Colorado College Hockey officially began their season on Oct. 6 when the team visited the University of Alaska, Anchorage. After months of anticipation, the Tigers are expected to put up a strong fight in the competitive NCHC conference. The team has been improving for several seasons and will be contending nationally. The team’s group of first-years were looking to immediately make an impact, and they were able to do so effectively in their first game.
With a slew of first-year starters, the Tigers routed Anchorage 10-2 on Saturday night. With eight different Tigers scoring, it was surprising not to see CC’s trifecta of Mason Bergh ’19, Nick Halloran ’20, and Trey Bradley ’19 on the score sheet.
Starting goalie Alex Leclerc ’20 was more than satisfied with Saturday’s performance, and he was excited to see the first-years finding themselves in the back of the net. “The freshmen performed very well,” Leclerc said. “I believe they adapted quickly to the college level, which resulted in an immediate positive impact.”
Forwards Erik Middendorf ’22 and Ben Copeland ’22 each scored a goal, and forward Grant Cruikshank ’22 netted a pair. The Tigers have not scored 10 goals since defeating Mercyhurst College in 2002, and they haven’t scored this many on the road since beating the University of Northern Michigan back in 1995.
The hot start allowed for Coach Mike Haviland to play around with the lineup and give some in-game experience to his newest players. After solidifying a 7-1 lead, Haviland pulled Leclerc for backup goalie Jon Flakne ’22. Haviland was happy with Flakne’s first career appearance. “Jon is one of the hardest working young men we have,” Haviland said. “He comes to work every day and it was nice to see him in there and reward him for his hard work.”
But on Sunday, Alaska exacted their revenge. The Sea Wolves secured their first win of the season, 4-3. The Tigers took a 3-2 lead into the third period but eventually allowed two consecutive goals to give Anchorage their first win of the season. Choosing to start Alec Calvaruso ’20 instead of the normal starter Leclerc, Haviland utilized his bench and gave players crucial play time early in the season before conference play begins in the coming weeks. Leclerc was humbled by the first two games of the season, knowing that the team has some work to do. “We learned that we need a consistent effort for 60 minutes,” Leclerc said. “We were satisfied with our game on Saturday, but unfortunately Sunday was a different story.”
Leclerc and the rest of the Tigers are looking forward to being back at the Broadmoor this weekend for their first homestand. “The first weekend home is important,” he said. “We want to win for our fans, our fellow students, alumni, and make a statement that we will be a hard team to beat in the World Arena.”
The home opener for the Tigers is this Friday at the Broadmoor World Arena at 7:30 p.m. versus Huntsville. They will end the weekend with a game versus Air Force at 7:00 p.m. Come out and support your Tigers!