For the casual fan watching on a Friday or Saturday, chances are high that the inaugural season of the new CCHA won’t look much different than the final season of the WCHA.
Seven of the eight teams were together in the WCHA, so the matchups, coaches and arenas are largely the same. And the league’s champion will still win the MacNaughton Cup.
Still, despite outward appearances, the new CCHA is a brand-new conference internally, with an all-new administrative staff helmed by college hockey veteran Don Lucia. Lucia was named the conference’s commissioner in the summer of 2020.
And there’s a reason why the seven schools left the WCHA and decided to revive the “CCHA” name after eight years dormant.
“The goal is to be in the NCAA tournament on a regular basis, and they’re all committed to that,” Lucia said during the conference’s virtual media day last month. “They do invest in their hockey programs, (and) they want to see success. That’s what our goal is in the CCHA.”
Coaches and administrators have talked a lot about “like-minded” schools since the new conference was formed, and they have a point — they’re all small-ish Midwestern schools with a focus on hockey.
“Obviously here at Lake State the CCHA has a great history and tradition… I look over my shoulder at all our many championship banners,” Lake Superior State coach Damon Whitten said. “So when we talked to our fans and our alumni when we were traveling this summer, the excitement level was off the charts for Lake State to be going back to the CCHA.”
Of course, there were unfortunate consequences to the CCHA. The three schools from the WCHA who weren’t invited — Alaska, Alaska Anchorage and Alabama Huntsville — were all put in precarious positions as independents because of it, and only Alaska is playing hockey this year. That’s a negative, but it’s the price paid for the CCHA’s emphasis on being a tighter, more regionally compact conference with “like-minded” schools.
That opened up an opportunity for newcomers St. Thomas. Coach Rico Blasi — no stranger to the old CCHA as the head coach of Miami from 1999 to 2019 — is excited to help the newly-promoted Tommies build their Division I program.
“Our league is full of great teams and great players so we’re looking forward to competing and learning what we need to do to compete at that level down the road,” Blasi said.
It seems like everyone involved is determined to make the CCHA a leaner, meaner and more professional operation than in the past — both on and off the ice. Michigan Tech coach Joe Shawhan said it’s been a conscious effort from all the coaches and administrators to strengthen the league’s reputation.
“There’s been an upgrade for sure in the exposure of the league. The attention to detail has been great, the promotion of the league has been great, and now it’s time for us to get on (the ice) and perform and promote the league ourselves,” Shawhan said. “You look at the league we’re going to have this year, and I think it prepares our teams well for the national tournament.”
Last season, three teams in the then-WCHA (Minnesota State, Bemidji State and Lake Superior) made the NCAA tournament. The Mavericks made it to their first-ever Frozen Four while the Beavers managed to upset a No. 1 seed in Wisconsin. And the Lakers ended their 25 years tournament drought with a hard-fought game against eventual champions UMass.
All three of those teams have a good chunk of their team back, as does Michigan Tech, which was oh-so-close to the tournament a year ago.
Other teams have bigger question marks. Bowling Green, for example, lost a bulk of its leading scorers to the transfer portal. Northern Michigan has its leading scorer back but will be looking for improved scoring down the lineup. Ferris State won just one game a year ago and has nowhere to go but up. And St. Thomas, with its combination of Division I transfers and Division III veterans, will be a complete unknown.
In other words, with plenty of storylines to follow, it’s going to be a wild first season for the CCHA.
“That’s set the table nicely for the upcoming year,” Lucia said. “The competition that the group showed last year was tremendous and we anticipate that’s going to be the case this upcoming season. We really want to try and compete at the highest level, we want to have success in the NCAA tournament, and there’s no doubt in my mind that we’re off to a great start.”
BEMIDJI STATE
HEAD COACH: Tom Serratore (entering his 21st season at BSU)
LAST SEASON: 16-10-3 (8-5-1 for 4th in WCHA)
KEY RETURNING PLAYERS: F Owen Sillinger (Sr., 10g-5a-15pts); D Elias Rosen (Jr., 5g-11a-15pts); F Alex Ierullo (Sr., 7g-17a-24pts); F Ethan Somoza (Sr., 15g-5a-20pts)
KEY LOSSES: G Zach Driscoll (15-10-3; 2.32 GAA; .922 SV%); F Brendan Harris (9g-14a-23pts); F Aaron Miller (6g-8a-14pts).
KEY ADDITIONS: F Jere Väisänen (Amarillo Bulls, NAHL); F Alexander Lundman (Boras HC, Sweden); F Donte Lawson (Minnesota Wilderness, NAHL).
2021-22 PREDICTION: The Beavers return 18 significant contributors from a 2020-21 team that finished fourth in the WCHA and made its first NCAA tournament appearance in 11 years, so experience will not be something they lack. However, a big question mark is in net, as goaltender Zach Driscoll transferred to North Dakota for this year. Still, the experience they have up front and on the blue line — including a few fifth-year seniors — should be enough for the Beavers to contend for the MacNaughton Cup and another NCAA appearance.
2021-22 PREDICTED FINISH: 2nd.
BOWLING GREEN
HEAD COACH: Ty Eigner (entering his third season at BGSU)
LAST SEASON: 20-10-1 (8-5-1 for 3rd in the WCHA)
KEY RETURNING PLAYERS: F Alex Barber (Sr., 9g-14a-23pts); F Sam Craggs (Sr., 4g-8a-12pts); F Taylor Schneider (Sr., 10g-9a-19pts)
KEY LOSSES: F Brandon Kruse (11g-23a-34pts); F Max Johnson (10g-14a-24pts); F Connor Ford (16g-12a-28pts); G Eric Dop (13-8-1, 2.16 GAA, .923 SV%)
KEY ADDITIONS: F Nathan Burke (Tr., Minnesota, Big Ten); F Coale Norris (Tr., Ferris State, CCHA); F Brayden Krieger (Brooks Bandits, AJHL); F Austen Swankler (Erie Otters, OHL)
2021-22 PREDICTION: Roster turnover hit the Falcons hard this offseason, with 11 players leaving early. Most of those transferred to other programs, including Brandon Kruse and Max Johnson, both of whom had 100+ point careers with the Falcons. Offensive production is clearly going to be the key to Bowling Green’s success this season, and it will probably determine if they are able to earn home ice in the playoffs or not.
2021-22 PREDICTED FINISH: 6th
FERRIS STATE
HEAD COACH: Bob Daniels (entering this 30th season at FSU)
LAST SEASON: 1-23-1 (0-13-1 for 8th in WCHA)
KEY RETURNING PLAYERS: F Jake Transit (Sr., 6g-8a-14pts); F Ethan Stewart (Sr., 6g-8a-14pts); F Mitch Deelstra (So., 7g-4a-11pts).
KEY LOSSES: F Coale Norris (8g-9a-17pts); F Lucas Finner (2g-9a-11pts); D Jake Willets (2g-4a-6pts).
KEY ADDITIONS: D Nicola DeVita (Aberdeen Wings, NAHL); F Bradley Marek (Muskegon Lumberjacks, USHL).
2021-22 PREDICTION: It’s been such a rough couple years for Bob Daniels and the Bulldogs that it’s almost impossible to believe that this was a top-five, Frozen Four program as recently as 2012. But last season was, by some measure, their worst ever — just one victory, and only the second time in program history that the team has failed to win at least 10 games (the other time was in 2019-20). They were, however, a very young team in 2020-21, so the good news is that with more experience under their belts, this team should be better than they were last season, because it will be really hard to do any worse.
2021-22 PREDICTED FINISH: 7th.
LAKE SUPERIOR STATE
HEAD COACH: Damon Whitten (entering eighth season at LSSU)
LAST SEASON: 19-7-3 (9-5-0 for 2nd in WCHA)
KEY RETURNING PLAYERS: F Louis Boudon (Jr., 8g-11a-19pts); F Brandon Puricelli (Jr., 8g-7a-15pts); D Jacob Nordqvist (Sr., 3g-12a-15pts)
KEY LOSSES: F Ashton Calder (16g-13a-29pts); F Hampus Erickson (6g-13a-19pts); G Mareks Mitens (7-4-0, 2.09 GAA, .928 SV%); F Pete Veillette (13g-14a-27pts).
KEY ADDITIONS: D Jake Willets (Tr., Ferris State, WCHA); F Brett Roloson (Minot Minotauros, NAHL)
2021-22 PREDICTION: Of the teams in the new CCHA, perhaps only Bowling Green was hit harder than the Lakers when it comes to star players transferring out. LSSU lost their top two goalscorers to the transfer portal and their workhorse goaltender to the pros. They have some nice depth returners, but they are going to have to step into starring roles if they want to win another conference tournament title this season.
2021-22 PREDICTED FINISH: 4th.
MICHIGAN TECH
HEAD COACH: Joe Shawhan (entering his fifth season at Tech)
LAST SEASON: 17-12-1 (7-7-0 for 5th in WCHA)
KEY RETURNING PLAYERS: F Trenton Bliss (Sr. 12g-13a-25pts); F Alec Broetzman (Sr., 13g-8a-21pts); F Brian Halonen (Sr., 8g-10a-18pts); G Blake Pietila (Jr., 14-9-0, 1.81 GAA, .934 SVG%).
KEY LOSSES: D Tyler Rockwell (4g-7a-11pts).
KEY ADDITIONS: F Tyrone Bronte (Tr., Alabama Huntsville, WCHA); F Matt Quercia (Tr., Boston University, Hockey East); D Grant Docter (Minnesota Wilderness, NAHL)
2021-22 PREDICTION: Unlike nearly everyone in the CCHA, Tech didn’t lose a single significant contributor from last season — either to graduation or to the transfer portal. Their leading scorers are back, both goaltenders are back and most of their defensive corps have returned. Because of that, the Huskies are going to make a very strong push for the MacNaughton Cup this season.
2021-22 PREDICTED FINISH: 3rd.
MINNESOTA STATE
HEAD COACH: Mike Hastings (entering his 10th season at MSU)
LAST SEASON: 22-5-1 (13-1-0 for 1st in WCHA)
KEY RETURNING PLAYERS: F Julian Napravnik (Sr., 10g-18a-28pts); F Nathan Smith (Jr., 9g-16a-25pts); F Cade Borchardt (Jr., 9g-15a-24pts); G Dryden McKay (21-4-0, 1.54 GAA, .924 SV%); D Akito Hirose (So. 1g-14a-15pts).
KEY LOSSES: F Dallas Gerads (9g-10a-19pts); F Walker Duehr (10g-7a-17pts); F Jake Jaremko (4g-12a-16pts).
KEY ADDITIONS: F Josh Groll (Tr., Michigan, Big Ten); D Benton Maass (Tr., New Hampshire, Hockey East); F Zach Krajnik (Tr., Alaska Anchorage); F Luc Wilson (Penticton Vees, BCHL)
2021-22 PREDICTION: The Mavericks lost a few key seniors to graduation, but the fact that the team that was a period away from playing in the national title game returns all four of its top four scorers and its all-star, Hobey and Richter finalist goaltender should scare the rest of the CCHA. Expect them to once again be in the conversation for the national title.
2021-22 PREDICTED FINISH: 1st.
NORTHERN MICHIGAN
HEAD COACH: Grant Potulny (entering his 5th season at Northern Michigan)
LAST SEASON: 11-17-1 (6-7-1 for 6th in WCHA)
KEY RETURNING PLAYERS: F Joseph Nardi (Sr., 12g-21a-33pts); F André Ghantous (Jr., 10g-18a-28pts); F AJ Vanderbeck (Jr., 14g-13a-27pts); G Rico DiMatteo (So., 7-6-1, 2.84 GAA, .909 SV%)
KEY LOSSES: F Griffin Loughran (5g-10a-15pts); F Brandon Schultz (5g-7a-12pts); D Mason Palmer (0g-1a-1pts).
KEY ADDITIONS: F Trevor Cosgrove (Tr., Colgate, ECAC); F Hampus Erickson (Tr., Lake Superior State, WCHA); G Kaeden Lane (Penticton Vees, BCHL)
2021-22 PREDICTION: The Wildcats stunned some people when they upset both Bowling Green and Minnesota State en route to the WCHA title game last season. They’ve got their top scoring options back this season and hope to improve on last year’s losing campaign. If DiMatteo can be more consistent in the nets, it would go a long way.
2021-22 PREDICTED FINISH: 5th.
ST. THOMAS
HEAD COACH: Rico Blasi (entering first season at UST)
LAST SEASON: 6-1-2 in final Division III season
KEY RETURNING PLAYERS: F Grant Loven (Sr., 4g-6a-10pts); F Luke Manning (Jr., 1g-3a-4pts); F Justin Kelley (Jr., 1g-5a-6pts)
KEY LOSSES: N/A
KEY ADDITIONS: G Peter Thome (Tr., North Dakota, NCHC); F Christiano Versich (Tr., Colorado College); D Nolan Sawchuk (Tr., UMass-Lowell); F Trevor LeDonne (Nanaimo Clippers, BCHL)
2021-22 PREDICTION: St. Thomas’ whirlwind transition to Division I might be a little chaotic, but it’s going to be fun to watch. The Tommies have had to take a unique approach to building this season’s team. Twelve players return from the Division III squad, and Blasi has rounded out the team with 13 transfers from other Division I programs. It’s anyone’s guess how well this team will gel. They will probably struggle, but it’s going to be fascinating to watch a Division I program being built like this with such a seasoned and successful coach at the helm.
2021-22 PREDICTED FINISH: 8th.
