Great Lakes Wire

The Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) has released its 2025-26 preseason polls and awards, with St. Thomas narrowly surpassing Minnesota State in the coaches poll by one point. The announcement places St. Thomas at the top with 72 points and three first-place votes, while Minnesota State follows closely with 71 points and four first-place votes.

According to the coaches poll, Michigan Tech and Augustana tied for third place, each earning 59 points. Bowling Green received 58 points, Bemidji State had 54, Lake Superior State finished with 38, Ferris State earned 33, and Northern Michigan rounded out the list with 24 points. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own teams, and a point system was used to determine rankings.

In the media poll results for the upcoming season, Minnesota State leads with 127 points and eight first-place votes. St. Thomas follows with 115 points and two first-place votes. Bowling Green secured third place in the media poll with 108 points and four first-place votes, followed by Michigan Tech (100), Augustana (95), Bemidji State (75), Ferris State (54), Lake Superior State (49), and Northern Michigan (33).

CCHA Media Day is scheduled for Tuesday, September 16 at 11 a.m. ET / 10 a.m. CT via Zoom. The event will feature CCHA Commissioner Don Lucia, Director of Officiating Marco Hunt, and all nine head coaches from member schools who will preview the upcoming season.

The fifth year of play in the reconfigured CCHA begins on Friday, October 3 when eight of nine teams open their seasons; Minnesota State will start its campaign on October 10.

Fans have access to live and on-demand streaming of all CCHA games through Midco Sports Plus on various devices including mobile phones, tablets (iOS/Android), connected TVs like AppleTV, FireTV, Roku, as well as web browsers. More information about coverage or subscriptions is available at https://midcosports.com/ccha.

"St. Thomas edged out defending MacNaughton Cup Champion Minnesota State by a single point, 72-71, for first place in the coaches poll," according to the release.

"The Mavericks...picked up a league-best four first-place votes," while "St. Thomas garner[ed] three and Michigan Tech claiming a pair."

"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," as stated in the announcement.

"CCHA Media Day will take place on Tuesday, September 16...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 five of the reconfigured league on Friday, Oct. 3."

"Fans can stream all CCHA games live and on-demand...via Midco Sports Plus...If you have additional questions or want to see more information about coverage or subscriptions, go to midcosports.com/ccha."