Thirty-eight college games and still a zero next to forward Patrick Cozzi’s name.

When a goal finally went in Tuesday against Miami, the sophomore leaped into the tight embrace of his linemates while the rest of the Tigers whooped it up on the bench. Colorado College (2-2-1) went on to beat Miami 4-1 in the Omaha, Neb., pod.

“Such a relief,” Cozzi said. “Didn’t really know how to react. Probably more relief than excitement.”

Cozzi’s father Andy played four seasons at Miami in the early 1980s. But that first goal could have come against anyone, as far as Patrick cared.

Cozzi took a feed from behind the net from Josiah Slavin and buried it to break open a game that was scoreless through two periods.

“All week we’ve been talking about getting to the net more,” Cozzi said. “I was right there. I was wide open, for some reason. I just tried to get it to the net as quick as possible. It went in. I kind of hesitated for a second but I got super excited when I realized.

“Super exciting to see my teammates so excited for me. They’ve been nothing but supportive.”

Cozzi scored 14 goals per season in the British Columbia Hockey League. He was expected to contribute soon after joining the Tigers. Every other freshman scored at least once except for Matt Vernon, a goaltender, and Casey Staum, a defenseman who played just 11 games. Cozzi more than tripled that total, but finished with just four assists.

Frustration set in, but teammates and coaches told him to keep on keeping on. One would go in.

“I don’t know if we could have more excitement for that,” classmate Slavin said after it happened. “That was awesome.

“We’ve been waiting a little bit for that and I was so glad the kid got it out of the way.”

The line of Cozzi, Slavin (two assists) and Grant Cruikshank continued to pace the Tigers’ offense in their second straight win. Cruikshank scored again, his third in two games, to open the scoring 6:55 into the third period.

“The chemistry is there between us,” Slavin said. “I think we’re just such a hard-working line. We forecheck really hard and create turnovers. It leads to offensive zone time and I think that’s what’s been why we’ve been having success as a line.”

Freshman Logan Will also scored the first of his career with an empty-netter. Ben Copeland added a second with Ben Kraws (26 saves) pulled for the extra attacker.

Colorado College freshman goaltender Dominic Basse has won both career starts, making 17 saves Tuesday. He was less than three minutes away from a shutout when it was ruined for the second straight game during a frantic Miami (1-6) push.

Haviland praised Basse’s rebound control and temperament.

“I don’t think he gets rattled,” Haviland said. “He just plays between the whistles and then it’s the next whistle.”

It was a sharp turn into the five-goal final period. Miami (eighth) and Colorado College (seventh), teams that finished a point apart in the preseason conference poll, seemed evenly matched, leading to dull stretches for viewers in the first 40 minutes. CC then surged out of the period break and started firing.

“I didn’t mind our game,” Haviland said. “It was a little bit of a chess match early on. You’ve got two, I think, similar teams. They play a very similar style (to) us, systems-wise.

“We had it in us. We felt that keep with it, stick with the plan, and Grant gets another big goal to get us off and going.”

CC hockey downs undefeated No. 3 Minnesota-Duluth behind Dominic Basse's win in first start

CC hockey freshman Hunter McKown ends shootout struggles, starts career with a bang

Newcomers make immediate impact for CC hockey in 'pod' debut