The Central Collegiate Hockey Association
From its modest beginning as a four-team conference in 1971 to its
present-day status as the premiere conference in collegiate hockey, the
Central Collegiate Hockey Association embarks on its 26th season of
competition with the 1996-97 campaign.
After undergoing a series of additions and subtractions among its
members, the CCHA is now a 10-team conference that stretches from
Columbus, Ohio, to Fairbanks, Alaska.
Two of the CCHA's current members, Bowling Green and Ohio State, left
the Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association along with conference foe Ohio
University and independent Saint Louis to form the original CCHA. Since
that time, the CCHA membership has fluctuated from a low of three during
the 1973-74 season to as many as 12 for 1982-83.
The CCHA's rise to national prominence was accelerated in 1982 when
Notre Dame, Michigan, Michigan State and Michigan Tech left the Western
Collegiate Hockey Association to increase the CCHA from a four-team to
an eight-team league. Ferris State, Illinois-Chicago and Miami joined
the conference during the early 1980s, while Michigan Tech and Northern
Michigan moved to the WCHA in 1984. Notre Dame returned as a full-time
member in 1992 and Alaska-Fairbanks achieved the same status in 1995-96.
Illinois-Chicago abruptly dropped its hockey program in the spring of
1996 but the CCHA is set to welcome back Northern Michigan for the
1996-97 season, when the conference again will include 11 members.
A term that is synonymous with CCHA hockey is "The Joe", in reference to
the CCHA playoff championships which are held annually at Detroit's Joe
Louis Arena. The 19,275-seat home of the National Hockey League's
Detroit Red Wings, the JLA provides CCHA teams the opportunity to play
in front of some of the largest and most enthusiastic crowds in
collegiate hockey.
To get to "The Joe", CCHA teams must battle through a grueling
regular-season schedule in which each team plays three games versus all
nine opponents, with at least one game being played on the road. The
only exception is in the case of Alaska-Fairbanks, with an alternating
three-game series being played in Fairbanks one season and on the home
ice of the opposing CCHA team the next year.
The top eight teams in the final regular season standings will qualify
for the CCHA playoffs, with the best-of-three first round series being
played on the home ice of the top four teams.
Bowling Green gave the CCHA its first NCAA championship in 1984, and
since that time, the conference has had five more championships, a pair
of runner-up finishes and five other appearances in the NCAA semifinals.
In 1992, three of the teams that played in the final four were members
of the CCHA. No other conference can equal that success.
Last year, six CCHA players earned All-America honors with two being
named to the first team, raising the CCHA's total to 81 all-time
All-America selections (first and second team). Bowling Green's Brian
Holzinger become the CCHA's third recipient of the Hobey Baker Memorial
Award, winning the prestigious national player of the year honor in
1994-95.
The CCHA has become a talent pool for both the United States and
Canadian national teams, as well as all levels of professional hockey.
Last season alone, 55 former CCHA players appeared on National Hockey
League rosters, bringing the conference's all-time total to 140. Notre
Dame is one of four CCHA schools having four or more players on its
current roster that have been drafted by NHL teams.
1995-96 Final CCHA Standings
Team (overall record) W L T Pts GF GA
1. Lake Superior (30-8-2) 22 6 2 46 136 89
Michigan (34-7-2) 22 6 2 46 178 71
3. Michigan State (28-13-1) 22 7 1 45 115 86
Western Michigan (27-11-3) 21 6 3 45 125 71
5. Bowling Green (26-14-1) 18 11 1 37 126 106
6. Ferris State (13-22-3) 10 17 3 23 101 120
7. Miami, Ohio (10-22-4) 9 17 4 22 99 142
8. Ohio State (10-19-5) 8 17 5 21 82 105
9. Alaska-Fairbanks (10-23-1) 8 22 0 16 101 142
Notre Dame (9-23-4) 6 20 4 16 87 136
11. Illinois-Chicago (9-24-3) 6 23 1 13 73 155
