Monday 10: Merrimack off to best start in team’s D-I era; Minnesota, Quinnipiac keep winning; Minnesota State gets back on track

Each week, USCHO.com will pick the top 10 moments from the past weekend in our Monday 10 feature. 1. Eagles honor York with wild win Perhaps it was fitting that on the night that Boston College honored coaching legend Jerry York, they beat their archrivals in one of the wildest ways possible. BC and Boston … Read more

This Week in CCHA Hockey: Building new South Dakota-based Augustana program from scratch like ‘two sides of the coin,’ says first coach Raboin

There are some things a head coach at every college program knows he’s going to be doing, no matter if he or she are new to the job or have been there for 20 years: Running practice. Recruiting. Meeting donors and season ticket holders. These are all givens. But for Garrett Raboin, the list of … Read more

This Week in CCHA Hockey: Coming off first Division I sweep, St. Thomas working to ‘be the best we can each and every day’

There comes a point in the life cycle of every college hockey program where something that was once considered a “milestone” stops being significant and simply becomes “routine.” This past weekend St. Thomas did two of those things – both of which head coach Rico Blasi would much prefer are soon just routine things his … Read more

This Week in CCHA Hockey: With eight victories so far, Michigan Tech squad has ‘found ways to come out and win hockey games’

In what their head coach called a “gutsy” effort, Michigan Tech’s victory over St. Thomas on Saturday night was as satisfying as they come. “Gutsy effort by our guys. You like every win, but you like some more than others,” MTU coach Joe Shawhan said in his postgame comments after Tech survived for a 4-3 … Read more

This Week in CCHA Hockey: In face of schedule tweaks, Ferris State staying competitive with balance, depth across board

When the NCAA finally started letting Division I teams play against one another for in-season exhibition games last season, it was a big relief to coaches across the country. Now, no longer at the whims of whatever Canadian team was able to cross the border during the first few weeks of the season, coaches have … Read more

This Week in CCHA Hockey: Northern Michigan searching for more consistency as Wildcats ‘have to figure out a way to win’

The way Northern Michigan has played this season had, until this past weekend at least, baffled Grant Potulny. The Wildcats’ underlying numbers have looked good, even great. They have a top-10 power play, a top-15 offense, one of the best faceoff percentages in the country, a player in AJ Vanderbeck who is among the nation’s … Read more

Monday 10: More changes coming at top of college hockey rankings, Harvard lone unbeaten team in nation, Lindenwood gets first sweep

Each week, USCHO.com will pick the top 10 moments from the past weekend in our Monday 10 feature. 1. Another unbeaten falls Coming into the weekend, there were just two undefeated teams remaining in college hockey: No. 13 Penn State and No. 15 Harvard. The former was 8-0-0 going into their matchup with top-ranked Michigan, … Read more

This Week in CCHA Hockey: St. Thomas aiming for better results with hard work ‘part of the process that we’re going through’

After dropping both games to Penn State two weeks ago, St. Thomas coach Rico Blasi said he wasn’t much for “moral victories.” The Tommies had lost to the Nittany Lions 6-2 in their series opener before rallying in Friday’s finale and losing 3-2 in overtime. Clearly, Blasi is attempting to build the newly-promoted St. Thomas … Read more

This Week in CCHA Hockey: Experienced Bemidji State transfers making impact with Beavers, have ‘all been a joy to coach’

Few teams lost quite as many impact players over the offseason as Bemidji State. Aside from the Sillinger brothers (Owen and Lukas) – the team’s joint leading goal scorers with 17 apiece – the Beavers also lost a big chunk of their leadership group. Fifth-year senior captain Ethan Somoza – an older, hard-working veteran who … Read more

This Week in CCHA Hockey: Staying in Minnesota for first few series means Minnesota State enjoying a ‘great challenge’

Minnesota State did the CCHA double a year ago, winning both the regular season and tournament title. The Mavericks were also 20 minutes away from their first NCAA Division I title. While all three of those are certainly in MSU’s sights this season, there’s another, more unofficial title the Mavericks can win this season: Minnesota … Read more

This Week in CCHA Hockey: Depth leading way early as Bowling Green weaves way through back-and-forth schedule

Bowling Green hasn’t had much time to get settled into a “normal” routine this season. The Falcons have been a little busy picking up conference points and splitting some nonconference home-and-homes. “We tried to stress to our guys that we understand, we have not had a ‘typical’ week since we’ve gotten into our official full … Read more

CCHA Hockey 2022-23 Season Preview: After successful return in 2021-22, conference teams ready to take next step

The first season of the CCHA’s return to competition was nearly perfect. We’ll stress the word “nearly” there. Minnesota State came within a period of winning its first-ever national title, leading Denver 1-0 going into the third period of the NCAA championship game before ultimately losing 5-1. That, of course, wasn’t the way the Mavericks … Read more

Previewing the 2022 NCAA hockey tournament, Loveland Regional: Denver, Minnesota Duluth, Michigan Tech, UMass Lowell

LOVELAND REGIONAL When: Thursday, March 24 & Saturday, March 26 Where: Budweiser Events Center, Loveland, Colo. Matchups: Minnesota Duluth vs. Michigan Tech, March 24, 3 p.m., ESPNU; Denver vs. UMass Lowell, March 24, 9 p.m., ESPNU; championship, March 26, 4 p.m./6:30 p.m., ESPNU 1. DENVER How they got here: At-large bid Overall season record: 27-9-1 … Read more

Previewing the 2022 NCAA hockey tournament, Albany Regional: Minnesota State, North Dakota, Notre Dame, Harvard

ALBANY REGIONAL When: Thursday, March 24 & Saturday, March 26 Where: MVP Arena, Albany, N.Y. Matchups: Minnesota State vs. Harvard, March 24, noon, ESPNU; North Dakota vs. Notre Dame, March 24, 6 p.m., ESPNU, championship, March 26, 4 p.m./6:30 p.m., ESPNU 1. MINNESOTA STATE How they got here: Won CCHA tournament championship Overall season record: … Read more

This Week in CCHA Hockey: Mason Cup making long-awaited return this weekend with conference championship on the line

When it is awarded to either Minnesota State or Bemidji State on Saturday night in Mankato, the Mason Cup will be at the end of its long journey back to its rightful place in the hands of the champions of the CCHA tournament. The CCHA’s championship trophy was one of the first things CCHA commissioner … Read more

This Week in CCHA Hockey: Northern Michigan looking to play giant killer in upcoming playoff series with No. 1 Minnesota State

Three times this season, Northern Michigan has knocked off the No. 1 team in the country. They’ll get a chance to do it for a fourth time on Saturday night when they take on No. 1 seeded Minnesota State, the nation’s top-ranked team. The fifth-seeded Wildcats defeated fourth-seeded Lake Superior State in a tough three-game … Read more

This Week in CCHA Hockey: After a competitive regular season, start of postseason should be ‘an awesome weekend of playoff hockey’

The Mason Cup is back. After a nine-year absence, the CCHA will award the championship trophy once again to the winner of its conference tournament, which begins with quarterfinal action this week. The trophy, named after famed Bowling Green, Lake Superior State and Michigan State coaching legend Ron Mason, was created in 2001. “We were … Read more

This Week in CCHA Hockey: Michigan Tech out of running for MacNaughton Cup, but ‘playing to position ourselves for the national title’

The battle for the MacNaughton Cup is no longer in play, and both teams have solidified their positions for the CCHA playoffs, but both Minnesota State and Michigan Tech still have plenty to play for this weekend. This weekend’s series in Houghton had the potential to be the ultimate title-decider, but that didn’t happen. The … Read more

This Week in CCHA Hockey: With home ice in sight for playoffs, Lake Superior State getting back on track at right time of season

It’s safe to say this season hasn’t gone the way Damon Whitten might have hoped. After finishing a surprise second place in the WCHA last season, winning the conference tournament and making their first NCAA tournament appearance since 1996, the Lake Superior State head coach was hoping this would be the season the Lakers could … Read more