2022–23 Colorado College Tigers men's ice hockey season
College ice hockey team season
The 2022–23 Colorado College Tigers men's ice hockey season was the 83rd season of play for the program and the 10th in the NCHC conference. The Tigers represented Colorado College in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season and were coached by Kris Mayotte , in his second season.
Season
With coach Mayotte continuing the program's overhaul, Colorado College started the year with less-than-stellar results. Since neither Matt Vernon nor Kaidan Mbereko had managed to earn the job outright, the Tigers alternated between the two netminders in the first month of the season. Both were inconsistent early, however, after a 5–0 blanking of Minnesota Duluth , Mbereko was able to establish himself as the starter and remained in that role for the balance of the season.
On the offensive side, the team saw a little improvement in the first half but they were still carried by scoring of Hunter McKown. The Tigers would only go as far as McKown could take them as he accounted for more than a quarter of CC's goals. Unfortunately, he was unable to lift the team on his own. Colorado College was able to post a respectable record in the first half of the season despite their hit-or-miss offense and were able to get themselves up to .500 once they returned from the winter break.
Unfortunately for the Tigers, the second half of their season was littered with ranked teams. After January 1, CC only played teams who were either ranked at the time or finished the season in the top 20. They were able to get a win from St. Cloud State in mid-January but then proceeded to go winless over the next 13 games. No matter which opponent they faced, the story was the same. CC's defense could put forth a solid defensive effort but the offense could not score. Colorado College averaged exactly 1 goal per game in that stretch with Hunter McKown accounting for more than half of their goals. The Tigers' offense was particularly bad at even strength, garnering just 48 goals for the season.
The losses sent CC tumbling down the standings and the Tigers ended the regular season in 7th place. They began postseason play having to face tournament-bound Western Michigan , who possessed one of the top offenses in the nation, and were a heavy underdog when the series began. Their defense kept CC in the game and the team entered the third period down by just a goal. With only a small hill to climb over, the Tigers produced a shocking outcome when they scored three times in under a minute to take the lead and eventually the game. In the rematch, CC kept the momentum on their side and stymied the Broncos, allowing just 2 goals while adding a pair themselves. Overtime was a furious affair with 7 shots being recorded in just 3 minutes. Luckily for the Tigers, the last came from the stick of Matthew Gleason and was the game winner.[ 1]
After the improbable win, CC headed to Saint Paul and had to take on long-time rival Denver in the conference semifinal. The Pioneers had swept the season series and, despite missing their starting goaltender, were expected to continue that trend. The Colorado College defense, however, had other ideas; the Tiger defenders shut down Denver's attack all game, limiting the Pios to just 23 shots on goal, all of which were stopped by Mbereko. McKown's power play marker in the second was all that CC could muster but it was all they needed and the Tigers advanced to the title game with a 1–0 shutout .
Colorado College now found itself just 1 win away from the NCAA tournament and only St. Cloud State could stop them. While the defense played well in the game, the offense did not. CC got just 17 shots on goal while the Huskies only gave the Tigers' dangerous power play just 1 opportunity. The complete lack of offense put an end to the Tigers' miraculous run and the team would have to wait for another year.[ 2]
Departures
Recruiting
Roster
As of August 1, 2022.[ 3]
No.
S/P/C
Player
Class
Pos
Height
Weight
DoB
Hometown
Previous team
NHL rights
1
Jake Begley
Junior
G
6' 1" (1.85 m)
166 lb (75 kg)
1999-03-18
Mahtomedi, Minnesota
Brockville (CCHL )
—
2
Chad Sasaki
Senior
D
5' 7" (1.7 m)
156 lb (71 kg)
1998-02-06
Cypress, California
Wenatchee (BCHL )
—
4
Bryan Yoon (C )
Graduate
D
6' 1" (1.85 m)
178 lb (81 kg)
1998-01-27
Parker, Colorado
Tri-City (USHL )
—
5
Jack Millar
Junior
D
6' 5" (1.96 m)
213 lb (97 kg)
2000-11-30
Westminster, Colorado
Cedar Rapids (USHL )
—
7
Chase Foley
Junior
D
5' 10" (1.78 m)
169 lb (77 kg)
2000-02-17
Mendota Heights, Minnesota
Sioux Falls (USHL )
—
8
Ryan Beck
Freshman
F
5' 9" (1.75 m)
194 lb (88 kg)
2002-08-25
Linden, Michigan
Dubuque (USHL )
—
9
Noah Serdachny
Freshman
F
6' 1" (1.85 m)
175 lb (79 kg)
2003-03-09
Edmonton, Alberta
Salmon Arm (BCHL )
—
10
Patrick Cozzi
Senior
F
5' 9" (1.75 m)
167 lb (76 kg)
1998-04-30
Greenlawn, New York
Prince George (BCHL )
—
11
Ray Christy
Junior
F
5' 10" (1.78 m)
166 lb (75 kg)
1999-09-15
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Sioux City (USHL )
—
13
Brett Chorske
Sophomore
F
6' 6" (1.98 m)
193 lb (88 kg)
2001-05-24
Edina, Minnesota
St. Cloud (NAHL )
—
14
Nate Schweitzer
Sophomore
D
6' 0" (1.83 m)
186 lb (84 kg)
2002-02-21
Champlin, Minnesota
Sioux Falls (USHL )
—
15
Matthew Gleason
Junior
F
5' 8" (1.73 m)
170 lb (77 kg)
2001-09-20
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Chicago (USHL )
—
17
Tyler Coffey
Junior
F
5' 10" (1.78 m)
186 lb (84 kg)
2000-05-19
Hamilton, New Jersey
Sioux Falls (USHL )
—
18
Connor Mayer
Senior
D
5' 11" (1.8 m)
175 lb (79 kg)
1999-06-13
Champlin, Minnesota
Central Illinois (USHL )
—
19
Tommy Middleton
Sophomore
F
5' 11" (1.8 m)
176 lb (80 kg)
2000-06-19
Midland, Michigan
Janesville (NAHL )
—
20
Logan Will
Junior
F
5' 11" (1.8 m)
185 lb (84 kg)
2000-06-14
Ames, Iowa
Omaha (USHL )
—
21
Noah Prokop
Senior
F
6' 1" (1.85 m)
204 lb (93 kg)
2000-01-15
Highlands Ranch, Colorado
Omaha (NCHC )
—
22
Nikolai Charchenko
Freshman
D
6' 2" (1.88 m)
210 lb (95 kg)
2001-06-03
Victoria, Minnesota
Minot (NAHL )
—
23
Ethan Straky
Freshman
F
5' 11" (1.8 m)
178 lb (81 kg)
2003-04-18
Walnut Creek, California
Green Bay (USHL )
—
26
Noah Laba
Freshman
F
6' 2" (1.88 m)
191 lb (87 kg)
2003-08-04
Northville, Michigan
Lincoln (USHL )
NYR , 111th overall 2022
27
Stanley Cooley
Sophomore
F
5' 11" (1.8 m)
194 lb (88 kg)
2002-05-27
Regina, Saskatchewan
Lincoln (USHL )
—
28
Gleb Veremyev
Freshman
F
6' 4" (1.93 m)
200 lb (91 kg)
2003-06-28
Sayreville, New Jersey
Lincoln (USHL )
—
29
Cade Ahrenholz
Freshman
F
6' 3" (1.91 m)
218 lb (99 kg)
2002-11-30
Lakeville, Minnesota
Omaha (USHL )
—
30
Matt Vernon
Senior
G
5' 11" (1.8 m)
174 lb (79 kg)
1998-03-29
Calgary, Alberta
Aberdeen (NAHL )
—
33
Kaidan Mbereko
Freshman
G
5' 11" (1.8 m)
190 lb (86 kg)
2003-07-28
Aspen, Colorado
Lincoln (USHL )
—
37
Nicklas Andrews
Junior
D
5' 10" (1.78 m)
192 lb (87 kg)
2001-07-06
Canton, Michigan
Des Moines (USHL )
—
39
Danny Weight
Junior
F
6' 0" (1.83 m)
174 lb (79 kg)
2001-05-01
Lattingtown, New York
Boston College (HEA )
—
41
Hunter McKown
Junior
F
6' 1" (1.85 m)
195 lb (88 kg)
2002-08-18
San Jose, California
NTDP (USHL )
—
Standings
Conference record
Overall record
GP
W
L
T
OTW
OTL
SW
PTS
GF
GA
GP
W
L
T
GF
GA
#6 Denver †
24
19
5
0
2
1
0
56
94
53
40
30
10
0
150
86
#11 Western Michigan
24
15
8
1
2
0
0
44
86
60
39
23
15
1
148
102
#20 Omaha
24
13
9
2
2
2
1
42
71
64
37
19
15
3
109
97
#5 St. Cloud State *
24
12
9
3
2
1
3
41
85
68
41
25
13
3
133
95
Minnesota Duluth
24
10
14
0
1
4
0
33
65
81
37
16
20
1
95
114
#17 North Dakota
24
10
10
4
3
0
2
33
75
70
39
18
15
6
127
110
Colorado College
24
6
15
3
0
2
2
25
37
60
38
13
22
3
79
99
Miami
24
3
18
3
0
2
0
14
39
96
36
8
24
4
73
137
Championship : March 18, 2023 † indicates conference regular season champion (Penrose Cup) * indicates conference tournament champion (Frozen Faceoff Championship Trophy) Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll
Schedule and results
Date
Time
Opponent#
Rank#
Site
TV
Decision
Result
Attendance
Record
Exhibition
October 1
6:05 PM
at Air Force *
Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado (Exhibition)
Mbereko
W 5–1
1,535
Regular Season
October 7
7:00 PM
Alaska Anchorage *
Ed Robson Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado
ATTRM
Vernon
W 6–2
3,652
1–0–0
October 8
6:00 PM
Alaska Anchorage *
Ed Robson Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado
Mbereko
W 4–1
3,701
2–0–0
October 14
5:00 PM
at St. Lawrence *
Appleton Arena • Canton, New York
ESPN+
Vernon
L 1–5
893
2–1–0
October 15
5:00 PM
at St. Lawrence *
Appleton Arena • Canton, New York
ESPN+
Mbereko
L 1–4
923
2–2–0
October 21
7:00 PM
at Arizona State *
Mullett Arena • Tempe, Arizona
Pac-12 Insider
Vernon
L 3–5
4,692
2–3–0
October 22
7:00 PM
at Arizona State *
Mullett Arena • Tempe, Arizona
Pac-12 Insider
Mbereko
L 1–6
4,967
2–4–0
October 28
7:30 PM
Air Force *
Ed Robson Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado (Rivalry )
ATTRM
Vernon
W 8–0
3,418
3–4–0
October 29
7:00 PM
at Air Force *
Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado (Rivalry )
Altitude 2
Vernon
L 3–6
2,050
3–5–0
November 4
7:30 PM
#19 Minnesota Duluth
Ed Robson Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado
ATTRM
Mbereko
W 5–0
3,411
4–5–0 (1–0–0)
November 5
6:00 PM
#19 Minnesota Duluth
Ed Robson Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado
Mbereko
L 1–3
3,412
4–6–0 (1–1–0)
November 11
5:00 PM
at Miami
Steve Cady Arena • Oxford, Ohio
Mbereko
T 1–1 SOW
1,978
4–6–1 (1–1–1)
November 12
3:00 PM
at Miami
Steve Cady Arena • Oxford, Ohio
Mbereko
W 2–1
2,131
5–6–1 (2–1–1)
November 18
7:30 PM
#4 St. Cloud State
Ed Robson Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado
ATTRM
Mbereko
L 1–3
3,416
5–7–1 (2–2–1)
November 19
6:00 PM
#4 St. Cloud State
Ed Robson Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado
Mbereko
L 0–5
3,423
5–8–1 (2–3–1)
December 2
6:00 PM
at Minnesota Duluth
AMSOIL Arena • Duluth, Minnesota
ATTRM , MY9
Mbereko
W 3–0
6,184
6–8–1 (3–3–1)
December 3
6:00 PM
at Minnesota Duluth
AMSOIL Arena • Duluth, Minnesota
MY9
Mbereko
L 0–4
5,794
6–9–1 (3–4–1)
December 9
7:30 PM
Omaha
Ed Robson Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado
ATTRM
Mbereko
W 6–4
3,409
7–9–1 (4–4–1)
December 10
6:00 PM
Omaha
Ed Robson Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado
Mbereko
W 1–0
3,416
8–9–1 (5–4–1)
December 30
7:00 PM
Princeton *
Ed Robson Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado
ATTRM
Vernon
W 7–2
3,425
9–9–1
December 31
4:00 PM
Princeton *
Ed Robson Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado
Vernon
L 1–2
3,415
9–10–1
January 13
6:30 PM
at #3 St. Cloud State
Herb Brooks National Hockey Center • St. Cloud, Minnesota
FOX 9+
Vernon
W 4–2
3,764
10–10–1 (6–4–1)
January 14
5:00 PM
at #3 St. Cloud State
Herb Brooks National Hockey Center • St. Cloud, Minnesota
FOX 9+
Mbereko
L 0–4
5,103
10–11–1 (6–5–1)
January 20
7:30 PM
#10 Western Michigan
Ed Robson Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado
ATTRM
Mbereko
L 1–4
3,408
10–12–1 (6–6–1)
January 21
6:00 PM
#10 Western Michigan
Ed Robson Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado
Mbereko
L 1–4
3,407
10–13–1 (6–7–1)
January 27
7:00 PM
at #5 Denver
Ball Arena • Denver , Colorado (Rivalry )
Altitude
Mbereko
L 0–2
17,952
10–14–1 (6–8–1)
February 4
6:00 PM
#4 Denver
Ed Robson Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado (Rivalry )
ATTRM
Mbereko
L 1–4
3,892
10–15–1 (6–9–1)
February 10
6:00 PM
at #16 Omaha
Baxter Arena • Omaha, Nebraska
Mbereko
L 2–3
7,942
10–16–1 (6–10–1)
February 11
6:00 PM
at #16 Omaha
Baxter Arena • Omaha, Nebraska
Mbereko
T 2–2 SOW
7,755
10–16–2 (6–10–2)
February 17
5:00 PM
at #8 Western Michigan
Lawson Arena • Kalamazoo, Michigan
Mbereko
L 1–4
3,585
10–17–2 (6–11–2)
February 18
4:00 PM
at #8 Western Michigan
Lawson Arena • Kalamazoo, Michigan
Mbereko
L 1–2
3,761
10–18–2 (6–12–2)
February 24
7:30 PM
North Dakota
Ed Robson Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado
ATTRM
Mbereko
L 1–2 OT
3,481
10–19–2 (6–13–2)
February 25
6:00 PM
North Dakota
Ed Robson Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado
Vernon
T 0–0 SOL
3,501
10–19–3 (6–13–3)
March 3
7:00 PM
at #3 Denver
Magness Arena • Denver , Colorado (Rivalry )
CBSSN
Vernon
L 1–2
6,667
10–20–3 (6–14–3)
March 4
6:00 PM
#3 Denver
Ed Robson Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado (Rivalry )
ATTRM
Vernon
L 2–4
3,894
10–21–3 (6–15–3)
NCHC Tournament
March 10
3:00 PM
at #7 Western Michigan *
Lawson Arena • Kalamazoo, Michigan (Quarterfinal Game 1)
Mbereko
W 3–1
3,218
11–21–3
March 11
2:00 PM
at #7 Western Michigan *
Lawson Arena • Kalamazoo, Michigan (Quarterfinal Game 2)
Mbereko
W 3–2 OT
3,557
12–21–3
March 17
3:00 PM
vs. #3 Denver *
Xcel Energy Center • Saint Paul, Minnesota (Semifinal, Rivalry )
CBSSN
Mbereko
W 1–0
10,242
13–21–3
March 18
6:30 PM
vs. #7 St. Cloud State *
Xcel Energy Center • Saint Paul, Minnesota (Championship)
CBSSN
Mbereko
L 0–3
6,877
13–22–3
*Non-conference game. # Rankings from USCHO.com Poll . All times are in Mountain Time . Source:[ 4]
Scoring statistics
Name
Position
Games
Goals
Assists
Points
PIM
Hunter McKown
C
38
21
7
28
30
Noah Laba
C
35
11
11
22
48
Stan Cooley
C
38
6
14
20
18
Bryan Yoon
D
38
1
14
15
4
Nicklas Andrews
D
37
2
12
14
14
Ryan Beck
C
38
2
11
13
14
Logan Will
F
33
5
7
12
12
Tyler Coffey
F
37
8
3
11
8
Matthew Gleason
C
35
4
6
10
40
Ethan Straky
D
38
2
8
10
8
Jack Millar
D
38
1
6
7
25
Gleb Veremyev
C
14
2
5
7
18
Connor Mayer
D
34
1
6
7
22
Noah Serdachny
F
27
3
4
7
2
Patrick Cozzi
RW
38
3
3
6
2
Noah Prokop
C
36
2
4
6
22
Chase Foley
D
34
0
6
6
8
Danny Weight
C
22
1
3
4
13
Ray Christy
F
30
1
3
4
6
Brett Chorske
C /RW
19
2
1
3
2
Tommy Middleton
F
33
1
2
3
8
Nate Schweitzer
D
11
0
1
1
4
Jake Begley
G
1
0
0
0
0
Nikolai Charchenko
D
1
0
0
0
0
Chad Sasaki
D
1
0
0
0
2
Matt Vernon
G
12
0
0
0
0
Cade Ahrenholz
RW
14
0
0
0
7
Kaidan Mbereko
G
30
0
0
0
0
Total
79
137
216
335
[ 5]
Goaltending statistics
Name
Games
Minutes
Wins
Losses
Ties
Goals Against
Saves
Shut Outs
SV %
GAA
Jake Begley
1
1:22
0
0
0
0
1
0
1.000
0.00
Kaidan Mbereko
32
1644:40
9
16
2
63
782
4
.925
2.30
Matt Vernon
12
629:45
4
6
1
27
258
2
.905
2.57
Empty Net
-
29:31
-
-
-
9
-
-
-
-
Total
38
2305:18
13
22
3
99
1041
6
.913
2.58
Rankings
Poll
Week
Pre
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27 (Final)
USCHO.com
NR
-
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
-
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
-
NR
USA Today
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
Note: USCHO did not release a poll in weeks 1, 13, or 26. [ 6]
Awards and honors
Players drafted into the NHL
† incoming freshman
[ 9]
References
^ "SATURDAY, MARCH 11, 2023" . College Hockey Inc . Retrieved April 19, 2023 .
^ "SATURDAY, MARCH 18, 2023" . College Hockey Inc . Retrieved April 19, 2023 .
^ "2020–2021 Men's Ice Hockey Roster" . Colorado College Athletics. Retrieved August 2, 2018 .
^ "2022-2023 Men's Ice Hockey Schedule" . Colorado College Tigers . Retrieved September 8, 2022 .
^ "Colorado College 2022-2023 Skater Stats" . Elite Prospects . Retrieved July 3, 2020 .
^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll" . USCHO.com . Retrieved November 26, 2019 .
^ a b "NCHC Reveals 2022-23 All-Conference Teams" . NCHC . March 8, 2023. Retrieved March 14, 2023 .
^ "St. Cloud State blanks Colorado College, wins second NCHC playoff championship" . uscho.com . March 19, 2023. Retrieved March 19, 2023 .
^ "NCAA player rankings, selections in 2023 NHL Draft" . USCHO.com . Retrieved June 30, 2023 .