Men’s D-I: Ferris State

Ferris State’s Marek named top CCHA rookie, while Minnesota State’s Livingstone (defenseman), Smith (forward), McKay (goalie) also earn honors for ’21-22

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The CCHA announced several individual awards Wednesday. Ferris State forward Bradley Marek has been named rookie of the year, while Minnesota State sophomore Jake Livingstone is defenseman of the year, Mavericks junior Nathan Smith is forward of the year, and Minnesota State senior Dryden McKay is the goaltender of the year. Marek led all CCHA … Read more

Minnesota State, Michigan Tech have four players each among 13 players honored on 2022 all-CCHA first, second teams

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The CCHA has announced its two all-CCHA teams for the 2021-22 season. 2021-22 All-CCHA First Team F – Nathan Smith, Minnesota State – 41 points F – Brian Halonen, Michigan Tech – (35) F – Julian Napravnik, Minnesota State (26) D – Jake Livingstone, Minnesota State (22) D – Elias Rosén, Bemidji State (18) G … Read more

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

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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: Which conference teams are gearing up for a run? Which conference teams are planning for ’22-23 season?

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It’s already February, which I understand seems strange to everyone (if there’s anything the pandemic has taught us, it’s that time is essentially meaningless). But it’s true. It’s February, which means there’s just one month of CCHA regular season left until the playoffs. And because it’s almost the postseason, it’s about time that we start … Read more

This Week in CCHA Hockey: Ferris State making move up conference standings, ‘we just have to get wins now’

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Don’t sleep on Ferris State. Following a disastrous one-win 2020-21 season and a shaky start to this one, the Bulldogs are finally finding their stride. They’ve won five of their last 10 games and, aside from a rough weekend on the road at Minnesota State in which they gave up 14 goals, have managed to … Read more

This Week in CCHA Hockey: Bemidji State mixing youth, experience to perfection early in 2021-22 season

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A quick look up and down Bemidji State’s roster would reveal a lot of familiar names: Ethan Somoza. Owen Sillinger. Alex Ierullo. Tyler Kirkup. All have been contributing to the BSU program consistently since their freshmen seasons, and their presence in the lineup this year — a few back for an extra year of eligibility … Read more

This Week in CCHA Hockey: After ‘rough’ 2020-21 season, Ferris State ‘a superior team from what we were a year ago’

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Losing isn’t usually the norm for a Bob Daniels-coached team. The Ferris State head coach has been behind the bench for 29 seasons. He’s guided his Bulldogs teams to three conference titles, four NCAA tournament appearances and one Frozen Four in that time frame. The usual expectation for the Bulldogs is to be competitive at … Read more

This Week in CCHA Hockey: With experienced lineup, Michigan Tech ‘can compete with most anybody in the country’

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When members of the media were looking at the teams in the newly-reconstituted CCHA this fall as we started to do our preseason picks and previews, one team made it easiest on everybody. And maybe it wasn’t the team you think. Have your guesses in? It might shock you to know that it was Michigan … Read more

This Week in CCHA Hockey: Dealing with key player departures, Lake Superior State finding new players stepping up to fill roles

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It might have been reasonable to assume at the start of the 2021-22 season that Lake Superior State might have some issues scoring goals this year. After all, the Lakers lost four of their top five scorers (Ashton Calder, Pete Veillette, Hampus Eriksson and Will Reidell) either to graduation or the NCAA transfer portal (in … Read more

This Week in CCHA Hockey: Blasi ‘extremely happy with the progress we’ve made’ at St. Thomas in first weeks on ice as D-I program

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After some time away, there’s one thing Rico Blasi noticed about the familiar rinks of the CCHA. “The smell is still the same,” the first-year St. Thomas coach joked in a phone interview Tuesday, reflecting on his team’s recent road trips to Northern Michigan and Lake Superior State. Blasi, who played at Miami in the … Read more

CCHA 2021-22 Season Preview: New-look conference looking to make impact with eye on NCAA tournament

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For the casual fan watching on a Friday or Saturday, chances are high that the inaugural season of the new CCHA won’t look much different than the final season of the WCHA. Seven of the eight teams were together in the WCHA, so the matchups, coaches and arenas are largely the same. And the league’s … Read more

Ferris State athletics director Weisenburger, who has served the Bulldogs the past 11 years, announces retirement

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Ferris State athletics director Perk Weisenburger, who has guided the Bulldogs to historic championship success over the past 11 years, announced his retirement May 21 after more than 40 years of high-level achievements and service as an administrator in intercollegiate athletics. Weisenburger’s retirement is effective Oct. 1, 2021, with the university slated to begin a … Read more

Longtime WCHA supervisor of officials Shepherd named 2021 winner of conference’s Otto Breitenbach Distinguished Service Award

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The WCHA announced Monday that conference supervisor of officials Greg Shepherd has been voted unanimously by the league’s 10 teams as the 2021 recipient of the Otto Breitenbach Distinguished Service Award. “The WCHA was and always will be the best league in college hockey and I am truly honored and humbled to receive this award,” … Read more

WCHA adjusts 2020-21 men’s hockey schedule to account for vacated Alaska, Alaska Anchorage games

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The WCHA men’s conference has adjusted its 2020-21 schedule to fill open dates created by Alaska Anchorage and Alaska Fairbanks opting out of the season. The eight competing WCHA teams will play their scheduled two-game league series against each of their seven remaining opponents for a total of 14 league games. Additionally, teams will also … Read more

WCHA announces date changes for two January series, adds December Ferris State-Northern Michigan series

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The WCHA announced Friday announced a date change for two series slated for the opening weekend of league play in January. The Bowling Green at Ferris State and Minnesota State at Northern Michigan series originally scheduled for Jan. 1-2, 2021 will now be played Jan. 2-3, 2021. Both games of the BGSU-FSU series will start … Read more

Alabama Huntsville-Ferris State game scheduled for Dec. 9 canceled due to COVID-19 concerns

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The WCHA nonconference game between Alabama Huntsville and Ferris State scheduled for today at 5:07 p.m. EST will not be played due to COVID-19 concerns. The two schools were slated to play on Tuesday night at the Ewigleben Ice Arena in Big Rapids, Mich. However, daily testing on Tuesday of the Alabama Huntsville men’s hockey … Read more