BOWLING GREEN — The Central Collegiate Hockey Association is set up for a wild final two weekends of the regular season before the league tournament, and Bowling Green State University is looking to hold on to its position of hosting a first-round series.
The Falcons, who are third in the CCHA standings with 41 points, will be glued to what happens around the league during their bye week this weekend. BGSU (15-15-2, 12-10-2 CCHA) will cap off the regular season by hosting Northern Michigan in a two-game series beginning Feb. 24.
With seven of the top eight teams separated by 21 points— the top five have just 14 points between them — a plethora of scenarios could happen before the CCHA tournament begins in early March.
The top four teams in the final CCHA standings will host an opening round best-of-three series.
“That is 100 percent the goal to host the first round of the CCHA playoffs,” BGSU coach Ty Eigner said. “We know we’ll be on the sidelines this weekend watching, doing some scoreboard watching, and then next weekend we’ll have the opportunity to put ourselves in a position to host. We’re excited about the opportunity, we’re looking forward to the challenge, and it’s really tight.
“Most of the time with two weeks left in the season, things are pretty well solidified and people know who’s going to end up where. But for the first time in a while, there’s no guarantee who’s going to win the league, which is new. From one to probably seven, there could be movement.”
Even at a point this late in the season, it is hard to tell which teams will be where for the tournament.
Michigan Tech is currently in first with 47 points. The Huskies and Falcons have played 24 league games, while the other six squads have played 22.
Minnesota State is right behind at 45, while Bemidji State (34) and Ferris State (33) are fourth and fifth, respectively. Northern Michigan (27), St. Thomas (26), and Lake Superior State (17) round out the standings.
The remaining matchups for the top teams make the race even more intriguing. Defending CCHA champion Minnesota State, which finished as the NCAA Division I runner-up a year ago, is at Bemidji State this weekend before hosting Michigan Tech the following week.
Bemidji State is at St. Thomas next weekend, while Ferris State travels to Northern Michigan before hosting Lake Superior State.
“Obviously, we’re in a good position here,” BGSU senior forward Taylor Schneider said. “It is very tight, and what we can focus on is what we control and that’s trying to take it one game at a time, one period at a time, one shift at a time.
“If we do that, you’ve just got to accept where the cards fall in place at the end there.”
The Falcons are in a relatively unfamiliar position of having a bye week this late in the season. The 2016-17 campaign was the last time BGSU had the previous weekend before its regular season series finale off.
But the Falcons are embracing it and viewing the chance to rest and regroup as a positive.
“It’s a really long year. We start a week after our guys get here, they start working out, they start skating on their own a little bit, and then we get out there with them in our preseason and then we’re going,” Eigner said. “So they’re tired and they’re beat up.
“So the bye week from a physical and mental standpoint is a positive to allow them to just, all they have to do is come to the rink in the morning, get through practice, get accomplished what we need to accomplish in practice and in the weight room, and then they don’t have to worry about games so they can focus on school and that stuff.”
BGSU, which earned three league points with a series-opening win at Michigan Tech last Friday before falling in the finale, will be aiming to continue a strong recent trend at home when it squares off with Northern Michigan (14-16, 10-12). The Falcons are 6-1-1 in their last eight games at Slater Family Ice Arena.
“You always want your games to mean something,” BGSU senior forward Alex Barber said, “so it’s not going to be very difficult to get up for those games.”
First Published February 17, 2023, 12:57 a.m.
