A pair of Colorado College defensemen who didn’t appear in the first eight games of the 2020-21 season are in the transfer portal.

CC confirmed Casey Staum and Brady Smith have entered the portal. Staum, a 2016 draft pick of the Montreal Canadiens (fifth round, 124th overall), appeared in 11 games. He recorded one assist and four penalty minutes.

“He had a tough year last year with the injuries and trying to get back into it,” coach Mike Haviland said Sunday.

Smith appeared in 24 games. His only goal was the game-winner in a 5-2 victory at St. Cloud State on Nov. 16, 2019.

Colorado College had 12 defensemen on the roster to start the season and dressed an extra forward in each of the games in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference “pod.” The group on defense remained the same throughout, leaving half the team’s defensemen waiting and watching.

Freshman blue liner Chase Foley is now an option, as Haviland said he has been cleared to play. He was a late scratch from the Tigers’ first game and was “unavailable” for the rest of the pod.

Attendance update

Colorado College is set to host Denver twice in January, but the stands will be empty in the usually noisy The Broadmoor World Arena.

“Due to current state and local guidelines and to protect everyone during the COVID-19 pandemic, we will not host any spectators at The Broadmoor World Arena for the CC-DU games coming up on Jan. 1 and 9,” Associate AD for External Operations Scott Lowenberg said via email.

Schedule change

The NCHC announced a reduction to the schedule Monday.

Three-game series will be reduced to two “for health and safety reasons,” a release said, involving COVID-19 testing challenges and “the desire to alleviate time away from each member institution’s campus.” The NCHC Athletic Council voted on the change.

Colorado College was set to face North Dakota in Grand Forks on Jan. 22-24 and host the Fighting Hawks from Feb. 12-14, but in both cases the final, Sunday game was eliminated.

Each NCHC team will have a 24-game conference slate and Colorado College will face No. 3-ranked North Dakota, which was picked to finish first in the league, just four times.

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