The No. 17 Colorado College Tigers open the annual Gold Pan series with 4th-ranked Denver this weekend. Friday's game with be at Magness Arena, beginning at 7 p.m., while Saturday's contest will be at Ed Robson Arena at 6 p.m. 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 with the 'Voice of the Tigers' Ken Landau, and streamed live on NCHC.tv. Friday's game will be on Altitude.
 
Last Time Out
Colorado College collected four points with a tie and win at Arizona State last weekend ... On Friday, Arizona rallied from a 3-0 deficit to force a 3-3 tie, then won the shootout to gain the extra point in the NCHC standings. The Tigers jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first period, outshooting ASU, 18-9. Drew Montgomery opened the scoring at the 8:05 mark of the first period with his first goal of the season. Montgomery took a pass from Brayden Schuurman just inside the blue line, streaked down the right side and cleanly beat ASU goalie Samuel Urban with a wrist shot. Owen Beckner notched his fifth of the campaign just 49 seconds later to make it 2-0. Wilson Bjorck forced a turnover in the ASU end and Beckner took the puck and scored on his own rebound after Urban saved Beckner's first attempt. The Tigers took a 3-0 lead when Gavin Lindberg scored a power-play goal at the 14:10 mark of the opening frame. Brandon Lisowsky's shot from the point was saved by Urban but Lindberg was on the doorstep and notched his third goal of the season. Arizona State responded with a pair of power-play goals in the second period. Jack Beck scored at the 13:44 mark, then Cruz Lucius cut the Tiger lead to one with 2:56 remaining in the middle period. ASU posted the only goal in the third period as Bennett Schimek, who assisted on the first two goals, scored with Urban on the bench in favor of an extra skater with just 1:09 remaining in the frame. Neither team scored in the 3-on-3 overtime period, then Beck and Lucius scored past CC goalie Kaidan Mbereko in the shootout, while Urban saved shots from Bjorck and Bret Link. CC outshot the Sun Devils, 37-27, and had 11 shots on four power-play opportunities, converting one of them. Urban finished the game with 34 saves, while Mbereko had 24 for the Tigers ... On Saturday, Mbereko saved 35 of 36 shots Saturday night to lead CC to a 3-1 victory. Following a scoreless first period in which each team put 12 shots on goal, Tomas Mrsic opened the scoring with a power-play goal at the 6:21 mark of the second period. Bjorck's shot from the right circle was saved by Urban, but it went right to Mrsic at the left circle and he deposited his second goal of the season into an open net. Fisher Scott made it 2-0 at the 7:34 mark of the middle frame when his shot from the point deflected off an ASU player and snuck past Urban. Link and Beckner each posted an assist on Scott's second career game-winning goal. The Sun Devils responded and cut the lead to one with Jack Beck scored his second of the weekend with 25.1 seconds remaining in the period. Mbereko took over in the third period, making 13 of his season-high 35 saves, keeping the Tigers in front by one until Lindberg scored an empty-net goal with 1:09 remaining in the contest, with an assist going to former Sun Devil Ryan Alexander. Colorado College's special team's units were outstanding on Saturday, scoring a power-play goal and killing all three of ASU's man advantage situations.

Battle For The Gold Pan
Established by former head coaches Don Lucia of Colorado College and Frank Serratore of Denver in 1993-94, the Gold Pan has been awarded every season since to the team that prevails in the regular-season series between CC and DU. In the event of an even split, the team currently in possession of the trophy keeps it. After retaining the Gold Pan last season, Denver has hoisted the trophy 19 times, compared to 13 for CC.

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 … David Carle is in his eighth season as head coach at Denver. He led the Pioneers to the NCAA Division I title in 2021-22 and 2023-24. Carle served as an assistant coach for the Pioneers the previous four and a half seasons following a season and a half as an assistant coach with the Green Bay Gamblers.

Previous Meetings
Colorado College and Denver have met 348 times, with the Pioneers holding a 202-125-21 advantage in the series, including a 117-53-11 record in Denver. This is the most-played rivalry in college hockey, surpassing the 347 games played between Michigan and Michigan State.

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).   

Beckner Named to U.S. Collegiate Selects for Spengler Cup  
Sophomore forward Owen Beckner will represent college hockey at the prestigious Spengler Cup this year after he was named to the U.S. Collegiate Selects roster. The 2025 Spengler Cup will be the first time a select team representing college hockey has ever competed in the event. The U.S. Collegiate Selects team will be comprised of active NCAA Division I players of any nationality representing all six conferences and the Division I independent programs. The six-team invitational tournament is hosted by the Swiss professional team HC Davos each year from Dec. 26-31 in Davos, Switzerland.

Tiger Tales  
The Tigers are fifth in the country with 37.2 shots per game and seventh with 372 shots on goal this season ... Owen Beckner and Klavs Veinbergs are tied for sixth in the NCHC with six goals ... Beckner is tied for ninth with 12 points ... Brandon Lisowsky is tied for eighth in the NCHC with 37 shots ... Veinbergs is fourth inthe NCHC with 110 faceoff wins and sixth with a 58.8 faceoff percentage.

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
After earning four points at Arizona State last weekend, the Tigers moved up in the national polls this week. Colorado College moved up to #17 in each poll. 

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.