The CCHA Tournament is set to begin with the first games in the best of three quarterfinals starting at 6:07pm CT tomorrow. I break down each first round matchup and predict their winners. The numbers by teams do not represent NCAA rankings, but rather seeding in the CCHA Tournament. No. 1 Minnesota State Mankato Mavericks vs No. 8 Ferris State University Bulldogs. Mankato is rolling as of late. The MacNaughton Cup Champions [https://msumavericks.com/news/2026/2/28/mens-hockey-macnaughton-cup-stay-with-minnesota-state.aspx]have won 9 of their last 10 games in regulation. Their only defeat within 60 minutes throughout that span came on Jan. 17. to Michigan Tech. Additionally, Mankato is 6-0 in the opening round of the CCHA Tournament per the team's preview [https://msumavericks.com//news/2026/3/4/mens-hockey-preview-macnaughton-cup-champion-mavericks-host-ccha-quarterfinals.aspx]. However, Ferris State has had some success against the No. 1 seed, winning one contest of the four game season series 4-1 on Dec. 6 [https://www.ferrisstatebulldogs.com/sports/mice/2025-26/releases/20251206xy0vnl]. Offense will decide this series as the Bulldogs are 52nd of 63 Division I teams in goals scored with just 88 total tallies on the year. Prediction: Mankato sweeps Ferris State 2-0 with an overpowering forecheck. No. 4 Michigan Tech Huskies vs No. 5 Bowling Green State Falcons. This a very contentious and familiar matchup. For the third year in a row, Michigan Tech and Bowling Green will meet in the CCHA Quarterfinals. Just this past weekend, Bowling Green State swept Michigan Tech to close out each of their regular seasons. Both games were decided by one goal, including a Feb. 28 overtime win. Junior forward Tyler Hotson has been clicking on offense as of late, scoring four goals in his last six outings for the Falcons. Stiven Sardarian has been red hot himself, racking up 12 points (2 goals + 10 assists) in the past eight games. The goaltending matchup favors the Falcons with both Jacob Steinman and Tyler Palmer within the top fifteen nationwide in goals allowed average. Additionally, Steinman's .921 save percentage is 13th in the NCAA. Prediction: Despite both 2024 and 2025 series being sweeps by the home team, (Michigan Tech and Bowling Green State respectively) this quarterfinal round will go all three games, with the Falcons emerging victorious in overtime. No. 3 Augustana Vikings vs No. 6 Bemidji State Beavers Another recent rivalry returns to the CCHA Quarterfinals. The Beavers look to continue their upset streak against the Vikings, having beat the No. 2 seeded Augustana as a No. 7 seed in 2025. Despite being the lower seed this year, Bemidji State has had Augustana's number going 2-1-1 in the season series. The two offenses are neck and neck with the Vikings averaging 2.97 goals per game and the Beavers averaging just .18 goals less. The X-Factor in this series will be Augustana's junior netminder Joshua Kotai. Despite being second in the NCAA with a .938 save percentage, Kotai has won just two of his last six games. If Kotai is sharp, Augustana could sweep. Prediction: There are too many guys on Augustana, including Kotai, who remember the sting of last season. The Vikings will exact their revenge on the Beavers through either an overtime sweep or a game three regulation win. No. 2 St. Thomas Tommies vs. No. 7 Lake Superior State Lakers. The Tommies had more conference wins than the Mavericks and were a point away from being the CCHA's No. 1 seed. Regardless, they hold the second spot in the tournament and will face the scrappy Lakers. Lake Superior State is a younger team with seven freshman, including the elusive Hunter Ramos, who I profiled recently [https://thehockeynews.com/ncaa/players/player-profile-hunter-ramos]. However, in their last two matchups, the Lakers have been outscored by the Tommies 12-4, including a blown 4-1 second period lead on Jan. 23. Prediction: It's not that the Lakers are a bad team, but rather that the Tommies are just that good. They average a CCHA best 3.5 goals per game, while Lake Superior State is second from the bottom averaging just 2.56 goals per game. Next season this matchup will be more even but this year, the Tommies should easily sweep the Lakers 2-0.
