Tigers Celebrate 2024-25 Season at Senior Recognition Night

The Colorado College hockey team gathered at Carter Payne Center on Friday to celebrate the 2024-25 season and senior class, and hand out individual awards at the annual team banquet.

The event celebrated the fourth campaign under head coach Kris Mayotte and served as the official sendoff for the team’s three graduate students and three seniors.  

 

Grad students Tyler Coffey, Ty Gallagher and Chase McLane, along with seniors Stanley Cooley, Tommy Middleton and Henry Wilder were honored after the team awards were announced.

 

Junior Noah Laba earned the team’s top honor, the Thayer Tutt Most Valuable Player Award. Laba, who signed with the New York Rangers following the season, finished the ’24-25 campaign tied for second in scoring with 26 points and tied for the team lead with 10 goals.

 

Junior goaltender Kaidan Mbereko won the Steve Ebert Award for the second straight year. The award is given for the combination of dedication, desire, ability and sportsmanship that Ebert exemplified during his time as a Tiger. Ebert, a member of the Class of 1966, was killed in an Army air training plane crash in 1970.

 

Wilder won the prestigious Scott Winkler Award, which honors the player that earns the respect of his teammates by showing humility, optimism and support through his love and appreciation for the game as well as his teammates. Winkler passed away unexpectedly in June of 2013 after completing his senior season at Colorado College. Wilder, who transferred to CC from Boston College, appeared in four games in the net in his two seasons at CC.

 

Freshman Owen Beckner earned the M.B. Hopper Award as the team’s top scorer. He notched 27 points with seven goals and tied for the team lead with 20 assists. His 27 points were the most by a CC freshman since Scott Swanson had 48 in 1995-96.

 

Beckner also won the Bob Johnson Award as the team’s top freshman. He is the first freshman to lead CC in scoring since current Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin had 25 points in 2013-14.

 

Gallagher, a transfer from Boston University, won the Tony Frasca Award, given to the player that had the best postseason. Gallagher, who tied for second on the team with 26 points, notched three goals in CC’s best-of-three playoff series at Denver. He signed with the Providence Bruins of the American Hockey League following the season.

 

Sophomore defenseman Brady Cleveland won the Dave Peterson Award as the most improved player after playing in all 37 games in ’24-25. He posted career highs of one goal, two assists and three points this season. He scored his only goal in a 3-1 victory over Denver in game one of the NCHC playoffs.

 

Sophomore forward Zaccharya Wisdom was named the winner of the Rodman Award, given each year to the player demonstrating the highest degree of sportsmanship. The award was founded in 1980 by Dr. Hugh Rodman and his wife, Crete. Wisdom finished fifth on the team in scoring with 21 points (8g,13a) and third with 81 shots.

 

Middleton earned the Paul Markovich award as the program’s top student-athlete. Middleton has a 3.90 cumulative GPA majoring in molecular biology and was named an NCHC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete each of his four years at Colorado College.