NOV 7, 2024 | SPORTS | By Thomas Nielsen
Colorado College celebrated its 150th anniversary this past weekend with a hockey overtime win following a 0-2 deficit.
Alumni and students packed the stands in Ed Robson last Friday, Nov. 1, as the No. 8 Colorado College Tigers faced off against their crosstown rivals, the Air Force Falcons. The home-and-home series allowed both teams to battle for the coveted Pikes Peak Trophy on home ice. The Tigers sported a new look, wearing the same jerseys as the 1950 national champion team to commemorate the anniversary.
After the win Friday, the Tigers were guaranteed to keep the Pikes Peak Trophy regardless of Saturday’s outcome at Air Force. A split series or sweep would allow the Tigers to retain the trophy for the sixth year in a row, and Friday’s win would place the trophy back in the Tigers’ possession.
Despite the energy of the sold-out crowd and Colorado Springs attendees, the Tigers started slow in the first period, struggling to find their rhythm. The Tigers had two power play kills in the first, mainly due to some big saves by goalkeeper Kaidan Mbereko ‘26.
Air Force capitalized off the Tigers’ slow start at 9:57 of the first period with a goal from Brendan Gibbons off of an offensive faceoff on the right circle. The Tigers lagged in the first period and struggled to put shots on target, managing only six shots on goal compared to the Falcons’ nine.
In the middle of the first period, top-line center Noah Laba went down hard. Despite returning to finish the game, Laba was escorted off the ice and didn’t dress the following night. Laba, out due to what his dad deemed a roll ankle, didn’t play in the series against the University of Alaska Anchorage and was widely missed by CC fans.
“We were as cautious as we could be, we really were. Everything showed us that he was ready to go.” Tigers head coach Kris Mayotte said. “We’ll evaluate him tonight, see where it goes. Evaluate him tomorrow morning and then we’ll make a decision and move forward from there.”
Though the Tigers found their footing in the game at the start of the second, Air Force doubled their lead at 9:18 with a goal from Clayton Cosentino.
The Tigers answered the 0-2 lead, punching back with a power play goal after the Falcons were called for having too many men on the ice. Klavs Veinbergs ‘26, assisted by Ryan Beck ‘26, placed the Tigers on the board with a power-play goal at 13:56 in the second.
The Tigers’ momentum continued in the third. One minute into the period, Tigers captain Stanley Cooley ‘26 had the puck behind the net, passing out to Drew Montgomery ‘27 for the equalizing goal.
From there, the Tigers were in the game. They outshot the Falcons 25-17 in the final two periods, though the Falcons managed to hold on with a great performance from goalie Guy Blessing, who ended the game with 30 saves.
Montgomery’s goal sent the game into overtime, providing fans and alumni with extra hockey. A minute in, defenseman Max Burkholder found a loose puck in their Tigers’ defensive zone and drove towards Blessing. He fired into the target, and the goal horn went off. His unassisted goal earned the Tigers the Pikes Peak Trophy.
“I picked up the puck, saw [Bret Link ‘27] flying. We had a 2-on-1 going into the zone. It looked like the defenseman was going to cheat toward [Link]. I decided to shoot it, and luckily it worked out,” Burkholder said.
With the win, the Tigers keep possession of the Pikes Peak trophy, which they’ve held since 2018. They remained undefeated throughout the weekend, winning at Air Force 6-1 a day later.
“I thought we were resilient tonight. I thought it took us going down two-nothing to start playing the right way,” said Tigers coach Kris Mayotte after the game. “But we gotta stop needing the response. We gotta start the right way, right away.”
The Tigers play at Ed Robson this weekend, Nov. 8 and 9, against Arizona State University, their first against a conference opponent this year. Arizona State, the newest National Collegiate Hockey Conference member, is currently 3-4-1 going into the weekend.