# 1996 CCHA men's ice hockey tournament

The 1996 CCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 25th CCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament. It was played between March 8 and March 16, 1996. Opening round games were played at campus sites, while all 'final four' games were played at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan. By winning the tournament, Michigan received the Central Collegiate Hockey Association's automatic bid to the 1996 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.

## Format

The tournament featured three rounds of play. The three teams that finish below eighth place in the standings were not eligible for postseason play. In the quarterfinals, the first and eighth seeds, the second and seventh seeds, the third seed and sixth seeds and the fourth seed and fifth seeds played a best-of-three series, with the winners advancing to the semifinals. 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 champions received an automatic bid to the 1996 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.

## Conference standings

Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; PTS = Points; GF = Goals For; GA = Goals Against
1995–96 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 |
| Lake Superior State† | 30 | 22 | 6 | 2 | 46 | 136 | 89 | 40 | 30 | 8 | 2 | 184 | 109 |
| Michigan†* | 30 | 22 | 6 | 2 | 46 | 178 | 71 | 43 | 34 | 7 | 2 | 239 | 93 |
| Michigan State | 30 | 22 | 7 | 1 | 45 | 115 | 86 | 42 | 28 | 13 | 1 | 154 | 129 |
| Western Michigan | 30 | 21 | 6 | 3 | 45 | 125 | 71 | 41 | 27 | 11 | 3 | 172 | 111 |
| Bowling Green | 30 | 18 | 11 | 1 | 37 | 126 | 106 | 41 | 26 | 14 | 1 | 172 | 138 |
| Ferris State | 30 | 10 | 17 | 3 | 23 | 101 | 120 | 38 | 13 | 22 | 3 | 126 | 196 |
| Miami | 30 | 9 | 17 | 4 | 22 | 99 | 142 | 36 | 10 | 22 | 4 | 119 | 168 |
| Ohio State | 30 | 8 | 17 | 5 | 21 | 82 | 105 | 34 | 10 | 19 | 5 | 94 | 118 |
| Alaska-Fairbanks | 30 | 8 | 22 | 0 | 16 | 101 | 142 | 34 | 10 | 23 | 1 | 114 | 152 |
| Notre Dame | 30 | 6 | 20 | 4 | 16 | 87 | 136 | 36 | 9 | 23 | 4 | 110 | 159 |
| Illinois-Chicago | 30 | 6 | 23 | 1 | 13 | 73 | 155 | 36 | 9 | 24 | 3 | 97 | 177 |
| Championship: Michigan † indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion Final rankings: USA Today/American Hockey Magazine Coaches Poll Top 10 Poll |||||||||||||||

## Bracket

| Quarterfinals March 8–10 | Quarterfinals March 8–10 | Quarterfinals March 8–10 | Quarterfinals March 8–10 | Quarterfinals March 8–10 | | | Semifinals March 14 | Semifinals March 14 | Semifinals March 14 | Championship March 16 | Championship March 16 | Championship March 16 |
| 1 | Lake Superior State | 4* | 8 | – | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Ohio State | 3 | 2 | – | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Ohio State | 3 | 2 | – | | | 1 | Lake Superior State | 7 | | | |
| | | | | | | | 5 | Bowling Green | 0 | | | |
| 2 | Michigan | 5 | 3 | – | | | 5 | Bowling Green | 0 | | | |
| 7 | Miami | 1 | 0 | – | | | | | | | | |
| 7 | Miami | 1 | 0 | – | | | | | | 1 | Lake Superior State | 3 |
| (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | 1 | Lake Superior State | 3 |
| (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | 2 | Michigan | 4 |
| 3 | Michigan State | 3* | 3 | 3 | | | | | | | | | 2 | Michigan | 4 |
| 6 | Ferris State | 2 | 5 | 1 | | | | | | | | |
| 6 | Ferris State | 2 | 5 | 1 | | | 2 | Michigan | 6 | | | |
| | | | | | | | 3 | Michigan State | 2 | | | |
| 4 | Western Michigan | 1 | 1 | – | | | 3 | Michigan State | 2 | | | |
| 5 | Bowling Green | 8 | 3 | – | | | | | | | | |
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

### Quarterfinals
#### (1) Lake Superior State vs. (8) Ohio State

* Lake Superior State won series 2–0

#### (2) Michigan vs. (7) Miami

* Michigan won series 2–0

#### (3) Michigan State vs. (6) Ferris State

* Michigan State won series 2–1

#### (4) Western Michigan vs. (5) Bowling Green

* Bowling Green won series 2–0

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

* F Bobby Hayes (Michigan)
* F Gerald Tallaire (Lake Superior State)
* F John Madden* (Michigan)
* D Keith Aldridge (Lake Superior State)
* D Harold Schock (Michigan)
* G John Grahame (Lake Superior State)
* Most Valuable Player(s)