado College, which started the 2024-25 season ranked No 12 in the USCHO.com poll, reached a season-high of No. 7 on Nov. 18, the program's highest ranking since Jan. 2, 2012 (No. 6).  

The Incoming Class
14 newcomers join the Tiger hockey program for the 2025-26 season.The class consists of 12 incoming freshmen and two transfers. The incoming class consists of Ryan Alexander (Arizona State - NCHC), Wilson Björck (Djurgardens IF), Seth Constance (Northeastern Univ. - HEA), Beckham Dempsey (Boston Jr. Rangers - NCDC), Connor Hvidston (Calgary Hitmen - WHL), Shane Kozlina (Maine Nordiques - NAHL), Brandon Lisowsky (Victoria Royals - WHL), Matteo Mann (St. John Sea Dogs - QMJHL), Mateo Mrsic (Chiiliwack Chiefs - BCHL), Tomas Mrsic (Prince Albert Raiders - WHL), Colton Roberts (Vancouver Giants - WHL), Brayden Schuurman (Seattle Thunderbirds - WHL), Merril Steenari (Fargo Force - USHL) and Jackson Unger (Lethbridge Hurricanes - WHL). Six of the players (Björck, Hvidston, Lisowsky, Mann, T. Mrsic and Roberts) have been drafted by NHL franchises, making a total of nine draft picks on the 2025-26 roster.

Tigers Picked Fifth in NCHC Preseason Poll
Colorado College was picked fifth in the 2025-26 NCHC Preseason Poll. 

1.    Western Michigan - 252 (19 first-place votes)
2.    Denver – 225 points (4)
3.    North Dakota – 220 (5)
4.     Arizona State - 180 (2)
5.    Colorado College – 128
6.    Minnesota Duluth – 120
5.    Omaha - 110
8.    St. Cloud State – 80 
9.    Miami - 35

Oh Brother
Freshmen Tomas and Mateo Mrsic are the 21st set of brothers to play hockey together at Colorado College and the first since Cody (2012-16) and Trey Bradley (2015-19) during the 2015-16 season. Other prominent brothers to lace their skates up at the same time in Colorado Springs include the only two NHL first-round draft picks from CC, Jaden (St. Louis, 2010) and Rylan Schwartz played together from 2010-12, while Mark Stuart (Boston, 2003) played two years with each of his older brothers, Mike from 2000-02 and Colin from 2002-04. Marty Sertich, the 2005 Hobey Baker winner, and his brother, Mike, played together at CC during the '04-05 campaign.

Tied for First in Nation in OT Wins
Colorado College tied for the national lead with Michigan with six overtime wins, which ties the 2023-24 and 1979-80 teams for the most in one season in program history. 

Pair of Three-Goal Comebacks Very Rare 
With the 5-4 victories over Denver (Dec. 13) and Arizona State (Jan. 25), the Tigers collected two wins rallying from a three-goal deficit in a season for the first time in at least 25 years.