It’s time for some March madness in the CCHA, and prognostication of this league, this year in particular, often is an exercise in futility.

Bemidji State last won the MacNaughton Cup in 2017, in a defunct men’s league (WCHA) against a defunct team (Alabama-Huntsville) in a game played south of the Mason Dixon Line.

Road teams ruled this weekend in the CCHA, picking up 13 of a possible 18 points in the intra-league clashes.

This week in the CCHA will include a showdown series in St. Paul, Minnesota, a Yooper rivalry resuming in the Soo and Minnesota State finally returning to Mankato.

The sad song of CCHA nonconference frustration played on for St. Thomas, Lake State, Bemidji State and Ferris State over the holidays, but old reliable Michigan Tech stunned Michigan State to claim the historic Great Lakes Invitational.

Much of the college hockey world has slipped into holiday mode – taking care of exams and nursing bruised bodies for a couple of weeks – but a handful of schools are getting in a final weekend of action.

As the 2023-2024 CCHA hockey season nears its halfway point, many players are starting to find their strides, and they’re bringing their teams along for the ride.

This week in CCHA RinkRap, we catch up with the nation's leading scorer, touch on the reemergence of Australian standout Tyrone Bronte from Michigan Tech and check in with Bowling Green as it moves past a recent hazing scandal.

For the first time this season, all eight CCHA teams will be competing within the conference this weekend – four series that will establish the league’s balance of power.

On a whirlwind CCHA weekend that included five overtime thrillers Friday, nine different out-of-conference clashes, a five-goal weekend by a freshman and storylines dripping with irony and poetic justice, Friday’s battle of the Twin Cities dwarfed them all.

The Mason Cup semifinals are upon us. Expect a barnburner in the early game and a stern statement in the later game.

The semifinals of the Mason Cup CCHA Playoffs begin on March 11 as teams look to advance to the championship game and inch closer to the NCAA hockey tournament.

This week's CCHA RinkRap focuses on the last four squads racin’ for Mason. A gunslinger prowls the Great Lakes, a masterful resurrection in Big Rapids, small games on the large ice of Marquette, and the Big Three of Minnesota State rekindle memories of an NHL dynasty.

It’s here, hockey’s version of March Madness, earlier and richer than its more ballyhooed sibling college hoops.

Ordinarily, there would be four story capsules leading up to CCHA action this weekend, especially with Northern Michigan’s late-season sprint for home ice against Bowling Green, but this weekend belongs to the Michigan Tech-Minnesota State series.