By Ryan Stieg
The CCHA Mason Cup Playoffs started last weekend and I’ve got to say, I’m pretty happy with how the quarterfinals turned out.
For the first time in a while, I was perfect in the first round as I picked all four series correctly. The one that surprised me the most was Bemidji State taking out No. 2 seed Augustana. I thought I was gambling a bit by picking the Beavers to pull off the upset after the Vikings’ strong season, but it ended up working out in my favor as Bemidji pulled it off Sunday.
Now, there’s just four teams left, so my chances to stay perfect aren’t great. However, after achieving perfection once, I’m feeling confident that I can do it again. So, let’s get started. Here’s my predictions for the Mason Cup semifinals.
Bemidji State at No. 15 Minnesota State
The top-seeded Mavericks probably weren’t expecting to face the Beavers, but here they are. The last time Bemidji played a playoff game in Mankato was the famous 2022 CCHA championship game where the Mavericks won and celebrated with a trophy and photos before the goal was waved off and the game was restarted an hour after it originally ended where the Mavs eventually won for real. Will all that wackiness happen again? I doubt it, but the game should still be interesting. The Beavers appear to have gotten their act together, but Mankato is clicking right now, and I don’t see Bemidji pulling another upset. The Mavericks win 4-3.
Bowling Green at St. Thomas
Last weekend, it appeared as if the Tommies’ sweep of Ferris State would be the last games at St. Thomas Ice Arena, but then the Beavers took down Augie and now, UST gets another home game. It should be a good one. The Tommies are arguably the hottest team in the college hockey. They’ve won seven in a row, goaltender Jake Sibell has found his groove, and the offense continues to stay cooking with Liam Malmquist and Lucas Wahlin now sitting first and second respectively in the CCHA points column. As good as UST is playing though, the Falcons are going to put up a fight. BG swept Michigan Tech easily in the quarterfinals, have a solid goalie in Christian Stoever, and have two good scorers in Ryan O’Hara and Brody Waters. I think it’s going to come down to the third period, but UST does just enough to move on. The Tommies win 3-1.