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
Michigan Tech’s Blake Pietila has been named the CCHA student-athlete of the year for the 2023-24 season. He was recently named a CCHA scholar-athlete and has been on the conference all-academic team for the last four years. Given annually, the award is presented to one CCHA student-athlete who performed consistently as a regular member of … 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
Lake Superior State has announced the passing of former NCAA national champion goaltender Blaine Lacher, who died earlier this week in Medicine Hat, Alb., at the age of 53. Cause of death was not immediately released. Lacher was a member of LSSU’s 1994 national championship team, named to the 1994 NCAA all-tournament team. During the … Read more
A watch list of 33 first-year NCAA men’s hockey players was announced Thursday by the Hockey Commissioners Association. One of these talented rookies will likely receive the Tim Taylor Award as national rookie of the year as voted by the nation’s assistant coaches. At season’s end, a ballot consisting of each Division I conference’s Rookie … 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
The Hockey Commissioners Association has announced a watch list of 32 goalies who will compete for the Mike Richter Award, given annually to the top goalie in men’s NCAA Division I hockey since 2014. The 32 goalies come from the United States (19), Canada (7), and Sweden (5) and Slovakia (1). Of the U.S. goalies, … 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
The Hockey Commissioners Association has announced its national men’s monthly award winners for November. Denver freshman defenseman Zeev Buium and Lake Superior State senior forward Jared Westcott are co-players of the month, while Penn State forward Aiden Fink is the rookie of the month and AIC freshman goalie Nils Wallstrom is the goaltender of the … 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