This past weekend’s home sweep of last-place Miami and series splits for several teams ahead of it in the USCHO.com rankings moved Colorado College up two spots to No. 16 in Monday’s national poll.
The 13-8-1 Tigers, currently fifth in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference, entered the weekend at No. 18. The No. 16 ranking is the program’s best since No. 14 on Nov. 26, 2012.
An 11-year polls drought, dating back to Dec. 2012, ended last month.
This week, the NCHC is well represented with No. 4 Denver, No. 5 North Dakota, No. 12 Western Michigan and No. 15 St. Cloud State in the poll above CC, which travels to the fourth-place Broncos (15-6-1) this weekend in Kalamazoo, Mich.
Omaha led the teams receiving votes for the equivalent of No. 21 in the poll if it extended further. Air Force picked up a single vote.
The USA Hockey poll will be announced later today.
With a sweep of rival Army this weekend (8-1 Friday, 7-6 Saturday), Air Force coach Frank Serratore recorded career win No. 500 while his Falcons improved to 13-12-1 with the four-game season sweep of the Black Knights.
The win marks the first time Air Force has ever beaten Army four times in the regular season in the 46-year history of the series. The win is also the 500th
Serratore is the 16th coach in the history of NCAA Division I hockey, and just the fourth active coach, to reach the milestone. When asked if 500 wins means he is a good coach, Serratore had another stat in mind.
“It just means I am a pretty good survivor, because I already got my 500 losses (500-521-108),” he said during Monday’s media conference. “That’s the tricky one there. I have been fortunate to be around this long. I am thankful to the academy for that.”
Serratore, 66, is AFA’s all-time winningest hockey coach and is under contract through 2025.
Colorado College’s season-opening conference sweep of Union turned a few heads with the Tigers garnering a few more points among the Receiving Votes in the weekly USCHO.com poll.
The 2-0 Tigers picked up 18 points (29th), 13 more than the first-week poll (five, 32nd) and five more the late September preseason rankings (13, 31st).
The Tigers host the independent Long Island Sharks (1-3) this coming weekend in the programs’ first games.
Here are some links of interest, including some freelance work I did last week (why the blog was not populated):
I wrote this feature on CC freshman Zaccharya Wisdom for College Hockey News that talks about the hard work his mother put in to help him and his brother excel in hockey.
Former Tiger standout Jaden Schwartz talks about the family bonds developing with the Kraken.
The Rink Live talks a little about CC’s opening series sweep in its weekly NCHC roundup. While crazy early, it is interesting to see the Tigers averaging an NCAA-high 6.5 goals per game.
Here is a video of former CC defenseman Jaccob Slavin‘s shorthanded goal against Ottawa last week.
Colorado College came into Saturday’s game looking for two solid performances in a row and to close out this nonconference series with a sweep.
Air Force was looking for a big-time response after a miserable series-opening loss.
What a difference 24 hours made. The resurgent Falcons dominated and then pulled away in the second period with three goals, including two consecutive power-play goals by defenseman Brandon Koch, for a 6-3 home win that had CC coach Kris Mayotte wondering why his team could not build upon Friday’s rout.
“I don’t know if they thought it would be easy or if they read too much on social media about how great they are,” he said. “They just weren’t willing to do the little things, the hard things that you need to do to win on the road. We didn’t have many guys who were willing to do that tonight.”
CC’s Tommy Middleton scored with 15:37 left in the second period to cut the AFA lead to 4-3 but Koch’s two man-advantage goals over the next five-plus minutes doomed the Tigers (3-5). All five losses were on the road.
Air Force converted 3 of its 5 power-play opportunities to CC’s 0-for-5 production.
“Our PK wasn’t good tonight and we took emotional and frustration penalties,” Mayotte said.
The Falcons played sound defensive hockey with a three-goal lead over the final 30 minutes, keeping 2-3 back to blunt any CC breakaway tries despite having defenseman Luke Rowe and Luke Robinson out with concussions suffered during the game.
The resilient Falcons were the much better team Saturday and CC seemed flat. It was a mirror image of Friday, just different uniforms.
“Tonight was everything last night wasn’t,” Falcons coach Frank Serratore said. “We needed a response and seeing that was very encouraging. You couldn’t ask for anything more.”
“If anyone doubts what this team is capable of doing, they should look at themselves in the mirror and slap that person upside the head.”
Air Force came out swinging but both teams landed haymakers with both scoring twice on their first three shots for a 2-2 tie just 6:24 into the game at Cadet Ice Arena.
The Falcons’ Will Gavin opened the scoring with 17:18 left only to see the Tigers’ Stanley Cooley tie it with 14:40 left. Then it got a bit frantic.
AFA went ahead on a goal by Mason McCormick 31 seconds later and CC’s Logan Will rifled a shot in just 33 seconds later past AFA goalie Guy Blessing (26 saves) to make it 2-2.
“I liked how we responded during the first 10 minutes but the problem was we may have thought we could do that all night,” Mayotte said.
Air Force went ahead for good, 3-2, while on the power play when Parker Brown sent a crossing pass in front that was lifted in by Andrew DeCarlo past Tigers senior goalie Matt Vernon (16 saves) with 5:57 remaining in the first. CC never led Saturday.
Vernon got his second start in a row after a 30-save shutout Friday but never got on track as Air Force found room in front of the CC net and the Tiger skaters in front of him did not do enough to help him on a night when he wasn’t sharp.
Ice chips
Three Tigers – Noah Laba, Hunter McKown and Will – each scored two goals in Friday’s 8-0 rout of Air Force. It was the first time three CC players did so since March 11, 2005 when Brett Sterling, Aaron Slattengren and Jimmy Branigan did so in a 8-2 win over SCSU. … Air Force has won seven of the last 13 games between the programs although CC leads the all-time series 65-15-2.
During a four-game losing streak, Colorado College struggled to force its way to the front of their opponents’ net.
The Tigers, led by freshman Noah Laba, had no such trouble during an 8-0 home victory over regional rival Air Force to retain the Pikes Peak Trophy Friday night.
Laba recorded the first five-point night by a Tiger in 12 years and juniors Hunter McKown and Logan Will each scored twice.
Freshman Ethan Straky recorded his first college goal and assist in the nonconference home rout. Tigers senior goalie Matt Vernon recorded 23 saves for his second college shutout.
The Tigers were assertive with the puck and attacked the opponents net instead of looking to pass as they did far too often during that downturn.
“Obviously it was as tough two weekends away and we were just focused on playing our game,” Laba said. “We knew if we kept chipping at that stone it was going to break. Coach really pushed that during the week in practice: getting guys to the net, being hungry to score and not waiting for the other guy to do it.”
“Tonight was the best job of when we had a step, we took it to the net ourselves,” CC coach Kris Mayotte said. “We took it there and created chaos. That’s when good things happen.”
“A lot of what happened the last four games we were making a lot of risky reads all over the rink. It was putting us in a spot where instead of being tough to play against and defending we had to recover and react. were able to break them up and that allowed us to get sustained O zone play. We have good forwards who are strong and know how to get to the net. Guys like Logan Will, Gleb (Vereymev), Noah (Laba), Hunter McKown and Noah Prokop. They are big guys who should be able to get there. You just need the puck to do it.”
Laba recorded the first five-point night (2 goals, three assists) by a Tiger since linemates Jaden Schwartz (four assists) and Stephen Schultz (three assists) each did so in a 9-2 win over Denver on Nov. 6, 2010.
Laba’s career-high night, a 4- for-9 power-play performance and the eight goals are impressive but should not overshadow a superb performance by Vernon (30 saves).
“It’s hard to look at Laba and see five points and not say he was our best player,” Mayotte said. “I think Vern gave us the chance to get our legs under us and get a win and build on a lead.
They got breakaways. We still have a ton to clean up but he was really good. He was phenomenal.”
Vernon credited his teammates for clearing out loose pucks and lifting sticks but he stepped up several times with big-time stops on Falcon breakaways that could have shifted the game’s momentum, including a brilliant stab of a glove save on Falcons defenseman Chris Hedden, reaching back to the far post as he slid toward the short side to keep it 2-0 late in the first period.
“That team does a great job of getting shots through from the point and getting a stick on it or whatnot,” Vernon said. “Once you get that first period under your belt, things get a lot easier, especially when you are winning. The way we were playing in the first, it felt good.”
Thanks to Vernon’s steadying influence from the back end and renewed aggression with the puck, the 3-4 Tigers pulled away in the second period when Laba fired a one-timer from between the faceoff circles during a five-minute man advantage after AFA’s Willie Reim was sent off for boarding.
The Rangers draft pick’s power-play goal came off a pass from Ryan Beck with 11 minutes left. Straky picked up his first college goal when Laba fired a hard shot that Air Force goalie Guy Blessing sprawled out to stop, only to send the rebound to Straky, who lifted a backhander into the top half of the net for a 4-0 lead with 4:53 left in the middle frame.
The Tigers slammed the door on any hopes of an AFA rally when Laba scored his second of the night with 18:30 remaining in the third while Logan Will added his second of the nonconference game just nine seconds later, interrupting the Laba scoring announcement.
CC added another power-play goal against Maiszon Balboa to make it 7-0 when Hunter McKown rifled the puck in for his fourth power-play goal this season and his first point since the opening weekend against Alaska-Anchorage. He added his fifth with the man advantage midway through the third for the final margin.
In the first period, Will skated across the front of the net and redirected a shot by Straky past Blessing for the eventual game-winner. The Tigers followed that up 125 seconds later when freshman Gleb Veremyev batted in a rebound in off the far post for a 2-0 lead with 5:58 left in the opening period. Freshmen Laba and Beck garnered the assist.
“This was death by a 1,000 cuts,” Falcons coach Frank Serratore said. “Colorado College is much improved and they took advantage of all of our mistakes. They were opportunistic and we were not. We took way too many penalties and they made us pay. The better team won by a country mile. We need to clear our heads and take our swings tomorrow.”
Tigers expect a different kind of game Saturday, look to build on confidence-building result
The Falcons pride took a hit Friday but the Tigers expect nothing less than a hard, concerted attack when they visit Cadet Ice Arena for the series finale at 7 p.m.
“They are always highly contested games no matter what the score is,” Mayotte said. “(The CC players) needed this to remind them the type of team they can potentially be. Tomorrow, it is going to be a battle. It is going to be something. I am looking forward to it. I hope our guys are too because you know (Air Force) is going to come out swinging.”
Wins breed confidence and help teams buy into the approach required of them to win consistently. Saturday’s rematch is another test.
“This game was important for our confidence but now we have to back it up,” Mayotte said. “That will be even more important. Are we satisfied or do we buy into how this is who we could be. Today was important because we had a lot of guys who were fighting it offensively and hadn’t scored in a while who were able to get that feel back. But it starts 0-0 tomorrow.”
Landau honored before game
Longtime CC hockey announcer Ken Landau, a multiple state award-winning play-by-play announcer, was recognized for calling his 600th Tigers game Friday night. The Pennsylvania native and Michigan State graduate dropped the puck for the pregame ceremony at Robson Arena.
His first game was the 2006 season opener, a 2-0 win over Air Force.
“I guess there is a certain symmetry to life sometimes,” he said during a video interview shown during first intermission.
Ice chips
This was the 81st meeting between the two programs. CC leads the series 65-14-2 after splitting last season. The Falcons have won six of the last 12 games in the series, not counting exhibitions. CC has retained the Pikes Peak Trophy, first awarded in 2013, since 2018.
The battle for the Pikes Peak Trophy remains one of the area’s best college rivalries and the home-and-home nonconference series comes at an important time for both Air Force and Colorado College.
Both hockey programs have losing records in the season’s opening month – no reason for alarm – but both must improve their play as November nears and conference play takes over the schedule.
The teams are familiar with each other thanks to last year’s series and an exhibition game that was played with an intensity not usually seen in a scrimmage.
“You take a lot from it,” CC coach Kris Mayotte said. “(The exhibition) felt just like the regular-season games we had against them. We can rely on that in pre-prep. But quite honestly, we have a lot of work to do on ourselves so that is our focus this week.”
“There is always a little bit of added motivation to win the city,” Mayotte said. “I would love to build this thing up but the last two weekends haven’t been good enough to focus on anyone but ourselves.”
“We got to get better,” he added. “We have a lot of stuff to clean up, especially without the puck. You can’t give up 20 goals in four games and think you have a chance to win any of them.”
Air Force will need to “come out swinging” with its usual physical approach against the 2-4 Tigers of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference. That tactic serves the Falcons well, generating power plays, forcing mistakes and making it a 200-foot game for their foes.
“We need to take another step as a team in our play,” Falcons coach Frank Serratore said in his weekly media conference. “We did not get under their skin (Friday loss to RIT) until late in the second on that hit by (Willie) Reim. Those things need to happen earlier.”
“We need a full 60 (minutes) We need more hard in our game. And if we don’t, it’s going to be a long night down at Colorado College. Trust me, I haven’t forgotten them 10-running us (8-1 CC win last season) on that second night down there after we won the first.”
CC co-captain Bryan Yoon expects the Falcons to play hard and motivated with the trophy on the line.
“They are a very physical, hard team that gets in front of a lot of shots,” Yoon said. “A big emphasis this week has been making sure we are disciplined and keeping a level head because that is when you play your best hockey. It’s definitely a fun rivalry. To reiterate what coach said, it’s more about us this week.”
The Tigers are focused on tightening up their defense with better backchecking support.
“It’s probably just our track back on defense,” Yoon added. “Whenever there is a transition, I feel like we have been losing guys on the way back. It’s kind of been biting us.”
The Falcons (2-3-1) are paced by Reim and Will Gavin with eight points (four goals each) and Lucas Rowe with seven points (five assists). Gavin has recorded a point in five consecutive games. Guy Blessing received Atlantic Hockey Goalie of the Week honors for his efforts against RIT.
The Tigers are led by three with five points: Hunter McKown (all against Alaska-Anchorage), Bryan Yoon (five assists) and Nicklas Andrews (two goals). Goalies Matt Vernon and Kaidan Mbereko are splitting duties with the senior Vernon usually playing Friday.
Colorado College possesses the trophy and can keep the hardware with a series tie, meaning a Tigers win outright Friday retains it. The award, first handed out in 2013, is named for former CC and AFA coach John Matchefts.
The Tigers made certain they would hoist the Pikes Peak Trophy Saturday night.
The hosts responded to a poor performance in a Friday loss and Colorado College took advantage of two 5-minute major power plays to roll past Air Force 8-1 and retain the “city championship” hardware.
“I am really proud of our intensity, our compete, how we responded from last night,” Tigers coach Kris Mayotte said. “Everything we talked about not doing last night we did tonight. We executed for 60 full minutes tonight.”
It was CC’s first victory at Ed Robson Arena, much to the delight of most of the 3,570 on hand for the fourth sellout in as many games for the new on-campus facility. The win secured a nonconference series split after Air Force’s 5-4 overtime home victory on Friday.
On Saturday, the Tigers (2-4-2) recorded five power-play goals during those two extended man advantages and added another, the eventual game-winner by Hunter McKown early in the second period, to lead 5-0 entering the third. The six power-play goals tied a National Collegiate Hockey Conference record.
“They played fast, retrieved pucks and hunted them down,” Mayotte said of the Cc power-play units. “Our guys did a great job getting retrievals. The first one from (Matt) Gleason to Hunter was a big-time play and that just grew confidence.”
The game turned in CC’s favor for good shortly after Air Force sophomore Will Gavin, who recorded a hat trick Friday, including the OT game-winner, was sent off for a 5-minute contact from behind call on Hugo Blixt that sent the defenseman face first into the boards.
The Tigers took advantage by pumping in three power-play goals in 98 seconds to end Air Force senior goalie Alex Schilling’s night with 5:42 left in the middle frame.
That CC scoring spurt began when Jordan Biro’s centering pass went in off an Air Force defenseman and past Schilling (nine saves) with 7:20 left.
Gleason followed that up to make it 4-0 just 42 seconds later when he banged in his own rebound. Brett Chorske scored his first goal in his first game as a Tiger (5:42 left) to make it 5-0.
“Before you can win, you first have to learn to not beat yourself,” Falcons coach Frank Serratore said. “We had a good first period and we were only down a goal (1-0)l. But we took way too many avoidable penalties and Colorado College took advantage of our careless play. We were very undisciplined.”
Air Force’s Nate Horn spoiled CC goalie Dom Basse’s shutout attempt (16 saves) early in the third but a 5-minute major on the Falcons’ Luke Robinson helped CC pull away with two more power-play goals (Nate Schweitzer, Nick Andrews) for a 7-1 margin. Tyler Coffey added an even-strength tally with 8:45 left for the final margin. Tigers center Logan Will opened the scoring early in the first period with a hard shot that whizzed past Schilling’s head and went in just under the cross bar.
“Tonight we decided to come out and play the game we knew how to play,” said Gleason, one of eight Tigers with a score Saturday. He also added two assists. “We weren’t that team last night. We weren’t going to come into our barn and lose. We wanted to defend our place and get our first win here.”
Ice chips
The CC school record for power-play goals in a single game is eight against UMass-Lowell on Jan. 18, 1986. … CC opens NCHC play against No. 1 St. Cloud State at home Nov. 5-6. It is the first of four league series against ranked foes. Twenty-two of the team’s 34 games are scheduled against ranked opponents. … With Saturday’s win, CC maintains a 64-14-2 all-time series lead over the Falcons, with Air Force having won six of the past 11 games. …. The Falcons have now won the Pikes Peak Trophy four times (2013, 2014, 2016, 2017) and retained it once (2015) since its inception in 2013. CC won the trophy in 2018 and 2019 and retained it in 2021. The teams did not play last season. … Air Force (2-4) travels to Niagara, coached by former CC assistant Jason Lammers, to open Atlantic Hockey league action Nov 5-6.
Canisius left wing Doug Beck tipped in a rebound with 5:32 left in the first period after Mitch McCrank one-timed a crossing pass from Kyle Gibbons for a power-play goal and a 1-0 lead.
Air Force out shot the Golden Griffins 15-8 in the period but goalie Tony Capobianco started well and di not allow many rebounds.
Canisius has a couple other good chances thanks to turnovers in the Air Force zone to keep AFA goalie Jason Torf busier that his seven saves suggest.
As heard during Ken Ralph radio interview last night: CC’s 2013-14 nonconference schedule includes games against Air Force, Clarkson, New Hampshire, Providence and Wisconsin.
The Clarkson games are on the road in return for the Golden Knights’ trip to Colorado Springs earlier this season. No further specifics were mentioned.
Future dates including Boston College and Boston University and “a couple Big 10 teams” are also in the works.
Future dates could include a couple East Coast trips when CC would play one Hockey East or ECAC team one night and another the next, Ralph said.
The Tigers have four more nonleague dates to schedule since the National Collegiate Hockey Conference, which begins play in October, uses a 24-game format.
CC will continue to coordinate with Denver as well as it has in the past. An example would be the New Hampshire and Yale games this past Thanksgiving weekend when Yale played at DU on Friday and visited CC on Saturday.
Ralph also said CC is working to schedule nonconference games with Alaska-Anchorage including road contests. As play-by-play man Ken Landau pointed out, it is easier to fly to Anchorage than Houghton, Mich., which usually involves a flight to Duluth followed by a lengthy bus ride.
PAISLEY HOCKEY 