The 2024–25 CCHA season was the 46th season of play for the Central Collegiate Hockey Association and occurred during the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season. The season began on October 4, 2024, and concluded on March 27, 2027, with Minnesota State losing in the Fargo Regional Semifinal of the NCAA tournament.
Augustana In the off-season, the CCHA announced that the timeline for Augustana was being moved up. Rather than become a full conference member in 2025–26, the Vikings would be eligible for the conference tournament in 2024–25. As schedules had already been set before the announcement, the CCHA would use point percentage to determine Augustana's place in the standings.
Coaches Bowling Green hired Dennis Williams as a replacement for Ty Eigner. A Bowling Green graduate, Williams previous served as an interim head coach in 2010.
Dave Shyiak was hired as the fourth head coach for Northern Michigan, replacing the departed Grant Potulny.
Records Team Head coach Season at school Record at school CCHA recordAugustana 2 12–18–4 0–0–0Bemidji State 24 388–360–99 41–30–5Bowling Green 2 5–25–6 4–18–6Ferris State 33 497–605–114 271–324–77Lake Superior State 11 143–196–31 32–42–2Michigan Tech 8 138–103–26 43–25–8Minnesota State 2 18–15–4 12–10–2Northern Michigan 1 0–0–0 0–0–0St. Thomas 4 29–75–5 25–47–4
Standings
Non-conference record The CCHA had a poor non-conference record for the season. Only three of the nine conference members (barely) finished with winning marks in non-conference play. Even then, however, many of the wins were collected from Atlantic Hockey America or from independent programs that were not highly ranked. As a result, the CCHA had only one team (Minnesota State) consistently appear in the top half of the PairWise rankings, and the conference was unable to secure an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament.
Regular season record Team TotalAugustana 0–0–0 0–0–0 0–0–0 0–0–0 4–5–1 4–2–0 8–7–1Bemidji State 0–0–0 1–1–0 0–0–0 0–0–0 0–0–0 2–3–1 3–4–1Bowling Green 4–0–0 0–2–0 0–0–0 0–0–0 0–0–0 0–1–0 4–3–0Ferris State 0–0–0 0–1–0 1–1–0 0–0–0 0–1–0 0–2–2 1–5–2Lake Superior State 0–0–0 0–4–0 0–0–0 0–0–0 2–1–1 0–0–0 2–5–1Michigan Tech 1–0–0 0–0–0 0–2–0 0–1–0 2–0–0 0–1–0 3–4–0Minnesota State 0–0–0 1–1–0 0–0–0 1–1–0 0–0–0 3–1–0 5–3–0Northern Michigan 0–0–0 0–1–0 0–0–0 0–0–0 1–1–0 0–4–0 1–6–0St. Thomas 0–0–0 0–2–0 0–0–0 1–0–1 2–0–0 0–2–0 3–4–1Overall 5–0–0 2–12–0 1–3–0 2–2–1 11–8–2 9–16–3 30–41–6
Statistics Leading scorers GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes Player Class Team GP G A Pts PIM Senior 26 10 20 30 14 Junior 26 14 15 29 40 Senior 26 10 18 28 12 Senior 26 11 16 27 4 Graduate 25 9 15 24 29 Junior 25 7 17 24 41 Sophomore 26 6 17 23 0 Sophomore 25 5 18 23 28 Sophomore 26 5 17 22 6 Sophomore 26 6 15 21 8 Junior 23 11 10 21 2
Leading goaltenders Minimum 1/3 of team's minutes played in conference games. GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average Player Class Team GP Min W L T GA SO SV% GAA Junior 25 1514:48 17 5 3 36 2 .947 1.43 Senior 14 833:59 9 2 3 28 2 .938 2.01 Sophomore 15 847:46 9 4 1 29 1 .931 2.05 Junior 13 750:27 9 2 2 27 1 .933 2.16 Freshman 11 583:03 5 4 0 24 3 .908 2.47
Bracket
NCAA tournament
Regional semifinals
Game summaryThe game started with a bang as both teams laid big hits on one another. The temperature cooled down a bit after the first minute but both squads skated up and down the ice as they looked for an early goal. During one such rush, WMU was able to turn the puck over in the Mavericks' end and, in reply, Jordan Power was called for tripping when he tried to prevent an open shot at his goal. Western had one of the best power plays in the country but MSU was able to match with a stelar kill. The few shots that made it through to Alex Tracy weren't too dangerous and Minnesota State was able to survive. The Mavericks turned defense to offense and immediately went on the attack. They were able to get a 3-on-2 but the Bronco defenders were able to limit them to a sharp-angle shot from the wall. Chances came fast and furious for both sides but both netminders looked to be on their respective games. A heavy hit by Campbell Cichosz on Owen Michaels in the corner looked to stun the Western forward but the Broncos were still able to tilt the ice towards the Mavericks' end in the middle of the period. Minnesota State was able to counter after WMU iced the puck but the Mavericks missed on a couple of passing plays and never ended up with a decent shot on goal. The fast and physical play continued and both benches called for penalties but the referees allowed play to continue. With about 6 minutes to go, MSU got on another odd-man rush but saw the opportunity go for naught when the play was blown dead for offsides. Minnesota State continued to let chances melt down and get low-percentage chances on goal but the continual puck possession in the WMU end prevented the Broncos from getting anything going in the later half of the period. The first real scoring opportunity came with two and half minutes left when Evan Murr launched an off-balance point shot that was deflected en route and just barely stopped by Hampton Slukynsky. Despite the up and down action, neither team took any real risks during the period until the waning seconds. Alex Bump was able to sneak past the MSU defense and streak in on Tracy. However, just as he was going to shoot, Adam Eisele slashed his stick and was called for a minor penalty. The first 16 seconds of the man-advantage did not produce any results with the rest being held over to the start of the second.
Western swiftly got the puck into the zone but had trouble getting through the MSU defense. After a blocked shot, the Mavericks collected the puck but failed to clear and the rubber bounced to Liam Valente. The Bronco forward then walked to the center of the right circle and beat Tracy high-glove for the opening goal. WMU continued to press after the goal and forced Minnesota State into a few turnovers but they were unable to capitalize. With Western taking over the balance of play MSU needed someone to change the momentum and that's exactly when they got when Brett Moravec went on a solo rush up the ice. After splitting to Bronco defenders, Moravec was slashed by Joona Väisänen to give the Mavericks their first power play of the match. Unfortunately for Minnesota State, their passing continued to be poor and Western ended up getting better chances. Even when the Mavs were able to set up a one-timer, Murr's stick snapped and the Broncso were able to clear. It was only at the very end of the man-advantage that MSU was able to generate a good scoring chance but a sprawling Slukynsky just managed to keep the puck out of the net. After the power play, the game reverted back to a back-and-forth match with both defenses preventing any good shots on goal. Around the mid point of the period, Western's offense began to exert itself once more but Tracy remained stout and kept the puck out of the net. MSU countered after a few minutes and Will Hillman was able to get a puck through Slukynsky but it bounded to the side of the goal. The Mavericks were able to apply some offensive pressure but, again, several opportunities went by the wayside thanks to inaccurate or deflected passes. With under 5 minutes to play, Brian Carrabes fired a shot from the point that just missed the far corner of the net past a screed Slukynsky. MSU kept the puck in the WMU end for much of the remaining time but continued to be plagued by bad passes. With just seconds left, Josh Groll skated into the slot and received a pass from behind the net. He launched a one-timer on goal but the shot was low and Slukynsky was able to make a leg save to keep the Mavericks off of the scoresheet.
After opening the period by icing the puck, Minnesota State was able to get its offense into gear and not only set up in the zone but finally get a good shot on goal. Slukynsky was able to stop the initial shot from Murr but the rebound from Zach Krajnik bounced up toward the goal off a Bronco defender. As it was sliding towards the net, Kaden Bohlsen was the first one to reach the puck and he slammed it home to tie the match. End-to-end action persisted after the goal with both sides narrowly missing out on scoring chances. At around the 12-minute mark, Western appeared to commit a tripping penalty right in front of the Maverick net but neither referee made a call, much to the displeasure of Minnesota State. Fortunately for the Mavs, they were able to get control of the puck and push it back up the ice. With both teams not willing to take a risk and make a disastrous mistake, the game reverted to a tight-checking match but that didn't prevent the offenses from getting their chances. With about 9 minutes to play, MSU got on a late 2-on-1 but could not beat Slukynsky. Shortly afterwards, on a separate possession, Moravec attempted to lay a heavy hit on Bump but as the Bronco forward moved to avoid the check he caught a trailing leg and crashed to the ice. That play had the Western bench up in arms but the referees, perhaps as a makeup call, did not assess a penalty. Minnesota State continued to play physically, crashing into WMU players when the opportunities presented themselves and made use of the long leash provided by the refs. The final few minutes were played mostly in the Western end and Luigi Benincasa was nearly able to find the winning goal. With about 70 seconds left, The Maverick forward got a rebound right in front of the net and one-timed it towards the goal, the puck was rolling and he wasn't able to make good contact, causing the shot to just go off angle and bounce off the far post. However, neither team could find the winning tally and overtime was needed.
Western Michigan went on the attack at the start of OT but MSU's defense didn't crack. The kept up their physical play and then countered but were unable to get the puck past Slukynsky. A few minutes into the period, MSU committed three consecutive icings. In order to give his players a breather, head coach Luke Strand used his timeout. On the ensuing faceoff, the Mavs got control of the puck and skated it up the ice to take the pressure off. Minnesota State then began to establish zone time and got several good looks on goal but Western's sturdy defense was able to block the puck away. Even though only a few shots got through, Slukynsky still had to stay on the top of his game and stop several high-percentage chances. The middle of the period was typified by tight defense with the refs allowing both teams to commit letter-of-the-law penalties without punishment. MSU was able to take advantage of this and tilt the puck towards the Western end but that didn't prevent the Broncos from having chances of their own. Off of a faceoff in the Maverick end, Bump wired a shot high on goal but Tracy blocked it with his shoulder. A little later the Purple goaltender was called upon again to stop Grant Slukynsky at the side of the net and kept the game going. With five and half left in the period, Western committed an icing. With the players already tired from a long shift, it was Pat Ferschweiler's turn to call a timeout. About a minute later, Bump was able to find a streaking Michaels who went in alone on the MSU net but Tracy was able to make a glove save on a low shot. Both defenses were instrumental in keeping the puck out of the net for the final three minutes as both teams continued to press. With just a few seconds left, Bump found a rebound in front of the Minnesota State crease but he had to rush the shot and Alex Trace telescoped out to made the save just before the end of the period.