Men’s D-I: St. Thomas

CCHA announces all-conference first, second teams for 2022-23 campaign with Michigan Tech, Minnesota State each boasting three players each

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The CCHA has announced the 2022-23 all-CCHA first and second teams. Six players from four different programs have been recognized on the first team, while six players from six different programs have been recognized in the second team. Forwards Ryland Mosley (Michigan Tech), David Silye (Minnesota State) and Austen Swankler (Bowling Green) are joined by … Read more

Six players from four different schools named to 2022-23 CCHA all-rookie team

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The CCHA has announced the 2022-23 all-rookie team with six players from four different programs recognized. Forwards Kyle Kukkonen (Michigan Tech), Joey Larson (Northern Michigan) and Lleyton Roed (Bemidji State) were joined by defensemen Dalton Norris (Bowling Green) and Josh Zinger (Northern Michigan), as well as goaltender Beni Halasz (Northern Michigan). All year-end awards were … Read more

This Week in CCHA Hockey: With Mason Cup playoffs on tap, teams want conference postseason win to get NCAA tournament bid

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After a CCHA campaign unlike any other came down to, quite literally, the final minute and a half of the regular season, it’s almost hard to believe the playoffs are starting this weekend. Minnesota State ended up winning the MacNaughton Cup – their sixth in a row – with just a tiny bit of drama … Read more

This Week in CCHA Hockey: With most playoff spots still up for grabs, ‘there’s just so much on the line right now’

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It always feels like this. In the 10 years I’ve spent covering the old WCHA, then the new WCHA, and now finally the new CCHA, it can often feel like I’m writing the same story every year at the season’s end: Nothing is decided, and everyone is pretty close. Michigan Tech leads Minnesota State by … Read more

This Week in CCHA Hockey: Much-improved St. Thomas squad looking to move up standings as Tommies ‘not just close, we’re in every game’

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What a whirlwind of a week it was for St. Thomas and its men’s hockey program. On Jan. 14, the Tommies earned their first-ever victory against a ranked team in the Division I era when they beat Michigan Tech 3-2 in Houghton, Mich., to earn a road split – one of the toughest arenas to … Read more

St. Thomas announces record-breaking $75 million gift for multiuse arena, goal to break ground in 2024

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The $75 million Lee and Penny Anderson Arena will soon be the new home for St. Thomas hockey and basketball. The single largest monetary gift ever given to a Minnesota university will bring hockey onto campus for the first time at St. Thomas. St. Thomas on Tuesday announced the $75 million lead naming gift from … Read more

This Week in CCHA Hockey: Dissecting conference’s contenders, pretenders with ’22-23 second half approaching

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It’s that time of year again. I’m not talking about the holidays. I’m talking about the end of the first half of the college hockey season, when my editors generously let me write a thousand or so words where I get to pretend like I’m Nostradamus. And, if you’ve been following the CCHA at all … 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’

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

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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

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

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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

Minnesota State first in 2022-23 CCHA coaches poll; Mavericks’ Furry preseason player of year, NMU’s Larson preseason top rookie

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Minnesota State has been selected by the CCHA head coaches to win the MacNaughton Cup, which is awarded to the regular-season champion, in the 2022-23 preseason coaches poll. The defending champions and Frozen Four finalists also won the 2022 Mason Cup as the league’s tournament winners. The Mavericks collected six first-place votes and totaled 69 … 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: 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