Jack Hittinger

Since the CCHA reformed in 2021, fans outside the greater Mankato metro area have not had much of a chance to see the Mason Cup in person. That’s because, up until now, the road to the league’s playoff trophy has gone through Minnesota State. The Mavericks won the trophy, and the associated NCAA at-large bid, … Read more

Much has been made about how close the CCHA was this year. If someone asked you to take a look around and assess the state of the league, you’d be well aware that the second-place team in the standings was separated by just five points from the seventh-place finisher. So when the CCHA’s Mason Cup … Read more

As those who have followed the conference currently known as the CCHA for the past decade know, things in this conference are rarely easy. Even though Minnesota State had previously won six consecutive MacNaughton Cups, the path to the MacNaughton is rarely easy. Championships are usually won by a few points here and a few … Read more

When everything is said and done, Jackson Jutting’s game-winning goal on Friday might turn out to be the most consequential one of Bemidji State’s season. The Beavers came into last weekend knowing every single point matters in the race for the MacNaughton Cup. So despite allowing the game-tying goal with 30 seconds to go against … Read more

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

Bowling Green is a case study in how quickly fortunes can change in college hockey. With six games left to play in their season, the Falcons are now in fourth place in the CCHA, still very much in the race for the MacNaughton Cup. But that wasn’t always the case. “Coming into the year, and … Read more

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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