Colorado College coach Kris Mayotte said Wednesday that preseason rankings have never been more irrelevant than this season. On Friday, his players proved him right.

Bolstered by a slew of Canadian Hockey League players, eligible to skate in college hockey thanks to a new rule issued in November, CC hockey bested No. 10 UConn 4-2 in the Tigers’ season-opener on Friday night as the CC student section chanted “overrated” at Ed Robson Arena

The newcomers made their presence felt in quick fashion. Third-line freshman center Brayden Schuurman from Abbottsford, British Columbia scored a goal and earned an assist in the game.

“What I was most proud of is just how we looked against a team with that much experience and winning,” Mayotte said. “We played a ton of young guys, we played young guys in big moments and there wasn’t anything that was going on out there that I was nervous about.”

The game began in disastrous fashion for CC as the Huskies scored 52 seconds into the game. Huskies right wing Joey Muldowney beat Kaidan Mbereko stick side to give the guests an early advantage.

But the Tigers recovered from UConn’s quick score and settled in. CC was aggressive in the offensive zone, putting Huskies goalie Tyler Muszelik to work. The Tigers outshot UConn 16-5 in the first period.

CC broke through on the power play in the final minute of the opening frame. Sophomore center Owen Beckner, who led the Tigers’ in scoring last season, scored the team’s first goal of the new campaign, off the rebound of a save of a shot from Schuurman at 19:31.

Despite the intermission, CC maintained its momentum. Schuurman earned his second point of the evening at 2:20 of the second period. Tigers freshman left wing Brandon Lisowsky chased a loose puck from his own zone into the Huskies’. He pushed it behind the net where junior forward Riley Stuart retrieved it and sent a pass to a wide open Schuurman in the slot.

“I thought the line of Lisowsky, Schuurman and (right wing Drew) Montgomery was fantastic and they’ve been way in the preseason for us,” Mayotte said. “I was excited to see it translate to the game.”

Just over a couple minutes later, CC sophomore defenseman Philippe Blais-Savoie scored unassisted from the right circle at 4:56.

Huskies center Tabor Heaslip cut the visiting team’s deficit to one with a score at 12:08 in the second, but the Tigers held UConn at bay for the remainder of the contest.

Mbereko stood tall in goal for the Tigers, helping CC fend off five penalties after they took a 3-1 lead. The senior finished with 27 saves.

Tigers junior center Klavs Veinbergs scored an empty netter with 45 seconds remaining in the third to secure the win for CC.

CC and UConn will conclude their season-opening series on Saturday at 6 p.m.