# 2003 CCHA men's ice hockey tournament

The 2003 CCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 32nd CCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament in conference history. It was played between March 14 and March 22, 2003. First round games were played at campus sites, while all 'super six' games were played at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan. By winning the tournament, Michigan won the Mason Cup and received the Central Collegiate Hockey Association's automatic bid to the 2003 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.

## Format

The tournament featured four rounds of play. In the First Round, the first and twelfth seeds, the second and eleventh seeds, the third and tenth seeds, the fourth and ninth seeds, the fifth and eighth seeds and the sixth and seventh seeds played a best-of-three series. All six victors in the first round advance as the newly minted 'Super Six' and play only single-elimination for the duration of the tournament. The top two ranked winners receive byes into the semifinals while the four other teams play in the quarterfinals to determine the other qualifiers. In the semifinals, the remaining highest and lowest seeds and second highest and second lowest seeds play a single-game, with the winners advancing to the finals. The tournament champion receives an automatic bid to the 2003 NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey Tournament.

## Conference standings

Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; PTS = Points; GF = Goals For; GA = Goals Against
2002–03 Central Collegiate Hockey Association standingsvte :
| | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall |
| | GP | W | L | T | PTS | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA |
| #6 Ferris State† | 28 | 22 | 5 | 1 | 45 | 121 | 64 | 42 | 31 | 10 | 1 | 188 | 100 |
| #4 Michigan* | 28 | 18 | 7 | 3 | 39 | 111 | 72 | 43 | 30 | 10 | 3 | 167 | 103 |
| #12 Ohio State | 28 | 16 | 8 | 4 | 36 | 90 | 63 | 43 | 25 | 13 | 5 | 129 | 95 |
| #15 Michigan State | 28 | 17 | 10 | 1 | 35 | 113 | 83 | 39 | 23 | 14 | 2 | 154 | 118 |
| Northern Michigan | 28 | 14 | 13 | 1 | 29 | 91 | 83 | 41 | 22 | 17 | 2 | 144 | 120 |
| Miami | 28 | 13 | 12 | 3 | 29 | 86 | 66 | 41 | 21 | 17 | 3 | 132 | 101 |
| Notre Dame | 28 | 13 | 12 | 3 | 29 | 90 | 90 | 40 | 17 | 17 | 6 | 122 | 123 |
| Western Michigan | 28 | 13 | 14 | 1 | 27 | 92 | 101 | 38 | 15 | 21 | 2 | 122 | 147 |
| Alaska-Fairbanks | 28 | 10 | 11 | 7 | 27 | 78 | 104 | 36 | 15 | 14 | 7 | 111 | 130 |
| Nebraska-Omaha | 28 | 9 | 17 | 2 | 20 | 64 | 97 | 40 | 13 | 22 | 5 | 98 | 135 |
| Bowling Green | 28 | 5 | 20 | 3 | 13 | 71 | 116 | 36 | 8 | 25 | 3 | 94 | 143 |
| Lake Superior State | 28 | 3 | 24 | 1 | 7 | 40 | 108 | 38 | 6 | 28 | 4 | 60 | 146 |
| Championship: Michigan † indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion Final rankings: USA Today/American Hockey Magazine Poll Top 15 Poll |||||||||||||||

## Bracket

Teams are reseeded after the first round and quarterfinals
| First Round March 14–16 | First Round March 14–16 | First Round March 14–16 | First Round March 14–16 | First Round March 14–16 | Quarterfinals March 20 | Quarterfinals March 20 | Quarterfinals March 20 | Semifinals March 21 | Semifinals March 21 | Semifinals March 21 | Championship March 22 | Championship March 22 | Championship March 22 |
| 1 | Ferris State | 6 | 6 | – | | | | | | | | | |
| 12 | Lake Superior State | 1 | 1 | – | | | | | | | | | |
| 2 | Michigan | 3 | 4 | – | | | | | | | | | |
| 2 | Michigan | 3 | 4 | – | | | | 1 | Ferris State | 4 | | | |
| 11 | Bowling Green | 1 | 3 | – | | | | 1 | Ferris State | 4 | | | |
| 11 | Bowling Green | 1 | 3 | – | 4 | Michigan State | 5 | 5 | Northern Michigan | 2 | | | |
| | | | | | 5 | Northern Michigan | 7 | | | | | | |
| 3 | Ohio State | 4 | 3 | – | 5 | Northern Michigan | 7 | | | | | | |
| 3 | Ohio State | 4 | 3 | – | | | | | | | 1 | Ferris State | 3 |
| 10 | Nebraska-Omaha | 1 | 1 | – | | | | | | | 1 | Ferris State | 3 |
| 10 | Nebraska-Omaha | 1 | 1 | – | | | | | | | 2 | Michigan | 5 |
| 4 | Michigan State | 11 | 3 | – | | | | | | | | | |
| 4 | Michigan State | 11 | 3 | – | | | | 2 | Michigan | 3 | Third Place | Third Place | Third Place |
| 9 | Alaska-Fairbanks | 1 | 1 | – | | | | 2 | Michigan | 3 | Third Place | Third Place | Third Place |
| 9 | Alaska-Fairbanks | 1 | 1 | – | 3 | Ohio State | 3 | 3 | Ohio State | 0 | | | |
| | | | | | 7 | Notre Dame | 2 | | | | 3 | Ohio State | 1 |
| 5 | Northern Michigan | 8 | 6 | – | 7 | Notre Dame | 2 | | | | 3 | Ohio State | 1 |
| 5 | Northern Michigan | 8 | 6 | – | | | | | | | 5 | Northern Michigan | 4 |
| 8 | Western Michigan | 3 | 4 | – | | | | | | | 5 | Northern Michigan | 4 |
| 6 | Miami | 4 | 0 | 0 | | | | | | | | | |
| 7 | Notre Dame | 2 | 1 | 5 | | | | | | | | | |
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

### First round
#### (1) Ferris State vs. (12) Lake Superior State

* Ferris State won series 2–0

#### (2) Michigan vs. (11) Bowling Green

* Michigan won series 2–0

#### (3) Ohio State vs. (10) Nebraska-Omaha

* Ohio State won series 2–0

#### (4) Michigan State vs. (9) Alaska-Fairbanks

* Michigan State won series 2–0

#### (5) Northern Michigan vs. (8) Western Michigan

* Northern Michigan won series 2–0

#### (6) Miami vs. (7) Notre Dame

* Notre Dame won series 2–1

### Championship
#### (1) Ferris State vs. (2) Michigan
## Tournament awards
### All-Tournament Team

* F Jed Ortmeyer (Michigan)
* F Chris Kunitz (Ferris State)
* F Dwight Helminen* (Michigan)
* D Simon Mangos (Ferris State)
* D Brandon Rogers (Michigan)
* G Al Montoya (Michigan)
* Most Valuable Player(s)

### Tournament Three Stars

* 3 Craig Kowalski (Northern Michigan)
* 2 Chris Kunitz (Ferris State)
* 1 Dwight Helminen (Michigan)