Mbereko heroics not enough against No. 5 Pioneers on historic night in downtown Denver’s Ball Arena

By Joe Paisley

DENVER – Fans in Ball Arena have witnessed some outstanding goalie performances over the years.

On Friday, 17,952 fans were treated to another spectacular performance 

This one was by Colorado College freshman Kaidan Mbereko, who kept the visitors in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference game against No. 5 Denver before falling 2-0 in the annual Gold Pan Trophy series opener. Game 2 between the Front Range rivals is Saturday, Feb. 4 at Ed Robson Arena.

On a night full of highlight stops, Mbereko’s glove save on McKade Webster with 10:24 left in the third period even surprised the arena officials, who accidentally sounded the goal horn, assuming the Aspen native could not make such a stab of a save.

By that point in the game, they should have known better.

“We saw it and even heard it hit the glove so we were wondering what was going on,” CC coach Kris Mayotte said. “He was the best player on both teams tonight. No question.”

Mbereko certainly did make the save, reaching up with his glove to snag the puck even as he sprawled downward on the rising shot. It was one of many good, great and Holy (expletive) saves by Mbereko, who finished with 39 saves, just shy of his career high 40. 

Denver senior goalie Magnus Chrona was no slouch either. His 23-save shutout, his 13^th career clean sheet, was also his fifth-straight against the Tigers (10-14-1, 6-8-1-0-0-1, 20 points) and extended his scoreless streak against CC to an eye-popping 306 minutes and 7 seconds dating back to Feb. 25, 2021. 

“He’s been a rock back there,” Pioneers coach David Carle said. “He was very good last season but this year he might be even better.”

It was the 333^rd game played between the rivals and the NHL arena setting added to a memorable night. 

“It was a great night for college hockey,” Mayotte said. “I have been involved in the Beanpot and the GLI (Great Lakes Invitational) and those have four teams. Two teams brought this crowd here. It’s the best rivalry in the country.”

Denver opened the scoring when Jared Wright redirected a shot on net by defenseman Kyle Mayhew that went in behind Mbereko as he slid toward the far post just 5:02 into the contest. Both teams exchanged power plays in the first period with Denver doing a good job attacking the Tigers puckhandler and not allowing the visitors to set up.

The Pioneers pulled away on an excellent individual effort by winger McKade Webster, who stickhandled his way through the Tigers defense and sent a perfect crossing pass to center Connor Caponi, whose one-timer beat Mbereko for a 2-0 lead with 7:22 left in the second period.

The CC penalty kill and Mbereko came up big after a 5-minute major call on defenseman Jack Millar gave Denver an opportunity to seal the win in the second period.

Instead Mbereko showed the crowd why he is one of the best college goaltenders in Division 1, moving smoothly from side to side to stop far-side one-timers with his chest or by flashing the glove as DU generating seven good scoring chances over those five minutes on the man advantage.

“All you can say on the bench is that was a great save,” Carle said. “Mbereko was exceptional and good all night long. He showed why he has the reputation he has earned by being at world juniors. He was great, especially in the second and third periods.”

Ice chips

Carle said Denver may try to host a game at Ball Arena in the future but likely will not against CC since the next two years’ schedules are set. … Ball Arena was the 14^th different location to host the CC-DU game including nine traditional arenas in the state and five in the city of Denver including Coors Field in the Battle On Blake in Feb. 20, 2016.  That game had 35,144 in attendance, the record for the rivalry series. The all-time college hockey record is 113,411 for Michigan State at Michigan at Michigan Stadium on Dec. 11, 2010 for an outdoor game.  … Denver has won or retained the Gold Pan Trophy 16 times in the 30-year history of the hardware, which debuted during the 1993-94 season when Don Lucia coached CC and Frank Serratore led Denver. … CC has won the first game of each month this season (Oct., Alaska-Anchorage; Nov. and Dec., Duluth, Jan., SCSU). The Tigers have lost the last game of each month (Oct., Air Force; Nov., SCSU; Dec., Princeton; Jan. ,Denver) so far. 

New venue, same historic college hockey rivalry as Colorado College takes on Denver at Ball Arena

Photo courtesy Denver Athletics

By Joe Paisley

Loyalties will be tested, egos (and bodies) likely bruised and history made when one of college hockey’s historic rivalries resumes at 7 p.m. Friday.

Colorado College travels to face No. 5 Denver at Ball Arena, home of the Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche, to open the four-game Gold Pan Trophy series. This will be the 333^rd game in the all-time series, second behind only Michigan and Michigan State in college hockey.

Winning the hardware is about bragging rights between fans and even tested the loyalties of family members.

Few balanced it better than Janet Testwuide, the mother of former CC captain Mike and former Pioneers captain JP Testwuide, who sewed a split CC/DU jersey to wear.

In 2023, it will be interesting for Tigers freshman goalie Kaidan Mbereko of Aspen, whose grew up a Pioneers fan and has a DU student brother who gets some ribbing when he dons black and gold to support Kaidan. Maybe not this week?

“I hope he wears our jersey but I know a bunch of his friends at DU give him some hard times,” Kaidan Mbereko said. “I will encourage him to wear CC for sure though.”

Coach Kris Mayotte understands rivalries as a former Union College goaltender and longtime assistant before taking over the National Collegiate Hockey Conference program in April 2021.

“When you look at then growth we want to take as a program and what we want to accomplish  both as a team and as a school, this is a big one,” Mayotte said. “We love the opportunity to do something significant, I know there are big things going on in the world and sports are a small part of it but people care. We will have a great crowd. When you get to do something people, outside that locker room care about, you got to cherish those moments.”

Playing in front of a large crowd in an NHL facility is good preparation for what both teams hope will be extended postseasons including the league semifinals at the Minnesota Wild’s Xcel Energy Center in March or perhaps Amalie Arena, home of the Tampa Bay Lightning, for the NCAA Frozen Four national semifinals and title game in April.

But ultimately, it’s a CC-DU series opener at a special venue like The Battle on Blake (outdoor game, Coors Field) in early 2016.

“It’s a special moment and a special game,” said graduate student defenseman Bryan Yoon of Parker, the only current CC player to have won the Gold Pan (2019) as a freshman. “Being a Denver kid playing in Ball Arena is a dream come true.”

“It’s going to be pretty surreal,” Mbereko said. “We are going to give them our best shot.”

In a twist to the schedule, the game will be the only one for either team this weekend with both programs looking to rebound from being swept in league play last weekend. The defending NCAA champion Pioneers (19-7-0, 10-4-0-2-1 NCHC) lost on the road at now-No. 1 St. Cloud State while CC was fell at home by No. 9 Western Michigan. Game 2 of the series is Saturday, Feb. 4 at Ed Robson Arena.

“This game will not only showcase Denver and Colorado College’s programs, but NCAA Division I hockey on a larger scale in our state, region and beyond,” DU Vice Chancellor of Athletics Josh Berlo said in a release.

Second-place Denver defeated CC in all four games last year by a 19-2 margin, winning the first three games by shutout.

“We did hand it to them pretty well,” DU leading goal-scorer Carter Mazur 23 points (17 goals) told The Denver Post. “So I feel like they’re looking for revenge.”

The Tigers know they are a different team than last year. CC surpassed last year’s win total (9) with a road win at St. Cloud State that had the fifth-place Tigers (10-13-1, 6-7-1-0-0-1) tied for second for a short time.

The stronger showing has CC players confident they can match a reloaded Pioneers program that used excellent recruiting of key transfers like former Harvard captain Casey Dornbach (27, 16 assists) and Minnesota’s Tristan Broz (20 points, 9 goals) to complement returning standouts like forward Massimo Rizzo (32, 22 assists) and senior goalie Magnus Chrona (15-7-0-3, 2.26 goals against, .911 saves percentage) to remain at or near the top of Division 1.

“They have good freshmen too,” Mayotte said. “They are unique in the sense that most of the teams we talk about as being good, really good are old and experienced. They have the ability to do it with young guys who step in and get it done.”

“We just have to making sure everyone keeps their head, stays in an even keel and plays relaxed,” Yoon said. “We have more confidence playing in our zone and playing with the puck. Everyone is supporting each other well. Those little things over time build confidence. We all feel we can play with anyone.”

Tigers coach Mayotte hopes lesson learned about winning consistently in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference after two home losses to No. 10 Western Michigan

By Joe Paisley

COLORADO SPRINGS – This weekend’s series should serve as a reminder to Colorado College players and fans were that there is little room for error in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference.

Especially as the better teams like No. 10 Western Michigan round into form during the second half of the season.

Such was the case Friday and Saturday with the Broncos pouncing on Tiger turnovers and converting them into goals during 4-1 victories both nights at Ed Robson Arena.

“It’s this league,” Tigers coach Kris Mayotte said. “That’s why you cannot get too caught up on who is in third, fourth or fifth. Every team is good.”

“I think this weekend was a good learning lesson on how detailed you need to be in this league, especially in the second half,” he added. “In the first half, everyone is still figuring out who they are. The second half if you don’t understand winning hockey details … the frustrating thing is that our guys know what it is, but when you play a team like them if you don’t do it for a short stretch, it will cost you. That is the learning lesson for a lot of our guys. It was the same thing last Saturday at St. Cloud. You have to do it every night but this is still the same team that went up to St. Cloud and beat them. We’ll be okay.” 

Western Michigan took advantage of the CC miscues Friday and Saturday was no different.

“You make one mistake and it’s in the back of your net against them,” Mayotte said. “Credit to them. Again, we couldn’t quite finish.”

A no-look pass by Tigers defenseman Connor Mayer ended up on NCAA leading scorer Jason Polin’s stick blade, who fired a one-timer for his 23^rd tally this season to tie the game at 1-1 with 11:48 left.

Later in the first period, another CC turnover in the neutral zone set up a rush for Cole Gallant who attacked the Tigers zone and sent a crossing pass to Tim Washe for the eventual gamewinner with 1:10 remaining, 2-1

“The second one kills you, last minute of the period we turn the puck over and we go for an effing skate,” Mayotte said. “Yeah, you’re not going to win when you play that way.”

That goal capped a surge for the Broncos, who bounced back from the game’s opening goal, a tally by Cooley just 2:36 into the contest on the first shot of the game by either team. 

“I really liked our start but then unforced turnover and it’s in the back of your net and we did not respond well to it,” Mayotte said. ‘It got way too quiet on our bench after that first one. When you’re working hard and they make it look so easy (to score), it’s tough.”

In the second period, fourth-place WMU (16-9-1, 8-5-1-0-0-0, 25 points) was able to pull away when Jack Perbix collected a puck that bounced off a Tigers’ shin pad at the CC blue line and skated in before rifling a shot past Tigers freshman goalie Kaidan Mbereko (22 saves), who bounced back with a good performance after Friday’s loss. 

That goal with 13:20 left made it 3-1. Washe scored his second of the game when he backhanded in a rebound with 8:57 left during a net front scramble the final 4-1 margin after a scoreless third.

Colorado College’s power play struggled again, going 0-for-8 (0-4 both nights) since the Broncos took away the far-side one-timer opportunities for Hunter McKown and Tyler Coffey.

 “One unit they took away Coff and the other they took away Hunter.,” Mayotte said. “We didn’t respond very well to it. They clearly were not going to let Hunter or Coffey get off a one-timer.”

“You have to take to what’s available and cannot have an ego in this thing.  For stretches we had top guys playing with an ego.”

No. 3 Denver hosts fifth-place Colorado College (10-13-1, 6-7-1-0-0-1, 20 points) in Game 1 of the Gold Pan Trophy series at 7 p.m. Friday at Ball Arena in downtown Denver. It is the only game for both teams that weekend. Tickets remain available with 9-11,000 expected to attend.

Denver (19-7-0, 10-4-0-2-1, 29 points) was swept on the road (7-3 Friday, 2-0 Saturday) by No. 4 St. Cloud State to fall into a tie with the Huskies for first in the NCHC. It’s that kind of result that suggests the Tigers are not that far behind.

“(CC) is the same team that won at St. Cloud and Denver didn’t,” Mayotte said. “We’re okay. We’ll be fine. It’s hockey.”

All-time series

The Broncos hold a 20-9-6 lead in the all-time series with an 8-6-4 record in Colorado Springs, including a 4-0 mark at Robson Arena.

No. 10 Western Michigan seizes on Colorado College miscues to win National Collegiate Hockey Conference series opener

By Joe Paisley

COLORADO SPRINGS – No. 10 Western Michigan’s prolific forward took advantage of Colorado College’s errors in a 4-1 road win Friday night.

The Broncos dominated the second period, scoring twice in 30 seconds to pull away and later killed off a five-minute major penalty for a 3-0 advantage entering the third.

It was a frustrating loss for the Tigers who slowed down the prolific Broncos offense for most of the game except for that critical 30 seconds.

“For the most part we handled it,” CC coach Kris Mayotte said. “They got that chance 20 seconds into the game but after that we handled their transition well, we handled their line rush well. We need to get a little bit more to the net. Obviously we need to be better if we want a different result (Saturday).”

The final period was quite different after freshman Noah Laba converted an unforced WMU turnover just 3:46 in to cut the deficit to 3-1. The Tigers  (10-12-1, 6-6-1-0-0-1, 20 points) were the better team for most of the final 16 minutes but unable to get that critical second goal to sustain a comeback. An empty-netter with 2:03 left for Jason Polin (NCAA-leading 22 goals) accounted for the final margin.

In the second period, the Broncos cashed in a power play just 47 seconds into the second period on a goal by Ryan McAllister. (NCAA-best 40 points). 

About eight minutes later, a why-not shot by defenseman Zak Galambos found its way past CC freshman goalie Kaidan Mbereko (21 saves) with Hugh Larkin scoring 30 seconds later for a 3-0 lead.

“They score on one that just can’t happen,” Mayotte said, referring to the Galambos tally. “It cannot go in the net. We wanted to really push and we just got loose and when a team transitions as quickly and as well as they do, you get loose and give them chances and they know how to finish it. I thought we responded well in every instance except after their second goal.”

Laba’s eighth goal of the season came after Cam Knuble sent a backhanded pass into the slot where he expected a Broncos teammate to be. Instead, it was the New York Rangers draft pick who was in position for a one-timer that spoiled a shutout bid for Cameron Rowe (20 saves), who was solid in the win.

“I think the Laba goal gave us a little bit more of a boost,” Mayotte said. “I thought we were able to settle down and get back into our game. When you’re down three you feel like you have to push and you have to take risks. And again, that is a dangerous team to takes risks on. Once we got that goal that allowed us to breathe and work for the next one.”

The win moved the Broncos (15-9-1, 7-5-1-0-0-0) into fourth place in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference standings while the Tigers dropped to fifth. Game 2 is at 6 p.m. Saturday.

Colorado College used a dump-and-chase approach to force the Broncos to work their way up ice, slowing down the prolific WMU forwards. Both teams did a good job keeping their stick blades in passing lanes with each team generating a couple scoring chances in the first period. Two shots by CC hit a crossbar or post while WMU found iron twice in the third. 

Overall, the Tigers played well, not great but WMU, which has scored 31 goals in a season-high five game winning streak since the holiday break, is too dangerous to give too many chances.

“They scored, we didn’t,” Mayotte said. “They scored on the power play, we didn’t. In games like this where, again, I thought it was pretty tight checking, tight space, shots 28-25. We lost the (faceoffs) battle and we lost the special teams battle tonight.”

Ice chips

CC senior Noah Prokop played in his 100th game as a Tiger on Friday. … Ten Western Michigan players who skated Friday weigh 200 pounds or more on an older college hockey team, led by Galambos (26 this May) and 21-year-old freshman McAllister. … CC dressed five players weighing 200-plus pounds. … The game was broadcast live on TSN in Canada with Nick Gismondi and former Tiger Brandon Straub on the call. … The Broncos hold a 19-9-6 lead in the all-time series with a 7-6-4 record in Colorado Springs, including a road sweep at Robson Arena last February. … The father of WMU assistant captain Cole Gallant is Gerard Gallant, a longtime NHL head coach who currently leads the New York Rangers.  … Knuble is the son of 16-year NHL veteran winger Mike Knuble. … The Broncos dressed five transfers, including backup goalie Kirk Laursen of Miami, Fla., a former Miami of Ohio RedHawk.

Saturday setbacks take toll on CC’s Pairwise rankings

By Joe Paisley

Entering this weekend, Colorado College is ranked 29^th in the Pairwise rankings, which are used by the NCAA to determine the top 15 teams in the 16-team tournament (Atlantic Hockey qualifier garners final berth). 

Reversing the Saturday losses (at Air Force, Princeton and at St. Lawrence) would put CC in 14^th, in the NCAA tourney, albeit on the bubble. But those losses mean the Tigers will need to win the NCHC postseason title and automatic qualifier, which would be a program first. 

“I think if you look at the schedule those are probably games where you could say CC has a good chance of winning those,” CC coach Kris Mayotte said. “There are a lot of teams hovering around the .500 mark. You look at the bottom five (in the top 20 polls) and those receiving votes and any of them can be out anywhere. At this point, Pairwise is fairly accurate and we’re 29th.” 

Colorado College hopes improving play slows prolific Western Michigan offense in home series

By Joe Paisley

Colorado College will be tested by one of the best lines in NCAA Division 1 in this weekend’s National Collegiate Hockey Conference home series that may have big playoff implications.

No. 10-ranked and fifth-place Western Michigan is paced by the line of Ryan McAllister (39 points, NCCAA-leading 29 assists), Jason Polin (33 points, NCAA-best 21 goals) and Max Sasson (30 points, 22 assists). All three are among the initial nominees for the Hobey Baker Award as are CC freshman goalie Kaidan Mbereko and junior center Hunter McKown, who lead the fourth-place Tigers (10-11-1, 6-5-1-0-0-1, 20 standings points).

Those three WMU forwards (a combined 102 points of Broncos’ 284) will rightfully garner a lot of attention in the pregame show for TSN, which will broadcast Friday’s 8 p.m. game across Canada, a burgeoning source of talent for NCAA programs. Game 2 is 6 p.m. Mountain on Saturday.

But the difference might be if the Tigers can contain the Broncos’ secondary scoring, led by Luke Grainger (26 points, 17 assists) and Carter Berger (20, 16 assists).

“Their top line is the most prolific we will be seeing to this point,” CC coach Kris Mayotte said. “We have to find a way to slow them down first. Not to take anything away from the other three (lines) but if you don’t shut them down or at least limit them, you put yourself in a bad spot.”

“The best way to do that is to play offense,” he added. “We know how to check, we know how to defend. At St. Cloud, it’s funny the clips I showed on Monday we have been begging guys to angle and finish, angle and finish, get your bumps early, get your touches on them early, kill their momentum 20 feet from the net not five.  And on a big sheet, we did the best we have so far so who knows.“

Western Michigan (14-9-1, 6-5-1-0-0-0, 19 points) can win in different ways, which is a sign of a good college hockey team. The Broncos shut our North Dakota 4-0 Friday and followed that up with a 7-6 comeback win, led by Grainger’s six points. He was the first Bronco to record six points in a game in 22 years and one reason why WMU has outscored foes 27-9 in four games since the holiday break. That spurt is why WMU leads the NCAA with 104 goals (Denver, Minnesota 93).

“We have been playing loose and having fun out there,” Grainger said. “We just have to keep doing what we’ve been doing, scoring goals and keep them from scoring on us.”

This weekend’s series starts the four-game season series as the Tigers try to confound preseason pollsters — picked a distant sixth behind WMU — by finishing in the top four and garnering home playoff ice for the first time since the 2011-2012 season. With a series in Kalamazoo in February, CC needs to hold serve at home to keep pace in the league standings.

The Broncos are confident as they head into Ed Robson Arena but aware these Tigers are different.

“They are certainly a much-improved team,” Broncos coach Pat Ferschweiler said. “Their coaching staff, Mayotte, has done a great job of bringing in higher-end talent. It is a more talented, deeper team that we have seen in the past.  They have some high-end scoring for sure at the top of the lineup so it will be a tough, tough weekend for us.”

The Tigers have a good power play (No. 17 in nation, 23.5 percent) paced by McKown’s NCAA-leading 10 goals while Mbereko, who was scheduled for more dental work Thursday, has been a steady, often excellent, netminder (.926 save percentage, fifth in NCAA, tops for freshmen). Western Michigan’s power play checks in at 8th nationally (25.2 percent) while CC has the best penalty kill in NCHC play (89.5 percent) and 19^th (82.4 percent) overall.

That power play proved decisive in Friday’s 4-2 Friday win at St. Cloud State while the Tigers took a step forward in its game-to-game consistency with a stronger Saturday performance, albeit a 4-0 loss to the more experienced Huskies.

“The outcome isn’t what we wanted but quite honestly we might have played better,” Mayotte said. “It had a playoff-type atmosphere, no time and space. It showed why St. Cloud has their record. They were more comfortable in that situation. But our performance Friday wasn’t just that we got a big win on the road but how we did it.”

“You have to go out and execute.” he added. “SCSU probably did not expect to lose to us on Friday. That’s how this game goes. The belief continues to grow. The feel on Saturday wasn’t  ‘Okay, we got a win so we can go home now.’ Guys got after it. We skated the best we may have on any Saturday throughout the year. There was just an energy and that’s what a win on Friday like that can do for you. We came back with another push, which is a huge step.”

Ice chips

Winger Ray Christy is week to week with an undisclosed injury. …  Graduate defenseman Bryan Yoon played his 150^th career game last Friday. He returned to action last Saturday and is 100 percent for this weekend as is Mbereko. … Entering this weekend, CC sat in fourth place, its highest position since the 2011-12 campaign. That team finished 18-16-2 in Jaden Schwartz’s final college season and was swept at home by Michigan Tech in the former Western Collegiate Hockey Association playoffs.

Linkorama: Poll votes, 3rd paid assistant, CC injury details and Western Michigan

Compiled by Joe Paisley

USCHO looks back on the weekend and takes note of CC’s fourth-place position in the NCHC standings

The first installment of an NCHC-produced series on its first decade of hockey debuted Tuesday.

USCHO focused on CC’s Friday win and the injuries sustained during that confidence-building victory over St. Cloud State.

Starting next season, colleges can now have three paid assistants, eliminating the volunteer assistant position.

Western Michigan is College Hockey News’ team of the week after a road sweep of North Dakota.

After a $75 million donation, St. Thomas (Minn.) of the CCHA announced a 2024 groundbreaking and fall 2025 opening of a multi-use on-campus arena for hockey and basketball.

Colorado College’s road split at St. Cloud State was noticed by poll voters who gave the Tigers 3 points, up from two the week before.

UPDATED: No. 3 St. Cloud State wears down Tigers, pulls away in third period for league series split; CC now in fourth

By Joe Paisley

ST. CLOUD, MInn. — Third-ranked St. Cloud State grinded out a 4-0 win on Saturday in a strong defensive performance by both teams, befitting a game determining sole possession of second place in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference.

Errors in the CC defensive zone prove costly.

“That was a playoff-type of game there,” CC coach Kris Mayotte told KRDO Radio. “Stingy, hard to create offense, hard to find space. Unfortunately for us, we had power-play chances. We had four with two shots and didn’t have a chance to build momentum. We weren’t good enough tonight. This wasn’t a 4-0 game.”

Visiting Colorado College (10-11-1, 6-5-1-0-0-1, 20 points) garnered a road split but fell to fourth place after Omaha swept Minnesota Duluth later Saturday. The Tigers had moved into a tie for second after Friday’s 4-2 victory. With Saturday’s shutout, the Huskies (16-6, 8-4-0-1-0-0, 23 points) are in second place and won the season series with the Tigers with a 3-1 record.

SCSU’s Zach Okabe opened the scoring when he connected on a rebound down low that trickled in with 6:33 left in the opening period for a 1-0 lead. The goal was set up by a faceoff loss in the Tigers zone.

Kyler Kupka scored off a pass from former Tigers captain Grant Cruikshank with 10:04 left in the third period to help the No. 3 Huskies pull away, 2-0 . The goal was set up by a CC turnover deep in the Tigers zone. Cruikshank later made it 3-0 off a faceoff and the Huskies added an empty-netter for the final margin.

The third-ranked Huskies did a solid job keeping the Tigers shooting from outside and not letting them set up down low often.

“We didn’t get set up around the net and create any traffic,” Mayotte said.

SCSU also controlled the faceoff dot, going 34-23 Saturday after CC led that statistic by a wide margin on Friday. That edge helped the Huskies maintain puck possession and keep up the pressure on CC on the offensive end of the ice or blunted the Tigers power play (0-4).

“We got better as it went on but on the power play, we couldn’t win draws and that is everything,” Mayotte said.

The Tigers are now 3-8 in Saturday games this season and 1-9 when trailing after two periods this season (either Friday or Saturday).

Former Tigers goalie Dom Basse made 27 saves for his second shutout against CC this season.

Ice chips

Friday’s win was CC’s s 10^th victory this season, surpassing last season’s total (9-24-3). … CC has won the first game of each month this season (Oct., Alaska-Anchorage; Nov. and Dec., Duluth, Jan. SCSU). The Tigers have lost the last game of each month (Oct., Air Force; Nov., SCSU; Dec., Princeton) so far. … CC forward Ray Christy remained out after leaving Friday’s win during the first period. Defenseman Bryan Yoon and Mbereko started Saturday’s contest. Mbereko took a shot by Micah Miller to the facemask that resulted in several broken teeth that were fixed by a Minnesota dentist Saturday morning … SCSU maintains a 63-51-9 advantage in the all-time series with a 11-1-1 mark since early 2019.

NCHC Roundup

Omaha 6, Minnesota Duluth 1

OMAHA – Jacob Slipec scored two of Omaha’s four third-period goals as the Mavericks recorded the home sweep of the Bulldogs to move into third place in the NCHC. Omaha is now 11-10-2 (6-5-1-0-1-1, 21 points), just one point ahead of fourth-place CC and two of fifth-place Western Michigan.

No. 12 Western Michigan 7, North Dakota 6

GRAND FORKS –  The visiting Broncos rallied from down 5-2 to pull out a wild win and record a road series sweep over seventh-place North Dakota. Fifth-place WMU (14-9-1, 6-5-1-0-0-0, 19 points) plays at CC next weekend with an 8 p.m. Mountain start Friday (live on TSN in Canada).

No. 4 Denver 7, Miami 0

DENVER – Tristan Broz scored four goals as the league-leading Pioneers defeated last-place Miami by a 7-0 margin for the second night in a row.

Tigers overcome key injuries, defeat third-ranked SCSU to move into tie for second place in National Collegiate Hockey Conference

By Joe Paisley

ST. CLOUD, Minn. — Colorado College picked up an impressive 4-2 road win over No. 3 St. Cloud State but it remains to be seen at what cost.

Freshman goalie Kaidan Mbereko left the National Collegiate Hockey Conference game after taking a shot off his facemask fired by SCSU’s Micah Miller while CC graduate student defenseman Bryan Yoon limped off the ice after blocking a shot late in the opening period. Forward Ray Christy also was injured. at about that time.

Senior goalie Matt Vernon replaced Mbereko with 3:19 left in the second, making 16 saves in relief.

“I have never seen anything like it,” Tigers coach Kris Mayotte told KRDO Radio, referring to three key injuries in a win. “When you consider the roles those three guys play. And how early we lost them, Yoon 10 minutes into the game, Christy 10 minutes in and Mbereko in the second period, (the win) was really, really impressive. I am proud of our guys.”

“We had some incredible individual efforts,” he added. “You can name everyone on the back end. We were down to five D on the big sheet against a big, older, experienced team. It felt like (the Tigers) got better as the game went on.”

While the severity of the injuries were unknown Friday night, the win pushed the Tigers (10-10-1, 6-4-1-0-0-1, 20 points) into a tie for second place with the Huskies (15-6, 7-4-0-1-0-0), who dominated the first period before CC rallied in the second.

“Not bad but not satisfied,” said Tyler Coffey who scored twice, referring to the tie for second. “We can face adversity and the work we put in the past two weeks showed that. It was tough to see those guys go down but we handled it well.”

The victory snapped an 11-game winless skid against SCSU, which is 10-1-1 against CC since 2019.

Colorado College roared back by taking advantage of a 5-on-3 power play by scoring goals one minute apart with Coffey ripping a shot from the right faceoff circle to beat Huskies goalie Jaxon Castor (20 saves) with 13:48 left. That came just eight seconds into the two-man advantage and tied the game at 1-1.

The Tigers sustained that momentum when leading scorer Hunter McKown scored his NCAA-leading 10^th power-play goal with 12:48 remaining for a 2-1 lead.

CC amped its defensive play over the final half of the game, taking away the Huskies’ time and space on the larger Olympic-sized ice sheet. The Tigers defensive corps forced SCSU into taking most of its shots from the outside and blocked a lot of shots.

“To see those guys rise to occasion when they had a lot of reasons to say, ‘Hey it’s not our night,” Mayotte said. “It’s our best win.”

Coffey scored the eventual game-winner just 66 seconds into the third period for his second of the NCHC game. Noah Prokop added an empty-netter with 3:35 left to seal the win before SCSU added an extra-attacker goal in the final minute. Noah Laba recorded two assists in his return to action for CC.

“We’re growing and we are going to keep building and building,” Coffey said. “This year feels a lot different.” 

SCSU took control midway through the first period after drawing two interference penalties to out shoot the visitors by a 17-4 margin. Mbereko kept CC in the game, making 14 of his 20 first-period saves before former CC captain Grant Cruikshank redirected a shot past the Tigers freshman with about two minutes left to break the deadlock. Mbereko finished with 26 stops.

The series finale is at 5 p.m. Mountain Saturday with play-by-play announcer Ken Landau’s pregame show at 4:30 p.m. on KRDO Radio in southern Colorado.

NCHC roundup

No. 4 Denver 7, Miami 0

DENVER – The league-leading Pioneers scored six goals in the second period to blow open a scoreless game and roll past the last-place RedHawks. Denver improved to 18-5 (9-2-0-2-1-0, 26 points). Carter King recorded a hat trick for the final margin early in the third.

Omaha 3, Minnesota-Duluth 2

OMAHA – Jake Pivonka scored the game-winner for fourth-place Omaha less than four minutes after a shorthanded tally by UMD’s Dominic James tied the game at 2-2 midway through the third period. The Man are now 10-10-2, 5-5-1-0-1-1, 18 points). The sixth-place Bulldogs (9-11-1, 4-7-0-1-2-0, 13 points) remain just ahead of North Dakota.

No. 12 Western Michigan 4, North Dakota 0

GRAND FORKS – The fifth-place Broncos were paced by goalie Cameron Rowe’s 25 saves in a road shutout over the seventh-place Hawks (9-9-4, 3-6-2-0-0-1, 12 points). The 13-9-1 Broncos (5-5-1-0-0-0, 16 points) visit Ed Robson Arena next weekend. Jason Polin scored twice.

Ice chips

St. Cloud finished with 44 shots, the most by an opponent this season, while CC attempted 24. … SCSU leads the all-time series against the Tigers by a 62-51-9 margin. The Huskies swept CC 3-1 and 5-0 at Ed Robson Arena earlier this season.  … The team attended the visitation services for Minnesota native Matthew Gleason’s grandmother, who passed away earlier at age 90. … St. Cloud State had one of its best 20-game starts to a season in D-I program history (since 1987-88). The Huskies’ 15 wins through 20 games is its third-most ever, trailing only its 17-1-2 mark in 2001-02 and 16-4-0 mark in 2015-16 while matching its 15-3-2 mark in 2018-19.  … After beginning the season ranked No. 13 in both polls, the Huskies reached No. 2 and are now No. 3 ahead of this weekend’s series. … UConn and Sacred Heart both opened new arenas this weekend, about one week after Princeton celebrated the 100^th year of its Hobey Baker Rink.

Four future Tigers make 2023 NHL Draft midterm rankings

By Joe Paisley

Four future Colorado College players were rated as likely Rounds 4-5 picks in this summer’s 2023 NHL Draft in NHL Central Scouting’s midterm rankings announced Friday.

Lefthanded defenseman Ryan Koering of Eden Prairie, Minn. was ranked at No. 98 among North American skaters, going early in the fourth round as projected by NHL scouts.  The two-time Eden Prairie HS team captain (6-foot-3, 184 pounds) has five points (three goals) in 14 games this season. He may join the National Collegiate Hockey program next season. He signed with the Tigers on Dec. 6, 2022.

Righthanded winger Zaccharya Wisdom (6-0, 175) of Toronto was rated at No. 101, also early in the fourth round. He is tied for sixth in scoring in the United States Hockey League with 33 points (19 goals) in 28 games for the Cedar Rapids Roughriders. He signed on Jan. 13, 2022 and may join the program next season.

Lefthanded center Owen Beckner (6-1½, 175 pounds) of Victoria, B.C. was ranked at No. 128 (late Round 4). He leads the Salmon Arm Silverbacks with 29 points (17 assists) in 32 games in the British Columbia Hockey League. He signed with the Tigers on Dec. 6, 2022 and may join the program next season.

Lefthanded winger Cooper Conway (6-0, 162) of Andover, Minn. is tabbed at No. 159 (late fifth round). He committed on June 23, 2022. He has not signed his national letter of intent yet. He has 33 points (13 goals, 20 assists) in 15 high school games and has appeared in four USHL games (no points) so far with the Green Bay Gamblers. He may join CC for the 2024-25 season.

The draft is June 28-29 in Nashville. Here’s the NHL.com article with pdf ranking lists. Conway, Koering and Wisdom all made the preseason rankings in October 2022 as C-level picks (late rounds) as did Beckner, who signed with CC on Dec. 6, 2022.

Here is an article listing recent CC signees and a link to College Hockey Inc.’s college commitments spreadsheet, which is my main source for future Tigers.