Coaches, media pick Wildcats hockey to repeat at bottom of CCHA
Trending
MARQUETTE -- Even when they go out on a limb, league prognosticators make sure it's sturdy enough you could probably put a Volkswagen Beetle on it without breaking the branch off the tree.
That's a complicated way of saying that, in the CCHA, the preseason poll picking this year's order of finish that was released Monday has some dramatic changes from where the teams finished last year.
Except that predicted champion Michigan Tech -- by both the coaches and the media in separate polls -- wasn't that big a stretch, even though the Huskies only finished in a tie for fourth place last season.
You see, MTU finished a whopping two points -- less than the value of a regulation win -- behind champion Minnesota State-Mankato in an extremely close race among the top five teams.
Mankato tallied 51 points with a 14-7-5 CCHA mark, Augustana (14-8-4) and now departed St. Thomas (15-7-4) each had 50 points, while the Huskies (16-7-3) and Bowling Green State (15-7-4) both totaled 49.
It's hard to figure points just from those records, as overtime wins, OT losses and shootout losses all affect the point totals.
Northern Michigan University, which finished nine points out of eighth place in the nine-team league, was again picked for last place this year in both polls.
But Tech was a narrow choice at the top, the narrowness illustrated by the split in first-place votes -- three teams received No. 1 picks in the coaches poll and four squads drew first-place choices by the media.
While both polls kept the bottom four teams in the same order -- also matching the way they finished last season -- there was a lot of churning among the top four.
Factoring in this, too, is that one of last year's contenders, St. Thomas, has now defected to the National Collegiate Hockey Conference, leaving the league with eight teams this year and for the foreseeable future.
In the coaches' voting, coaches voted for every team but their own, while the media in their poll could include all teams.
Among the coaches, MTU received four of the eight first-place votes and 65 voting points. Bowling Green, the other fourth-place squad from last season, was picked second with two first-placers and 62 points.
Mankato, which got the remaining two first-place votes, was third with 59 votes, while Augustana was fourth with 57.
There was a wider margin dropping to the next team, Bemidji State, than there was among all of the top four. The Beavers earned 46 voting points for fifth, Lake Superior State 41 votes for sixth, Ferris State 33 for seventh and NMU 29 for eighth.
The spread between Ferris and Northern was easily the closest among the teams in the bottom half of the league.
For the media, which had a baker's dozen worth of voters and plenty more total votes, Tech was again No. 1 by three voting points, despite receiving just four of the 13 first-place votes.
The Huskies had 116 voting points, while No. 2 Mankato had 113 but also the most first-place votes with six.
Augustana was third with 107 points and two first-placers, while Bowling Green was fourth with 101 and the one remaining first-place vote.
Then came the dropoff. Bemidji was fifth with 76 votes, LSSU sixth with 64, Ferris seventh with 56 and the Wildcats eighth with 43.
The season starts for seven CCHA teams the first weekend of October, with only Mankato waiting another week to get its schedule underway.
Additionally, most teams are playing two-game series that first weekend, Oct. 2-3, including NMU hosting Miami (Ohio). But Augustana and Bemidji are just playing single games against nearby rivals, Augustana traveling to North Dakota and Bemidji hosting St. Cloud State, both Oct. 3.
No teams play a conference series before Oct. 23-24, a weekend the Wildcats have off. That weekend, Ferris hosts MTU while LSSU entertains Bowling Green.
The other four league teams begin CCHA play on Halloween weekend, Oct. 30-31, including Northern playing at Augustana.
Story contents based on a pair of Northern Michigan University Sports Information press releases
Northern Michigan University's Mike Burchill, left, gets to the puck before Michigan Tech's Tom Leppa and gets a shot off that was covered by Huskies goalie Owen Bartoszkiewicz during their CCHA game played at the Berry Events Center in Marquette on Jan. 23. (Photo courtesy Cara Kamps)