Despite disappointing end to season, this year’s Tigers garnered national respect, further set foundation for future championship aspirations

By Joe Paisley

This past season should be remembered for more than 0.0004, the Pairwise rankings margin that Massachusetts had over CC to secure the final at-large berth in this weekend’s NCAA Tournament.

Consider how Tigers fans and those around the program had to pay attention to the Pairwise rankings for the first time in more than decade. That’s telling when considering the progress made by this program in three seasons under coach Kris Mayotte and his staff.

“We got as close as we can to reaching our potential and I truly believe we became one of the best teams in the country,” Mayotte said during the season-ending media conference. “It’s always going to be a tough pill to swallow when you are that close and it doesn’t go your way. It cannot take away from the work that was done and the progress that was made.”

One step forward for the National Collegiate Hockey Conference program was a changed national perception of the 21-13-3 Tigers, who were ranked in the Top 10 for the first time since Feb. 2012 and will likely finish the season in the Top 20.

“The biggest thing we talked about with our guys is the respect they were able to bring to the program,” Mayotte said. “That is probably the hardest thing to get and it is certainly something that people don’t give freely. The way people will talk about this program moving forward is a lot different than it has been in recent memory and that is all due to their work.”

It showed as this season continued. which featured the 11^th most difficult schedule in the nation.

“It’s gotten the fans back,” Mayotte said. “We can all say the second half this this season had a completely different feel and energy playing games here. It was a true home-ice advantage.

That changed perception both locally and nationally should help in the future for a program that is well supported by the college and has a newer facility in Ed Robson Arena.

“I think it’s about when you talk about on the recruiting trail, we are a have program,” Mayotte said. “We are not a have-not program. We are not a middle-of-the-road program.

“We present a package on why you should come here that’s as good as anybody’s,” he added. “What we haven’t been able to show is recent success. So, the student athletes we have been recruiting have had to take a leap of faith that the success was going to come. The guys who are here right now have done that.

“It’s not going to be easier for the next guy but it’s not just us telling them why we think this will be successful. You can look around and see what we have built and how we have built it without using the transfer portal (heavily), investing in our recruits, investing in our player development.  They can see how it plays out instead of it just sounding like a pitch.”

The future

For next year’s team –about a third of the current roster will graduate, go pro or leave via the NCAA transfer portal – 0.0004 won’t provide additional motivation. The freshman class will be defenseman-heavy to balance out the roster after forward-laden classes in Mayotte’s first three years.

“It is going to be a good class, there just won’t be as much asked of it,” Mayotte said. “We don’t need to. We’ll see if that changes but as of right now, we don’t need a first-line center or a No 1 defenseman. We have that in our program. We think we have a lot of quality and depth coming in.”

Whether they or any possible transfers will be called on to replace NY Rangers draft pick Noah Laba or free-agent goalie Kaidan Mbereko remains to be seen. Both are rightfully getting scouts’ attention and they will spend the next several weeks considering whether leaving now for the pros would pave a path to the NHL.

The eight graduating seniors have one year’s eligibility remaining due to the pandemic so all might consider a return to CC or hit the transfer portal to start graduate school elsewhere. Six – Nicklaus Andrews, – Ray Christy, Tyler Coffey, Chase Foley, Danny Weight and captain Logan Will – have entered the portal.

Senior defenseman Jack Millar said he will either go pro or return to CC.

“It’s pretty much deciding whether I want to sign a contract and go somewhere or come back and play,” Millar said. “I am just weighing those options.”

And while the individual Tigers consider their futures, CC fans can look back on the 2023-24 season as another positive step towards becoming a program that can win a national title, something that seemed quite unlikely three short years ago.

“I have said it from the day I got this job,” Mayotte said. “This is a championship program. This is a top-five program in the country and I believe that as much today as I did then. But (now) I think it will be easier for others to see what we have been talking about for three years.”

SEASON HIGHLIGHTS

Most wins since 2011

First winning record since 2012

Tied for third in NCHC, best finish since joining league in 2013-14

Tied for NCAA lead with nine wins over 2024 NCAA Tournament teams

Ten wins versus ranked teams most since the 20078-08 season

Mayotte named NCHC Coach of the Year

Mbereko named NCHC Goaltender of the Year and finalist for Mike Richter Award as nation’s best

Laba named NCHC Defensive Forward of the Year

First four-game season sweep of North Dakota in program’s 85-year history-

Ranked in Top 20 for first time since December 2012 and first time in Top 10 since February 2012

Tigers’ NCAA tourney waiting game begins after Game 3 loss to Omaha in NCHC quarterfinals

By Joe Paisley

Colorado College will be back at practice on Wednesday, hoping that their hockey season isn’t over.

With a 2-1 loss to Omaha in Game 3 of their best-of-three National Collegiate Hockey Conference quarterfinal playoff series, the 21-13-3 Tigers must wait until next weekend’s league championships to find out if they make the 16-team NCAA Tournament field.

“We’re not done yet,” Tigers coach Kris Mayotte said. “Unfortunately, it’s not in our hands. We got to believe we have the opportunity to do it again. We were hoping we could take care of business tonight, punch our ticket and control our destiny.” 

The loss before an announced sellout crowd of 3,416 at Ed Robson Arena dropped the Tigers down to 14^th in the Pairwise rankings and right at the cutoff line with the 15^th and 16^th seeds earmarked for the CCHA and Atlantic Hockey playoff champions.

“There are some scenarios out there that get us into the tournament,” Mayotte said. “We’ll take Monday and Tuesday off and come back and get ready to go, start preparing on Wednesday. That is all we can do at this point.”

With the win and according to the Pairwise Probability Matrix tool, 11^th-rated Omaha is in the NCAAs for sure while 12^th-rated Western Michigan has a 99 percent chance, 13^th Massachusetts 91 percent; 14^th Colorado College, 49 percent; with Cornell, Dartmouth and St. Cloud State all needing to win league playoff titles to get an automatic qualifier.

Cornell and Dartmouth play in one ECAC semifinal while SCSU plays Denver Friday at the NCHC Frozen Face-off. Omaha plays top-seeded North Dakota in the other semi in St. Paul. CC may move up if Massachusetts loses in the Hockey East semifinals.

Mayotte was a Providence assistant in 2015 when the Friars made the tourney as a 14^th seed and won a national championship. They made it in only after Minnesota ended Michigan’s bid for the Big Ten’s automatic qualifier in the title game, leaving a spot open for PC.

Knowing that, Mayotte spent time with the team after Sunday’s loss, making sure they know the season may not be over.

“I shared with (the team) that when we won it in Providence we were in much the same situation,” Mayotte said. “We’ll start preparing on Wednesday as if we are in and we have a week and a half to prepare. I trust if we do get a chance, this team will be ready and excited and attack the opportunity.”

On Sunday, Omaha forward Brock Bremer converted a 3-on-2 breakaway by one-timing a cross-ice pass from defenseman Griffin Ludtke, who forced a CC turnover in the neutral zone to set up the rush. 

That put the 22-11-4 Mavericks ahead 2-1 with 13:21 left in the third period. It would be enough with goalie Simon Latkoczy (31 saves) anchoring a defense that collapsed down low to keep opponents out of the slot.

“You have to find a way to get open looks and against them, that’s hard,” Mayotte said. “The way they defend they always have guys around the net. They don’t vacate very much.”

CC got the start it needed when freshman Klavs Veinbergs knocked in a rebound off a Noah Laba shot for a power-play goal and 1-0 lead with 4:26 left in the first period. It was the first lead this series for the Tigers, not counting Friday’s overtime winner, but would only last 21 minutes, 46 seconds.

Omaha would tie it up at 1-1 when Jimmy Glynn lifted the puck over CC sophomore goalie Kaidan Mbereko(20 saves) with 2:40 left in the second period. The Tigers looked to have retaken the lead but Latkoczy reached behind himself and covered the puck before it crossed the line – the on-ice officials ruled – with 1:52 left to keep it tied entering the third period. UNO had a goal disallowed about five minutes earlier on an offsides call.

“They capitalize on mistakes and we didn’t make many tonight,” he added. “(Mbereko) made some big saves. It wasn’t like they scored on their only two chances but they were fairly opportunistic. We just really couldn’t get our footing back. They started taking over in the second period. It felt like we chased it a bit after that.”

Knowing that Sunday might have been the final game for the eight Tiger seniors and one graduate student, they can take pride knowing what they accomplished.

“If we don’t get a chance to do it again, they changed the program,” Mayotte said. “Not many teams get that opportunity to actually do it. There are a lot of places that talk about it and lot of teams told they have a chance. But to actually do the work that it takes to really do it, especially in this league where it is a battle every night, (we are) incredibly proud of this group.”

”We hope we get another chance because they have a legacy that I would like them to continue building because they have done such good work pushing this program forward,” he added.

Ice chips

Freshman Bret Link missed Sunday’s game with an upper-body injury sustained in Saturday’s loss. … CC is now 1-3in NCHC quarterfinal series Game 3s. The Tigers lost to North Dakota (2013-14) and Denver (2017-18) and won at Western Michigan in 2018-19 to secure the program’s first semifinals appearance. … The Tigers are now 65-93 all-time in postseason play. …. CC’s 21 wins are the most since the 2010-11 squad that won 23 games and made the NCAA West Regional Final in St. Louis. That was the last time CC competed in the NCAA Tournament. … The Tigers are 18-2 this season when scoring three or more goals and 20-6-3 when allowing fewer than three. … The Tigers have lost just five times in regulation in the past 22 games. … Laba has seven game-winning goals, the most by a Tiger since Brett Sterling (8) during the 2005-06 season. … Nine Tigers have recorded at least 10 assists, the most since the 2012-13 squad (9). … UNO leads the all-time series 30-15-7 with a 14-10-1 mark in Colorado Springs.

NCHC Quarterfinals 

Sunday Game 3s

No. 3 St. Cloud State 5, No. 6 Western Michigan 1, Huskies win series 2-1

No. 5 Omaha 2, No. 4 Colorado College 1, Mavericks win series 2-1

NCHC Frozen Faceoff

Excel Energy Center, St. Paul, Minn.

All games on CBS Sports Network

Friday semifinals

4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. CT

No. 3 St. Cloud State at No. 2 Denver

No. 5 Omaha at No. 1 North Dakota

Saturday championship

Semifinal winners, 7:30 p.m. CT

Omaha clamps down in third, forces decisive Game 3 Sunday at Ed Robson Arena for Tigers

By Joe Paisley

There was no memorable Tigers rally Saturday. So, there will be a decisive Game 3 on Sunday.

Omaha converted on both its power-play chances and used a stifling defensive effort in the third period to down Colorado College, 3-1, and forced a best-of-three NCHC quarterfinal series finale at 6 p.m. Sunday at Ed Robson Arena.

Omaha never trailed after scoring a power-play goal just 3:13 into Game 2 on a snipe by Tanner Ludtke before an announced sellout crowd of 3,410.

“We didn’t handle them being a desperate hockey team well enough,” Tigers coach Kris Mayotte said. “When you are trying to eliminate a team, you cannot give them that type of life. Unfortunately, we did. I liked our response but we never got a lead.”

Colorado College controlled most of the play, hemming in the Mavericks for extended stretches and peppering Mavs goalie Simon Latkoczy with shots, but the Tigers were unable to connect on the rebounds, which were there for the taking.

The Slovakian made 31 of his 39 saves through the first 40 minutes to keep Omaha ahead, 2-1, entering the third.

“You can’t let it frustrate you,” Mayotte said. “You start squeezing it and start trying to make something out of nothing. We have to recommit to what has worked for us for two games in terms of how we get possession and how we get O-zone time.”

“I think there are a lot more positive than negative coming out of this game,” he added, noting the 32-10 shots margin and lopsided time of possession. “That has to be our focus.”

With the loss and Western Michigan’s win over third-seeded St. Cloud State, there will be two Game 3s in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference quarterfinals with Western Michigan 11^th Omaha 12th, CC 13^th and the Huskies 17^th in the most recent Pairwise rankings, which help the NCAA Selection Committee determine the 16-team field. 

All four teams need to win and advance to the NCHC Frozen Faceoff next weekend to bolster their chances of garnering an at-large NCAA Tournament berth. The loser would no longer be playing and likely miss out on the NCAAs.

Omaha salted the win away when it converted its second power play in as many chances when Brock Bremer fired a wrister high stick side with 12:23 remaining in the game to pull ahead, 3-1.

By then, the 21-11-4 Mavericks were forcing CC to dump the puck in and chase. Omaha kept CC from setting up in the UNO zone over the final 20 minutes and the 21-12-3 Tigers were unable to mount a comeback even with an extra attacker over the final two-plus minutes.

“We were pressing,” Mayotte said. “We had a little more time and space than we thought sometimes and we just put pucks deep. I thought (Omaha) did a good job breaking pressure and then punting pucks out into the neutral zone, making us have to retrieve and go back at it.” 

In the first period, CC senior defenseman Chase Foley scored his second goal in as many games about four minutes after the opening goal to tie it at 1-1. Assists on Foley’s third career goal went to Evan Werner who collected the puck after defenseman Max Burkholder forced a UNO turnover in the Tigers’ zone.

It was the senior defenseman’s third career goal with his first being the inaugural goal recorded at Robson Arena back in October 2021. He was happy to start finding the net, but knows Sunday’s result is the real concern.

“We have to find a way to win on Sunday, that’s our focus right now,” Foley said. “When they had that lead, they did a good job locking us down. We have to find a way to get to the net better and get more pucks on net. That has to be our focus (Sunday).”

Omaha would go ahead 2-1 when Jimmy Glynn collected a rebound, spun and fired a backhander past a screened Kaidan Mbereko (18 saves) with 3:14 left in the first for the eventual game winner.

Ice chips

The Tigers are now 65-92 all-time in postseason play. …. CC’s 21 wins are the most since the 2010-11 squad that won 23 games and made the NCAA West Regional Final in St. Louis. That was the last time CC competed in the NCAA Tournament. … The Tigers are 18-2 this season when scoring three or more goals and 20-5-3 when allowing fewer than three. … CC’s 50 shots on Friday were the most by the Tigers on one game since Nov. 20, 2009 versus Robert Morris. … Friday’s 34-shot margin was the largest since 55-15 vs. Mercyhurst on Nov. 30, 2002. … The Tigers have lost just four times in regulation in the past 21 games. … Friday’s 4-3 playoff home OT victory was the first since 4-3 over Wisconsin on March 12, 2011. …  Noah Laba has seven game-winning goals, the most by a Tiger since Brett Sterling (8) during the 2005-06 season. … Nine Tigers have recorded at least 10 assists, the most since the 2012-13 squad (9). … UNO leads the all-time series 29-15-7 with a 13-10-1 mark in Colorado Springs.

NCHC Quarterfinals 

Best of three series, Game 3, 6 p.m. Sunday (if necessary)

Friday’s scores

St. Cloud State 5, Western Michigan 2

Denver 4, Minnesota Duluth 0

North Dakota 5, Miami 1

Colorado College 4, Omaha 3 (OT)

Saturday’s scores

North Dakota 7, Miami 1; No. 1 UND advances to NCHC semifinals

No. 6 Western Michigan 6, No. 3 St. Cloud State; series tied 1-1

Denver 5, Minnesota Duluth 2; No. 2 DU advances to NCHC semifinals

No. 5 Omaha 3, No. 4 Colorado College 1; series tied 1-1

Sunday games

No. 6 Western Michigan (21-14-1) at No. 3 St. Cloud State (16-15-5), series tied 1-1

No. 5 Omaha (20-11-4) at No. 4 Colorado College (21-11-3), CC leads 1-0

Four Tigers in running for NCHC season awards

Nicklas Andrews, Noah Laba and Kaidan Mbereko and coach Kris Mayotte are finalists for the 2023-24 National Collegiate Hockey Conference individual season awards, the league announced earlier today.

The winners will be revealed next Thursday, March 21, at the annual NCHC Awards Celebration at the St. Paul Event Center in Saint Paul, Minn.

Sophomore Mbereko is up for Player of the Year and Goalie of the Year honors while second-year center Laba is contending for the Forward of the Year, Defensive Forward of the Year and the Three Stars award.

Mbereko led the NCHC with a .927 save percentage in conference play (.017 better than anyone else) and a 2.15 goals-against average (.40 better than anyone else). His 656 saves were also tops in the conference, while his 27.33 saves per game were second. He is the reigning three-time NCHC Goaltender of the Month, only the second NCHC player ever to win three straight monthly honors. Overall, Mbereko is 20-11-3 in 34 starts, while leading the NCHC with a .918 save percentage and ranking second with a 2.38 GAA.

Laba took home the NCHC goal-scoring title with 16 goals in conference play, while his six game-winners led the NCHC by two. He also led the league with three short-handed goals. The New York Rangers draft pick tallied 28 points in 24 NCHC games and handed out 12 assists and posted a plus-19 plus/minus in NCHC play, which was plus-5 better than anyone else. Overall, Laba ranked seventh in the NCHC with 35 points in 33 games, scoring 19 goals.

Senior Andrews is one of three finalists for Defensive Defenseman of the Year. He was third on the Tigers with 43 blocked shots (31 in league play) with substantial time on the penalty kill. He finished plus-5 in the plus-minus ratings and recorded a career-high 16 points (13 assists) this season.

Mayotte is up for Herb Brooks Coach of the Year after leading CC to fourth place and home playoff ice for the first time in 12 years, first in the NCHC, after the Tigers were picked seventh in the preseason poll.

2023-24 NCHC INDIVIDUAL AWARD FINALISTS
 
Herb Brooks Coach of the Year
Brad Berry, North Dakota
David Carle, Denver
Kris Mayotte, Colorado College
 
Player of the Year
Jackson Blake, So., F, North Dakota
Jack Devine, Jr., F, Denver
Kaidan Mbereko, So., G, Colorado College
 
Senior Scholar-Athlete Award
Dominic Basse, G, St. Cloud State
Luke Grainger, F, Western Michigan
Matt Miller, F, Omaha
 
Rookie of the Year
Zeev Buium, D, Denver
Alex Bump, F, Western Michigan
Jake Livanavage, D, North Dakota
 
Goaltender of the Year
Simon Latkoczy, So., Omaha
Kaidan Mbereko, So., Colorado College
Ludvig Persson, Sr., North Dakota
 
Forward of the Year
Jackson Blake, So., North Dakota
Jack Devine, Jr., Denver
Noah Laba, So., Colorado College
 
Offensive Defenseman of the Year
Dylan Anhorn, 5th, St. Cloud State
Shai Buium, Jr., Denver
Zeev Buium, Fr., Denver
 
Defensive Defenseman of the Year
Nicklas Andrews, Sr., Colorado College
Sean Behrens, Jr., Denver
Shai Buium, Jr., Denver
 
Defensive Forward of the Year
Cameron Berg, Jr., North Dakota
Carter King, Jr., Denver
Noah Laba, So., Colorado College
 
Sportsmanship Award
Darian Gotz, Sr., D, Minnesota Duluth
Veeti Miettinen, Sr., F, St. Cloud State
Dylan Wendt, Jr., F, Western Michigan
 
Three Stars Award
Jackson Blake, So., F, North Dakota
Noah Laba, So., F, Colorado College
Veeti Miettinen, Sr., F, St. Cloud State

Familiar foe, similar styles sets stage for historic Omaha-Colorado College NCHC playoff series

By Joe Paisley

Omaha is going to look familiar to Colorado College fans, and not because the teams played each other just three weeks ago.

The fifth-seeded Mavericks are a physical team that uses in-your-face defense to create turnovers and generate transition offense with enough offensive talent to capitalize on those chances.

Omaha (20-10-4) is one of the better faceoff teams in men’s Division 1 and uses that to gain puck possession to build offensive pressure in the opposing zone or alleviate it in their own end.

Sound familiar, Tiger faithful? Those are some of the reasons this NCHC home quarterfinal playoff series for fourth-seeded CC (20-11-3) promises to be a tight one.

“They pressure pucks really well,” CC coach Kris Mayotte said “The physical attributes are much the same. Because we are similar, that is why it will be such a good battle.”

“They do a good job keeping three guys above you,” he added. “Their D corps is big, strong and mobile so you have to find a way to get inside the dots against them.”

One reason Omaha went 1-0-1 against the Tigers three weeks ago was by denying lanes to get the puck behind the Mavericks to set up the forecheck, a key to CC’s 200-foot defensive structure. As a result, UNO had CC hemmed in for five of that weekend’s seven periods (including Saturday’s overtime).

“We learned a lot from that series,” Mayotte said. “It is easier to take lessons sometimes when you lose. We didn’t have the right game plan, It’s a different game plan this weekend.”

It may be a different environment too for the first postseason games between the two teams.

The atmosphere for the first home playoff series for CC in 12 years and inaugural postseason games at Ed Robson Arena, which set a record of 3,912 (3,407 capacity) against Denver last Friday, could be electric. That would prove beneficial for the Tigers, who started taking advantage with a 11-6-2 home record this season after a 5-4-1 first half.

“Our guys have a real comfort factor with how our game plays at our rink,” Mayotte said. “It’s a place that can get really loud and that feeds how we play. We are a forechecking team. We are a hard-to-play-against team. It fits the identity of our building. We want to use that energy and apply that and play a style that makes a team feel like they have no time and space. That is crowded and things are happening fast. We have found that in the second half. Now we just have to go out and execute.”

This series also features some of the league’s best at key positions.

This weekend’s best-of-three playoff series features unanimous league first team goalie honoree and sophomore Kaidan Mbereko, a former Team USA netminder at the world junior championships, taking on former Slovakian world juniors and NCHC honorable mention sophomore goalie Simon Latkoczy.

“He’s a tremendous goalie,” Mbereko said. “He has accomplished a lot. You come here to compete against the best and that is the opportunity this weekend.”

“There’s never a dull moment in the NCHC,” he said. “You are going to get everyone’s best. It will be a good challenge for our group. Hopefully we can come out on top.”

Challenging Latkoczy will be the CC forward group, paced by leading scorer Noah Laba, a first-team NCHC honoree like Mbereko.  The NY Rangers draft pick is confident the Tigers will be ready.

“We have been playing playoff hockey here for the last 10 games or so, so not much is going to change this weekend but we have a special opportunity to secure our spot in the NCAA Tournament as well as play for the NCHC (tournament title) so we’re excited and looking forward to it,” Laba said.

The Tiger’s scoring depth, led by the now-experienced underclassmen, is paced by Laba (35 points, 19 goals), sophomores Gleb Veremyev (25, 14 goals) and Ryan Beck (20, team-high 17 assists), freshman Zaccharya Wisdom (18, 10 goals), senior captain Logan Will (18, 11 assists) and freshmen Max Burkholder (16, seven goals) and Evan Werner (16, 10 assists). Eight Tigers have at least 10 assists, the most since the 2018-19 season (eight).

Omaha has its own standout forward in all-rookie teamer Tanner Luedtke, a third-round Coyotes draft pick, who led the Mavs with 25 points (10 goals) in 34 league games, He led a strong supporting cast including graduate forward Jack Randl (24, 12 goals) and juniors Victor Mancini (plus-10 defenseman), Zach Urdahl (20, 10 goals) and Ty Mueller (24, 15 assists). That scoring depth is why Omaha enters this weekend on a 9-1-2 tear since Jan. 26, including a home sweep of NCHC regular-season champion North Dakota last weekend.

“We’re just trying to prepare the same way we have the last 2 1/2 months,” UNO coach Mike Gabinet said. “We have a lot of positivity to build on. The guys have built some confidence going into this weekend.”

The same can be said for the Tigers, who remember dropping five of six possible standings points that weekend in Omaha, making the path to home playoff ice that much more difficult.”

“Our guys are excited,’ Mayotte said “We remember how we felt leaving that place. It is still in our locker room. We are looking forward to the challenge.”

Ice chips

CC leads the nation by winning 55.6 percent of its faceoffs, led by Will’s 59.9 percent, while Omaha is at 54.7 percent, second in the NCHC and fifth in the nation. … The last time CC hosted a home playoff series was in March 2012 when the Tigers were swept by Michigan Tech at the Broadmoor World Arena in the former men’s WCHA. ,,, UNO leads the all-time series 28-14-7 with a 12-9-1 mark in Colorado Springs. … CC’s 11 home wins ties that 2011-12 team while the 9-5-1 road mark matches the nine recorded by the 2007-08 team, the last squad to have multiple first-team league honorees.

NCHC Playoffs 

Best of three series, 7 p.m. Friday, 6 p.m. Saturday, 6 p.m. Sunday (if necessary)

No. 8 seed Miami (7-24-3) at No. 1 North Dakota (24-10-2)

No. 7 Minnesota Duluth (12-18-5) at No. 2 Denver (24-9-3)

No. 6 Western Michigan (20-13-1) at No. 3 St. Cloud State (15-14-5)

No. 5 Omaha (20-10-4) at No. 4 Colorado College (20-11-3)

Denver pulls ahead for good in third, drops Colorado College to fourth seed in next weekend’s NCHC quarterfinal playoff series

By Joe Paisley

Fourth-ranked Denver seized control in the third period and garnered second
place in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference with a 4-3 home win over No.
10 Colorado College to conclude the regular season.

The fourth-seeded Tigers (20-11-3) finished tied
for third in the NCHC standings, their best conference finish since a tie for
third in the former men’s Western Collegiate Hockey Association in 2008-09. No.
17 St. Cloud State garnered the NCHC third seed on a tiebreaker.

CC will host fifth-seeded No. 16 Omaha (20-13-1) in a best-of-three NCHC
playoff series with Game 1 at 7 pm Friday and Game 2 at 6 Saturday. If
necessary, Game 3 would be at 6 p.m. Sunday at Ed Robson Arena.

UNO and CC are tied for 11th in the Pairwise rankings with Western Michigan 13th, Providence 14th and SCSU tied for 15th with Massachusetts. 

It is the first time the Mavericks and the Tigers will play each other in
the postseason. Tickets go on sale to the public at 10 a.m. with some available
since the CC students will be on spring break.

Omaha won in regulation and in a shootout Feb. 23-24 in Nebraska in the two
team’s only games this season. The result was disappointing after a home sweep
of North Dakota the weekend prior.

“We’ll get to work on them and we’ll be ready,” Tigers coach Kris Mayotte told
KRDO Radio. “We have a pretty good idea what their (game plan) is. They play
with a lot of confidence and they’re good. But our guys are looking for a
little redemption.”

The Pioneers out shot CC by a 12-5 margin in the third, capped when Jared
Wright knocked in a rebound off a Denver shot that clanged off a net post and
landed out in front for a tap-in tally with 8:16 left.

“They controlled for most of the game tonight like we did (Friday),” Mayotte
said. “They put a lot of pressure on us. We didn’t break up their speed enough.”

Momentum had turned in CC’s favor late in the second period when a Denver
power play goal was disallowed by an offsides call following a video review.
That kept it at 3-2 Pioneers with 3:34 left before Tigers sophomore defenseman Ethan
Straky scored with 19.6 seconds remaining in the middle frame to tie the
game at 3-3.

It was Straky’s second goal this season and his first since the Oct. 13 season-opener
– a span of 32 games. It started off a turnover forced by Drew Montgomery
and collected by Bret Link, who passed over to Straky as he skated
forward into the Pioneers slot for a one-timer that blew past Denver goalie Matt
Davis (22 saves).

Earlier, freshman winger Evan Werner popped in a power-play goal with
12:31 left in second on a toe-drag wrister from the right faceoff circle to tie
the game at 2-2. The assists went to senior Chase Foley and freshman Max
Burkholder.

Denver would answer with Sam Harris’ second goal of the game with 4:47
remaining and the disallowed power-play goal just 71 seconds later that would
have blown the game open. Instead, the resilient Tigers answered with Straky’s
tally, setting up the decisive third period.

In the first period, CC started off well when Noah Laba forced a
Denver turnover and sent the puck forward to Montgomery, who converted the shorthanded
breakaway to put the Tigers head 1-0 just 5:35 into the regular-season finale.

“I liked how we responded every time they took the lead,” Mayotte said. “We didn’t
keep enough momentum after that (shorthanded) goal. When you get the lead like
that you want to build on that.”

Harris took advantage of his good fortune when CC defenseman Jack Millar’s
stick broke while making a pass in the Tigers’ offensive zone, sending the puck
to a wide-open Harris for a goal with 6:20 left in the first period to tie the
game at 1-1.

Rieger Lorenz sparked the Pioneers when he stole the puck and raced ahead, firing
a wrist shot past CC goalie Kaidan Mbereko (34 saves) with 15:46 left in
the second period to put the Pioneers ahead 2-1.

Saturday’s scores 

No. 16 Omaha 4, No. 3 North Dakota 1 (Mavs home sweep)

No. 15 Western Michigan 6, Miami 1 (Broncos home sweep)

Minnesota Duluth 4, No. 17 St. Cloud State 2 (Bulldogs home sweep)

NCHC Playoffs 

Best of three series, 7 p.m. Friday, 6 p.m. Saturday, 6 p.m. Sunday
(if necessary)

No. 8 seed Miami (7-24-3) at No. 1 North Dakota (24-10-2)

No. 7 Minnesota Duluth (12-18-5) at No. 2 Denver (24-9-3)

No. 6 Western Michigan (20-13-1) at No. 3 St. Cloud State (15-14-5)

No. 5 Omaha (20-10-4) at No. 4 Colorado College (20-11-3)

Ice chips

CC recorded two shorthanded goals against the Pioneers this weekend, the
only ones allowed by DU in 36 games this regular season. Laba scored the first
Friday and set up the other on Saturday. … The Tigers’ 20 wins are the most
since 23 recorded during the 2010-11 season, the last time CC played in the
NCAA Tournament.  … … The 75^thanniversary of the first
game in this rivalry series will be in January 2025. … DU holds a 197-123-21
lead in the all-time series including 113-52-11 in Denver. The last Tigers win
at Magness Arena was the last time CC swept DU to close out the regular season,
March 8, 2019 (2-1). … The 341 games between the rivals ties Michigan-Michigan
State (341) for the most games played in a rivalry series.  … The last time CC hosted a home playoff series
was in March 2012 when the Tigers were swept by Michigan Tech at the Broadmoor
World Arena.

 

Friday’s ceremony provides chance to reflect on CC program’s progress thanks to senior class

By Joe Paisley

Every team enters a season with goals. In Colorado College’s case, 20 wins and a hosting best-of-three NCHC playoff series were some they met Friday night with a 4-3 home win over No. 4 Denver.

And while the season for the 10^th-ranked Tigers continues, the nine older players leaving the program this spring can do so knowing the hurdles they overcame staying in a rebuilding program instead of fleeing via the NCAA transfer portal said much about them.

During Saturday night’s postgame ceremony, senior defenseman Nicklas Andrews said this class wanted to make sure they left the program in better shape than when he arrived.

There’s no question that graduate defenseman Connor Mayer and seniors Andrews, Jake Begley, Ray Christy, Tyler Coffey, Chase Foley, Jack Millar, Danny Weight and captain Logan Will accomplished that.

“You are so proud when it pays off,” Tigers coach Kris Mayotte said. “The toughest thing not just in sports but in life is you lose a lot. You have to give everything, and you might get nothing. That’s not easy to do. You win nine games your first year. We finished last (regular) season 0-11-2. There were a lot of opportunities to say ‘You know what? Maybe it is not in the cards here.

“Every time something came up, they got tougher and tougher and learned how to do it better and better,” he added. “They did it together and that’s the coolest thing.”

While the Tigers can reflect how far they have come later, they know the story of this season is not over with an ending that remains partly up to them.

“There have been a lot of years of work and people who came before us that made efforts to get us to this point,” Millar said recently. “To see it come to fruition is pretty incredible, but we are not done yet.”

Always tough Minnesota Duluth and its special teams prowess pose big challenge for Tigers

By Joe Paisley

Unranked Minnesota Duluth may not be in the hunt for home playoff ice like No. 11 Colorado College, but the proud Bulldogs are more than capable of ruining another weekend for the Tigers.

The Bulldogs come into this weekend’s home series at Ed Robson Arena with a league-leading power play (league-leading 27.4 percent), paced by sophomore forward Ben Steeves’ 12 man-advantage goals, and an NCHC-second-best penalty kill (82.9 percent).

With a good goalie tandem and the usual hard-nosed UMD style of play, the fourth-place Tigers (18-10-2, 12-7-1-5-2-0, 34 standings points), will have their hands full in a series that will likely resemble playoff hockey, which starts in a little more than two weeks.

The power play is geared toward Steeves, who stepped forward as the go-to scorer for the Bulldogs (10-17-4, 6-13-1-2-3-1, 21 points) all season due to injuries and an academic disqualification.

“They are not a one-and done power play,” CC coach Kris Mayotte said. “We watched a clip against us where Steeves shoot sit, they retrieve it, he shoots it again and they retrieve it. It was like four or five shots right away. That’s the recipe. They have a dynamic scorer (Steeves, 22 goals, one hat trick) and they have four other good players who retrieve pucks well and get back into their sets with poise.”

The penalty kill is simple and direct. The Bulldogs will come at you and any hesitation may cost the Tigers, whose power play (58th out of 64 teams, 13.6 percent).

It will be difficult for CC and its fans to be patient when the Tigers regroup as the clock ticks down.

“They pressure pucks pretty well more than most teams (in the UMD zone) so that takes some time to get used to,” Mayotte said. “Then they are good up ice. If they get a clear, it is hard to get reset in their zone. Faceoffs are crucial. Your ability to have poise against their pressure knowing you may spend the first 10-15 seconds just breaking their pressure.

“It forces you to be patent and attack all at the same time.”

The Omaha weekend provided a reminder that like this home series, there are no easy games in the NCHC.

Fortunately for CC, they have sophomore Kaidan Mbereko in net. He received his third NCHC Goaltender of the Month in a row on Tuesday in part because his performance has stolen some points for the Tigers and kept them in the top half of the league. Mayotte noted his excellence in Saturday games at Western Michigan (38 saves), home against North Dakota (career-high 43) and at Omaha (41).

“We end up with six points from those three games where if we don’t have him, we don’t have any,” Mayotte said. “And that’s just in the last month or so. He has been that consistent for us and that good for us.”

It will be a good weekend for scoreboard watching with fifth-place Western Michigan at league-leading North Dakota and third-place Denver, possibly without centers Massimo Rizzo and Carter King, at second-place St. Cloud State. CC trails DU by two points and leads WMU by three to put home playoff ice within reach depending on league results, including sixth-place Omaha at Miami, which is assured of last place.

Don’t expect the Tigers to be watching too closely.

“We got to take care of Friday night and make sure that is our focus,” Mayotte said. “You can’t put more pressure on these games than there already is. It’s an NCHC game against Minnesota-Duluth. That’s enough.”

No. 19 Omaha prevails in shootout after No. 10 Colorado College musters up only one goal in weekend road series

By Joe Paisley

No. 10 Colorado College entered the weekend flying high and No. 19 Omaha brought them back down to earth despite a strong performance from Tigers sophomore goalie Kaidan Mbereko.

The sixth-place Mavericks dominated the final two periods to eventually force overtime and later prevailed in the shootout to garner five out of a possible six standings points in a 1-1 tie Saturday to conclude the National Collegiate Hockey Conference series.

After scoring 13 goals in a home sweep of North Dakota, the fourth-place Tigers (18-10-2, 12-7-5-2-0, 34 points) were held to one goal on the weekend in Omaha, a Bret Link wrister just 3:25 into Saturday game. Ryan Beck and Jack Millar picked up the assists.

Mbereko almost made 1-0 lead hold up, making 41 saves on the night, until Omaha’s Nolan Sullivan scored with 2:55 left in regulation to tie the game at 1-1. Mbereko gave up only three goals in 123-plus minutes this weekend to go 0-1-1 despite a superb effort.

“We are lucky we have him, especially with how he played tonight,” CC coach Kris Mayotte told KRDO Radio. “He didn’t get many breathers. The puck was in our zone for two straight periods.”

Like Friday, Omaha swarmed the Tigers over the final 45 minutes. CC was unable to get the puck behind the UNO defenders and set up a forecheck that generates the offensive-zone turnovers that spark the Tigers.

“It is not a good feeling when they are on their toes and winning battles and hunting,” Mayotte said. “We kept putting (the puck) in spots where they won the first touch.”

CC, which entered the weekend as the best faceoff team in men’s Division 1, lost that stats battle 32-25 on Saturday and chased the puck most of the game.

“You end up spending so much time chasing the puck in your own zone,” Mayotte said. “I give them a lot of credit. We didn’t have our mojo this weekend and that’s a shame because we had an opportunity after last weekend.”

Colorado College returns home next weekend to take on seventh-place Minnesota Duluth, which was swept 6-0 and 4-2 this weekend in Grand Forks by league-leading North Dakota.

Second-place St. Cloud State garnered a home split with fifth-place Western Michigan to keep pace with UND and keep CC three points ahead of the Broncos (30 points) with four regular-season games remaining and home playoff to be determined for the Tigers.

The 0-1-1 weekend dropped the Tigers from 11^th in the Pairwise rankings down to 15^th and on the NCAA Tournament bubble with the 16th berth slated for the Atlantic Hockey postseason champion.

Third-place Denver overtook CC in the standings with an 8-1 home win over last-place Miami to garner five standings points, pulling ahead by two points (35-33) with a home-and-home series to end the regular season that may determine home playoff ice for one of both teams.

Tigers freshman Zaccharya Wisdom scores four goals, three on power play, to lead rout of No. 2 North Dakota

By Joe Paisley

The only person happier than Tigers freshman Zaccharya Wisdom and the Colorado College fans might have been his mother, Mairri McConnell, who was at Ed Robson Arena to witness a special night for her son and the Tigers.

Wisdom scored four times, three while on the power play, to propel 15^th-ranked Colorado College to a 7-1 home rout of No. 2 North Dakota Friday night.

 “It feels good to make her proud,” said the first-year winger, who credits his mother’s example while growing up in a rough part of Toronto.

“Four goals … He is just around the net whether he was planted there or driving there, it was going for him tonight,” CC coach Kris Mayotte said. “You are not surprised. When he is getting those types of looks, he is going to score.  That is what he does.”

“To put together a performance like he did was absolutely incredible and was obviously a huge lift for us.”

The win moved CC up from No. 16 to 15 in the Pairwise rankings which help determine NCAA Tournament seeding.

Wisdom scored twice with the man advantage during a decisive three-goal second period that put CC ahead 5-1 entering the third, with his third man-advantage goal and hat trick coming with 15:25 left in Game 1 of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference series opener.

He scored his fourth goal about eight minutes later, knocking in his own rebound for one more joyous salute from the home fans. Wisdom scored the final three goals of the game.

The Toronto native, who had six goals entering Friday’s contest, also set up the eventual game-winner by sophomore Gleb Veremyev, who scored with 1:58 left in the first period. A forechecking Wisdom forced a UND turnover in the far corner and found the sophomore power forward alone in front of the Fighting Hawks net for a 2-1 lead.

“The confidence went up, getting a turnover like that and a scoring chance like that feels good and I felt good the rest of the game,” Wisdom said.

“He is a worker,” Mayotte said. “That line in general was really good for us tonight.”

The win secured the season series for CC (17-9-1, 11-6-0-5-2-0, 30 points) after a historic road sweep in December in Grand Forks, and moved the Tigers into third place past idle No. 13 Western Michigan. Fifth-ranked Denver downed Minnesota-Duluth 5-4 in overtime Friday to stay in fifth (28 points) behind the fourth-place Broncos (29 points).

The win assured the Tigers of their first winning regular season record since the 2011-12 campaign.

The four power-play goals by the Tigers, which entered the game among the worst of the 64 Division 1 teams while on the man advantage, were the most since recording four in an 8-0 home win over Air Force on Oct. 28, 2022.

“We kind of got sick and tired of not putting anything in the back of the net,” Wisdom said. “We were like at what 10 percent at one point? The guys got sick and tired and we are just that much more motivated.”

Wisdom played a large role in the power play’s success. While not the biggest, the 175-pounder made room for himself to work down low.

“He is so good on the goal line on the power play,” Mayotte said. “He is very comfortable there. He wins retrievals. He breaks pressure and again he is really good around the net.”

CC freshman Klavs Veinbergs scored the opening goal while on the power play about eight minutes into the game, in which the Tigers never trailed against league-leading North Dakota (20-7-2, 11-5-1-1-4-0, 37 points)

UND would answer just 1:28 later when Riese Gaber scored his 15th to make it 1-1 and set up a strong of two more UND power plays. A quick whistle negated another power-play goal for UND that kept it tied until Wisdom forced that turnover.

After that North Dakota spurt, CC dominated play. CC sophomore Ryan Beck recorded a career-high four assists while Veinbergs added a career-best four points, including three assists.

“It was a big-time effort,” Mayotte said. “He wasn’t the only guy who had a big-time night. Becker had a big-time night. Klavs had a big-time night. We had a lot of guys have a big-time night.” 

“We were moving our feet tonight,” Mayotte said. “We got a little bit away from that when they made their push in the first. We were reaching a little bit but when (Wisdom) is going, he is electric.”

Tyler Coffey scored during the three-goal second period for CC off an assist by Noah Laba.

Ice chips

Wisdom’s four goals is the most by a Tiger against North Dakota since Eric Walsky on Nov. 8, 2008 (7-4 CC victory). That was the last time CC scored seven against UND. … Wisdom’s four goals in league play were the only the seventh time in NCHC history and first time this season. … Wisdom is the first Tiger with four goals in a game since Feb. 23, 2019 (Ben Copeland vs. Western Michigan) and his five points were the most since Noah Serdachny on Dec. 30, 2022 vs. Princeton. … The six-goal margin was the largest against UND since the Tigers won 8-2 and 6-0 Oct. 29-30, 1994. … It is only the fourth time in program history that CC has won three-straight games against North Dakota since Thanksgiving weekend 1995. … It was UND’s first regulation loss in league play this season and ended a 21-game streak dating back to Nov. 3. … The Tigers won three in a row against UND in 1991, 1993 and 1995. … UND owns a 173-87-12 all-time series lead against CC with 173 victories the most against any one program in North Dakota history.  … UND is now 61-61-4 all-time in Colorado Springs. … The Tigers matched their best season win total since going 17-20-4 during the 2018-19 campaign .