As we approach the final few weeks of regular season play in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA), we’ve seen some statement wins and losses. The final top-four seeding is becoming clearer with each game played and gaps are getting wider and wider.
Winter Carnival sweep for Bemidji State
The annual Winter Carnival in Houghton, Michigan, came and went, and so did a surprising sweep for the Bemidji State Beavers.
Coming off of a bye week, a well-rested Michigan Tech was looking to win against a recently swept Bemidji State, but after two high-scoring games, the Beavers pulled through. The second of the two went into overtime with freshman Elias Jansson scoring a season-high hat trick for the Huskies. But ultimately it was not enough.
With this sweep, the Huskies fall to fourth in the CCHA standings at risk of potentially losing home-ice advantage in the first games of the playoffs.
Lake Superior Lakers keep the Cappo Cup for one more year
The iconic Cappo Cup series has come to an end, and the Lake Superior Lakers keep their prize for another year.
The Cappo Cup series is an iconic CCHA rivalry series for Lake Superior State and Northern Michigan University, the award being introduced in the 1994-95 season and used ever since. The Cappo Cup is, of course, given to the winner of the series, but in instances like this one, where there’s a split, the winner of the previous series keeps the Cappo Cup for one more year. So the Cappo Cup will stay in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.
Although the Northern Michigan Wildcats weren’t able to take back the cup this year, they have a 28-25-5 record overall in the series.
Jake Sibell breaks program record for the Tommies
In the second game of a split series against Bowling Green, the St. Thomas Tommies made some history. Senior goaltender Jake Sibell breaks the program record for saves in a single game (previously 35) with 57 saves in total.
This historic performance earned Sibell CCHA’s Goaltender of the Week.
After this split weekend, the Bowling Green Falcons have risen in the standings from fourth to third, thanks to the Bemidji State sweeping Michigan Tech. The Tommies are still stuck just outside the fourth seed with a pretty big gap in Points Percentage (PTS%) between the Tommies and the Michigan Tech Huskies.
Minnesota State claims first seed after sweeping Augustana
The No. 15 Minnesota State Mavericks look comfortable after sweeping the No. 17 Augustana Vikings, reclaiming the top seed.
The No. 15 Mavericks have seemingly secured the top seed going into the final few weeks of the regular season, with No. 17 Augustana playing their final in-conference series this upcoming weekend.
