Kris Mayotte, who guided the Colorado College hockey team to its first appearance in the NCHC Championship Game last weekend, has signed a contract extension securing him as the head coach of the Tigers through 2028, Vice President and Director of Athletics Lesley Irvine announced today.

"Kris is a special and complete coach," Irvine said. "He is an elite recruiter and talent developer, and has quickly become a valued member of this entire community. He has built an incredible staff and we feel strongly that he is the right person to lead our program to chase championships. We couldn't be more excited about the future."
  
Mayotte, who recently finished his second year behind the CC bench, led the Tigers to the most victories in one season since the 2018-19 campaign. His team collected five wins over nationally-ranked teams, including a 4-2 triumph on the road over No. 3-ranked St. Cloud State. The Tigers were outstanding defensively all season, posting six shutouts, the most in one season since the 2001-02 campaign (8), and allowed two goals or less in 20 games.
 
Colorado College upset the second seed and 7th-ranked Western Michigan in the first round of the league's playoffs, collecting the first postseason road sweep in program history, to advance to the NCHC Frozen Faceoff for just the second time.
 
The Tigers defeated top-seeded and third-ranked Denver, 1-0, in the semifinals of the Frozen Faceoff and the season came to an end with a loss to No. 7 St. Cloud State in the final, CC's first conference title game since 2013.
 
"I want to thank President Richardson and Lesley Irvine for their belief in our staff and what we are building at Colorado College," Mayotte said. "The support and commitment for our program has allowed us to push this team forward in numerous ways. CC has quickly become one of the more complete and desirable programs in the country and we are just beginning to see the potential of what can be accomplished here. This extension ensures that we can be aggressive and truthful on the recruiting trail about our intentions as a staff and a program."
 
Freshman goalie Kaidan Mbereko earned a spot on the all-NCHC second team and the league's all-Rookie Team in 2022-23. Mbereko, who posted the second-best single-season save percentage (.925) in program history, led all freshmen and tied for sixth overall in the nation in save percentage and is second nationally among first-year netminders with a 2.30 goals-against average.
 
In addition, Mayotte guided junior forward Hunter McKown to a nation-leading 14 power-play goals and a team-high 28 points (21g,7a). McKown signed a three-year entry-level contract with the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets earlier this week.
 
Mayotte was on the coaching staff and Mbereko and McKown played for Team USA at the World Junior Championships in August of 2022, then Mbereko and fellow freshman Noah Laba (a fourth-round draft pick of the New York Rangers in the 2022 NHL Draft) competed for the national squad that earned a bronze medal at the 2023 WJC in January.   
 
On the recruiting trail, the Tigers are set to back up this year's incoming class that included Mbereko, Laba, Ryan Beck, Gleb Veremyev and Ethan Straky, with another that is one of the top classes not only in the NCHC but the entire country, with several top scorers from the USHL joining the program next fall.
 
Colorado College was one of only three Division I programs to surpass seating capacity this season. The Tigers sold out every home game and averaged 3,511 fans per game, 103 percent of the capacity of 3,407 at Ed Robson Arena. A Robson Arena record crowd of 3,894 witnessed the '22-23 regular-season finale against Denver.
 
In his first season, Mayotte's team began to show the progress that continued in '22-23. The Tigers won at #10 Boston College and recorded a four-game season sweep of Miami, CC's first four-game sweep of an opponent since the 2007-08 season.
 
Colorado College also excelled in the classroom this season under Mayotte's direction, as an NCHC-high 15 student-athletes were named Distinguished Scholar Athletes for achieving a cumulative grade-point average of 3.5 or better this year. The Tigers also tied for the conference lead with 20 student-athletes on the NCHC Academic All-Conference Team for achieving a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better.