HOUGHTON — Michigan Tech was picked second in the coaches’ CCHA Preseason Poll and fourth in the media’s poll the league announced on Wednesday (Sept. 12).

St. Thomas has been picked to win the nine-team league by the coaches, while the media has a share of the MacNaughton Cup between the Tommies and defending champions Bemidji State. 

UST claimed 73 points to sit atop the Coaches Poll, with three first-place votes. The Beavers and Michigan Tech each had 69 points, picking up three and two first-place votes, respectively. Minnesota State (59) earned the final first-place vote, while Bowling Green State (50) came in at fifth place. Lake Superior State (46) and Augustana (46) were followed by Ferris State (28) and Northern Michigan (26), to round out the poll. 

Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team and points were awarded on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3 scale.

Bemidji State and St. Thomas each claimed 107 points in the Media Poll, with the Beavers edging the Tommies in first-place votes, 5-4. Minnesota State picked up a pair of first-place votes along with 94 points to take third, while defending Mason Cup Champions Michigan Tech was fourth with 92 points and the final first-place tally. Bowling Green (63) was fifth, followed by Lake Superior State (60) and Augustana (52), with Northern Michigan (40) clipping Ferris State (33) for the final playoff position. 

The CCHA Media Poll was comprised of 12 members of the local and national media, who cover the conference and its teams regularly. Points were awarded on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2 basis. 

The CCHA Preseason Awards will be announced on Monday, Sept.16, at 11 a.m. 

CCHA Media Day will take place on Tuesday, Sept. 17, beginning at 11 a.m. Along with CCHA Commissioner Don Lucia and CCHA Director of Officiating Marco Hunt, all nine CCHA head coaches will preview the upcoming season and be available to answer questions from local, regional and national media outlets via Zoom. 

The CCHA officially drops the puck on year four of the reconfigured league on Friday, Oct. 4. All nine CCHA teams will be in action across opening weekend, with conference play getting underway on Oct. 25. Due to Augustana playing only 16 conference games, the 2024-25 league standings will be determined by points percentage.