Tigers will open National Collegiate Hockey Conference play next season against rival Denver; full 2023-24 schedule TBA

By Joe Paisley

As if CC fans needed another reason to get excited for league play next season.

The annual Gold Pan Rivalry series will start earlier than in recent years thanks to the National Collegiate Hockey Conference, which announced its schedule for next season on Tuesday.

Colorado College opens league play Nov. 3-4 with Game 1 of the four-game series against Denver. The Pioneers host Friday, Nov. 3 with CC at home the next night.

The rivalry series start off the usual challenging league schedule with 16 of 24 games against teams that finished in the top 20 of the final 2022-23 USCHO.com poll. The Tigers received votes in that poll. The Pioneers are the two-time defending Penrose Cup champions, but fell to the Tigers in the 2023 Frozen Faceoff semifinals.

Beginning Jan. 12, CC will play 16-straight league games starting with a road series against Minnesota Duluth Jan. 12-13 followed by a home series against Miami Jan. 19-20.

Later during the second half, CC will host St. Cloud State (Feb. 2-3), North Dakota (Feb. 16-17) and Duluth, March 1-2. The Tigers and travel to Western Michigan (Jan. 26-27) and Omaha (Feb. 23-24) and conclude the regular season with a home-and-home series against the Pioneers. CC Senior Night will be celebrated on March 8.
 
All eight league teams will play five teams, four times, two home and away, while facing the other two for just one series. Colorado College will not host Omaha or travel to St. Cloud State.

The league schedule gives the Tigers possible bye weeks or nonconference dates all of October, Thanksgiving weekend, Dec. 15-16 and Feb. 23-24. Here is a link to the CC league schedule.

The NCHC quarterfinals are March 15-17 with best-of-three series winners advancing to the NCHC Frozen Faceoff March 22-23. The winner garners the automatic bid to the NCAA regionals March 28-31 followed by the Frozen Four at the St. Paul Xcel Energy Center, the same location as the league tourney, April 11-13.

The Tigers, 13-22-3 last season thanks to a 3-1 postseason record, did not announce their full schedule yet, but CC will host club hockey power Minot (N.D.) State for an exhibition game on Friday, Dec. 29 at Ed Robson Arena. The defending ACHA national champions will play Denver the next night.

“This is an incredible opportunity for our program to play two premier teams at the highest level of collegiate hockey,” said Beavers coach Wyatt Waselenchuk, who was initially approached about the contests by DU. “I couldn’t be more excited for our players to experience the atmosphere and the competition. We will certainly have a challenge ahead of us, but we are going to embrace it every step of the way.

“We are honored to not only represent Minot State University, but the ACHA as a whole,” Waselenchuk added in a March media release. “I’d also like to thank coach David Carle at Denver and coach Kris Mayotte with Colorado College for putting this together.”

Linkorama: Fejes scores in Slovak league playoffs; Goose back in action; CC adds to Hall of Fame; Keeping up with transfers; Minnesota State coach interview

Former CC forward Hunter Fejes scored the opening power-play goal in Kosice’s 3-1 win over HC Zvolen in Game 1 of their Slovak Extraliga playoff series. Fejes has nine points (five goals) in 14 playoff games in Slovakia’s top league after leaving the ECHL at midseason. Kosice is the largest city in eastern Slovakia near the Hungarian border.

Former Tigers defenseman Gustav Olofsson scored his first goal this season for the AHL Coachella Valley Firebirds (Kraken affiliate) this Saturday in his fourth game back from a mid-December injury.

Don’t be surprised with Tampa being part of a 4-5 year rotation for future NCAA Frozen Fours. The event’s success reached a new high for fans thanks to a refreshed downtown. The 2024 Frozen Four is at St. Paul’s Xcel Energy Center with 2025 in St. Louis.

Colorado College inducted some new members into its athletics Hall of Fame.

Rink Live is doing a bang-up job keeping track of all the NCAA Transfer Portal comings and goings.

Minnesota Duluth added a Penn State forward.

Here is a YouTube interview with the new Minnesota State coach Luke Strand, who thanks to transfers to Wisconsin, graduations, etc., will need to replace the players who accounted for 71 percent of the points recorded last season.

As posted earlier, three former Tigers are in the NHL playoffs, which begin tonight.

More Thursday reading: 2014 regionals, Badger Bob, diving, AFA

Wisconsin coach Bob Johnson poses with trophies won  during the 1976-77 season. COURTESY WISCONSIN ATHLETICS

The sites for the 2014 NCAA regionals were announced Thursday morning.

Here is the weekly USCHO column featuring “Badger Bob” Johnson and all the connections between CC and Wisconsin.

The new head of Hockey East officials has noticed a lot of players are taking dives. He plans to fix that.

Air Force may be turning the corner now that it can string together points in league play while Army’s offense looks much improved.

Dartmouth is enjoying a strong start in ECAC play.

NCAA president unwisely chose not to include the Division III championship game during the 2014 Philadelphia Frozen Four

Saturday reading: Minnesota, SCSU, predictions, rules video

The first USA Hockey preseason poll will be released on Sept. 24 with new ones to follow most Mondays.

The 2012-13 Minnesota schedule was finalized  as is the SCSU Huskies.

Sioux7 announced his preseason picks for the WCHA with Denver ahead of North Dakota. Here is Goon’s World’s prediction.

Here is the 25-minute NCAA video with some examples about the rules emphasis and tweaks for the 2012-13 season, including that indirect contact to the head (player hits body and then slides up to head) could lead to a two-minute minor using existing penalties (elbowing, high sticking, roughing, charging) at the discretion of referee. Penalties (including awarding a goal) for dislodging the net is also discussed along with an effort to clarify goals off a players’ skate.

Bob Caldwell is the new assistant coach at Western Michigan.  High expectations are now the norm for Air Force.

The ECHL Colorado Eagles landed a big-time free agent by league standards: The Colorado Eagles of the ECHL announced Thursday the signing of forward Trent Daavettila (dah-VUH-till-uh) who has spent the first four years of his professional career as a standout with the Kalamazoo Wings.  Since the 2009-10 season, no player has produced more points in the ECHL than Daavettila’s 249 (including playoff games).  In that time, his 168 assists also rank as the most, while his plus-52 plus/minus ranking is tied for the 2nd-best.  In 191 regular season ECHL games, the 6-foot, 190-pound forward accumulated 203 points (69-134-203), highlighted by a stellar 2010-11 season (in which he led the league with a plus-28 plus/minus) that helped the Wings reach the league finals.  He led Kalamazoo in points each of the past two seasons (154 in 140 games) & led the 2011 playoff field in points (28) & assists (22) as well.

Weekend reading: Jaden Schwartz, Mankato, Minnesota, NHL negotiations, CHI, NCAA hockey in Lincoln?, outdoor ticket prices

Former Tiger Jaden Schwartz could prove to be a real boon for AHL Peoria if he falls short of making the very deep Blues’ NHL roster.

A BCHL defenseman has committed to MSU-Mankato.

Minnesota players and coach Don Lucia took part in a Q&A session at the state fair recently.

The College Hockey News points out that colleges will likely not benefit from a new NHL CBA.

Here is CHN’s Q&A article with new College Hockey Inc. executive director Mike Snee, who looks to take on a more positive tone than his predecessor. Here is an interview with Snee by USCHO.

This Nebraska-Lincoln student columnist thinks UNL should add Division I hockey now that it is in the Big Ten.  Thanks to Goon’s World for finding that. I love the concept, but believe one of the reasons Nebraska-Omaha dropped football and wrestling was to focus on D1 hockey and avoid those kinds of conflicts with the nearby big school. It seems unlikely any school can afford adding a men’s varsity sport (two with a women’s program needed under Title IX) in the near future.

Wisconsin season ticket holders got a rude surprise when the outdoor game ticket prices were announced.

The Atlantic Hockey Association gave its commissioner a three-year contract extension.

Monday reading: Fejes’ NHL draft ranking, West, Duluth anniversary, DU honoree, All-Americans, club news and tryout info

The NHL released its final draft rankings and CC 2012 commit Samuel “Hunter” Fejes was rated at No. 91 among North American skaters. The draft is June 22-23.

Pine Creek High School graduate Emily West, pictured at right, is bringing the NCAA women’s championship trophy to her old Denver area club team to inspire the next generation of women’s college players.

One year ago today, on April 9, 2011, Minnesota Duluth won the NCAA title (video).

Denver’s Joey LaLeggia, who led Division I rookie defensemen with 38 points, was named the Hockey Commissioners Association National Rookie of the Year, it was announced over the weekend in Tampa.

LaLeggia was also the WCHA’s Rookie of the Year. The assistant coaches of the college hockey teams vote, with each league’s rookie honoree nominated. Cornell’s Brian Ferlin, Michigan’s Alex Guptill, Bentley’s Alex Grieve and Massachusetts-Lowell’s Scott Wilson, scheduled to play at World Arena this October, were runners-up. CC travels to Cornell in mid-October over block break while Air Force may host Bentley.

Here is a full list of the All-America teams announced over the weekend, which included West first team forward and former Tiger Jaden Schwartz and second-team East defenseman Tim Kirby of Air Force. Kirby is an East honoree because the Atlantic Hockey Association is based in the Northeast.

In club news, three Pikes Peak Miners were named to their age division’s all-North American Prospects Hockey League teams. Alec Butcher leads the U18 division in goals and points and is headed to the Kenai, Alaska franchise in the NAHL. Looks like he may be one for college scouts to keep an eye on.

The Colorado Hockey Club’s (Rampage) tryouts are April 20-22 (all goalie spots full) and July 27-29. Click here for more info.

The Colorado Springs Amateur Hockey Association (Miners) are also holding their first tryout session April 20-22. Click here for more details.

Friday reading: Frozen 4, Lowery, Mankato job, CLASS and Hobey Baker awards

Minnesota captain Taylor Mattson reacts to the Gophers' loss to Boston College (photo: Jim Rosvold)

Check out this breakdown of Minnesota’s struggles in its Frozen Four semifinal loss to Boston College on Thursday night and the Gophers’ sloppy play on the big stage. Here is a link to the video interviews done by USCHO.

Union lost its semifinal and its leading scorer in a span of eight hours. Tough night for the Dutchmen fans. Here are the Union beat writer’s articles.

Former Tiger Ryan Lowery was sent down to ECHL Stockton on Thursday to play for the Thunder during the playoffs. CC fans can see him in action against Aaron Slattengren starting at 7:05 p.m. tonight at the Budweiser Events Center.

UND assistant Cary Eades confirmed his interest in the MSU Mankato job. He would be the odds-on favorite, most prognosticators say.

Minnesota Duluth’s Jack Connolly won the the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award. First-team All-Americans were Connolly, Ferris State defenseman Chad Billins, Merrimack forward Ryan Flanigan, Cornell defenseman Keir Ross and Air Force forward Paul Weisgarber.

The second team is Ohio State defenseman Sean Duddy, Alaska goaltender Scott Greenham, Notre Dame defenseman Sean Lorenz, Brown forward Jack Maclellan and Miami goaltender Cody Reichard.

WCHA bloggers are confident that Connolly will win the school’s  fifth Hobey Baker Award later today. He is certainly deserving.