December 7, 2023 | SPORTS | By Lilly Asano
After almost two weeks in between games, Colorado College hit the ice on Dec. 1 and 2 to face No. 12 ranked Arizona State at Ed Robson Arena. The Sun Devils, scheduled to join the National Collegiate Hockey Conference in 2024, have taken Division 1 hockey by storm this season.
The Tigers tied Arizona State on Friday but fell short the following night. Sun Devils goalie, TJ Semptimphelter, enabled Colorado College to find the back of the net, and while the results didn’t favor the Tigers, the team proved to have made major adjustments.
Head coach Kris Mayotte remained optimistic about the team’s improvement over the series.
“We’re in this business to win, but you have to acknowledge growth when it presents itself, and this was a growth night for us,” Mayotte stated in his press conference following Friday night’s game.
With new offensive strategies and efficiency, the Tigers opened the weekend with power. After nearly eight minutes of persistent pressure on the net, their efforts were rewarded when Danny Weight ’24 found an opening in the crease, placing a backhanded shot past Semptimphelter to put CC up 1-0.
Assisted by Jack Millar ’24 and Stanley Cooley ’25, the upperclassmen showed communication on the ice which had been missing in previous games.
The Sun Devils answered with force, and the game’s intensity climbed. With a total of 28 minutes served in the penalty box between teams, Arizona gave the Tigers their first power play at the 9:44 mark of the first period, after Jackson Niedermayer received a two-minute minor penalty for tripping.
Just three minutes later, Niedermayer’s teammate, Tim Lovell was called for high-sticking, and the Tigers were again at advantage. While Colorado College didn’t score on the power plays, the Sun Devils’ frustration was evident and drove the Tigers’ momentum into the second period.
When the lights rose in the second period, the Sun Devils were primed to even the score. Within the first three minutes of the period, forward Benji Eckerle answered a pass from Kyle Smolen, sinking the puck over goalie Kaidan Mbereko’s ’26 head, bringing the score to 1-1.
As both teams fought to maintain their offensive zones, the intensity of the game increased. With an attentive eye from the referees, Nicklas Andrews ’24 found himself in the box at 9:30 mark for interference. A minute later, Arizona’s Brian Chambers was in the penalty box for tripping, and CC’s Ray Christy ’24 received the same call after Chambers was released.
With the Tigers down a player and five minutes remaining, the Sun Devils took the lead for the first time in the game. The Sun Devils have shined in power plays this year, and as Tyler Gratton stumbled past Mbereko, he brought in the team’s 18th power-play goal of the season.
It was evident the Tigers weren’t ready to back down as they entered the final period. In front of a sold-out crowd, freshman Max Burkholder found an opportunity to shoot from the end of the offensive zone at the 2:18 mark. His shot barely missed, but senior captain Logan Will’s trained eye allowed him a quick snapshot into the goal.
Will’s goal was the only puck that made it past either goalie in the third, and both teams were aggressive in pursuit of another goal. Tension on the ice was high, resulting in five penalties before the period closed.
When the buzzer sounded at the end of the third, the game was officially recorded as a tie with overtime pending. It was an electrifying first of the season: freshmen Evan Werner, Tyler Dunbar, Bret Link and Burkholder received their first overtime minutes in the NCAA, and the Tigers played in their first 65-minute game of the year.
“I really liked how fast we played tonight and how much conviction we had in what we were trying to execute,” Mayotte noted on Friday, pleased with the team’s performance. “[The team] handled adversity better than they had in the past. We managed it and got back to work, started making plays again.”
Riding on the momentum gained on Friday night, the two teams faced off again on Saturday. Previous mistakes were corrected, but the Tigers lacked the speed and energy of the previous night.
Arizona took advantage of CC’s slow start, scoring once in the first period when Alex Young was able to find an opening in the goal. Ryan Alexander, a transfer from Northeastern, later scored at 2:11 mark in the second period, and the two Sun Devil goals remained the only scores scored on Saturday.
Although the Tigers struggled to find their rhythm early on, they entered the second period recharged. Despite the long change, they found their stride and began moving together as a team. Mayotte credited upperclassmen Cooley, Christy and Tommy Middleton ’25 with the team’s shift, explaining, “they got pucks to the net and energized our entire bench.”
While the Tigers ended down by two, the games were a huge step for the team. CC dominated in faceoff percentages, puck possession, and shots; the scores hadn’t been easily settled.
In the postgame press conference on Saturday, Will emphasized that “[Arizona] is one of the top teams in the country, and I think we outplayed them in five of six periods this weekend. We don’t do moral victories, but we’ve got to know that we can play with anybody, and when we play our game, I think we’ve got a good chance to beat anyone.”
Mayotte shared Will’s sentiment, confident that this is the start of something great for the team.
“You have to trust that if you keep doing the right things, good things are going to happen to you. If you’re playing the right way, good things are going to happen,” the head coach said.
“We’re on the same page now, and it’s time to build,” Mayotte concluded.
The Tigers travel to North Dakota to face No.1 ranked University North Dakota this weekend before returning to Ed Robson Arena to play Minot State in an exhibition matchup on Dec. 29.
