The Colorado College Tigers open play in the NCHC on Friday, Oct. 31, against the Omaha Mavericks at Ed Robson Arena. The game is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. The Tigers are coming off a weekend sweep at Northern Michigan, Oct. 17-18, while Omaha split with UMass at home last weekend. Live streaming and 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 with Landau and Kyle Huson.
 
Last Time Out
The Tigers improved to 5-1-0 this season with a weekend sweep over Northern Michigan, Oct. 17-18, in Marquette, Mich. ... On Friday, Ryan Koering scored 3:09 into overtime for a 2-1 victory. Koering, who added an assist for the first multi-point game of his career, took the puck from goalie Kaidan Mbereko behind the CC net and flew down the left side before cutting in and shooting a backhander on NMU netminder Oliver Auyeung-Ashton, who saved the shot but Koering put home the rebound for the win. Mbereko (16 saves) collected his first career point on the play. The Tigers came out hopping, collecting the first seven shots on goal, all in the first five minutes. However, Northern Michigan scored first at the 11:15 mark of the first period. Despite trailing for half of the first period, the Tigers kept up the pressure, outshooting NMU, 15-5, in the first 20 minutes. Following a scoreless second period, Klavs Veinbergs tied the game with his third goal of the season at the 10:35 mark of the third period. Veinbergs took a pass from Koering in the neutral zone, skated down the right side and snapped a wrister from the top of the right circle that went top shelf past Auyeung-Ashton, who finished with 43 saves. Veinbergs also collected an assist on Koering's game winner, earning his second two-point game of the season ... On Saturday, CC scored twice in the first 10 minutes and never trailed in a 5-2 victory. The Tigers took a 1-0 lead when Seth Constance scored the first goal of his career 6:36 into the contest. Constance took a pass from Tomas Mrsic and fired a wrist shot from the point that eluded NMU goalie William Gramme. It marked Mrsic's first career point. Bret Link made it 2-0 with a power-play goal at the 9:15 mark of the opening frame. Owen Beckner sent the puck towards the net from the top of the left circle and Link deflected it in at the far post for his fourth of the season. 
The Wildcats cut the lead in half when Mathew Ward scored a power-play goal at the 11:19 mark. Veinbergs then gave the Tigers a 3-1 advantage with his second goal of the weekend and fourth of the season at 11:01 of the second period. He put home a rebound from the slot after Gramme saved a shot from Mrsic, who collected his second helper of the contest. The Tigers made it 4-1 when Riley Stuart scored his first of the season at 11:04 of the third period. He scored on a rebound after Gramme saved a shot from the right circle by Connor Hvidston, who recorded the first point of his career. NMU scored at 11:56, but Beckner put CC back up by three with a PPG with 3:20 remaining.
 
The Coaches 
Kris Mayotte is in 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 Gabinet is in his ninth 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 54 times, with the Mavericks holding a 32-15-7 advantage in the series, including a 14-10-1 mark in Colorado Springs. The teams played twice during the regular season last year, with Omaha winning 5-2 and 3-1, in Omaha.     

Another Tough Schedule  
The Tigers are scheduled to play 11 of their 34 regular season games against 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.  

Balanced Scoring 
Ten Tigers have at least three points in the team's six games this season, led by Owen Beckner (4g,3a) with seven. Bret Link (4g,2a) and Klavs Veinbergs (4g,2a) follow with six apiece, while Gavin Lindberg (1g,4a) has five and Brandon Lisowsky (0g,4a) four. Five players have three points. Beckner, Link and Veinbergs top the team with four goals each, while Lindberg and Lisowsky each has a team-high four assists.

Tiger Tales  
CC's 45 shots on Oct. 17 at Northern Michigan were the most in one game since Jan. 4, 2025 (47 vs. Augustana) ... The 28-shot difference (45-17) was the largest margin since last year's season opener vs. NMU (49-19) ... Ryan Koering posted the first multi-point game of his career Oct, 17, while Kaidan Mbereko collected the first assist of his career ... The Tigers are tied for 14th in the country with 3.5 goals per game and 20th with 209 shots on goal this season ... Klavs Veinbergs is tied for eighth in the NCHC with 62 faceoff wins.

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.

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. 

Moving Up In The National Polls
Colorado College moved up in the Top 20 in the national polls each of the last two weeks. The Tigers are #15 in the USCHO.com poll and #16 in the USA Hockey poll this week.

Tied For Fourth in the Nation With Five Wins
With their 5-1 record the TIgers are tied for fourth in the country with five, trailing only Michigan and Minnesota Duluth with seven and Miami with six.

Constance Named NCHC Defenseman of the Week  
Sophomore Seth Constance was named the KJ Branding NCHC Defensemen of the Week after helping the 16th-ranked Tigers sweep Northern Michigan in Marquette, Mich., Oct. 17-18. Entering that weekend with no points this season and one in his college career, the Waterloo, Ill., product racked up three points in the pair of wins. On Friday, he handed out the primary assist on the game-tying goal midway through the third period of an eventual 2-1 overtime win. The next night, Constance recorded his first career multi-point game. He scored his first collegiate goal to open the scoring, then added an assist on the final tally in a 5-2 victory. Constance finished the series with a goal and two assists, while posting a +2 plus/minus and blocking a shot. He also helped CC's penalty kill finish the weekend 5-for-6. In his first year with the Tigers, Constance now has three points on a goal and two assists in six games. The Northeastern transfer has four points in his college career (1g,3a) now in 42 games.

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 (Chilliwack 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.

CC to Have 15 Games Televised This Season 
Colorado College announced that 12 games will be broadcast live by television partner SOCO CW during the 2025-26 season. SOCO CW is available to viewers throughout Colorado Springs, Pueblo and Southern Colorado. In addition, KRDO-13 (ABC) in Colorado Springs will televise two games from Robson Arena, Jan. 10 vs. North Dakota and Feb. 21 vs. Western Michigan. Altitude will broadcast the Nov. 14 game at Denver.

Season Five at Robson Arena
Never in the storied 80-plus years history of Colorado College Tiger Hockey had the team played its home games on campus. Thanks to the generosity of donors, including former CC hockey player Ed Robson '54 the school's Board of Trustees, that changed on October 8, 2021, when the Tigers and St. Lawrence battled in the first regular-season game at Ed Robson Arena. Colorado College was one of nine Division I teams to surpass capacity on a per game basis last season at 106.7 percent. The capacity of Robson Arena is 3,407 and CC averaged an attendance of 3,634 in its 17 home games.