Paula C. Weston

What a weekend of hockey in the CCHA! Two sweeps, two series that took three games, and the team that won the very first conference regular-season and playoff championships returns to participate in the last-ever battle for the Mason Cup. It’ll be Michigan vs. Miami and Ohio State vs. Notre Dame March 23-24 in Detroit’s … Read more

I knew the series in Fairbanks and Sault Ste. Marie would go to three games. I was wrong, however, about who would advance from those series. Last week: 4-4-0 (.500) Season to date: 122-90-29 (.566) Typical. This week This is the second round of the CCHA playoffs. The winners from these four series advance to … Read more

What a weekend of hockey! What did we learn? 1. Be wary of those last-place teams. At the end of the 2011-12 season, the last-place Bowling Green Falcons beat Northern Michigan on the road in the first round of the CCHA playoffs and Ferris State on the road in the second. This year, last-place Michigan … Read more

2 Michigan win over Northern Michigan was anybody’s game; tonight’s 6-2 Michigan victory to secure a two-game sweep in the first round of the CCHA playoffs? It was all Wolverines.  No question. “They did a great job from the start of the game until the end of the game,” said NMU coach Walt Kyle. “They … Read more

Sometimes after a Michigan win, coach Red Berenson credits the opposition in the way that gracious winners often do. After tonight’s 3-2 playoff win over Northern Michigan, Berenson was grateful as well as gracious. “You don’t go forward unless you get by your first weekend series and you don’t get by that series unless you … Read more

The last regular-season weekend of the CCHA was exciting. It was also difficult — and I’m not talking about my picks. Last week: 8-3-1 (.708) Season to date: 118-86-29 (.569) I don’t know how that happened. This week We begin the CCHA playoffs this weekend with three best-of-three series at single sites. Times are local. … Read more

The final weekend of regular-season CCHA play was very interesting, thanks to a couple of upsets and some overtime. 1. Miami is the last-ever CCHA regular-season champ. The RedHawks needed to win one game to capture the regular-season championship, but they needed to play two to do so. After losing 3-0 to Ohio State Friday … Read more

In their final home game as Spartans, Michigan State’s seniors led their team to a 1-0 upset over visiting Western Michigan. The only goal of the night came from the line of Kevin Walrod, Anthony Hayes, and Chris Forfar, three seniors whose line was put together the morning of the game. “I’d been thinking about … Read more

In recent seasons, a win streak of a mere three games would have been so routine, so small for Michigan that it hardly would have merited mention. This season, though, is different. Languishing near the bottom of the standings for the second half of 2012-13, the Wolverines have struggled to put together consistent efforts from … Read more

I think that this is the first time in my tenure as CCHA columnist for USCHO.com that I’m glad that all 11 teams make the playoffs. I’ve never been an advocate of letting everyone into the playoffs. I like the idea of someone not having played well enough to earn a chance to make it … Read more

The second-to-last weekend of CCHA play taught us a few things. 1. Notre Dame and Western Michigan are well matched. The Fighting Irish played two games against the Broncos in Kalamazoo and the teams split their points evenly but unconventionally. The teams tied both nights, with the Broncos taking the extra shootout point after Friday’s … Read more