Which Team Should Top First Conference Power Rankings? All Things CCHA

Where does each team fall in the first power rankings of the season? Also, a look at the players of the month.

Bemidji State forward Jaksen Panzer celebrates a goal against St. Cloud State in October 2025. | NCAA/Bemidji State Athletics

Will it be a two-team race? Or a mad scramble at the top of the CCHA for the rest of the college hockey season? We've reached December, which teams are beginning to jokey into position for what they all hope will be a postseason run, but we can start to define the contender and pretenders in the league for 2025-26.

1. Minnesota State

Minnesota State defenseman Evan Murr and goaltender Alexander Tracy | Minnesota State

Record: 10-2-4 (7-1-2)
Points: 24
The Mavericks have been really good defensively, allowing just 30 goals all season, while scoring 45. Minnesota State also hasn’t lost since November 1st, when they dropped a 4-3 overtime loss to St. Thomas. 

2. Bemidji State

A Bemidji State player celebrates during the hockey team's Pink the Rink series against Lake Superior State in November 2025. | NCAA/Bemidji State Athletics

Record: 9-7-2 (7-1-2)
Points: 23
The Beavers have been dominant in conference play, but have yet to play first-place Minnesota State. In recent non-conference games, the Beavers have struggled, including a pair of losses last weekend at the hands of North Dakota.

3. Michigan Tech

Michigan Tech's Alec Broetzman (29) carries the puck in the offensive zone, while Lake Superior State's Jacob Bengtsson (4) defends during Saturday night's CCHA game at Taffy Abel Arena. | Rob Roos / USA TODAY NETWORK

Record: 8-6-2 (5-3-2)
Points: 16
The Huskies have had a tough stretch with a series against both of the top two teams in the CCHA. They were able to split the first series with Bemidji State before being swept by Minnesota State. After that stretch, the Huskies let an overtime shootout loss snowball into a 2-1 loss vs St. Thomas. The Huskies only have three games in December, but they should be able to turn it around before they play Bemidji State and Minnesota State again in January.

4. St. Thomas

Freshman Nathan Pilling scored on the first goal for the St. Thomas men's hockey team in new Lee & Penny Anderson Arena on Friday, Oct. 24, 2025. It was a shorthanded goal against No. 15 Providence. | University of St. Thomas

Record: 6-6-3 (3-2-2)
Points: 12
The Tommies have had a sluggish start to the season, especially on the defensive end, allowing 51 goals this season. Their offense is potent, scoring 52 points on the season, and if the defense can play better, which recent games suggest they can, the Tommies still have plenty of conference games left, only playing seven so far.

5. Bowling Green

Jan. 6, 2024; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Cam Thiesing (15) of Ohio State is defended by Bowling Green goalkeeper Cole Moore (34), Gustav Stjernberg (5) and Dalton Norris (15) during a hockey game against on Friday night at Value City Arena. | Barbara J. Perenic/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

Record: 7-4-3 (5-2-3)
Points: 19
The Falcons have played both Minnesota State and Bemidji State twice each, already tying in three of them, and losing the other one. Four of their five conference wins came against bottom-third teams in the conference. 

6. Augustana

The Augustana Vikings celebrate their 5-4 win over the ASU SUn Devils at Mullett Arena in Tempe on Jan. 19, 2024. | Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

Record: 7-5-1 (4-4-1)
Points: 15
The Vikings are led between the pipes by veteran goaltender Josh Kotai, who has allowed just 25 goals this season for an average of 1.93. However, the offense has struggled for the Vikings, scoring just 32 goals all season. 

7. Lake Superior State

Michigan State's Joey Larson (18) and Lake Superior State's Reagan Milburn (12) dig out the puck from the boards in the season opener at Munn Arena Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023. The Spartans won 5-2. | Robert Killips | Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

Record: 5-10-1 (2-5-0)
Points: 9
The Lakers have met some tough competition in conference play, but if they can turn some close losses into wins, they might make some noise. 

8. Ferris State

Wisconsin Badgers forward Cody Laskosky (26) and Ferris State Bulldogs defenseman Trevor Taulien (28) chase a puck in the corner in the Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off on Saturday, December 28, 2024, at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. | Dave Kallmann / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Record: 3-11-0 (2-6-0)
Points: 5
Ferris State started the season by upsetting defending national champion Western Michigan; however, the Bulldogs have struggled, winning only two games since then.

9. Northern Michigan

Players clash near the St. Cloud State goal during game against Northern Michigan at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud. | Dave Schwarz, dschwarz@stcloudtimes.com

Record: 0-16-0 (0-8-0)
Points: 0
Winless on the season, and No. 62 out of 83 teams in the National Collegiate Percentage (NPI) Index. Mercyhurst (0-14-1) is actually last despite having a tie to its credit.

Players of the Month 

CCHA Forward of the Month: Stiven Sardarian, Sr., Michigan Tech. He led all CCHA skaters with 13 points and 6 goals, while having a +5 rating. He scored in all but one of his nine appearances and had three multi-point games. Sardarian has helped lead the Huskies to 16 points and fourth place in the CCHA standings.

CCHA Defenseman of the Month: Evan Murr, Jr., Minnesota State. Murr led all defensemen with 11 points, 8 assists, and a plus-minus of +12. He helped the No. 13 Mavericks to a 6-1-2 record, with their last loss coming on November 1st. Highlighting his month were a pair of three-assist contests, helping lead the Mavericks to the top of the CCHA standings.

CCHA Goaltender of the Month: Alex Tracy, Sr., Minnesota State. Tracy hasn’t lost a game in over a month and went 6-1-2 in November. He had a .939 save percentage and a 1.74 goals-against average, with two shutouts. He led the country in wins and saves with 246, and led the Mavericks to the top of the CCHA standings. He had four games where he stopped 30 or more saves.

CCHA Rookie of the Month: Noah Morneau, Fr., Bowling Green. He led conference rookies with 9 points and 6 goals, while also recording a game-winner. He led the nation's rookies on the draw, while ranking third nationally in goals and fifth in points. On November 14 and 15, he led the Falcons to a home sweep of Ferris State, including a career-high four points (3 goals, 1 assist) in a 9-5 victory to open the series.

SEE ALSO: This Week's College Hockey Rankings

Players of the Week

CCHA Forward of the Week: Tristan Lemyre, Sr., Minnesota State. Lemyre led the Mavericks to a road sweep of Northern Michigan, scoring two goals with one assist for three points. Posting a +1 rating, he had five shots on goal with one power-play tally and one block defensively. On Friday, he scored a goal in Minnesota State's 4-0 shutout of the Wildcats. He then had a goal before assisting on the eventual game-winner in a 3-2 win on Saturday.

CCHA Defenseman of the Week: Nick Williams, Jr., St. Thomas. Williams led conference blueliners with two points on a goal and an assist in St. Thomas' road sweep of Michigan Tech last week. He recorded a nation-leading 15 blocked shots over the two contests. 

CCHA Goaltender of the Week: Alex Tracy, Sr., Minnesota State. Tracy led all conference netminders in wins (two), goals-against average (1.00), save percentage (.971), total saves (66), and shutouts (one). On Friday, he turned away all 35 shots he faced for his second shutout of the year. He then stopped 31-of-33 attempts in a 3-2 victory on Saturday.

CCHA Rookie of the Week: Lucas Van Vliet, Fr., St. Thomas. Van Vliet earned his second straight Rookie of the Week honor after leading conference rookies with three points on three goals and a plus-minus of +3. No rookie in the nation had more goals or shots last week.  On Friday, he scored twice, including the game-tying goal, before scoring the shootout-winner in a 3-3 tie. He then netted a shorthanded goal that stood as the game-winner in a 2-1 victory.

Beyond the Blue line

Tracy led the country in wins and shutouts in November. … Bemidji State at Augustana will feature the highest scoring team in the CCHA against the best defensive team this weekend. It could also go a long way to determining the eventual conference champion. … Josh Kotai has started every game for the Vikings between the pipes. … The Mavericks have moved up to No. 13 in the polls.