# 2001 CCHA men's ice hockey tournament

The 2001 CCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 30th CCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament. It was played between March 8 and March 17, 2001. First round and play-in 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 State won the inaugural Mason Cup (named after head coach Ron Mason) and received the Central Collegiate Hockey Association's automatic bid to the 2001 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.

## Format

The tournament featured four rounds of play. The two teams that finish below tenth place in the standings were not eligible for postseason play. In the First Round, the first and tenth seeds, the second and ninth seeds, the third and eighth seeds, the fourth and seventh seeds and the fifth and sixth seeds played a best-of-three series, with the top three ranked winners advancing to the semifinals and two lower-seeded teams playing in a single play-in game to determine the final qualifier. 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 2001 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
2000–01 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 |
| #3 Michigan State†* | 28 | 21 | 4 | 3 | 45 | 86 | 37 | 42 | 33 | 5 | 4 | 134 | 57 |
| Miami | 28 | 17 | 10 | 1 | 35 | 95 | 71 | 38 | 20 | 16 | 2 | 120 | 108 |
| #4 Michigan | 28 | 16 | 9 | 3 | 35 | 102 | 60 | 45 | 27 | 13 | 5 | 167 | 110 |
| #13 Nebraska-Omaha | 28 | 15 | 10 | 3 | 33 | 86 | 80 | 42 | 24 | 15 | 3 | 127 | 107 |
| Northern Michigan | 28 | 12 | 10 | 6 | 30 | 76 | 71 | 38 | 18 | 13 | 7 | 121 | 102 |
| Western Michigan | 28 | 12 | 10 | 6 | 30 | 97 | 96 | 39 | 20 | 13 | 6 | 149 | 129 |
| Ohio State | 28 | 13 | 13 | 2 | 28 | 81 | 89 | 37 | 17 | 18 | 2 | 118 | 117 |
| Ferris State | 28 | 9 | 15 | 4 | 22 | 64 | 81 | 38 | 13 | 20 | 5 | 91 | 112 |
| Bowling Green | 28 | 8 | 15 | 5 | 21 | 72 | 82 | 40 | 16 | 19 | 5 | 109 | 110 |
| Alaska-Fairbanks | 28 | 7 | 14 | 7 | 21 | 67 | 91 | 36 | 9 | 19 | 8 | 90 | 112 |
| Notre Dame | 28 | 7 | 15 | 6 | 20 | 72 | 98 | 39 | 10 | 22 | 7 | 104 | 150 |
| Lake Superior State | 28 | 8 | 20 | 0 | 16 | 53 | 95 | 36 | 13 | 23 | 0 | 79 | 119 |
| Championship: Michigan State † indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion Final rankings: USA Today/American Hockey Magazine Poll Top 15 Poll |||||||||||||||

## Bracket

| First Round March 8–11 | First Round March 8–11 | First Round March 8–11 | First Round March 8–11 | First Round March 8–11 | Play-In March 13 | Play-In March 13 | Play-In March 13 | Semifinals March 16 | Semifinals March 16 | Semifinals March 16 | Championship March 17 | Championship March 17 | Championship March 17 |
| 1 | Michigan State | 5 | 3* | – | | | | | | | | | |
| 10 | Alaska-Fairbanks | 2 | 2 | – | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | 1 | Michigan State | 2 | | | |
| 2 | Miami | 3 | 3 | – | 5 | Northern Michigan | 1 | 9 | Bowling Green | 1 | | | |
| 9 | Bowling Green | 4 | 4* | – | 9 | Bowling Green | 2* | | | | | | |
| 3 | Michigan | 8 | 3 | – | | | | | | | 1 | Michigan State | 2 |
| 8 | Ferris State | 3 | 0 | – | | | | | | | 3 | Michigan | 0 |
| 4 | Nebraska-Omaha | 4 | 2 | 4** | | | | | | | | | |
| 7 | Ohio State | 5* | 1 | 3 | | | | 3 | | | | Michigan | 3 |
| | | | | | | | | 4 | Nebraska-Omaha | 2 | | | |
| 5 | Northern Michigan | 3* | 7 | 5* | | | | | | | | | |
| 6 | Western Michigan | 2 | 9 | 4 | | | | | | | | | |
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

### First round
#### (1) Michigan State vs. (10) Alaska-Fairbanks

* Michigan State won series 2–0

#### (2) Miami vs. (9) Bowling Green

* Bowling Green won series 2–0

#### (3) Michigan vs. (8) Ferris State

* Michigan won series 2–0

#### (4) Nebraska-Omaha vs. (7) Ohio State

* Nebraska-Omaha won series 2–1

#### (5) Northern Michigan vs. (6) Western Michigan

* Northern Michigan won series 2–1

### Championship
#### (1) Michigan State vs. (3) Michigan
## Tournament awards
### All-Tournament Team

* F Adam Hall (Michigan State)
* F Sean Patchell (Michigan State)
* F Joe Kautz (Michigan)
* D Andrew Hutchinson (Michigan State)
* D Dave Huntzkicker (Michigan)
* G Ryan Miller* (Michigan State)
* Most Valuable Player(s)