NORTHERN MICHIGAN WILDCATS

The Reporter's Corner podcast: Don Lucia, CCHA commissioner

Trent Singer — Fri, 10 Jan 2025 17:15:25 GMT

This week's episode of The Reporter's Corner features CCHA commissioner Don Lucia, whose coaching career includes nearly two decades as the bench boss at the University of Minnesota. One of eight coaches to win 700 or more games in his career, Lucia talked about his early playing days in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, shared stories of his time coaching the Gophers in the WCHA and delved into some of the more recent happenings across the landscape of western college hockey.

The Reporter's Corner is a weekly podcast from Sioux Falls Live sports reporter Trent Singer and Bemidji Pioneer sports editor Jared Rubado on the CCHA's podcast network, featuring players and coaches from around the league.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/4Zq6CHvvSkPlGCtLhwtpkD?si=3f340e8220e04c3e

Subscribe to the CCHA Show for future episodes of the Reporter's Corner. Other links to the episode can be found below:

Amazon Apple Previous Episodes Episode 1: Carter Randklev, Bemidji State forward Episode 2: Taylor Nelson, Augustana assistant coach Episode 3: Dave Shyiak, Northern Michigan head coach Episode 4: Grant Hindman, Lake Superior State defenseman Episode 5: Travis Shoudy, Ferris State defenseman Episode 6: Chase Pietila, Michigan Tech defenseman Episode 7: Dalton Norris, Bowling Green defenseman Episode 8: Jake Sibell & Aaron Trotter, St. Thomas goaltenders Episode 9: Bob Daniels, Ferris State head coach Episode 10: Josh Groll, Minnesota State forward Episode 11: Connor Milburn, Lake Superior State forward]]>

The Reporter's Corner podcast: Dave Shyiak, Northern Michigan

Trent Singer — Fri, 18 Oct 2024 17:49:00 GMT

This week's episode of The Reporter's Corner features Northern Michigan head coach Dave Shyiak, who discussed what his first few months as the new bench boss for the Wildcats has looked like and how he was able to assemble a 28-man roster on such short notice. Shyiak also talked about his playing days as a member of NMU's 1991 national championship team and what he loves the most about life in the U.P.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/3F6DIp7jHGriIOjUomunqo?si=c0d2ad0a3e6f413d

Subscribe to the CCHA Show for future episodes of the Reporter's Corner. Other links to the episode can be found below:

Amazon Apple]]>

CCHA agrees to new 3-year media rights deal with Midco Sports Plus

Trent Singer — Thu, 02 May 2024 17:48:12 GMT

DEEPHAVEN, Minn. — Fans within the CCHA have a new streaming service to use in 2024-25.

The CCHA announced Thursday that it has completed a three-year media rights deal with Midco Sports Plus, which is set to begin with the 2024-25 season.

The regular season and Mason Cup Playoffs will be streamed exclusively on Midco Sports Plus through a direct-to-consumer branded digital network known as CCHA TV.

"The CCHA is excited to partner with Midco Sports to be our exclusive streaming partner, beginning in the 2024-25 season,” CCHA Commissioner Don Lucia said in a statement. “Midco Sports Plus has proven to be a highly successful sports streaming service, and the CCHA looks forward to growing our brand together with Midco.”

https://x.com/CCHAHockey/status/1786028231230988467

The CCHA, which consists of nine member schools, will offer a one-stop shop for all of the league’s digital content through CCHA TV. Fans can expect more than 180 live events to be streamed on CCHA TV on the Midco Sports Plus app each season.

CCHA TV will be available for fans to purchase this September, and it will feature new monthly and annual subscription options.

“The CCHA is a highly regarded league with top tier players and devout fans,” Midco’s Vice President of Business Development Sports Mark Powell said. “We’re thrilled to partner with the CCHA to stream high-energy, high-quality CCHA games that fans and alumni can watch on Midco Sports Plus.”

The CCHA will release its upcoming schedule for the 2024-25 season on Tuesday, May 7. CCHA TV powered by Midco Sports Plus is available to stream on mobile/tablet apps (iOS and Android), connected TV device apps (AppleTV, FireTV and Roku) and a web-based browser interface.

https://x.com/MidcoSports/status/1786028031317786626

Previously, the conference was engaged in a multi-year contract with FloSports to produce live and on-demand content on its streaming platform. That deal began with the 2021-22 season and ran for three years, concluding with the most recent 2023-24 campaign.

In October, Midco Sports and Augustana announced a multi-year agreement to produce and broadcast Augustana hockey home games.

As it stands, member schools handle the production of their respective hockey broadcasts.

In late March, Midco laid off a number of its on-camera personalities, including Brian Shawn, Jody Norstedt, David Brown and Jason Andera.

In a statement on March 27 from Paige Pearson Meyer, vice president of corporate communications at Midco, the company said it planned on enhancing streamed content on Midco Sports Plus in addition to university partnership content on its linear channels, Midco Sports and Midco Sports Two.

“At that time, high school sports and some original programming will no longer be produced by Midco Sports or broadcast on our linear channels,” the statement read. “Because of this, we unfortunately had to make the difficult decision to reduce the number of full-time team members on the Midco Sports team.”

The employees who were let go could still be used in a freelance capacity, according to Pearson Meyer.

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Parity in CCHA reigns supreme in race for MacNaughton Cup

Trent Singer — Thu, 07 Dec 2023 12:00:00 GMT

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’s been saying it all along.

“I’ve 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,” Serratore said about the league’s parity. “The one thing we don’t know is who’s going to be one, two, three, four, five, six, seven or eight. None of us know that. That’s what you want a league to be. In reality, you want a league to be tight, anybody's game.

“Everybody’s got something different. … At the end of the day, it’s all about winning hockey games and how we’re going to win those hockey games.”

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.

“Everybody’s got one or two lines that are really good, and the goaltending, I think, in our league is fantastic, to be honest with you,” Blasi said. “From 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’s 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’s going to finish first to last, that’s pretty good because we can’t.

“You’ve got to grind it out. You’ve got to focus on daily improvement and one game at a time. I know it’s cliché, but if you don’t do that in our league, you’re going to find yourself behind the eight ball.”

In 17 league series thus far, there have been eight sweeps. However, over the last three weekends, there’s 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.

“If you can grind away and find a way to get points on the weekend, you’re going to find yourself in a good spot come February and early March,” Blasi said. “I think that’s the goal for everybody in our league is to just continue to grind away and find a way.

“I’m exhausted on Sundays. I don’t 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’m sure I’m not the only one who feels that way.”

MTU (7-7-3, 5-3), the favorite by the media and coaches in the league’s 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’s eight league games have been decided by one goal, while the other two were decided by two goals. In fact, the Huskies haven’t won by more than a goal since their first CCHA game of the season, a 4-2 victory over Bemidji State on Nov. 10.

“You have to be prepared every single night. You can’t be sleeping,” Michigan Tech assistant coach Tyler Shelast said. “You have to have a detailed game plan. You have to be ready to compete.

“You have to be ready to match the energy of every team because every team you play in this conference, you know they’re going to compete.”

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’ 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’s been a wild year for Strand, who believes the teams in the league with the most experience have proven to be the most consistent.

“A lot of the rosters have really good balance of old and young, and then there’s a lot of goalies in the league that have come out and made some big stops in big moments for teams,” Strand said. “If your special teams are doing the job, it’s probably going to end up being the separating factor in a lot of ways.”

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’s enjoying the league’s parity for the competitive environment it has created.

“Every point is really important on the weekend, and I think the fact that it’s a tight league right now, it’s great,” Morton said. “It’s competitive. It’s fun, and games, to a certain extent, feel like playoff games.”

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

“Everybody’s in it, and now it’s going to be who can find their groove and who can continue to bag points every weekend,” Potulny said. “You can’t have weekends where you’re getting one or none points. You’ve got to be trying to get four or more every weekend to try and solidify that home ice. I just think there’s a lot of teams that are very similar.”

Earlier this week, Serratore caught up with a former BSU player who’s 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’s an anecdote that translates to how competitive the CCHA has become in 2023-24.

“That’s him five years after playing for the Beavers reflecting back about how difficult it was,” Serratore said. “It’s hard winning back-to-back games. It’s hard, period, especially when there’s a fine line between the two teams.”

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Live blog: Northern Michigan at Bemidji State, 6:07 p.m. Saturday

The Rink Live — Sat, 05 Feb 2022 23:00:00 GMT

BEMIDJI — Northern Michigan and Bemidji State conclude their CCHA series at 6:07 p.m. Saturday at the Sanford Center.

Follow the action on our live blog:

The Beavers return to action Feb. 18-19 with a series at Minnesota State.

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Live blog: Northern Michigan at Bemidji State, 7:07 p.m. Friday

The Rink Live — Fri, 04 Feb 2022 23:53:00 GMT

BEMIDJI — Northern Michigan faces Bemidji State in a CCHA matchup at 7:07 p.m. Friday at the Sanford Center.

Bemidji State (11-9-0 CCHA, 13-15-0) looks to end an five-game losing skid. The Wildcats are 8-10-1, 14-11-1. The

Follow the action on our live blog:

The teams play again at 6:07 p.m. Saturday.

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