As the holiday break descends upon us, there is one thing that has stood out above all others: Minnesota State is the real deal.
This isn’t a particularly “hot take,” in fact, one might argue that it’s the most obvious observation one could make. But sometimes, as a columnist, I’m supposed to take risks, and challenge the status quo, so consider this my risky move: making a point and hoping that nobody else notices it’s obvious.
Anyway… Minnesota State is legit.
We should have known this coming into the season, because despite a few flaws (they two of the conference’s top scorers in Lucas Sowder and Sam Morton), they also brought basically everybody else back. And yet, some people (this writer included) didn’t believe. In fact, this writer might have made a huge error and said that Minnesota State would finish fifth in the conference.
Mea culpa, Mavericks fans.
Maybe it was fitting, then, that just days after the preseason polls were voted on, the Mavericks made a huge splash in the transfer portal by adding forward Rhett Pitlick from Minnesota. If I’d have known about Pitlick joining the Mavericks, I certainly would have made them a top-three team, but even then, did I think they were going to be far and away the top team in the conference at Christmas break?
The answer to that, readers, is obvious. (For the record, I thought defending CCHA champions Bemidji State and St. Thomas would finish first and second, respectively, but currently neither team is in the top half of the conference standings.)
So, sometimes we sportswriters get things wrong. But as it stands, Minnesota State is sitting atop the CCHA standings with a 9-1-2 record and 29 points in the league table. Close behind them are second-place Augustana, who have 16 points through eight games.
Now, I’m sure you’re asking me now, “Jack, wait. Augustana only has 16 points. How is it possible that they are 13 points and four games behind Minnesota State. Michigan Tech is in second with 23 points, right?”
Well, that’s where things get complicated. Because the Vikings were a last-minute addition to the league — CCHA officials decided to vote them in this summer after finding out that St. Thomas would be leaving after the 2025-26 season — the CCHA is using a points-percentage formula to determine the league champions and standings this year. So the Vikings, who have 16 points at the moment, are still in second place because they are 5-3-0 in the conference and have a 0.667 points percentage compared to Tech’s 0.639 (they’re 7-3-2). Lake Superior State is in fourth place at 6-4-0 (0.600).
As luck would have it, the Vikings play all three of those squads for the first (and only) time this season after the holiday break. So even though the points-percentage formula is slightly confusing (it’s total points divided by games played times three), there will be some huge matchups that will tell us a lot about where we’re at in February.
For now, I wanted to quickly go through each team and highlight one player who I think deserves to be mentioned as that team’s MVP. My criteria isn’t necessarily based on stats (although they certainly are important) but more about which players I think would be so important to their teams that they’d be substantially worse if they were not available. This is subjective, of course, but it’s also a chance for me to talk about some players I may not normally mention.
Without further ado, here we go!
Minnesota State (14-4-2, 9-1-2 CCHA)
MVP: Goaltender Alex Tracy (14-2-2, 1.39 GAA, .945 SV%)
Tracy’s numbers last season were solid but not eye-popping (2.50 GAA and .910 SV%). He got a little overlooked by a strong crop of goaltenders the CCHA had last year (Bemidji State’s Mattias Sholl and Michigan Tech’s Blake Pietila). But this season, Tracy has been basically unstoppable. He’s started every single game for the Mavericks, and he’s only allowed teams to score more than two goals against him three times. Two of those were in Maverick wins. Even in a loss, teams have trouble scoring on him: In MSU’s only regulation conference loss this season, Bemidji State managed just a single goal and won 1-0. Tracy has been arguably the nation’s top goalie for a reason.
Augustana (10-7-1, 5-3-0 CCHA)
MVP: Luke Mobley (7g-3a-10pts)
It’s hard to pick just one standout offensive performer from Augustana this season, because one of the Vikings’ hallmarks has been scoring depth. But Mobley, a senior who transferred from Clarkson last season, is the team’s captain and leading scorer with seven goals. He’s a big leader on a forward unit that has lots of players with a handful of goals. Nearly everyone on this team has been chipping in, which is why the Vikings are off to such a great start to the first half of the season.
Michigan Tech (9-5-2, 7-3-2 CCHA)
MVP: Forward Stiven Sardarian (8g-11a-19pts)
One of the conference’s more under-the-radar transfers, Sardarian has made a big splash this season since coming from New Hampshire. He’s tied for the conference lead with eight goals and has 19 points–already surpassing his 2023-24 total of 14 points at UNH. For a team that has at times struggled to score (they’ve scored more than two goals only six times this season), Sardarian has been a reliable spark.
Lake Superior State (8-9-1, 6-4-0 CCHA)
MVP: Goaltender Rorke Applebee (8-7-1, 2.79 GAA, .911 SV%)
We’ve seen plenty of teams in college hockey struggle with goaltender injuries. Merrimack was so hard-up in a series against Stonehill they had to play an equipment manager. LSSU hasn’t had to do that yet, but Applebee, a freshman from Chateauguay, Quebec, has been the Lakers’ only healthy goalie for nearly two months. He’s been outstanding and has helped backstop the Lakers to a solid 6-4-0 conference record. He’s also been the anchor of the Lakers best-in-the CCHA penalty kill unit, which stands at 0.871 at the holiday break.
Bowling Green (7-7-2, 4-4-2 CCHA)
MVP: Forward Brody Waters (8g-3a-11pts)
The Falcons are currently third-to-last in the conference in scoring (just 2.16 goals per game), but there’s been a bright spot: There are five different players tied for the CCHA’s goalscoring lead, and Waters is one of them. The sophomore from Heidelberg, Ont., scored twice in Bowling Green’s win over Northern Michigan last weekend, and has already improved his scoring numbers from his freshman year (when he scored six goals in 34 games).
Bemidji State (8-8-3, 5-5-2 CCHA)
MVP: Defenseman Isah Parekh (3g-5a-8pts)
One of the big question marks for Bemidji State coming into the season was how they’d handle the loss of two of their top defensemen in all-conference performers Kyle Looft and Eric Pohlkamp. And while you can’t replace a player outright, it seems they have found a solid one in the strong tradition of Beaver defensemen to take the mantle in Parekh. The freshman from Nobleton, Ont., has been one of the Beavers’ most reliable power play quarterbacks, scoring two of his three goals thus far on the man advantage and adding three of his five assists that way too.
Ferris State (6-10-2, 5-7-0, CCHA)
MVP: Forward Caiden Gault (8g-2a-10pts)
Gault, a junior from Oakbank, Manitoba, has taken a notable step in his game this season and turned into one of the Bulldogs’ most reliable performers. After recording just five points in 20 games a season ago, he’s now among Ferris State’s top six skaters and is relied upon to contribute to the offense each night. In FSU’s last series against Northern Michigan, he had a pair of goals to help the Bulldogs earn their first sweep of the season.
St. Thomas (4-9-4, 3-6-3 CCHA)
MVP: Forward Liam Malmquist (6g-13a-19pts)
St. Thomas has been up and down all season, but Malmquist has been a consistent performer for the Tommies. He’s scored some key goals against top teams–including what would turn out to be the game-winner against Michigan Tech earlier in December. The Tommies will certainly be looking towards Malmquist as they try to pull themselves back up into home ice contention for the CCHA Mason Cup playoffs.
Northern Michigan (1-16-1, 0-11-1 CCHA)
MVP: Goaltender Ryan Ouellette (1-15-1, 2.88 GAA, .919 SV%)
It’s been a rough season for NMU as a whole, but Ouellette has been a big bright spot. The transfer from Niagara has been able to keep the Wildcats in every game, even when they might not necessarily have the offensive power to be in those games. His .919 save percentage is third in the conference despite the fact that NMU has won just a single game. Although the Wildcats are currently in ninth in the conference, Ouellette should be able to help them steal a few wins down the stretch in the second half.
