The No. 20 Colorado College Tigers travel to Grand Forks, N.D., for a weekend series, Feb. 7-8, against 16th-ranked North Dakota Fighting Hawks at Engelstad Arena. This is the first meeting between the teams this season. CC swept the four-game series against UND last season, winning both games, 3-2 in overtime, at UND. Live streaming and live stats links can be found at CCTigers.com.

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 on NCHC.tv. Friday's game will be televised live in Southern Colorado on SOCO CW.  

Last Time Out
The Tigers split a pair of games with No. 3 Western Michigan last weekend at Robson Arena ... On Friday, Alex Bump scored and added an assist and Cameron Rowe had 26 saves to lead WMU to 4-1 victory. Following a scoreless first period, WMU's Owen Michaels opened the scoring just 18 seconds into the middle frame. Michaels took a pass from Bump at the red line, then beat CC goalie Kaidan Mbereko with a wrist shot from the right circle. Bump doubled the Bronco lead at the 4:56 mark when he forced a turnover in the Tiger end and scored from the slot. Cam Knuble made it 3-0 at the 12:45 mark of the second period. Ty Henricks raced down the right side, stopped at the right circle, spun around and found Knuble at the left post. Owen Beckner put the Tigers on the board with his fifth goal of the season at the 9:10 mark of the third period. He took a pass from Ty Gallagher at his own blue line, streaked down the left side and went top shelf past Rowe from the left circle. Joona Vaisanen closed the scoring with a shot from the right circle that eluded Mbereko at the 12:15 mark of the final frame ... On Saturday, Bret Link scored 3:18 into overtime to give CC a 3-2 come from behind victory. Link took a pass off the boards from Max Burkholder at center ice and raced past a Bronco defender before moving the puck to his backhand then back to his forehand and placing it past WMU goaltender Hampton Slusynsky for his third career game-winning goal. Zaccharya Wisdom opened the scoring at the 6:46 mark of the second period, taking a pass from Beckner and deflecting the puck past Slukynsky from right in front of the net. WMU struck just 19 seconds later to even the game. Wyatt Schingoethe took a pass from Grant Slukynsky from behind the net and beat CC netminder Carsen Musser (34 saves), who made his third career start. Musser stood tall later in the period, stopping Tim Washe on a shorthanded breakaway midway through the frame. The Tigers lost leading scorer Noah Laba late in the second period after he was whistled for a five-minute major and game misconduct for hitting from behind. The Broncos quickly took advantage, taking a 2-1 lead 13 seconds into the power play as Liam Valente took a cross-ice pass from Bump and scored from the bottom of the right circle. After CC killed off the final 2:52 of the major penalty to start the third period, Wisdom scored his second goal of the game at the 4:39 mark with an incredible individual effort. He collected the puck in his own end moved through four WMU players and went top shelf from the right circle, setting up overtime.

The Coaches
Kris Mayotte is in his fourth 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 is the reigning NCHC Coach of the Year … Brad Berry is in his 10th season as head coach at North Dakota. Berry was an assistant coach at UND for nine seasons before taking over the helm in May 2015. He became the first person in the history of NCAA Division I men's hockey to lead his team to a national title in his first year as head coach.

Previous Meetings
Colorado College and North Dakota have met 273 times with UND holding a 173-88-12 advantage in the series, including a 104-25-8 record in Grand Forks. The Tigers swept a four-game series against North Dakta last season for the first time in program history and completed the first sweep in Grand Forks (won both games 3-2 in overtime) since Nov. 26-27, 1993.

Five Goals in a Period
CC's five goals in the third period at Arizona State on Jan. 25 marked the first time the Tigers scored five goals in a period since Oct. 13, 2023, a 7-3 victory over Union (2nd period), and the first time with five in the third period since an 8-2 win over Western Michigan on Feb, 23, 2019.

Pair of Three-Goal Comebacks Very Rare
With the 5-4 victories over Denver (Dec. 13) and Arizona State (Jan. 25), the Tigers have collected two wins rallying from a three-goal deficit in a season for the first time in at least 25 years.
 
Tough Schedule on the Horizon
Colorado College will play four of its final eight regular-season games against teams in this week's USCHO.com Top 20 poll, beginning this week against No. 16 North Dakota and ending the season vs. No. 6 Denver.  

Balanced Scoring
10 Tigers have at least 10 points this season, led by Noah Laba (7g,14a) with 21. Max Burkholder (6g,13a) and Ty Gallagher (5g,14a) follow with 19 apiece, while Owen Beckner (5g,13a) has 18. Drew Montgomery (6g,6a) and Zaccharya Wisdom (6g,6a) each has 12, while Gleb Veremyev (7g,4a), Klavs Veinbergs (5g,6a) and Bret Link (3g,8a) are at 11 and Stanley Cooley (4g,6a) has 10. Laba and Veremyev lead the team with seven goals, while Laba and Gallagher share the team lead with 14 assists.

Tiger Tales
Last Saturday, Zaccharya Wisdom joined Noah Laba as the only two Tigers with multi-goal games this season (Laba scored three times vs. UMD on Jan. 17 and twice at ASU on Jan. 25) ... Klavs Veinbergs is second in the NCHC in faceoff percentage (59.3%) ... Ty Gallagher is fourth in the NCHC with 44 blocked shots and tied for eighth with 72 shots ... Laba is tied for 10th in the league averaging one point per game ... Kaidan Mbereko is the seventh goaltender in program history to record 40 victories in a career ... Mbereko was named to the Mike Richter Award "Watch List" for the nation's top goalie; He was a finalist for the award last season ... The Tigers are 14th in the country in penalty killing (83.7%) and opponents are 9-for-50 on the power play in the last 14 games ... CC is ninth in the country in faceoff percentage (54.2%).
    
Laba, Mbereko and Gallagher Named Hobey Baker Nominees
Juniors Noah Laba and Kaidan Mbereko and graduate student Ty Gallagher are among 95 student-athletes nominated for the 2025 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).

Musser, Beckner Earn Weekly NCHC Awards
Carsen Musser and Owen Beckner were named the KJ Branding NCHC Goaltender and Rookie of the Week, respectively, following CC's series split vs. No. 3 Western Michigan. Musser, starting his third career game, made 34 saves in the 3-2 overtime win on Saturday. Beckner, meanwhile, scored CC's lone goal in Firday's 4-1 loss, then assisted on two the TIgers' three goals, including Bret Link's game winner, on Saturday.

Tied for National Lead in OT WIns
Colorado College is tied for first in the country with Michigan with five overtime victories this season.

Mbereko Named National Co-Goaltender of the Month For November
Junior Kaidan Mbereko was named the National Co-Goaltender of the Month for November after leading the NCHC in wins during the month. Mbereko posted a 5-2-1 record in CC's eight games, allowing just 14 goals. He was fourth in the NCHC in goals-against average (1.71) and save percentage (.941). Mbereko had a season-high 41 saves vs. Arizona State on Nov. 9 and blanked St. Cloud State on Nov. 23.

Most NHL Draft Picks on Roster in Two Decades
With six of the 12 newcomers (three transfers and three freshmen) joining Noah Laba, Klavs Veinbergs and Zaccharya Wisdom as National Hockey League draft picks, the 2024-25 roster has nine players that have been drafted by the NHL. That tied 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 roster.