# 2023–24 CCHA season

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 record |
| Augustana | Garrett Raboin | 1 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 |
| Bemidji State | Tom Serratore | 23 | 368–344–97 | 26–23–3 |
| Bowling Green | Ty Eigner | 5 | 71–61–10 | 23–26–3 |
| Ferris State | Bob Daniels | 32 | 487–581–112 | 265–307–76 |
| Lake Superior State | Damon Whitten | 10 | 126–176–30 | 21–30–1 |
| Michigan Tech | Joe Shawhan | 7 | 119–88–20 | 31–15–6 |
| Minnesota State | Luke Strand | 1 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 |
| Northern Michigan | Grant Potulny | 7 | 106–97–11 | 26–25–1 |
| St. Thomas | Enrico Blasi | 3 | 14–55–3 | 13–36–3 |

## Standings

2023–24 Central Collegiate Hockey Association Standingsvte :
| | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record |
| | GP | W | L | T | OTW | OTL | SW | PTS | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA |
| Bemidji State † | 24 | 15 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 48 | 82 | 64 | 38 | 20 | 16 | 2 | 117 | 111 |
| St. Thomas | 24 | 12 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 39 | 68 | 62 | 37 | 15 | 20 | 2 | 97 | 105 |
| #19 Michigan Tech* | 24 | 12 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 39 | 63 | 54 | 40 | 19 | 15 | 6 | 109 | 102 |
| Minnesota State | 24 | 12 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 38 | 73 | 62 | 37 | 18 | 15 | 4 | 111 | 96 |
| Northern Michigan | 24 | 10 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 36 | 57 | 67 | 34 | 12 | 16 | 6 | 83 | 105 |
| Bowling Green | 24 | 11 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 35 | 60 | 69 | 36 | 13 | 22 | 1 | 86 | 116 |
| Lake Superior State | 24 | 11 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 34 | 79 | 73 | 38 | 17 | 20 | 1 | 114 | 113 |
| Ferris State | 24 | 6 | 17 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 19 | 49 | 80 | 36 | 10 | 24 | 2 | 83 | 125 |
| Augustana ^ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 12 | 18 | 4 | 90 | 105 |
| Championship: March 22, 2024 † indicates conference regular season champion (MacNaughton Cup) * indicates conference tournament champion (Mason Cup) ^ Augustana is playing a transition schedule of 16 games against conference opponents that are not counted in the standings Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll ||||||||||||||||||

### Non-Conference record

| Team | Atlantic Hockey | Big Ten | ECAC Hockey | Hockey East | Independent | NCHC | Total |
| Augustana | 0–0–0 | 0–4–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 4–5–1 | 0–0–0 | 5–11–2 |
| Bemidji State | 1–0–0 | 0–1–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–6–0 | 1–7–0 |
| Bowling Green | 2–2–0 | 0–2–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–2–0 | 2–6–0 |
| Ferris State | 0–0–0 | 0–1–0 | 1–1–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–1–0 | 1–2–1 | 2–5–1 |
| Lake Superior State | 0–1–0 | 0–2–0 | 2–1–0 | 0–0–0 | 1–1–0 | 0–0–0 | 3–5–0 |
| Michigan Tech | 0–0–0 | 1–2–0 | 0–1–1 | 0–0–0 | 1–1-1 | 0–0–1 | 2–4–3 |
| Minnesota State | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 1–1–0 | 0–2–0 | 0–0–0 | 2–1–1 | 3–4–1 |
| Northern Michigan | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 2–2–0 | 0–1–1 | 2–3–1 |
| St. Thomas | 0–0–0 | 0–2–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–2–0 | 1–2–1 | 1–1–0 | 2–7–1 |
| Overall | 3–3–0 | 1–14–0 | 4–4–1 | 0–4–0 | 9–12-3 | 5–15–5 | 22–52–9 |

## Bracket

Teams are reseeded for the semifinals
| Quarterfinals March 8–10 | Quarterfinals March 8–10 | Quarterfinals March 8–10 | Quarterfinals March 8–10 | Quarterfinals March 8–10 | Semifinals March 16 | Semifinals March 16 | Semifinals March 16 | Championship March 22 | Championship March 22 | Championship March 22 |
| 1 | Bemidji State | 5* | 4 | - | | | | | | |
| 8 | Ferris State | 4 | 0 | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Ferris State | 4 | 0 | | 1 | Bemidji State | 4 | | | |
| | | | | | 7 | Lake Superior State | 1 | | | |
| 2 | St. Thomas | 1 | 4 | 2 | 7 | Lake Superior State | 1 | | | |
| 7 | Lake Superior State | 4 | 2 | 3 | | | | | | |
| 7 | Lake Superior State | 4 | 2 | 3 | | | | 1 | Bemidji State | 1 |
| | | | | | | | | 3 | Michigan Tech | 2 |
| 3 | Michigan Tech | 5 | 6 | - | | | | | | | 3 | Michigan Tech | 2 |
| 6 | Bowling Green | 0 | 5 | - | | | | | | |
| 6 | Bowling Green | 0 | 5 | - | 3 | Michigan Tech | 4 | | | |
| | | | | | 4 | Minnesota State | 3 | | | |
| 4 | Minnesota State | 2 | 6 | - | 4 | Minnesota State | 3 | | | |
| 5 | Northern Michigan | 1 | 1 | - | | | | | | |
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

## NCAA tournament

* Game summary
* The 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

| Team | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | Final |
| 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 |
| Bemidji 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 | NR |
| Bowling 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 |
| Ferris 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 |
| Lake 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 |
| Michigan 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 | 19 |
| Minnesota 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 |
| Northern 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 |
| St. 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

| Team | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | Final |
| 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 | NR |
| Bemidji 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 | NR |
| Bowling 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 | NR |
| Ferris 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 | NR |
| Lake 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 | NR |
| Michigan 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 | 20 |
| Minnesota 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 | NR |
| Northern 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 | NR |
| St. 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

| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | Final |
| Augustana | 32 | 11 | 27 | 12 | 16 | 27 | 30 | 36 | 30 | 26 | 35 | 35 | 37 | 37 | 41 | 39 | 39 | 38 | 38 | 40 | 41 | 40 | 39 |
| Bemidji State | 32 | 12 | 48 | 44 | 41 | 42 | 36 | 41 | 40 | 42 | 41 | 40 | 38 | 42 | 41 | 42 | 40 | 40 | 35 | 33 | 31 | 31 | 31 |
| Bowling Green | 21 | 49 | 50 | 54 | 58 | 62 | 59 | 61 | 61 | 54 | 60 | 61 | 61 | 61 | 62 | 57 | 53 | 49 | 55 | 56 | 57 | 57 | 56 |
| Ferris State | 27 | 38 | 47 | 46 | 54 | 58 | 57 | 60 | 57 | 62 | 62 | 63 | 63 | 62 | 59 | 63 | 63 | 63 | 63 | 63 | 63 | 63 | 63 |
| Lake Superior State | 32 | 42 | 38 | 32 | 23 | 44 | 50 | 47 | 46 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 44 | 48 | 47 | 47 | 49 | 53 | 49 | 48 | 45 | 46 | 46 |
| Michigan Tech | 16 | 47 | 45 | 47 | 28 | 36 | 46 | 38 | 35 | 39 | 37 | 35 | 40 | 40 | 38 | 39 | 41 | 42 | 36 | 39 | 36 | 35 | 32 |
| Minnesota State | 32 | 31 | 28 | 42 | 36 | 24 | 26 | 37 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 30 | 28 | 29 | 27 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 30 | 36 | 35 | 33 | 34 |
| Northern Michigan | 32 | 48 | 34 | 34 | 62 | 55 | 44 | 49 | 48 | 47 | 48 | 51 | 57 | 56 | 55 | 51 | 55 | 55 | 51 | 47 | 50 | 48 | 48 |
| St. 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 | Award | Recipient |
| Player of the Year | Player of the Year | Sam Morton, Minnesota State |
| Forward of the Year | Forward of the Year | Sam Morton, Minnesota State |
| Defenseman of the Year | Defenseman of the Year | Kyle Looft, Bemidji State |
| Goaltender of the Year | Goaltender of the Year | Mattias Sholl, Bemidji State |
| Rookie of the Year | Rookie of the Year | Isaac Gordon, Michigan Tech |
| Best Defensive Defenseman | Best Defensive Defenseman | Kyle Looft, Bemidji State |
| Best Defensive Forward | Best Defensive Forward | Connor Milburn, Lake Superior State |
| Jackson Jutting, Bemidji State |
| Coach of the Year | Coach of the Year | Tom Serratore, Bemidji State |
| All-CCHA Teams |||
| First Team | Position | Second Team |
| Mattias Sholl, Bemidji State | G | Blake Pietila, Michigan Tech |
| Kyle Looft, Bemidji State | D | Evan Murr, Minnesota State |
| Eric Pohlkamp, Bemidji State | D | Josh Zinger, Northern Michigan |
| Sam Morton, Minnesota State | F | Isaac Gordon, Michigan Tech |
| Lleyton Roed, Bemidji State | F | Connor Milburn, Lake Superior State |
| Jared Westcott, Lake Superior State | F | Lucas Wahlin, St. Thomas |
| Rookie Team | Position | |
| Cole Moore, Bowling Green | G | |
| Evan Murr, Minnesota State | D | |
| Eric Pohlkamp, Bemidji State | D | |
| Luigi Benincasa, Ferris State | F | |
| Isaac Gordon, Michigan Tech | F | |
| John Herrington, Lake Superior State | F | |

## 2024 NHL Entry Draft

| Round | Pick | Player | College | NHL team |
| 4 | 111 | Chase Pietila | Michigan Tech | Pittsburgh Penguins |
| 6 | 165 | Luke Ashton $^†$ | Minnesota State | Columbus Blue Jackets |
| 7 | 205 | Austin Moline $^†$ | Northern Michigan | Philadelphia Flyers |
| 7 | 218 | Bauer Berry $^†$ | St. Thomas | Edmonton Oilers |
† incoming freshman