October 5, 2023 | SPORTS | By Olivia Xerras
On Saturday Sept. 30, Colorado College held its annual hockey season ticket holders event, granting Tigers fans an exclusive chance to meet fresh player faces, receive an inside scoop on team titles, and hear from Athletic Director Leslie Irvine and Head Coach Kris Mayotte.
2023-2024 season CC hockey program magnets, posters, and license plate holders were dispersed about Ed Robson Arena as 700 season ticket holders streamed in to watch the first open scrimmage of the year. Expectations for the season are high as the days are dwindling leading up to the team’s home opener on Oct. 7.
During the announcement portion following the scrimmage, Captain Logan Will ’24 and Assistant Captains Ray Christy ’24, Stanley Cooley ’25, and Jack Millar ’24 took the stage on the rink to give their hopes for the season and spur enthusiasm across the crowd.
Amongst the stadium seats, mascot RoCCy gave his first set of high-fives of the hockey season, taking pictures with psyched fans across the upper deck of the arena. The players agreed that this excitement has no reason to die down anytime soon.
“In terms of looking forward to the season, I think it’s going to be a great year. We have a lot of good freshmen coming in, our whole team’s older and better,” said Danny Weight ’24. “I think it’s awesome to see how much support we have from the community and for all the fans to take time out of their Saturdays to come and support us, it’s a really cool thing.”
Kaidan Mbereko ’25 added, “I’m excited for the year, especially with the freshman class coming in. Obviously, it’s going to be a big challenge at the start but just like last year we’re kind of the underdogs, so it’s going to be cool to show the country we’re coming and we’re on the rise.”
The real question is, does CC stand a chance against long-time rival University of Denver?
With this in mind, Mbereko remarks, “I think we got the Gold Pan for sure,” referring to the Battle for the Gold Pan series between CC and DU. Mbereko continues, “It’s a little weird [because] my brother goes to DU…so we have that rivalry.”
With huge expectations on their shoulders made clear by families, seasoned and resilient fans, faculty and staff, the program has much to live up to in the coming days and months.
An even better marker of success might just be determined by Mbereko’s brother. Will he represent gold and black or gold and crimson come Nov. 4. at Ed Robson Arena?
Only time will tell and may the games be ever in the Tigers favor.
How did that gold pan work for you?