March 28, 2024 | SPORTS | By Lilly Asano
While students hit the slopes or relaxed under tropical skies, the Colorado College Tigers hockey team spent their spring break immersed in an emotional post-season run. From playoffs to conference awards, here’s what you missed.
After beating Denver University on March 8, Colorado College clinched home for the first round of conference playoffs. 3,912 fans attended the March 8 campaign, 500 over the stadium’s capacity of 3,407.
The Tigers haven’t hosted a playoff game since joining the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) in 2013 and later opening Ed Robson Arena in 2021. The chance to play in their home rink was hard-earned in a conference with powerhouses like North Dakota and Denver University.
Colorado College hosted the University of Omaha Mavericks on March 15 through 17 for a three-game quarter-final series. Find additional hockey updates in this same edition by writer, Michael Braithwaite.
The Mavericks, however, advanced to the NCHC Frozen Faceoff semi-finals after winning on Saturday and Sunday, dropping the previous No. 10 Tigers to No. 12. Sitting on the cusp of the NCAA tournament, the Tigers had to rely on the right teams to win their conference championship games.
The team returned to Robson on Wednesday, March 20. Although the postseason was out of their hands, head coach Kris Mayotte wanted his team to be prepared.
“There are some scenarios out there that get us into the tournament,” Mayotte said in a press conference on March 17, following the loss to Omaha. “We’ll take Monday and Tuesday off, come back, and get ready to go. That’s all we can do at this point.”
“We’ll start preparing on Wednesday as if we’re in.”
On March 21, the Hockey Commissioners Association (HCA) announced the three finalists for the 2024 Mike Richter Award, which recognizes the top collegiate goaltender in the country. Among the three was Kaidan Mbereko ‘26, CC’s goalie.
Hailing from Aspen, Colorado, Mbereko was named the HCA’s Goaltender of the Month in February. His season accolades include three NCHC monthly recognitions and a Hobey Baker Award nomination.
Later that night, three members of the Tigers received NCHC individual awards in St. Paul, Minnesota. CC led the conference with four awards, followed by rival DU with three.
Mbereko added the Goaltender of the Year title to his collection and was crowned the NCHC goaltending champion for the regular season. He led the conference with a .927 save percentage and a 2.15 goals-against average and was nominated for player of the year.
Classmate Noah Laba ‘26 claimed two awards: the Three Stars Award and Defensive Forward of the Year. Nominated for Forward of the Year, the Rangers draftee was named first star of the game seven times throughout the season. He also earned a regular-season title as the NCHC’s goal-scoring champion.
Laba and Mbereko were also appointed league First-Team All-NCHC and All-Academic honors this season. Multiple Tigers have not been selected to conference first-team since 2007-2008 and are the first chosen under the NCHC banner.
In his third season as head coach for Colorado College, Mayotte received the Herbs Brooks Coach of the Year award. Mayotte led his team to a 21-13-3 season record, their first winning season in 10 years.
On Friday night, 15 of the 16 tournament tickets had been punched, and the Tigers were looking at their last chance. Against the University of Massachusetts, the final bid would come down to the rating percent index and a margin of .0004, according to an article by Jim Connelly.
While DU had been the key to CC’s success the previous night against St. Cloud, the Tigers needed Omaha to win the NCHC conference title.
However, the Tigers’ fate was sealed when Cornell and Denver emerged victorious. UMass secured the sixteenth opening, and the Tigers’ season was officially over.
The Tigers entered the 2023-2024 season unranked in national polls and voted seventh out of eighth within their conference. Drafting their own come-back story, Colorado College fell to a precise decimal point and system.
Their drive, dedication and hunger brought them back to relevance, and as Mayotte enters his fourth year at the helm, the Tigers have proved they have what it takes to be one of the top teams in the country.
And that, dear Tigers, is what you missed over spring break.