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33 Unique things to do #6 Colorado College Hockey
Tonight the new season starts for CC Hockey and I was given tickets! Yahoo!! I love CC hockey and if you want something fun to do, attend a game and support our TIGERS!!! CC Hockey is actually a Division 1 sport so its a joy to watch with lots of excitement.
The Tigers, who open the season tonight with an exhibition contest at the World Arena against the University of Alberta, climbed from fifth to third in the second USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine rankings of the season.
Colorado College Hockey got its start in January of 1938, when the Broadmoor Hotel converted its seldom-used indoor riding academy into an ice rink. The Broadmoor World Arena, originally called the Broadmoor Ice Palace, served as CC’s home for 55 seasons before being demolished at the conclusion of the 1993-94 campaign. In 2007-08 the Tigers celebrated their 70th anniversary season and will head into the 2008-09 campaign with an all-time record of 1,047-1,045-96 in 2,188 games played against outside competition.
Back in 1938, thanks to sponsorship from local business firms, eight inexperienced teams including one from CC were able to organize the Pikes Peak Hockey League. Tiger Hockey officially made its debut on January 21 of that year in an 8-1 loss to a team sponsored by Giddings Department Store. Colorado College finished the campaign with three victories and nine defeats.
The program made significant strides forward the following season and the next four years helped vault CC to national prominence. While several New England students with backgrounds in high school hockey joined the team, the strongest addition was Ernie Young of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. When Young returned in the fall of 1939 for his second year at the school, he brought four more Canadian players with him, all from his home province.
These players helped the Tigers in their first-ever intercollegiate series early during the 1939-40 season. Enthusiasm reached a frenzied high among CC hockey supporters for the next few years, with games at the World Arena selling out on a regular basis. By winter of 1942, the Tigers had earned a reputation as one of college hockey’s “Big Four,” along with USC, the University of Illinois and Dartmouth.
Due to World War II, no games were played in 1942-44, but the sport was rejuvenated at Colorado College and nationwide in 1944-45. With the return of former players and the addition of seven more Canadians, the Tigers quickly were on the rise again.
In cooperation with the Broadmoor Hotel, Colorado College sponsored the first National Collegiate Athletic Association Hockey Championships at the end of the 1947-48 season. The tournament would be held at the Ice Palace for the next 10 years, with CC participating seven times .
The Colorado College men’s ice hockey is an unusual powerhouse for such a small school. The Tigers won the NCAA Division I championship twice (1950, 1957), were runners up three times (1952, 1955, 1996) and made the NCAA Tournament eighteen times, including every year since 1995 except 2000, 2004 and 2007. In 2005, CC played in the Frozen Four . Fifty-five CC Tigers have been named All-Americans. NHL Hall of Fame coach Bob Johnson coached the Tigers from 1963-1966. Despite the size of the school, the hockey team is often ranked quite highly nationally, although it has been over 50 years since the Tigers have last won an NCAA title. Their current coach is Scott Owens, who played for Colorado College and graduated from the school in 1979.
CC has launched dozens of players into the professional ranks during the last six decades. More than 20 former Tigers actually have played in the NHL, two Colorado College products - Hay with the Chicago Blackhawks in 1961 and Lidster with the New York Rangers in 1994 have had their names engraved on the Stanley Cup.
You don’t need to go to Denver to see some good ice hockey (Avalanche), just come on down to The World Arena and support our dedicated Tigers! Don’t forget to wear your yellow and black….GO TIGERS.
If you enjoyed reading this article, why not Kathy (719-287-1049) KTorline@msn.com
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