Things are heating up as we get ever so closer to the Central Collegiate Hockey Association playoffs with big playoff implications from this weekend. When talking about the playoffs I have to discuss the new format the CCHA has adopted this season, calculating Points Percentage to determine who’s in and who’s out.
New CCHA playoff format explained
As we head into the home stretch of the regular season there are big playoff implications from this weekend, with this in mind I would like to explain the new method the CCHA uses to determine who makes it and who doesn’t.
If you’ve been paying close attention to the CCHA standings, you’ll notice teams’ records don’t matter as much, especially in the bottom four. Augustana University’s not having as many conference games in the regular season affects standings and playoff contenders, so they will be determined by Points Percentage. The top four teams by PTS% make the playoffs, and the team with the highest PTS% is crowned the regular season champion.
Points Percentage formula: total points/games played * 3
Augustana and Minnesota State battle for top spot
The Vikings sweeping Bowling Green and the Mavericks splitting the weekend with Ferris State had them do a little dance for the top spot in the CCHA standings.
The Ferris State Bulldogs managed to stun Minnesota State with a 2-0 win on Saturday, Jan., 24. With goalie Mason West’s second career shutout for the Bulldogs, this upset led to Minnesota dropping to second and Augustana moving up to first with a 1-0 victory over Bowling Green. This was short-lived, as the Mavericks bounced back against Ferris State in a 7-2 victory.
Although it was short-lived, this shows how close these teams are and how important this last month of regular season play will be. These two teams will clash on Feb. 7-8 and I predict these games won’t be pretty.
Going into the weekend Ferris State’s Travis Shoudy (Jr.) was named the CCHA’s Defenseman of the Week with three goals, seven assists, and two blocks.
St. Thomas extends unbeaten streak to seven games
Winning seven of their last nine games, St. Thomas has been on fire. Being 2-0 in their series against Bemidji State so far, the Tommies are seeking to sweep the Beavers for the first time in program history.
Bemidji State holding a 0-6-2 record in their past eight games sits in seventh position in the standings and is looking to bounce back against the Tommies at 3:07 CT (4:07 EST) on Sunday, Jan., 26.
Michigan Tech sweeps in-state rival
After sweeping Bemidji State Northern Michigan was looking to flip the script on their season but it seemed the Bobcats were down on their luck once again, finding themselves in the losing column against their rivals Michigan Tech.
The second game in this series became the Huskies’ third straight Saturday shutout, with the Freshman goaltender Ryan Manzella moving to a 6-0 record.
Michigan Tech will be off until Feb., 7-8 when they take on the Bemidji State Beavers at home.
10 CCHA players Nominated for Hobey Baker Award
The Hobey Baker Award, named after Hall of Famer Hobey Baker, is given to the top National Collegiate Athletics Association men’s ice hockey player (considering scholastic and athletic achievements) through fan voting. The 10 CCHA players that received nominations are:
1. Caiden Gault (Jr., Ferris State)
2. Josh Kotai (So., Augustana)
3. Connor Milburn (Jr., Lake Superior State)
4. Ryan Oulette (Sr., Northern Michigan)
5. Rhett Pitlick (Sr., Minnesota State)
6. Stiven Sardarian (Jr., Michigan Tech)
7. Mattias Stoll (Sr., Bemidji State)
8. Sasha Telequine (Jr., Lake Superior)
9. Liam Malquist (Sr., St. Thomas)
10. Alex Tracy (Jr., Minnesota State)
Notable recipients include: Paul Kariya* (1993), Johnny Gaudreau (2014), Jack Eichel (2015), Cale Makar (2019), Cole Caufield (2021), and Adam Fantilli (2023).
Phase one of fan voting opens at midnight on March, 9 phase two opens at midnight on March 30). The top 10 finalists will be announced on March, 11th, the final three on April 3, and the winner on April 11.
*Paul Kariya is, currently, the only Hall of Famer to receive the Hobey Baker Award.
