DECEMBER 5, 2025 | SPORTS | By Celeste Hammer
The Colorado College Tigers competed against the No. 4 Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs on Nov. 21 and 22. The Tigers lost Friday’s game with a score of 2-4 and won Saturday’s game in overtime, ending the series with a score of 2-1.
After Thanksgiving, the Tigers competed against No. 16 Providence College on Nov. 28 and 29. The Tigers started out the weekend with a 3-2 win and lost Saturday’s game 2-1, ending the weekend in a split.
Gavin Lindberg ‘28 had a good series against the Bulldogs, scoring in both games. He scored an equalizing goal in Saturday’s game to tie the game up 2-2. Two rookies had impressive first weekends as well against the Bulldogs, with Connor Hvidston ‘29 scoring his first career goal on Friday night and Wilson Bjorck ‘29 winning the game for the Tigers in overtime.
The following weekend, Brandon Lisowsky ‘29 received a conference weekly award for his performance in both games. He was named KJ Branding National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) Rookie of the Week for his three goals amassed over the weekend, including two on Friday.
Both series showcased fast-paced and close-scoring games. The Tigers are now ranked 20th in the USCHO Division I Men’s Poll after their performances both weekends.
Playing against the Bulldogs at the beginning of Thanksgiving week, the Tigers held the lead for much of the first period. Lindberg scored the first goal of the series at 10:16 of the first, but the Bulldogs tied up the game three minutes later. The Tigers soon responded, with Hvidston scoring his first career goal at the 16:40 mark.
The second period of the game was evenly matched, with the score 2-1. The Bulldogs initially received a penalty that put the Tigers on the power play, but 14 seconds later, Veinburgs received a two-minute minor for roughing. It was a 4-on-4 for a minute until Drew Montgomery ‘27 also got a two-minute minor for slashing, putting the Bulldogs on a 3-on-5 power play, where they scored their second goal, ending the second period tied 2-2.
The tie lasted until the beginning of the third period after the Tigers received two penalties, which led to another Bulldog goal. Koering served two minutes for interference, and the team was called for unsportsmanlike conduct, resulting in a 5-on-3 where the Bulldogs scored their third goal of the night. Trying to tie up the game, the Tigers pulled Kaiden Mbereko ‘26, but unfortunately, the Bulldogs took advantage of the empty net to score one more. Final score at 2-4.
In a video posted to social media, head coach Kris Mayotte said after the first game, “Tonight we didn’t control pucks the way we normally do, and we missed passes we usually don’t miss… we weren’t hanging onto pucks very well…we weren’t making the right reads or right plays.”
Hoping to bounce back after a close loss the night prior, the Tigers started aggressively in Saturday’s game but left the first period scoreless. Five minutes into the second frame, a close shot by defenseman Mateo Mann ‘29 was challenged to see if it was a goal. The call on the ice was no goal, but the officials also evaluated the play for a major penalty. After review, Mann received a five-minute major penalty for contact to the head and a game misconduct, leaving the game early.
The Tigers killed off the five-minute major and drew a penalty during the penalty kill to make it a 4-on-4 after a goaltender interference call on the Bulldogs. After both penalties had elapsed, the Bulldogs scored the first goal of the game.
Starting the third period behind, the Tigers found a way to overcome adversity and tie the game. Lindberg scored the first Tiger goal of the game at 02:54 unassisted. The game stayed tied and ended up going into overtime. 50 seconds into overtime, Wilson Bjorck ‘29 scored the game-winning goal to split the weekend series.
After the game, Mayotte stated about Lindberg’s weekend, “He’s so consistent, and he’s starting to find his confidence with his shot… I think as he continues to see those go in, that’s going to snowball and turn into a lot of confidence, and I think he’s going to continue to take those steps and be a guy we can rely on.”
The day after Thanksgiving, the Tigers returned home to play the Providence Friars. Friday night, the Tigers came out ready to fight. In the first period of play, the Tigers received a golden opportunity early in the game for a goal after the Friars received a five-minute misconduct and a game suspension, but unfortunately, the Tigers were unable to capitalize as the Friars killed off the penalty. The Friars gained the first goal of the game halfway through the first period, and the rest of the period stayed scoreless for the Tigers.
Early in the second period of the game, the Tigers scored a goal to tie the game. Lisowsky scored the first goal at 2:06 of the second period, assisted by Brayden Schuurman ‘29 and Riley Stuart ‘27. Schuurman received a two-minute minor penalty for slashing, and the Friars took the power-play opportunity to score their second goal 18 seconds into the penalty kill.
With the Friars leading to start the third, the Tigers pushed hard, and a minute into the third, scored a power play goal to tie up the game. Lisowsky, scoring his second goal of the night, was assisted by Lindberg and Beckner. The game-winning goal, scored by Stuart, entered the net at 11:10, allowing the Tigers to start the weekend off with a win, hoping to take the energy into Saturday.
Mayotte was asked about Stuart in a post-game conference saying, “He’s playing really good hockey for us right now, and those are the guys that mean so much to the team and that you root for because he’s a junior and the first two years weren’t easy, the start of this year wasn’t easy… to get a game-winner in a game like this, that’s a great job by him and someone to be really proud of.”
Saturday’s game saw a change in the lineup with goaltender Jackson Unger ‘29 starting in goal, his first career start at Colorado College. Speaking about Unger post-game, Mayotte said, “I thought he was phenomenal, I was really proud of him. He made some big-time saves look easy. He controlled a lot. There were shots through screens that he got a piece of, he controlled rebounds, and covered pucks…He earned that start.”
The first period started with the Friars taking the first goal of the game, which remained the only one until the second, when Lisowsky scored his third goal of the weekend at 2:10.
Later in the second frame, the Friars responded with another goal. The Tigers were unable to respond in the third period, and the game ended in a 2-1 Friar win. CC was unable to capitalize on four power plays. The Tigers ended the game with 38 shots on goal, 10 more than Providence.
The Tigers will have a bye week as they prepare for their final games of 2025 at Miami, Ohio, on Dec. 12 and 13 before they head off for Christmas break.