With its inaugural season winding down, firsts for Colorado College’s Ed Robson Arena are starting to come less regularly.
Two more came last weekend, though, when the Tigers earned their first two overtime wins, and CC’s first weekend sweep, at the new on-campus facility.
The Tigers (9-18-3) had lost five straight heading into last weekend’s home series against Miami, a team CC had swept last month on the road. The RedHawks (6-22-2) were looking for revenge at Robson, but CC twice overcame deficits to win in overtime.
First-year CC coach Kris Mayotte remembers the arena being fleshed out after he jumped aboard in April. Even then, he was picturing what the Robson atmosphere could be like on occasions like Friday, when sophomore Hunter McKown’s first career hat trick helped the Tigers to a 4-3 victory, and Saturday, when Matthew Gleason scored 27 seconds into overtime, helping CC win 3-2.
“We had a great crowd over the weekend, and it was loud and energetic,” Mayotte said. “It was a really fantastic environment to play in, and it brought a lot of life and energy to our bench and to our locker room, and by the end of it, the players brought energy to the building.
“When you see Robson being built, and the way it’s constructed, nights like this past weekend are what you envision: a loud crowd, great back-and-forth games, and when you win, the building turns electric. It was good to see what the vision has been for a long time here at CC play out in reality.”
With 13 goals on the season, Hunter McKown is the Tigers’ only scorer in double figures. He has come a long way from a difficult early stretch, as he had two points during CC’s first 10 games. The Tigers went 2-6-2 in that stretch.
“Weekends like this aren’t a big surprise from him, but he has come a long way, and now he’s sixth in the NCHC in goals,” Mayotte said. “There’s been a lot of work put in, and a lot of progress made. I think he’s enjoying the process, and obviously it’s easier when you’re getting results, but he enjoys being coached and comes to the rink prepared. It hasn’t always been easy, but he continues to find a way and push.
“He’s getting confidence, but it has come through the preparation. It’s about putting in the work, taking those little steps and seeing the work you put in Monday through Thursday start to pay off on the weekend.”
Gleason had his time in Robson’s literal golden spotlight late Saturday, and forward Brett Chorske was later recognized as the NCHC rookie of the week. His three-point weekend, including a game-tying goal early in Friday’s third period, saw him earn his second league rookie honors, and his first since the end of October.
“He has an ability to finish, really slick hands, long stick, long body,” Mayotte said. “He’s 6-foot-6, so his range is pretty impressive, and when he’s going, he’s moving his feet and getting to the right areas.
“He has had an up-and-down year in terms of consistency, which is expected, but when he’s going and he’s confident, he’s as skilled as they come, and his ability to do it in tight spaces at his height is impressive.”
Seventh-place CC looks to carry recently-gained momentum into the Tigers’ last four regular-season games, and beyond. CC visits St. Cloud State (15-11-4) this weekend, then wraps up the regular season with a home-and-home set with second-place Denver (22-7-1).
The Tigers know they won’t play at home in the postseason, but Mayotte largely feels good about how CC has been playing lately, even when the results haven’t been there.
“In terms of doing things the right way, playing to our identity, playing as a group of five and a group of 21, over our last five games, we’ve started to build toward that understanding of, ‘This is who we are, this is what we’re going to do, and this is how we play,’” Mayotte said.
“For these next two weekends, it’s no different. We have to leave that locker room Friday night going out for the first period with 21 guys knowing what kind of team we’re going to be that night and hitting repeat on it.”
