Bellbrook graduation 2012
Fairfield Senior 2012 graduation
Kroger Aquatic Center opens
CCHA TOURNAMENT
NMU coach: Notre Dame, Michigan, Miami are class of CCHA
Thursday, March 12, 2009
OXFORD — The Central Collegiate Hockey Association tournament has been very predictable so far.
Seeds 5-8 eliminated seeds 9-12 in the first round last week, setting the stage for this weekend's quarterfinals.
All four best-of-three series will be played tonight, Saturday and Sunday (if necessary). The matchups are as follows:
• No. 8 Nebraska-Omaha (15-15-8) at No. 1 Notre Dame (27-5-3)
• No. 7 Western Michigan (14-18-7) at No. 2 Michigan (26-10-0)
• No. 6 Northern Michigan (16-15-5) at No. 3 Miami (19-10-5)
• No. 5 Ohio State (22-12-4) at No. 4 Alaska (15-13-6)
Northern Michigan coach Walt Kyle said there's a clear line between the top three teams and the rest.
"I think Michigan, Notre Dame and Miami are head and shoulders above everybody else," Kyle said. "After that, I think it's a balanced league."
The CCHA Championship is set for March 20-21 at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit. The semifinals (4:30 and 8:05 p.m.) will be played Friday, while the third-place (3:35 p.m.) and title (7:35 p.m.) games are slated for Saturday.
The champion will receive the CCHA's automatic berth in the NCAA tournament. This year's NCAA regionals will be held in Grand Rapids, Mich.; Minneapolis; Bridgeport, Conn.; and Manchester, N.H.
Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2194 or rcassano@coxohio.com.
