2022–23 Colorado College Tigers men's ice hockey 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.

2022–23 Colorado College Tigers
men's ice hockey season
Conference7th NCHC
Home iceEd Robson Arena
Rankings
USCHONR
USA TodayNR
Record
Overall13–22–3
Conference6–15–3
Home7–9–1
Road5–12–2
Neutral1–1–0
Coaches and captains
Head coachKris Mayotte
Assistant coachesPeter Mannino
John Lidgett
Captain(s)Bryan Yoon
Colorado College Tigers men's ice hockey seasons
« 2021–22 2023–24 »

Season

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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

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Player Position Nationality Cause
Dominic Basse Goaltender   United States Transferred to St. Cloud State
Jordan Biro Forward   Canada Transferred to American International
Hugo Blixt Defenseman   Sweden Graduation (signed with Almtuna IS)
Cooper Fensterstock Forward   United States Transferred to Geneseo State
Brian Hawkinson Forward   United States Graduation (retired)
Jackson Jutting Forward   United States Transferred to Bemidji State
Marc Pasemko Forward   Canada Left Program (retired)
Jackson Ross Defenseman   United States Graduation (retired)
Brian Williams Forward   United States Graduation (retired)

Recruiting

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Player Position Nationality Age Notes
Cade Ahrenholz Forward   United States 19 Lakeville, MN
Ryan Beck Forward   United States 19 Linden, MI
Nikolai Charchenko Defenseman   United States 21 Victoria, MN
Noah Laba Forward   United States 19 Northville, MI; selected 111th overall in 2022
Kaidan Mbereko Goaltender   United States 19 West Bloomfield, MI
Noah Serdachny Forward   Canada 19 Edmonton, AB
Ethan Straky Defenseman   United States 19 Walnut Creek, CA
Gleb Veremyev Forward   United States 19 Monroe Township, NJ

Roster

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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

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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

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Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Decision Result Attendance Record
Exhibition
October 1 6:05 PM at Air Force* Cadet Ice ArenaColorado Springs, Colorado (Exhibition)   Mbereko W 5–1  1,535
Regular Season
October 7 7:00 PM Alaska Anchorage* Ed Robson ArenaColorado Springs, Colorado ATTRM Vernon W 6–2  3,652 1–0–0
October 8 6:00 PM Alaska Anchorage* Ed Robson ArenaColorado Springs, Colorado   Mbereko W 4–1  3,701 2–0–0
October 14 5:00 PM at St. Lawrence* Appleton ArenaCanton, New York ESPN+ Vernon L 1–5  893 2–1–0
October 15 5:00 PM at St. Lawrence* Appleton ArenaCanton, New York ESPN+ Mbereko L 1–4  923 2–2–0
October 21 7:00 PM at Arizona State* Mullett ArenaTempe, Arizona Pac-12 Insider Vernon L 3–5  4,692 2–3–0
October 22 7:00 PM at Arizona State* Mullett ArenaTempe, Arizona Pac-12 Insider Mbereko L 1–6  4,967 2–4–0
October 28 7:30 PM Air Force* Ed Robson ArenaColorado Springs, Colorado (Rivalry) ATTRM Vernon W 8–0  3,418 3–4–0
October 29 7:00 PM at Air Force* Cadet Ice ArenaColorado Springs, Colorado (Rivalry) Altitude 2 Vernon L 3–6  2,050 3–5–0
November 4 7:30 PM #19 Minnesota Duluth Ed Robson ArenaColorado 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 ArenaColorado Springs, Colorado   Mbereko L 1–3  3,412 4–6–0 (1–1–0)
November 11 5:00 PM at Miami Steve Cady ArenaOxford, Ohio   Mbereko T 1–1 SOW 1,978 4–6–1 (1–1–1)
November 12 3:00 PM at Miami Steve Cady ArenaOxford, Ohio   Mbereko W 2–1  2,131 5–6–1 (2–1–1)
November 18 7:30 PM #4 St. Cloud State Ed Robson ArenaColorado 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 ArenaColorado Springs, Colorado   Mbereko L 0–5  3,423 5–8–1 (2–3–1)
December 2 6:00 PM at Minnesota Duluth AMSOIL ArenaDuluth, Minnesota ATTRM, MY9 Mbereko W 3–0  6,184 6–8–1 (3–3–1)
December 3 6:00 PM at Minnesota Duluth AMSOIL ArenaDuluth, Minnesota MY9 Mbereko L 0–4  5,794 6–9–1 (3–4–1)
December 9 7:30 PM Omaha Ed Robson ArenaColorado Springs, Colorado ATTRM Mbereko W 6–4  3,409 7–9–1 (4–4–1)
December 10 6:00 PM Omaha Ed Robson ArenaColorado Springs, Colorado   Mbereko W 1–0  3,416 8–9–1 (5–4–1)
December 30 7:00 PM Princeton* Ed Robson ArenaColorado Springs, Colorado ATTRM Vernon W 7–2  3,425 9–9–1
December 31 4:00 PM Princeton* Ed Robson ArenaColorado 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 CenterSt. 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 CenterSt. 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 ArenaColorado 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 ArenaColorado Springs, Colorado   Mbereko L 1–4  3,407 10–13–1 (6–7–1)
January 27 7:00 PM at #5 Denver Ball ArenaDenver, Colorado (Rivalry) Altitude Mbereko L 0–2  17,952 10–14–1 (6–8–1)
February 4 6:00 PM #4 Denver Ed Robson ArenaColorado 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 ArenaOmaha, Nebraska   Mbereko L 2–3  7,942 10–16–1 (6–10–1)
February 11 6:00 PM at #16 Omaha Baxter ArenaOmaha, Nebraska   Mbereko T 2–2 SOW 7,755 10–16–2 (6–10–2)
February 17 5:00 PM at #8 Western Michigan Lawson ArenaKalamazoo, Michigan   Mbereko L 1–4  3,585 10–17–2 (6–11–2)
February 18 4:00 PM at #8 Western Michigan Lawson ArenaKalamazoo, Michigan   Mbereko L 1–2  3,761 10–18–2 (6–12–2)
February 24 7:30 PM North Dakota Ed Robson ArenaColorado 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 ArenaColorado Springs, Colorado   Vernon T 0–0 SOL 3,501 10–19–3 (6–13–3)
March 3 7:00 PM at #3 Denver Magness ArenaDenver, Colorado (Rivalry) CBSSN Vernon L 1–2  6,667 10–20–3 (6–14–3)
March 4 6:00 PM #3 Denver Ed Robson ArenaColorado 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 ArenaKalamazoo, Michigan (Quarterfinal Game 1)   Mbereko W 3–1  3,218 11–21–3
March 11 2:00 PM at #7 Western Michigan* Lawson ArenaKalamazoo, Michigan (Quarterfinal Game 2)   Mbereko W 3–2 OT 3,557 12–21–3
March 17 3:00 PM vs. #3 Denver* Xcel Energy CenterSaint 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 CenterSaint 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

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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

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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

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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

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Player Award Ref
Kaidan Mbereko NCHC Second Team [7]
Kaidan Mbereko NCHC Rookie Team [7]
Bryan Yoon NCHC All-Tournament Team [8]
Hunter McKown

Players drafted into the NHL

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Round Pick Player NHL team
6 166 Carsen Musser Arizona Coyotes
7 204 Owen Beckner Ottawa Senators
7 212 Zaccharya Wisdom Seattle Kraken

† incoming freshman [9]

References

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  1. ^ "SATURDAY, MARCH 11, 2023". College Hockey Inc. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
  2. ^ "SATURDAY, MARCH 18, 2023". College Hockey Inc. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
  3. ^ "2020–2021 Men's Ice Hockey Roster". Colorado College Athletics. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
  4. ^ "2022-2023 Men's Ice Hockey Schedule". Colorado College Tigers. Retrieved September 8, 2022.
  5. ^ "Colorado College 2022-2023 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
  6. ^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  7. ^ a b "NCHC Reveals 2022-23 All-Conference Teams". NCHC. March 8, 2023. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  8. ^ "St. Cloud State blanks Colorado College, wins second NCHC playoff championship". uscho.com. March 19, 2023. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  9. ^ "NCAA player rankings, selections in 2023 NHL Draft". USCHO.com. Retrieved June 30, 2023.