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As the college hockey season approaches the midway point, the CCHA standings remain a jumbled mess.

St. Thomas currently leads the way with 18 points in the conference standings, with only six points (or one weekend sweep in regulation) separating the top six teams in the league.

Behind the Tommies, Michigan Tech is in second place with 16 points, while Minnesota State is in third place with 14 points. Bemidji State has 13 points, followed by Northern Michigan and Lake Superior State with 12 points apiece. Even the two teams at the bottom, Bowling Green and Ferris State, are in the thick of contention with nine and eight league points, respectively.

The race for the 2023-24 MacNaughton Cup is an absolute slog, but it certainly comes as no surprise to Bemidji State coach Tom Serratore, who鈥檚 been saying it all along.

鈥淚鈥檝e been saying it every weekend. I said it the opening weekend. The one thing we all knew as coaches going into the season, we knew it was going to beat us,鈥� Serratore said about the league鈥檚 parity. 鈥淭he one thing we don鈥檛 know is who鈥檚 going to be one, two, three, four, five, six, seven or eight. None of us know that. That鈥檚 what you want a league to be. In reality, you want a league to be tight, anybody's game.

鈥淓verybody鈥檚 got something different. 鈥� At the end of the day, it鈥檚 all about winning hockey games and how we鈥檙e going to win those hockey games.鈥�

Contributed / BSU Photo Services

The only team in the league with a winning record is UST (8-7-1, 6-4 CCHA), which has had its fair share of ups and downs in league play.

The Tommies are one of two teams in the conference with 10 CCHA games played, while the other six have each played eight league games. UST is 3-1 at home against conference opponents but is 3-3 on the road.

Whether on the road or at home, Tommies coach Rico Blasi says each conference game has been a challenge to pick up points in the standings.

鈥淓verybody鈥檚 got one or two lines that are really good, and the goaltending, I think, in our league is fantastic, to be honest with you,鈥� Blasi said. 鈥淔rom top to bottom, everybody has one or two goaltenders that are just lights out every week, but we knew it was going to be a competitive league. That鈥檚 why I think some of the coaches when asked on media day what they thought about the poll, they all kind of chuckled because if you guys can predict who鈥檚 going to finish first to last, that鈥檚 pretty good because we can鈥檛.

鈥淵ou鈥檝e got to grind it out. You鈥檝e got to focus on daily improvement and one game at a time. I know it鈥檚 clich茅, but if you don鈥檛 do that in our league, you鈥檙e going to find yourself behind the eight ball.鈥�

In 17 league series thus far, there have been eight sweeps. However, over the last three weekends, there鈥檚 been a bit of a lull. Since Nov. 17 in CCHA action, there have been just two sweeps, both of which came on the road and one of which included a shootout victory.

The first four sweeps in conference play were home sweeps, while the last four have been claimed by the road team. Only three of the sweeps have been fully decided in regulation, garnering the maximum six points in the standings.

鈥淚f you can grind away and find a way to get points on the weekend, you鈥檙e going to find yourself in a good spot come February and early March,鈥� Blasi said. 鈥淚 think that鈥檚 the goal for everybody in our league is to just continue to grind away and find a way.

鈥淚鈥檓 exhausted on Sundays. I don鈥檛 know how the other coaches feel, but it is such a grind to play in our league. Just from making adjustments to making sure that our guys are ready to go and play at a high level, I鈥檓 sure I鈥檓 not the only one who feels that way.鈥�

Contributed / St. Thomas Athletics

MTU (7-7-3, 5-3), the favorite by the media and coaches in the league鈥檚 preseason polls, is performing exceptionally well on the road in conference play.

Against CCHA opponents, the Huskies are 3-1 on the road and are averaging a league-best two points in the standings per conference game. They have earned three or more points in each of their four league series.

Still, the margins are razor thin. Six of MTU鈥檚 eight league games have been decided by one goal, while the other two were decided by two goals. In fact, the Huskies haven鈥檛 won by more than a goal since their first CCHA game of the season, a 4-2 victory over Bemidji State on Nov. 10.

鈥淵ou have to be prepared every single night. You can鈥檛 be sleeping,鈥� Michigan Tech assistant coach Tyler Shelast said. 鈥淵ou have to have a detailed game plan. You have to be ready to compete.

鈥淵ou have to be ready to match the energy of every team because every team you play in this conference, you know they鈥檙e going to compete.鈥�

Jackson Forderer / Special to The Rink Live

Much was made of the high turnover MSU faced heading into 2023-24. The reigning Mason Cup champions lost their nine top point-getters from a season ago, while first-year coach Luke Strand took over the program in the offseason.

Ahead of the season, the coaching staff and personnel changes positioned the Mavericks in the middle of the media and coaches鈥� preseason polls, but once again, here they are near the top of the league standings.

MSU (6-6-2, 4-3-1) won its first three league games this season before dropping its next three. Then, last weekend, the Mavs grabbed five crucial points in the standings with a shootout win and a regulation win at Lake Superior State.

In terms of learning the lay of the land in the CCHA, it鈥檚 been a wild year for Strand, who believes the teams in the league with the most experience have proven to be the most consistent.

鈥淎 lot of the rosters have really good balance of old and young, and then there鈥檚 a lot of goalies in the league that have come out and made some big stops in big moments for teams,鈥� Strand said. 鈥淚f your special teams are doing the job, it鈥檚 probably going to end up being the separating factor in a lot of ways.鈥�

Now in his sixth year at the college level, Mavericks forward Sam Morton has seen plenty throughout his four years in the CCHA. While Morton would love nothing more than to see MSU emerge with the top seed in the Mason Cup Playoffs, he鈥檚 enjoying the league鈥檚 parity for the competitive environment it has created.

鈥淓very point is really important on the weekend, and I think the fact that it鈥檚 a tight league right now, it鈥檚 great,鈥� Morton said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 competitive. It鈥檚 fun, and games, to a certain extent, feel like playoff games.鈥�

Northern Michigan coach Grant Potulny believes the ability to put together a winning streak is the key to finding separation in the standings.

鈥淓verybody鈥檚 in it, and now it鈥檚 going to be who can find their groove and who can continue to bag points every weekend,鈥� Potulny said. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 have weekends where you鈥檙e getting one or none points. You鈥檝e got to be trying to get four or more every weekend to try and solidify that home ice. I just think there鈥檚 a lot of teams that are very similar.鈥�

Contributed / FSU Athletics

Earlier this week, Serratore caught up with a former BSU player who鈥檚 now playing professionally in Europe. Having bounced around to several different pro leagues since his college days, the former player told Serratore that scoring at the college level was undoubtedly the hardest.

For Serratore, it鈥檚 an anecdote that translates to how competitive the CCHA has become in 2023-24.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 him five years after playing for the Beavers reflecting back about how difficult it was,鈥� Serratore said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 hard winning back-to-back games. It鈥檚 hard, period, especially when there鈥檚 a fine line between the two teams.鈥�