Spring Break
Nation's best play in CCHA
Matt Sohn
Issue date: 2/27/07 Section: Sports
Although the brilliant goaltending of Notre Dame's David Brown and Lake Superior State's Jeff Jakaitis cannot be overlooked, it's been the offensive assault on the net from the front lines of the CCHA that has vaulted the conference to the foreground of the college hockey landscape. Highlighted by the Fighting Irish's No. 1 national ranking, the CCHA is represented by four teams - Notre Dame, Miami, Michigan and Michigan State - all of which are nationally ranked in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll.
The timing for a conference other than the Western Collegiate Hockey Association to assert its identity as the nation's premier league has been long overdue. In a remarkable display of dominance, every national champion and Hobey Baker winner since 2002 has hailed from the WCHA. And while the likes of St. Cloud State, Minnesota, North Dakota and Denver cannot be discounted in any discussion of 2006-07's contenders, the pinnacle of college hockey is no longer located at the peaks of the Rockies, but in the flatlands of the Midwest. And there's more than a few CCHA forwards looking to keep blasting their team to the top.
The timing for a conference other than the Western Collegiate Hockey Association to assert its identity as the nation's premier league has been long overdue. In a remarkable display of dominance, every national champion and Hobey Baker winner since 2002 has hailed from the WCHA. And while the likes of St. Cloud State, Minnesota, North Dakota and Denver cannot be discounted in any discussion of 2006-07's contenders, the pinnacle of college hockey is no longer located at the peaks of the Rockies, but in the flatlands of the Midwest. And there's more than a few CCHA forwards looking to keep blasting their team to the top.
Be the first to comment on this story