The Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) regular season is nearing its end, but there are still many questions surrounding the postseason. Even with three teams off this past weekend, the CCHA standings held new implications toward the Mason Cup. However, none of the teams is locked into a comfortable position just yet.
Augustana jumps to first in CCHA
The Vikings swept St. Thomas after a shootout win on Friday and a shutout win Saturday. The five points pushed Augustana past St. Thomas and Michigan Tech.
With the Vikings only two points ahead of the Tommies and Huskies and only four points ahead of Minnesota State, it is unlikely they will keep the top spot heading into the postseason. Augustana is the only CCHA team to have next week, the last of the regular season, off.
Minnesota State takes over home ice advantage.
Minnesota State swept Bowling Green, taking five points out of the series. This allowed the Mavericks to take over the Falcons’ spot of fourth in the CCHA. Bowling Green is now the first team out of having home ice advantage for the Mason Cup quarterfinals.
Minnesota State is likely to maintain the home ice advantage with its last regular season series set against Northern Michigan, which has only three CCHA wins this regular season.
Looking toward the NCAA tournament
Augustana’s sweep over the Tommies eliminates the likelihood of multiple CCHA teams qualifying for the NCAA championship playoffs. Augustana and St. Thomas hold the highest likelihood of making the NCAA tournament. But if another team were to win the Mason Cup, NCAA qualification could get complex.
NCAA rankings currently have a handful of CCHA teams representing the bottom of the table. Currently, Augustana, Michigan Tech, St. Thomas, and Minnesota State sit from No. 15 to No. 18 in both the USCHO poll and the NPI poll.
A best-case scenario for sending multiple CCHA teams to the tournament would require either St. Thomas or Augustana to perform exceptionally through mid-March. If either St. Thomas or Augustana makes a run to the Mason Cup final, the Tommies or Vikings could qualify with a championship loss. With the loss, either team could qualify as an at-large bid alongside the Mason Cup champions, but it would take some generosity from the NCAA Ice Hockey Committee.
Six teams qualify for the NCAA tournament by winning their conference tournaments, CCHA included. 10 other teams qualify by being an at-large bid per the ranking polls.
The last time multiple CCHA teams made the 16-team NCAA tournament was the 2021-2022 season, the first season after the CCHA’s reformation. Minnesota State qualified as the Mason Cup champion, and Michigan Tech qualified as an at-large bid. Minnesota State was runner-up to NCAA champion University of Denver.
Northern Michigan loses out on Mason Cup qualification
Northern Michigan was unable to scratch out any points from its series versus Lake Superior State. This keeps Northern Michigan six points behind Ferris State. The Bulldogs hold the tiebreaker over Northern Michigan, meaning the Wildcats have no chance at getting out of last place.
The Wildcats only claimed 12 points toward the CCHA standings, and they will now have missed Mason Cup qualification in back-to-back seasons. In their last series of the regular season, the Wildcats can only play the role of spoiler against Minnesota State.
