This Week in CCHA Hockey: Back from injury for stretch run, Bemidji State captain Looft pushing teammates ‘to realize what’s at stake’

Kyle Looft’s New Years Eve was spent mostly in pain. Bemidji State’s defenseman was attempting to block a shot in the Beavers’ game against St. Cloud State when the puck smashed his wrist, resulting in a broken bone. The Beavers lost that game 6-1, but most importantly they lost Looft. The senior captain required surgery … Read more

This Week in CCHA Hockey: Northern Michigan picking up points, ‘building, trying to get us back where we were before the break’

Northern Michigan’s series against Lake Superior State early in January was a wake-up call for the Wildcats. Playing their first series back from the holiday break, the Wildcats had maybe expected to come back to play one of their Upper Peninsula rivals tough after a refreshing vacation. Instead, the Lakers swept the Wildcats 5-1 and … Read more

This Week in CCHA Hockey: St. Thomas, Minnesota State set for first-place battle as teams aim to stay focused, ‘collect our points’

Treat anyone who presumes to say they know who will win the MacNaughton Cup this season with immediate suspicion. Considering how the standings look right now — five teams are within four points of first place — it would be a fool’s errand to try and predict with any certainty who is going to take … Read more

This Week in CCHA Hockey: Future conference member Augustana done with trailers, thrilled to call brand-new Midco Arena home

Up until Monday, Arnaud Vachon and his teammates were getting dressed in a trailer. The Augustana hockey team, without an arena of their very own, were practicing in the Scheels IcePlex in Sioux Falls, S.D., and playing their games a few miles away at the Denny Sanford Premier Center. So when Vachon and the rest … Read more

This Week in CCHA Hockey: Hard work paying off for St. Thomas as Tommies buying in to culture, process, putting squad in first place

If you told someone who fell asleep in 2012, Rip Van Winkle style, then woke up in 2024 that the St. Thomas men’s hockey team was in first place in mid-January, they probably wouldn’t be surprised. After all, the Tommies were routinely league champions of the MIAC in their Division III days. However, they might … Read more

This Week in CCHA Hockey: Coming off split with Bemidji State, Ferris State ‘in a good place right now’ heading to Mankato this weekend

It might not seem like a team who just snapped a seven-game losing streak would be exuding confidence. But Ferris State’s recent win over CCHA-leading Bemidji State was an important one for Bob Daniels. “I think we’re in a good place right now,” Daniels said in a phone interview on Tuesday afternoon. “We feel like … Read more

Monday 10: Ranked teams gain nonconference sweeps, Minnesota State back above .500 mark, Wisconsin keeps winning in Big Ten play

Each week, USCHO.com will pick the top 10 moments from the past weekend in our Monday 10 feature. 1. Sun Devils win Desert Hockey Classic A week after winning the Adirondack Winter Invitational, Arizona State took another step towards an NCAA tournament bid as an at-large this weekend, earning its second-consecutive tournament win. The host … Read more

This Week in CCHA Hockey: With GLI win closing out 2023, Michigan Tech ‘driving to get better’ in 2024 as second half progresses

Michigan Tech’s sky-high ambitions didn’t quite pan out at the beginning of this hockey season. A year removed from finishing just two points behind eventual champions Minnesota State for the MacNaughton Cup and securing an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, the Huskies were picked to finish first in the CCHA this season thanks to … Read more

This Week in CCHA Hockey: With holiday break approaching, conference still looks wide-open heading to flip of calendar to 2024

With the first half of the season in the books for most of the CCHA, there’s been one overarching question for the league on the ice: Does anyone actually want to win the MacNaughton Cup? Obviously, that’s hyperbole. League titles are league titles, and everyone wants to win some hardware. But in the CCHA this … Read more

This Week in CCHA Hockey: First-place St. Thomas facing tough challenge in Minnesota State this weekend, Tommies ‘need to come ready to go on Friday’

When St. Thomas reclassified from Division III to Division I in 2021, it was by necessity, borne out of the fact that their previous conference (the all-Minnesota based MIAC) no longer wanted to play the Tommies. Their athletic programs were too successful, and they were, essentially, kicked out of the league they had helped to … Read more

This Week in CCHA Hockey: Despite difficult early-season distractions, Bowling Green players, staff focused on moving forward as a team

After all the turmoil that has surrounded the Bowling Green hockey program this season, it was hard to know where to begin when interviewing head coach Ty Eigner earlier this week. Luckily, it was easy: Eigner opened up right away. “First and foremost, the situation we had with our team in our program early in … Read more

This Week in CCHA Hockey: Augustana players immersing themselves in campus life, getting victories on ice as ‘guys finding their game’

On his team’s weekend off, Augustana coach Garrett Raboin was able to do something he’s not usually able to do during the hockey season: Take in a football game. On Saturday, the Augustana football team hosted Minnesota State in a first-round NCAA Division II football playoff game at Augie’s Kirkeby-Over Stadium in Sioux Falls, S.D. … Read more

This Week in CCHA Hockey: Sweep over UP rival Lake Superior State has Northern Michigan taking ‘a step in the right direction’

Northern Michigan proved early this season they could score. Netting 10 goals in a nonconference series will easily bolster that reputation. But as goals giveth, goals can taketh away. In that same series with UMD, the Wildcats let the Bulldogs outscore them 13-10, failing to win either game (they tied 5-5 Friday before losing 8-5 … Read more

This Week in CCHA Hockey: Slow start in rearview mirror, Lake Superior State playing confident with 5-1-0 mark in last six games

It might sound cliche or simple, but it’s hard to overstate just how easily winning can cure even the worst case of the blues. Take Lake Superior State. The Lakers opened their 2023 season with a trip to Michigan State, where they lost both games of the series in front of a packed house at … Read more

This Week in CCHA Hockey: Roed oozing confidence up front for Bemidji State as Beavers looking to ‘have some more success this year’

Lleyton Roed was the top-scoring freshman in the CCHA last season, notching 31 points (13 goals and 18 assists). It was about as good a debut for any Bemidji State player ever. The last freshman to lead the Beavers in scoring was Matt Read, who scored 27 points in 2007-08 and remains the team’s Division … Read more

Monday 10: Wisconsin takes both from No. 1 Minnesota, Cornell opens with sweep of Minnesota Duluth, Augustana making noise early

Each week, USCHO.com will pick the top 10 moments from the past weekend in our Monday 10 feature. 1. B1G statement from Badgers Big Ten opponents, meet Mike Hastings. Wisconsin’s new bench boss has coached at 3M Arena at Mariucci plenty of times, both as a friend (he was a Minnesota assistant in the 2008-09 … Read more

This Week in CCHA Hockey: St. Thomas looking for consistency with goal ‘to see the process being played out the way we want to see’

After four close games with nationally-ranked St. Cloud State and Minnesota to open their first two weeks of the season, St. Thomas hosted Lindenwood for a series this past weekend. But just because the Lions don’t have the same kind of star power or high-end skill as the Huskies or Gophers have didn’t mean a … Read more

This Week in CCHA Hockey: Minnesota State begins season with sweep over St. Cloud State, adding to ‘a history and a culture of winning here’

After all the changes that happened in Mankato during the offseason, one nearly expected to tune in to their game against St. Cloud State on Friday night and see something truly wild. Like maybe the Mavericks ditched purple from their color scheme in favor of teal and moved their home arena from Mankato to Sleepy … Read more

2023-24 CCHA Season Preview: With Minnesota State no longer MacNaughton Cup favorite, league looks tight as ever

It was an unusually active offseason, at least by CCHA standards. A coaching change at Minnesota State kicked off the summer, with Mike Hastings leaving for Wisconsin and taking four players and most of his coaching staff with him. Then the summer ended with the situation in Bowling Green that saw head coach Ty Eigner … Read more