April 11, 2024 | SPORTS | By Lilly Asano
Colorado College Tiger Hockey is back.
In just his third year at CC’s helm, head coach Kris Mayotte led the Tigers to the national ranks for the first time since 2012. They finished their fairytale season 21-13-3, falling just 0.0004 points short of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) tournament to the University of Massachusetts.
For Mayotte, the season was fate. On his first visit, he knew that with the right staff and players, CC would become one of the top programs in the country again. And Mayotte did just that.
“After coming out on the interview and seeing the place, and talking to the people around it, I was convinced that once we got the recent success, we’re a have. We’re not a middle-of-the-road program, we’re not a bottom program, we’re not a have-not program, we’re a have” said Mayotte.
In late March, Mayotte was recognized as the NCHC’s Herb Brooks Coach of the Year. He was applauded on social media for his season and the return of championship culture and is the first CC coach to receive the NCHC title.
“Outstanding. Thank you for all you’ve done to bring back Colorado College hockey, Coach Mayotte!!!,” wrote Jan Yalic Betts on Facebook.
Mayotte was selected as a Spencer Penrose Award finalist on April 2 by the American College Hockey Association (ACHA) and was one of the nine coaches nominated by a bid to the NCAA Frozen Four or won conference coach of the year honors. All 64 Division 1 coaches vote for the winner.
The Tigers entered the United States Collegiate Hockey Organization’s polls in December and stayed through the regular season’s conclusion. They reached No. 10 on Feb. 19 for the first time since 2012 and celebrated their first winning season in 12 years.
At the start of the season, they were unranked and voted seventh out of eight in the NCHC.
While he originally wanted to become a general manager in the NHL, Mayotte’s resume pointed towards college hockey. Seeing similarities between champion college coaches and himself, Mayotte started on the path to Colorado College.
The former Union College goaltender’s passion for coaching came to him during his collegiate career. Mayotte started coaching private summer lessons as a sophomore, and when he experienced a coaching change before his sophomore season, he realized the power of good coaches and the influence they could have.
“I saw hockey through a coach’s lens, and I was fortunate to have some really good coaches and some really influential guys. I felt like I potentially understood the impact of coaching at a high level or the impact that they can have,” said Mayotte.
Hailing from a similar college atmosphere, Mayotte arrived in Colorado Springs with an understanding of what a revived hockey program could bring. As an early part of Union College’s rebuilding, Mayotte believed in CC’s academics and the competitors his players could become.
According to BestColleges.com, Union College, a liberal arts institution, had a student body of 2,096 in 2022. CC has a similar student body size, tallying 2,388 for the 2023-2024 school year.
The Block Plan, Mayotte explained, allows the team to have a set practice schedule and routine, along with preparing them for adversity on the ice and in class.
“They’re not being asked to do anything different here that they’re not in the classroom,” Mayotte said about the Block Plan. “We ask our guys, as athletes, to do a deep dive, very intense, get a deep understanding [of the game].”
Ken Landau, play-by-play broadcaster for the Colorado College Tigers, thinks Mayotte’s understanding of college hockey sets him apart from previous coaching staff.
“There’s never been a coach who didn’t want to win and win desperately. But this staff, they fully understands what it means to be a college hockey player at a school like Colorado College. Kris Mayotte went to Union College, a similar school to CC,” Landau said. “These guys all understand that component, probably on a better level than most would, and they’ve all been in college hockey. That’s been their world.”
“They fully understand what it takes. They have a vision for how they want to build this thing.”
Mayotte’s coaching staff share similar academic backgrounds. Associate Head Coach Peter Mannino is a Denver University alumnus. Assistant Coach John Lidgett attended Colgate University, and Co-assistant coach Andrew Oglevie attended Notre Dame.
Before arriving at Colorado College in 2021, Mayotte coached at St. Lawrence University, Providence College, the University of Michigan and the U.S. National Junior team. Mayotte’s coaching accolades include an NCAA D1 championship, two Frozen Four runs, seven tournament runs and now an NCHC Herb Brooks Coach of the Year award.
Mayotte’s knack for building a team has stood out in years past, and when his 2024 freshmen arrive on campus in August, the team will be formed completely by Mayotte’s recruiting.
Mayotte has built a successful foundation, and recruiting players isn’t a leap of faith anymore. Now, it’s about whether incoming players want to join the Tigers’ revival.
When he was introduced as the 15th head coach of the Tigers on April 12, 2021, Mayotte said he was “here to build a championship program.”
Three years later, Mayotte has proven it wasn’t a goal, but a reality.