Following an especially unusual month of November for the Colorado College hockey team, the Tigers finally opened their 2020-21 season at the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) pod in Omaha, Nebraska, on Dec. 8.

On Nov. 9, nearly two months after the NCHC delayed the start of the 2020-21 season, the league announced a conference-only slate, opening with 10 games at Baxter Arena at the University of Nebraska Omaha, as part of the NCHC pod beginning on Dec. 1.

However, Colorado College announced on Nov. 17 that one student-athlete received a positive COVID-19 test and the entire hockey team immediately began a two-week quarantine, which ended on Dec. 1.

Therefore, the NCHC announced changes to the schedule, which had CC playing eight games in 13 days, beginning with a contest against Western Michigan University on Dec. 8.

“The health and safety of our student-athletes and community remained our top priority as we prepared for Omaha,” Vice President and Director of Athletics Lesley Irvine says. “It was a challenging time for the team. I was excited to see them back out there competing and doing what they love. We’re also very grateful to the NCHC members and Commissioner Josh Fenton for their understanding and support.”

The Tigers emerged from Omaha with a 2-4-2 record, including a convincing 4-1 victory over No. 3-ranked and two-time defending national champion University of Minnesota Duluth on Dec. 13. Two days later, CC defeated Miami University by the same score, and also won both shootouts at the pod.

Six of the team’s eight games were televised around the country by AT&T SportsNet. The NCHC partnered with Midco Sports Network to produce and broadcast every game in the pod.

For the 2020-21 season, the NCHC is divided into two divisions based on geography: East and West. The East Division consists of Miami University, Minnesota Duluth, St. Cloud State University, and Western Michigan. The West Division consists of Colorado College, University of Denver, University of North Dakota, and Omaha.

The second portion of the season opened on Jan. 1 with an exciting 4-3 victory over the University of Denver at the Broadmoor World Arena, taking an early advantage in the Battle for the Gold Pan. The Tigers will face DU a total of six times in the second half of the campaign, in addition to North Dakota and Omaha four times apiece.

Due to the delay in getting to the pod, the Tigers played St. Cloud State and Minnesota Duluth only once during their time in Omaha, with the other two games against those teams postponed to the second portion of the season.

Once again, every game during the 2020-21 season will be broadcast live on KRDO NewsRadio 105.5 FM, 1240 AM and 92.5 FM, as well as on cctigers.com.