Riley Stuart was just a couple of votes shy of wearing a letter for No. 20 Colorado College this season. The junior right wing from Phoenix earned the fifth-most votes among his Tiger teammates toward a leadership role as a captain or assistant captain, according to CC hockey coach Kris Mayotte. For the fifth-year coach, Stuart’s ability to command the respect of his teammates, despite being in and out of the Tigers lineup in his freshman and sophomore seasons, speaks volumes. “To have that be a guy who isn’t in your lineup regularly or hadn’t been in your lineup regularly, to be the guy who finished in fifth on our team in captain voting, just speaks for itself,” Mayotte said. “He’s not a senior so it wasn’t a token senior vote. … He’s such a respected guy and he works so hard. He’s a really good guy in terms of setting the tone in terms of how we practice, how we compete every day.”  With or without a letter, Stuart is a leader on the ice for CC (8-7-1, 2-5-1). A bottom-six forward for the Tigers, Stuart has posted career bests in goals (three), assists (three), points and penalties (none). He’s on pace to play the most games in his career, having played 15 of CC’s 16 contests this season. His freshman year he played 19 of 37 games and last season he played 21 of 37 games. He attributes the good play to his offseason routine, where he gained a lot of confidence.  “I think year three has been a huge step for me. I think the most important thing would be my confidence. I feel like in the summer I went home, I worked on some things that I felt I wasn’t too strong at and I carried that in and played with confidence in those areas,” Stuart said. “I worked on finding the next pass option, whether I have the pass or not and just my poise in the corners with the puck, not throwing it away, holding on to it, waiting for the guys for support, or finding that next option in the slot.” Stuart has been in CC’s lineup on a regular basis because he is a big contributor on the team’s penalty kill unit, Mayotte said.  “Probably the biggest thing that has happened for Stu is that he’s become a top-four penalty kill guy for us,” Mayotte said. “To be consistent in the lineup, it’s really hard if you’re not going to be on a power play or a penalty kill. It puts a lot of pressure on everything else that you do. … This year, I think he thrives in the (penalty kill). He and (Connor Hvidston) probably didn’t start as our second pair going over the boards on the kill but they’ve evolved into that.   “Stu” has also made an impact in the box score in recent weeks. His two most recent goals have come at big moments for CC.”  He scored the Tigers’ only goal against rival Denver at Magness Arena on Nov. 14, a 2-1 overtime loss for CC. And his most recent score was the game-winner in a 3-2 victory over No. 16 Providence on Nov. 28. “I’m a younger brother so I’m very competitive. I hate losing. So I tend to like to be in those moments and do what I can to help the team win,” he said.  Beating his older brother, Connor, and his friends fueled Stuart’s competitive drive. Connor, who is five years older, played three seasons of hockey at Arizona State, but long before either brother played at the collegiate level, Stuart recalls games of roller hockey in his family’s driveway. “I was kind of born into hockey with him. We had the only flat driveway in Arizona so the neighbors would play roller hockey in our driveway and stuff so I just grew up competing with him and his buddies a lot,” Stuart said. “I got put in the net as a goalie quite a bit, but once I had my chance, I was always wanting to compete and play with the older guys.”  Learning from the older guys is something that has followed Stuart his entire career, be it through daily texts with his brother or learning from the class of 2024 as a freshman with CC two years ago. “This program is a true hockey program with a culture as a family. Coming in our freshman year, we had nine great seniors that really took us under their belt and showed us the ropes, and I think we all did a great job following them and understanding what Colorado College hockey is about. I think we’ve continued to grow that culture and that’s why it’s such a special place,” he said. It was a special year to be a freshman. That senior class led CC to its first 20-win season in 13 years.  Stuart admired the full group of seniors from that season, but he gravitated toward former defenseman Nicklas Andrews and former forward Ray Christy. It’s no surprise that when describing Stuart’s leadership, Mayotte invoked Christy’s name.  “He’s kind of taken a little bit of that Ray Christy role where he just shows up and competes every day. It doesn’t matter that it’s a Monday practice,” Mayotte said. “This is what we do, this is how we do it and those are the expectations and the standards here. He’s flourished as a leader. He’s a guy that his teammates love.”  Updates on Montgomery, Beckner injuries On a bye for their final series of 2025, the Tigers have a couple of updates on recently injured players. Junior assistant captain Drew Montgomery will return for CC’s series at Miami (Ohio) next week after suffering a head injury against Providence.  Sophomore assistant captain Owen Beckner is dealing with an upper-body injury and will not be available for next week’s series. Beckner will also miss the Spengler Cup, an ice hockey tournament in Switzerland held later this month, due to his injury.  ...read more read less