The Colorado College Tigers men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents Colorado College. The Tigers are a member of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference. They began play at Ed Robson Arena on the CC campus in Colorado Springs starting in the 2021 season.

History

Early history

In 1938 Spencer Penrose and Charles Tutt developed plans to convert The Broadmoor's unused equestrian center into an indoor ice arena, known as the Broadmoor Ice Palace. After three weeks at a cost of $200,000 the Ice Palace opened and became the home of the Tigers Hockey program and the Broadmoor Skating Club. Colorado College Tiger Hockey began in 1938 playing in the Pikes Peak Hockey League with various local teams sponsored by Colorado Springs area businesses., The Tigers opened play on January 21, 1938 in a 1-8 loss to a team sponsored by Giddings Department Store. Garrett Livingston took over as head coach fin 1939 from John Atwood, who served as player/coach for the first season. Livingston increased recruiting, bringing players from Canada and New England and transitioned the program from the Pikes Peak Hockey League into an NCAA Division I independent program. The Tigers swept Michigan 4-2 and 4-3 in the program's first-ever intercollegiate series early in the 1939-40 season. That same season Colorado College also played games against Colorado School of Mines, Montana School of Mines, and the University of Southern California. The program and college was suspended during World War II from 1942 to 1944. Colorado College, with the cooperation of The Broadmoor, sponsored the first National Collegiate Athletic Association Ice Hockey Championship to conclude the 1947-48 season. The tournament was held at the Ice Palace for the next 10 years, during which time CC participating seven times. Cheddy Thompson became the program's third head coach in 1945 after coming to Colorado Springs on assignment by the Air Force during the war. Thompson lead CC to the program's first NCAA championship in 1950 with a 13-4 win over Boston University. Colorado College became one of the founding members of the Mid-West Collegiate Hockey League (MWCHL) in 1951 with University of Denver, Michigan, Michigan State, Michigan Tech, Minnesota, and North Dakota. The league became the Western Intercollegiate Hockey League (WIHL) in 1953 and became the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) in November 1959. The Tigers also finished as runner-up in 1952 and 1955, losing to Michigan in both appearances in the championship game. In addition, he was named national Coach of the Year in 1952 by the United States Hockey Coaches Association. The Tigers returned to the championship game in 1957 with Tom Bedecki behind the bench. CC beat Clarkson 5-3 in the semifinal round and won the school's second hockey championship with a 13-6 win over Michigan. In 1961 the Ice Palace became known as the Broadmoor World Arena. The 1957 championship was the final appearance in the NCAA Tournament until 1978. The Tigers finished the regular season and captured the school's first and only WCHA Tournament Championship and received a bid to the NCAA Tournament, in the first round the Tigers lost to Bowling Green State 3-5.

The lean years

Bedecki abruptly resigned in 1958, and the Tigers went into a decline that would last for almost four decades. From 1958 to 1993, the Tigers would have only three winning seasons. The low point came in 1961-62, when the Tigers finished with a 0-23 record, still the worst in school history.

Recent history

In 1993 Don Lucia became the head coach of the Tigers. In his first season, 1993–94, he led the team to win the MacNaughton Cup, given to the WCHA regular season champion. It was Colorado College's first Cup win since 1957. After serving as the Tigers' home ice for 55 years the Broadmoor World Arena closed in March 1994 and later demolished by The Broadmoor to make room for the resort's expansion. Colorado College was then invited by the Air Force Academy to play at their home ice, the Cadet Ice Arena until the new World Arena opened in 1998 on the southern side of Colorado Springs. The Tigers returned to the NCAA post season in 1995 for the first time since 1978. The Tigers lost in the quarterfinal round to Minnesota 2-5. The following season CC made a second straight NCAA tournament appearance, receiving a number one seed in 1996 NCAA Tournament. Colorado College beat UMass Lowell 5-3 in the quarterfinals and Vermont 4-3 in the semifinal round before losing to 2-3 in overtime to Michigan in the championship game. CC returned to the Frozen Four under Lucia for a second straight season in 1997 before losing to North Dakota 6-2. Lucia lead the Tigers to two additional NCAA Tournament appearances in 1998 and 1999 before leaving Colorado College to become head coach at Minnesota. Scott Owens took over as head coach of the program in 1999 and lead the Tigers to three straight NCAA Tournaments in 2001, 2002, and 2003. In the 2005 Tournament The Tigers returned to the Frozen Four with a 4-3 victory over Michigan in the Midwest Regional Final. In the Semifinal round the Tigers fell to the eventual national champion and rival Denver 2-6. Owens lead CC to the NCAA Tournament again in 2006 Tournament and in 2008 Tournament, ending in first round exits both times. The Tigers returned to the NCAA Tournament in 2011. The Tigers upset the number one ranked team and defending National Champions, Boston College 8-4. The Tigers' win was led by freshman Jaden Schwartz, a first round draft choice of the St. Louis Blues making his St. Louis debut in the West Regional. The Tigers' season ended in the Regional final in a 1-2 loss to Michigan.

New arena in 2021

In 2018, CC announced plans to build a new $38 million arena located on campus. The facility is named Edward J. Robson Arena in honor of 1954 CC alum and former Tigers hockey player Edward Robson. This is the Tigers' new home rink after playing at the World Arena since 1998. The new arena has a capacity of 3,407, less than half that of World Arena. It features an NHL-sized rink instead of the World Arena's Olympic-size rink. Robson Arena sits around 6,050 feet above sea level, about 200 feet below the World Arena. Colorado College initially hoped for it to be ready for play by 2020. Changes made during the planning process, most notably the addition of a parking garage and a shift in the arena footprint within its city block, led to delays. The arena opened for the 2021–22 season.

Season-by-season results

Source:

Coaches

As of the end of the 2023–24 season

Awards and honors

Hockey Hall of Fame

Source:

United States Hockey Hall of Fame

Source:

NCAA

Individual awards

Hobey Baker Award Spencer Penrose Award Tim Taylor Award NCAA Division I Ice Hockey Scoring Champion NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player

All-Americans

AHCA First Team All-Americans AHCA Second Team All-Americans

WCHA

Individual awards

WCHA Player of the Year WCHA Outstanding Student-Athlete of the Year WCHA Defensive Player of the Year WCHA Freshman/Rookie of the Year WCHA Coach of the Year MCHA / WIHL / WCHA Scoring Leader MCHA / WIHL / WCHA Goaltending Leader WCHA Most Valuable Player in Tournament

All-Conference

First Team All-WCHA Second team all-wcha Third Team All-WCHA WCHA All-Rookie Team

NCHC

Individual awards

NCHC Rookie of the Year NCHC Goaltender of the Year NCHC Defensive Forward of the Year Herb Brooks Coach of the Year NCHC Sportsmanship Award

All-Conference

First Team All-NCHC Second team All-NCHC NCHC All-Rookie Team

Olympians

This is a list of Colorado College alumni who have played or coached on an Olympic team.

Colorado College Athletic Hall of Fame

The following is a list of people associated with the Colorado College men's ice hockey program who were elected into the Colorado College Athletic Hall of Fame (induction date in parentheses).

Statistical leaders

Source:

Career points leaders

Career goaltending leaders

GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average Minimum 50 Games Statistics current through the start of the 2018-19 season.

Players

Roster

As of August 9, 2024.

Tigers in the NHL

Over 170 Colorado College alumni have gone on to play professionally, including over 30 current and former NHL players: As of July 1, 2024.