The 2023–24 CCHA season was the 45th season of play for the Central Collegiate Hockey Association and is part of the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season. The season began on October 7, 2023, and concluded on March 29, 2024 with Michigan Tech losing in the East Regional Semifinal of the NCAA tournament.

Augustana The Augustana Vikings were admitted as the 9th member of the conference on May 17, 2022 with 2023–24 being the first season of play for the program. In the first two seasons, the team would play a transitional schedule by facing the other league members twice each year for a total of 16 games. While this will prevent the team from participating in the conference tournament, the Vikings are still eligible to be selected for the NCAA tournament.

Coaches Augustana hired Garrett Raboin as the team's head coach in 2022 and began its first season of play this year.

Luke Strand was hired as the head coach for Minnesota State, replacing the departed Mike Hastings.

Records Team Head coach Season at school Record at school CCHA recordAugustana 1 0–0–0 0–0–0Bemidji State 23 368–344–97 26–23–3Bowling Green 5 71–61–10 23–26–3Ferris State 32 487–581–112 265–307–76Lake Superior State 10 126–176–30 21–30–1Michigan Tech 7 119–88–20 31–15–6Minnesota State 1 0–0–0 0–0–0Northern Michigan 7 106–97–11 26–25–1 St. Thomas 3 14–55–3 13–36–3

Standings

Non-Conference record Team TotalAugustana 0–0–0 0–4–0 0–0–0 0–0–0 4–5–1 1–2–1 5–11–2Bemidji State 1–0–0 0–1–0 0–0–0 0–0–0 0–0–0 0–6–0 1–7–0Bowling Green 2–2–0 0–2–0 0–0–0 0–0–0 0–0–0 0–2–0 2–6–0Ferris State 0–0–0 0–1–0 1–1–0 0–0–0 0–1–0 1–2–1 2–5–1Lake Superior State 0–1–0 0–2–0 2–1–0 0–0–0 1–1–0 0–0–0 3–5–0Michigan Tech 0–0–0 0–2–1 0–1–1 0–0–0 1–1–1 0–0–1 1–4–4Minnesota State 0–0–0 0–0–0 1–1–0 0–2–0 0–0–0 2–1–1 3–4–1Northern Michigan 0–0–0 0–0–0 0–0–0 0–0–0 2–2–0 0–1–1 2–3–1St. Thomas 0–0–0 0–2–0 0–0–0 0–2–0 1–2–1 1–1–0 2–7–1Overall 3–3–0 0–14–1 4–4–1 0–4–0 9–12–3 5–15–5 21–52–10

Bracket

NCAA tournament

Game summaryThe game began with the teams exchanging rushes up the ice. After Tech lost control of the puck in front of the Eagle's net, Oskar Jellvik skated up the ice and passed the puck to Cutter Gauthier, who had gotten behind the Huskies defense on a partial break away. The nation's leading goal scorer fired the puck between Blake Pietila's legs for the opening goal. BC kept the pressure on and got several more scoring chances afterwards but Pietila had settled down and kept Tech in the game. The Huskies weren't able to establish any extended zone time until about the 8-minute mark but even then BC's speed kept Tech to the outside. About a minute later, a BC turnover in their own end resulted in two glorious scoring chances for Tech but the pipe helped to keep the puck out of the goal. As Tech started warming to the task, they got another chance after the Eagles iced the puck; MTU won the ensuing faceoff and crashed in on Jacob Fowler. The puck ended up getting past the BC goalie but bounced just to the side of the cage. Michigan Tech continued to circle and got another scoring chance a few second later but the Jack Malone blocked the shot. A further chance went wide and the puck ended up coming to Colby Ambrosio who charged down the ice on a break away. Chase Pietila managed to just catch him from behind and hook Ambrosio as he was shooting to eliminate the scoring chance. Rather than awarding Ambrosio a penalty shot, the referees handed Pietila a minor penalty. half-way through the kill, BC turned over the puck at center ice and Tech broke towards Fowler on a 2-on-0. Max Koskipirtti kept the puck and, right when he got to the faceoff dot, he fired a shot right over Fowler's glove for Tech's second short-handed goal on the season. The Huskies captured the momentum afterwards and began generating scoring opportunities in the BC zone. Now it was Fowler's turn to hold the fort and the young netminder matched Pietila save-for-save. Towards the end of the period BC regained its footing and play evened out the score remained tied at the buzzer.

Both teams picked up in the second right where they left off and got on the attack. BC turned the puck over several times in the first two minutes, giving Tech multiple scoring chances. The best went to Kash Rasmussen who found himself completely alone in front of the BC net but his shot went wide. A few seconds later, a loose puck bounced right to Koskipirtti for shot from the slot but Fowler got in the way. Eventually, the Eagles began to calm down and get into the offensive zone around the 5th minute. Jellvik got a solid scoring chance but his shot was deflected off the post by Blake Pietila. The Eagles continued to press and Ryan Leonard rushed the puck up the ice. Pietila stopped his initial shot, as well as the rebound from Aidan Hreschuk. Jack Malone found the loose puck and shuffled it over to an open Leonard who fired into a half-open cage for BC's second lead of the night. Play tilted towards Boston College afterwards but the Eagles continued to make sloppy plays and turn the puck over in dangerous areas. Tech got a few good looks at the net but the puck refused to cooperate and several chanced went by the wayside. Right off of a faceoff, Leonard broke in on Pietila and nearly tucked the puck into the goal but the Tech defense was able to turn him aside without taking a penalty. Scant second later, Gabe Perreault hit Tyrone Bronte in the head and received a match penalty. Boston College needed their #1 penalty kill to come through and it did. Michigan Tech got a few chances on Fowler, much of their time was spent trying to set up in the offensive zone and the Huskies were unable to convert on the man-advantage. BC was able to carry their narrow lead to the end of the period but they would have to finish the game missing one of their top scorers.

Michigan Tech started the third by joining BC in bad habits and committed two bad turnovers that led to chances for the Eagles. Pietila managed to keep the puck out of the net and the disjointed play continued for both sides. Eventually, BC was able to set up in the offensive zone and Connor Joyce got lost behind the net. When he popped out in front, Jack Malone found him for an easy tap in goal. Less than a minute later, BC cleared the puck into the Tech end. When Blake Pietila went behind the goal to gain possession, the rubber hit the referee in the backside and deflected into the net. However, the rule (83.6) stipulated that a goal cannot be scored due to direct interference from the officials so the goal was waved off. The reprieve for Tech didn't last long and just a minute later Will Smith got the puck to Jellvik on a break away and he put BC up by three. After the succeeding faceoff, Ryland Mosley took a run at Ryan Leonard at center ice and a melee broke out. Mosley received a match penalty while all other infractions cancelled out. A minute into the power play, Ryan Leonard netted his second goal off of a rush and the route was on. Gauthier ended the power play with his second of the game after a drop-pass in the slot from Jellvik. BC continued to press afterwards, looking for another goal, but the intensity was muted. Both teams played like they knew the game was over and soon enough it was.

Ranking

USCHO Augustana NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NRBemidji State NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR 20 20 NR NRBowling Green NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NRFerris State NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NRLake Superior State NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NRMichigan Tech 10 9 17 NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR 20 19Minnesota State NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NRNorthern Michigan NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NRSt. Thomas NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR

USA Hockey Augustana NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NRBemidji State NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR 20 NR NR NRBowling Green NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NRFerris State NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NRLake Superior State NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NRMichigan Tech 11 10 17 NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR 20 20 20Minnesota State NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NRNorthern Michigan NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NRSt. Thomas NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR

Pairwise Augustana 32 11 27 12 16 27 30 36 30 26 35 35 37 37 41 39 39 38 38 40 41 40 39Bemidji State 32 12 48 44 41 42 36 41 40 42 41 40 38 42 41 42 40 40 35 33 31 31 31Bowling Green 21 49 50 54 58 62 59 61 61 54 60 61 61 61 62 57 53 49 55 56 57 57 56Ferris State 27 38 47 46 54 58 57 60 57 62 62 63 63 62 59 63 63 63 63 63 63 63 63Lake Superior State 32 42 38 32 23 44 50 47 46 45 46 47 44 48 47 47 49 53 49 48 45 46 46Michigan Tech 16 47 45 47 28 36 46 38 35 39 37 35 40 40 38 39 41 42 36 39 36 35 32Minnesota State 32 31 28 42 36 24 26 37 28 28 28 30 28 29 27 27 28 28 30 36 35 33 34Northern Michigan 32 48 34 34 62 55 44 49 48 47 48 51 57 56 55 51 55 55 51 47 50 48 48St. Thomas 26 51 35 57 50 32 31 30 34 30 39 39 33 35 34 31 34 39 44 43 48 47 47 Note: teams ranked in the top-10 automatically qualify for the NCAA tournament. Teams ranked 11-16 can qualify based upon conference tournament results.

Awards CCHA Award Recipient Player of the Year Sam Morton, Minnesota StateForward of the Year Sam Morton, Minnesota StateDefenseman of the Year Kyle Looft, Bemidji StateGoaltender of the Year Mattias Sholl, Bemidji StateRookie of the Year Isaac Gordon, Michigan TechBest Defensive Defenseman Kyle Looft, Bemidji StateBest Defensive Forward Connor Milburn, Lake Superior State Jackson Jutting, Bemidji StateCoach of the Year Tom Serratore, Bemidji State First Team   Position   Second TeamMattias Sholl, Bemidji State GBlake Pietila, Michigan TechKyle Looft, Bemidji State DEvan Murr, Minnesota StateEric Pohlkamp, Bemidji State DJosh Zinger, Northern MichiganSam Morton, Minnesota State FIsaac Gordon, Michigan TechLleyton Roed, Bemidji State FConnor Milburn, Lake Superior StateJared Westcott, Lake Superior State FLucas Wahlin, St. Thomas Rookie Team   Position   Cole Moore, Bowling Green GEvan Murr, Minnesota State DEric Pohlkamp, Bemidji State DLuigi Benincasa, Ferris State FIsaac Gordon, Michigan Tech FJohn Herrington, Lake Superior State F

2024 NHL entry draft

4 111 Michigan Tech Pittsburgh Penguins 6 165 † Minnesota State Columbus Blue Jackets 7 205 † Northern Michigan Philadelphia Flyers 7 218 † St. Thomas Edmonton Oilers † incoming freshman

References

External links