Since the CCHA reformed in 2021, fans outside the greater Mankato metro area have not had much of a chance to see the Mason Cup in person.
That’s because, up until now, the road to the league’s playoff trophy has gone through Minnesota State. The Mavericks won the trophy, and the associated NCAA at-large bid, on home ice in 2022 and 2023.
In 2024, a new name will be etched on the trophy. When Bemidji State hosts Michigan Tech on Friday night at the Sanford Center, either the Beavers or the Huskies will lift the CCHA championship hardware for the first time ever.
“We played a couple years ago in Mankato and it was just a great vibe. We think there will be a great vibe this Friday,” BSU head coach Tom Serratore said during his weekly media session on Tuesday, referring to the 2022 Mason Cup championship game, in which BSU lost to MSU in overtime after a controversial goal review.
This season, though, the Beavers won the MacNaughton Cup and will be hosting a conference championship final for the first time since 2009. That year they defeated Robert Morris in overtime for the College Hockey America tournament title at the old John Glas Field House in Bemidji before going on their run to the Frozen Four.
Serratore said the Bemidji community is excited for another chance to host a playoff final.
“It’s the best. I’d rather be here than anyplace else,” he said. “There’s no question there’s a home ice advantage, there’s enthusiasm, and something you can bring to your school, your community. We’re excited for puck drop on Friday night. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”
The Bemidji State social media accounts were already declaring the game a sellout by Tuesday afternoon. It should be a raucous atmosphere inside the Sanford Center–and that will include Michigan Tech fans, who travel well. Huskies head coach Joe Shawhan said he’d rather be playing at home, but his team has played well against the Beavers in Bemidji.
“It beats the alternative: We could be watching someone else play this weekend,” he said in his weekly press conference. “You have to win on the road in the national tournament. It all helps you, if you can get through it, to survive and move on. Would we love to play at home? Absolutely. But you gotta play somewhere.”
The Huskies (18-14-6) edged defending Mason Cup champs Minnesota State in last Saturday’s semifinal to make the final, while the Beavers (20-15-2) ousted seventh-seeded Lake Superior State. Both teams seem to be playing their best hockey at the perfect time. The Beavers have won nine games in a row and are unbeaten in their last 11; the Huskies came into the season winning four of their final six games and played their way into the No. 3 seed in the CCHA tournament.
“It’s been a good run for us, but it’s been a better run for them,” Shawhan said. “I don’t know if they’ve lost since we beat them in that series. They’ve won nine straight now, and that goes back over a month to when we played them (in Houghton). At this time of year, you have two teams playing their best hockey of the year…. They’re steamrolling people, and we’re finding ways to win, so we’ll see how things go.”
The Huskies took seven points from the Beavers in the regular season, but Shawhawn also noted that the one game BSU won, his team blew a four-goal lead. He’s expecting the unexpected.
“They’re good at home, but I like our team,” Shawhawn said. “Earlier in the year we went there, we beat them Friday night, and then we had a four goal lead Saturday night and they beat us. So anything can happen. They’re a dynamic team with tremendous players.”
Both teams carry plenty of momentum coming into the final and are arguably the two deepest in the conference. The Huskies have six players who had 20 points or more, including CCHA rookie of the year Isaac Gordon. Goaltender Blake Pietila, an all-American last season, didn’t have the same numbers this season but he’s still an elite college goaltender.
The Beavers also have six players with 20 or more points. In addition, the CCHA’s all-conference first team included four Beavers, forward Lleyton Roed, defensemen Kyle Looft and Eric Pohlkamp and goaltender Mattias Sholl. BSU also had CCHA’s defensive forward of the year in Jackson Jutting
“They have firepower throughout, they have size and strength, they skate well, they pressure well, their schemes are quick, their transitions quick, their defense gaps well,” Shawhan said. “They just don’t have a whole lot of weaknesses, if any. And they’re very well coached. It will take a big effort, for sure, but I like the way our guys are playing.”
