By Ryan Stieg
It’s now mid-January and even though it is chilly outside, things are heating up in the CCHA standings.
There was a shift in the standings last weekend as St. Thomas jumped into first place with a road win over then-first place Minnesota State and then Augustana joined them at the top after an easy sweep over NMU in Marquette. I picked both of those correctly, so I was able to enjoy last week’s reward of milk, and appreciating the spider plants in my apartment. It’s by far the weirdest reward I’ve gotten, but the plants do look nice in the bedroom.
Now, it’s week 15 and there’s a wide variety of rewards to choose from. I’m going to combine three of them together to create some extra fun. Saturday is National Use Your Gift Card Day, and I’ve got five or six of them to use. Sunday is also Winnie the Pooh Day and National Michigan Day. So, I’ll use my gift cards, reminisce about my time living in Michigan and eat some honey like Pooh Bear. That’s a full day when you think about it.
As far as the games go, three CCHA teams are now ranked with two of them hoping to extend their leads in the conference and the third hoping to get back to the top. So, let’s get started. Here’s my picks for Week 15 and I’ll start with a series between two Minnesota rivals in St. Paul.
Bemidji State at No. 19 St. Thomas
The Tommies are ranked again for the first time in months thanks to their big win over the Mavericks Saturday and they’re currently on a six-game winning streak. During that win over Mankato, UST showed how potent its offense can be when they scored three goals in less than a minute against arguably in the best goalie in the league, Alex Tracy. So the Tommies are bringing a lot of momentum into this important home series. The Beavers, on the other hand, are reeling after getting swept at home by Tech. Bemidji has been a little up and down since Thanksgiving, but it always seems to play well against UST. As a result, I’m picking a split. The Beavers win Friday 4-3, but the Tommies win Saturday 5-2.
Ferris State at No. 15 Augustana
The Vikings continue to roll, and they got back-to-back shutouts from goalie Josh Kotai to sweep the Wildcats in Marquette. Combined with their sweep of Colorado College the previous week and Augie is 4-0 to start 2026. Now, they get the struggling Bulldogs, who are only avoiding last place because the Wildcats are having an even worse season. NMU is off this weekend, so Ferris will want to get some points to get some separation from the ‘Cats for the last playoff spot. With the Bulldogs starting to get into desperation mode, I think they get two points. The Vikings win Friday 4-2, but the Bulldogs win Saturday 3-2 in OT.
No. 17 Minnesota State at Michigan Tech
After a strong first half, the Mavericks are a little shaky to start 2026 after getting upset by UMass Lowell in California and then getting blitzed by the Tommies at home. However, they’re still a very good team, so the Huskies have a battle on their hands in Houghton. The good thing for Tech is that it’s recovered nicely since that blowout loss to Air Force in Arizona. The Huskies have now won three in a row, and they’re now tied with the Mavericks for second place, so this is a big weekend for both teams. Whenever two teams have a lot to play for, I pick splits and that’s what I’m doing here. I think Tech wins Friday 3-2, but the Mave win Saturday 5-2.
Lake Superior State at Bowling Green
The Falcons are a squad that people are overlooking. They’re a good team and they’re only three points out of first place. BG is also off to a strong start in the second half, getting a win and tie against Ohio State and then sweeping Ferris last week. Meanwhile, the Lakers sit firmly in the seventh spot for the CCHA playoffs, well ahead of Ferris and NMU. However, they’re starting to fall behind the rest of the pack, so they need points. Yeah, I know I’m picking another split, but splits are common in the second half of the season as teams fight for home ice. BG wins Friday 4-2, but LSSU wins Saturday 5-4.