Colorado College is going to have Mike Haviland behind the bench for the foreseeable future.

Haviland, who guided the Tigers to their best season in five years in 2017-18, signed a multi-year contract extension April 4 to remain head coach at CC.

Terms were not disclosed.
 
“We are thrilled Mike has agreed to continue as coach of the Tigers,” Colorado College director of athletics Ken Ralph said. “We felt it was important to send a strong message to recruits and other hockey personnel that he will be behind the bench for many years to come in Colorado Springs.  

“There is a lot of positive momentum surrounding our team right now and we are all excited to watch the program continue to grow under Mike’s leadership.”

Haviland, who was hired as the 14th head coach in program history on May 9, 2014, succeeding Scott Owens, led the Tigers to a 15-17-5 mark this season, the most victories in one season since the 2012-13 campaign.

Over four seasons with the Tigers, Haviland is 35-96-13. 

He has a Stanley Cup ring from 2010 when he was an assistant coach with the Chicago Blackhawks.

Colorado College finished in a tie for fifth place in the NCHC, widely regarded as the most competitive league in the country. The Tigers finished one game out of fourth-place and hosting a first-round NCHC playoff series, but took the fourth-ranked and defending national champion Denver to the limit in the best-of-three series at Magness Arena last month.

"My family and I are very excited to have the opportunity to continue coaching at Colorado College," Haviland said. "I want to thank President Jill Tiefenthaler and Ken Ralph for their support during the past four seasons and throughout this process.”

Haviland has coached a pair of Tigers to First Team All-NCHC honors, including sophomore forward and Colorado Rampage alum Nick Halloran, who led the conference in scoring for the majority of this season and finished the campaign with 45 points (19 goals, 26 assists). Seven players, including Halloran’s linemates, juniors Mason Bergh (40) and Trey Bradley (31), collected career highs for points during the 2017-18 season.

Colorado College was one of only two teams in the country (Boston College was the other) without a senior on its roster this season. 

Next year, the Tigers welcome transfer student Chris Wilkie, who won an NCAA national championship with North Dakota in 2016, as well as incoming freshmen Ben Copeland, who is sixth in scoring in the USHL with 56 points and leads the league with 40 assists for the Waterloo Black Hawks, and Bryan Yoon, who has 34 points as a defenseman for Tri-City of the USHL.

“We started talking midseason (about the extension),” Haviland told the Colorado Springs Gazette. “I think we knew we’d get something done.

“I’m super excited about it and looking forward to the future. It’s nice to have some security. In this business that I’m in, you’re always as good as your seasons.”