The Michigan State Spartans, coming off a third-place, 23-13-4 season and a first-round NCAA tournament loss, have been anointed the team to beat by CCHA coaches and media.
“It’s nice to know going in that you are among the group that has a chance to win the league,” said MSU head coach Ron Mason. “But I have been in the league a long enough time to know that no two points come easily and it takes a lot of work.”
In the coaches’ poll, for which each CCHA coach ranks the other 10 conference schools, the Spartans received nine first-place votes and 99 points overall out of a possible 100 to lead the pack. Miami received the remaining two first-place votes to finish second, followed by Michigan, Lake Superior State and Western Michigan.
The media poll ranked Michigan State (with 20 of 36 first-place votes) first and Michigan second, followed by Miami, Lake Superior and Bowling Green.
