Colorado College hockey has been looking for a night like Friday all season. 

The Tigers denied No. 4 North Dakota, the top power-play team in the country, three times on the man advantage, including in overtime, to secure a 3-2 win over the Fighting Hawks at Ed Robson Arena. Sophomore defenseman Philippe Blais-Savoie scored the second overtime game-winner of his career at 1:47 to secure the victory for CC.  

The Tigers (9-9-3, 3-5-3) have been without a pair of leaders on the ice with captain Max Burkholder and assistant captain Owen Beckner injured. But the team’s other captains stepped up in their absence. It was a banner evening for senior goalie and captain Kaidan Mbereko who made a season-high 37 stops. 

He made several key saves in the second and third periods, including a pair of saves without his stick and a skillful sliding save on a shot from North Dakota forward David Klee in the third period. The Hawks outshot CC 17-7 in the final frame and Mbereko stopped 16.

“I thought Kaidan Mbereko was the best player on the ice tonight,” Tigers coach Kris Mayotte said. “He made some unbelievable saves. We had some breakdowns. We have some extended d-zone shifts where he had to not only find a way to make saves but also get a whistle for us.”

He wasn’t alone in the heroics. When the Tigers began the second period down a goal, junior assistant captain Drew Montgomery and senior Ryan Alexander answered the call.  

Facing his hometown team, Montgomery took a pass from sophomore defenseman Seth Constance and scored from the left circle to even the game at 1:33. 

Alexander scored the go-ahead goal for CC, diving to the ice and putting back a rebound on a save from Hawks goaltender Jan Spunar at the 9:50 mark. 

Both goals were the second of the season for Alexander and Montgomery. 

“I liked the way we shot pucks tonight. I thought we did a job getting inside the dots and shooting it with some conviction,” Mayotte said. “That goalie hadn’t lost yet. He’s got a big-time save percentage and we found ways to beat him.”

The scores gave the Tigers their first lead entering the third period since Nov. 8 at Arizona State.

Despite a big-time defensive effort from Mbereko and the Tigers in the third period, the Hawks tied the game late on an extra-attacker goal from forward Ben Strinden at 17:51. 

Hawks senior forward Ellis Rickwood opened up the scoring with a goal at 6:18 of the first period. 

The Tigers were also without freshman defenseman Colton Roberts, who missed the game with an upper-body injury. Roberts, a fifth-round draft pick for the San Jose Sharks, usually skates alongside sophomore Fisher Scott in the team’s top defensive pairing. Freshman left wing Brandon Lisowsky also suffered an injury in the contest. 

With the win, CC is 6-1-1 against North Dakota in the last eight contests and the Tigers snapped an eight-game win streak for the Hawks. 

North Dakota outshot CC 39 to 26. The two teams will meet again on Saturday at 6 p.m.