March 07, 2024 | SPORTS | By Lilly Asano
With one week left of the regular season, the Colorado College Tigers hosted the University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs in Ed Robson Arena on March 2 and 3. Robson’s atmosphere was electrifying after a winless trip to Omaha the weekend prior and the post-season creeping in.
In front of two sold-out crowds, the Tigers tied the Bulldogs before ending their three-game winless streak, beating the Bulldogs 4-1 on Saturday. The series against Minnesota Duluth allowed the Tigers to reclaim their top ten position in the United States College Hockey Organization polls.
Both games were physical and emotional, totaling 42 penalty minutes between the teams. The Tigers earned two five-minute major penalties on Friday, and the Bulldogs took advantage.
“We can’t take two five-minute penalty majors in a game of this magnitude and think it’s going to go our way,” said Kris Mayotte, head coach of the Tigers, on Friday night. “We talked a lot about the emotion of today and how we need to be the mature, controlled [team], and I just didn’t think we executed that part of the game very well.”
Gleb Veremyev ‘26 took Friday’s first major penalty for charging the goaltender after a missed shot pushed him into Minnesota Duluth’s Matthew Thiessen. The second was served two periods later by Nicklas Andrews ‘24 at 3:30 for contact to the head. Both major penalties overlapped with UMD penalties.
The Bulldogs scored first at 1:49 in the second period. Veremyev evened the score twelve minutes later with a breakaway goal assisted by Noah Laba ‘26 and Chase Foley ‘24. Laba struck again with 14 seconds left on a power-play goal in the second.
While the Bulldogs started 2-1, Connor McMenamin found the back of the net on an unassisted goal, five minutes into Friday’s final period, eventually sending the game into overtime.
As the regular 60 minutes ended, emotions started controlling the game. Multiple players came off the ice after taking hits, including defensemen Ethan Straky ‘26 and Evan Werner ’27. – critical members of the Tiger’s penalty kill.
The Tigers and Bulldogs were reduced to a four-on-four when Veremyev fell at 16:07, catching opposing captain Luke Loheit. Loheit responded with a check to the head, and both players found themselves in the box with two-minute penalties.
The Tigers took control of overtime, denying the Bulldogs touches in the additional five minutes. However, the Tigers couldn’t elude Thiessen, and the scoreboard read 2-2 when the buzzer closed overtime. The game was officially recorded as a tie, but Minnesota Duluth left with a shoot-out win.
Unlike the 2018-2019 National Champions, the Tigers are in their first ranked season since 2012. With Mayotte at the helm, the team has much to learn about being in the spotlight.
“You can’t play an emotional game. All of these games matter, and our guys are trying to learn how to harness that and how to use that in a positive way. We’ve just got to continue doing a better job at it, but it’s got to be a conscious effort,” said Mayotte.
While they’d lacked the maturity Mayotte wanted the previous night, the team returned to Robson on Saturday with renewed energy. In 24 hours, the Tigers composed themselves and returned as a united team.
Mayotte was proud of his team’s turnaround to finish the campaign. “We had 21 guys committed to being hard to play against, being in the right spots, anticipating, and then making plays.”
“Our energy was great; our focus was great. We put all our focus on executing as a team tonight,” continued Mayotte.
Max Burkholder ‘27 led Colorado College to their 4-1 victory, scoring two power-play goals and placing the Bulldogs on their heels.
While UMD’s Anthony Menghini served two minutes in the box for boarding, Burkholder placed the Tigers on the board 2:22 into the first period on a rebound from sophomore stars Veremyev and Laba. The Bulldogs tied the score ten minutes later, but goalie Kaidan Mbereko ‘26 denied the visiting team another opportunity to score.
Stanley Cooley ‘25 was the only player to find the back of the net in the second and his goal proved to be monumental to CC. He was supported by wings Tommy Middleton ‘25 and assistant captain Ray Christy ‘24, the three have worked as a unit all season.
The Tigers ran away with the lead in the weekend’s final 20 minutes. Werner and Foley found Burkholder in the right circle at 16:53, where Burkholder fired a slap shot behind Thiessen.
Immediately after Burkholder’s second goal of the night, UMD pulled Thiessen to add a sixth skater to the ice. With three minutes remaining, Drew Montgomery took the puck on a turnover from Bret Link and sailed down the ice, passing to Laba in the neutral zone. With the Bulldog’s net wide open, Montgomery fired the game-winning shot, and Robson erupted on its feet.
For Mayotte, the goal wasn’t just the game-winner but a testament to Montgomery’s ability.
“I was happy that he got that done; he deserved it. He was so consistent this weekend in terms of how well he played. I was happy that he [could] get that for us,” said Mayotte.
The Tigers will close the regular season with a home-and-home contest this weekend against rival Denver University. According to CC Hockey Nation, this will be the first Top Ten showdown between the teams since Dec. 2, 2011, when No. 8 CC beat No. 10 DU.
Colorado College will return to Ed Robson on March 8. Friday’s game will be available on CBS Sports Network.