CCHA Pick ‘Em 2025-26: 8.5 Arrivederci Rico!

[TalonsUpPuckDown]

Welcome Pick ‘Em fans to the 2025-26 rendition of the CCHA Pick ‘Em contest. This year we celebrate/mourn the last year of the Tommies gracing the CCHA with their presence. Good luck to everyone. Here are the particulars:

Click the link, fill out the form (don’t forget your screen name), submit your picks. If you want to change any of your picks, fill out a new form. I will take the last submission as your final answer.

Scoring:
3 points for a regulation win
2 points for an OT or shootout win (shootout for CCHA conference games only)
1 point for an OT or shootout loss (shootout for CCHA conference games only)
0 points for a regulation loss

For OOC regular season and specific tournament games there will be the option to pick a tie. If the game ends in a tie at the end of the NCAA OT period, 3 points will be awarded. If either team wins, zero points will be awarded.

Periodically there will be a bonus question (or two...) worth 5-10 points. There are also two bonus questions available only in week 1 that will cover the entire CCHA regular season.

Only NCAA-sanctioned games will be counted (no exhibition games).

Playoffs will be mano-a-mano single elimination with seeding based on regular season finish. Playoff participation and seeding will be determined based on the number of participants and overall standings. More on the playoffs later.

Four awards are up for grabs:
o MacNaughton Cup – Regular season champion as determined by total points - Last Year’s Winner: TalonsUpPuckDown
o Mason Cup – Playoff champion - Last Year’s Winner: Icd80
o Bill Beagan Trophy – Highest regular season points percentage (based solely on picks, no bonus) - Last Year’s Winner: TalonsUpPuckDown
o Jeff Sauer Trophy – Most bonus points - Last Year’s Winner: MTUHuskyGold

Week 1
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[TalonsUpPuckDown]

We have two games slated for Sunday afternoon so week 1 results will be posted on Monday. In the meantime, enjoy the form for week 2 and remember there is a Thursday game this week.

Lastly, to keep things interesting, the staff a Pick 'Em headquarters added a mini-bonus for week 2. Picking Ferris State this week in either game will be worth double points (6 points for a win, 6 points for a tie, 0 points for a loss).

Week 2
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[TalonsUpPuckDown]

We had a big start to the season with three contestants rolling out to a 10-1 mark and capturing week 1 honors. Congratulations to BGHockeyFan94, Puckdude40, and Xelraz who start us off by posting a whopping 30 points each. Stick taps to Footballguy51, MTUHuskyGold, Puckdude40, and BGHockeyFan94 who were the only contestants to correctly pick Michigan Tech to upset Minnesota on Saturday. Jeers go to 4 contestants who overestimated the Brett Riley factor and picked up zero points when Ferris failed to record so much as a tie against Miami (TUPD is one of these fine folks).

There are a couple of reminders. First, picking Ferris this week in either game against Western Michigan will be worth double points (6 points for a win, 6 points for a tie, 0 points for a loss). Second, the first Ferris/Western game is on Thursday so be sure to get those picks in early.

Week 2
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[footballguy51]

I'm starting off strong! Last place and below .500.

[TalonsUpPuckDown]

We have one more Sunday game so week 2 results will again be posted on Monday. In the meantime, here's the form for week 3 and remember there is a another Thursday game this week.

Week 3
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[TalonsUpPuckDown]

Wow, what a week! Congratulations to our week 2 co-winners BGSURICK and GoNanooks who each posted 33 points. Stick taps to NoClue who clearly has a clue by being the only contestant to pick Niagara to win over BG on Friday (we won't call it an upset just yet). And what about PuckMaster who knew what was up and was the only contestant to pick up 3 bonus points by picking Ferris to upset defending national champion Western Michigan on Friday during their banner raising! WOW! With this win PuckMaster is our current leader in the Race for the Sauer (most number of bonus points). That leaves puckdude40 and BGSURICK tied for the lead in the standings as well as tied in the Battle for the Beagan (highest pick percentage without bonus points) at a blistering .704 pick percentage. Lastly, we'll give out a quick shoutout to Footballguy51 and GoNanooks who were the only two contestants to pick Lindenwood to beat the Lakers on Saturday.

Once again we have a Thursday matchup so get those picks in early!

Week 3
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So my cable modem died, which means a new modem which means a new IP address which means a new DNS on the web server which means a DNS propagation delay which means standings are old school this week. Apologies.

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                               CCHA Pick 'Em 2025-2026 Leaderboard
RankContestant (W/L/SOW/SOL)    This Wk  Points  Bonus   Total  Points % Games  Team/Goal
 1  puckdude40 (19-8-0-0)          27      57      0       57     .704     27   MTU/8 : 0
 1  BGSURICK (19-8-0-0)            33      57      0       57     .704     27   BGSU/9 : 0
 3  Xelraz (18-9-0-0)              24      54      0       54     .667     27   BGSU/9 : 0
 3  NoClue (18-9-0-0)              27      54      0       54     .667     27   MNSU/9 : 0
 3  GoNanooks (18-9-0-0)           33      54      0       54     .667     27   BSU/8 : 0
 6  Icd80 (17-10-0-0)              24      51      0       51     .630     27   MNSU/7 : 0
 6  BillyLP (17-10-0-0)            24      51      0       51     .630     27   BGSU/9 : 0
 6  beaverhockeyfan (17-10-0-0)    30      51      0       51     .630     27   MNSU/8 : 0
 9  MTUHuskyGold (16-11-0-0)       21      48      0       48     .593     27   MNSU/7 : 0
 9  mbenecke (16-11-0-0)           21      48      0       48     .593     27   BGSU/9 : 0
 9  Bronco Hockey Fan (16-10-0-0   21      48      0       48     .615     26   BGSU/9 : 0
 9  BGHockeyFan94 (16-11-0-0)      18      48      0       48     .593     27   BGSU/85 :
 13 TalonsUpPuckDown (15-12-0-0)   21      45      0       45     .556     27   BGSU/7 : 0
 13 SectionP (15-12-0-0)           21      45      0       45     .556     27   UST/9 : 0
 13 Puck Master (14-13-0-0)        27      42      3       45     .519     27   MNSU/8 : 0
 13 John J. MacInnes (15-12-0-0)   27      45      0       45     .556     27   MTU/9 : 0
 13 iowabasedtraveler (15-12-0-0   21      45      0       45     .556     27   UST/9 : 0
 13 GA_Husky (15-12-0-0)           21      45      0       45     .556     27   MNSU/9 : 0
 19 SweeneyHawksHockey (14-13-0-   21      42      0       42     .519     27   UST/8 : 0
 19 StevieYnot (14-13-0-0)         18      42      0       42     .519     27   UST/8 : 0
 19 Soulbeaver (14-13-0-0)         24      42      0       42     .519     27   BGSU/8 : 0
 19 Hockey John (14-13-0-0)        21      42      0       42     .519     27   BGSU/7 : 0
 19 Berger21 (14-13-0-0)           18      42      0       42     .519     27   MTU/8 : 0
 24 AgentClass (13-14-0-0)         18      39      0       39     .481     27   BGSU/7 : 0
 25 Footballguy51 (12-15-0-0)      21      36      0       36     .444     27   MNSU/9 : 0
 26 giwan (11-16-0-0)              18      33      0       33     .407     27   UST/10 : 0
 27 Manurespreader (10-17-0-0)     12      30      0       30     .370     27   MTU/9 : 0
 28 iwearpurple (8-8-0-0)          24      24      0       24     .500     16
 29 CFBHome (7-9-0-0)              21      21      0       21     .438     16
 30 Tommiealum93 (6-10-0-0)        18      18      0       18     .375     16

[TalonsUpPuckDown]

This turned out to be a tough week but two contestants rose to the top. Congratulations to our week 3 co-winners MTUHuskyGold and Section P who each posted a score of 23 out of a possible 35 points. Major stick taps to Berger21 who was the only contestant to correctly pick Friday's Mankato/Wisconsin tie. Stick taps to BillyLP, GA_Husky, and StevieYnot who each correctly picked Saturday's Mankato/Wisconsin tie. Final stick taps to BillyLP who was the only contestant to correctly pick Augustana to sweep the Pitchforks.

There is a 4-way tie for first place betwen Xelrax, puckdude40, GoNanooks, and BGSURICK. Note that GoNanooks has one fewer game than the other three contestants which means GoNanooks is now in the lead for the Battle of the Beagan. BillyLP is one point back while MTUHuskyGold is three points back.

In honor of CCHA league play kicking of in week 4 there will be a mini-bonus available. For those who have participated in this contest for the past few years you may notice a change in sponsor.

Week 4
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[TalonsUpPuckDown]

Lots of points up for grabs and three contestants walked away with a big haul. Congratulations to our week 4 tri-winners Icd80, Tommiealum93, and NoClue who, with 34 first place points, clearly seems to have some sort of a clue. Jeers to the entire field for completely whiffing on the Providence/Tommie tie on Friday. No soup for you! At the top of the leaderboard we now see Puckdude40 staking a claim to the MacNaughton with GoNanooks trailing by 2 points and NoClue and BGSURICK three back.

There is a two-way tie for first in the Battle for the Beagan between Puckdude40 and BGSURICK with GoNanooks lurking just .001 behind.

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Contestant    Points %   Games
puckdude40     .656       51
BGSURICK       .656       51
GoNanooks      .655       50

The bonus was not much of a differentiator this week as only two contestants out of the entire field failed to pick up any bonus points. Well, I guess the bonus was a differentiator for those contestants, but I digress. And if you're wondering who, yes, one was me.

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Contestant      Fri O/U	  Sat O/U   Total
AgentClass         3         3        6
beaverhockeyfan    3         3        6
Berger21           3         3        6
BillyLP	           3         3        6
Bronco Hockey Fan  3         3        6
GoNanooks          3         3        6
Hockey John        3         3        6
Icd80              3         3        6
iowabasedtraveler  3         3        6
iwearpurple        3         3        6
Manurespreader     3         3        6
mbenecke           3         3        6
NoClue             3	     3        6
puckdude40         3         3        6
Soulbeaver         3         3        6
Tommiealum93       3         3        6
BGSURICK           3         0        3
CFBHome            3         0        3
GA_Husky           3         0        3
giwan              3         0        3
MTUHuskyGold       0         3        3
Puck Master        3         0        3
SectionP           3	     0        3
StevieYnot         0         3        3
SweeneyHawksHockey 3         0        3

There is currently a 17-way tie for the lead in the Race for the Sauer. So, yeah, basically everyone.

No bonus this week.

Week 5
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[footballguy51]

The bonus was not much of a differentiator this week as only two contestants out of the entire field failed to pick up any bonus points. Well, I guess the bonus was a differentiator for those contestants, but I digress. And if you're wondering who, yes, one was me.

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Contestant      Fri O/U	  Sat O/U   Total
AgentClass         3         3        6
beaverhockeyfan    3         3        6
Berger21           3         3        6
BillyLP	           3         3        6
Bronco Hockey Fan  3         3        6
GoNanooks          3         3        6
Hockey John        3         3        6
Icd80              3         3        6
iowabasedtraveler  3         3        6
iwearpurple        3         3        6
Manurespreader     3         3        6
mbenecke           3         3        6
NoClue             3	     3        6
puckdude40         3         3        6
Soulbeaver         3         3        6
Tommiealum93       3         3        6
BGSURICK           3         0        3
CFBHome            3         0        3
GA_Husky           3         0        3
giwan              3         0        3
MTUHuskyGold       0         3        3
Puck Master        3         0        3
SectionP           3	     0        3
StevieYnot         0         3        3
SweeneyHawksHockey 3         0        3

There is currently a 17-way tie for the lead in the Race for the Sauer. So, yeah, basically everyone.

No bonus this week.

Don’t feel too bad. You got to join me in the basement for a week.

[footballguy51]

Different strategy this week. Rather than use my fool-proof method (more like foolish method) of choosing teams seemingly at random with minimal insight into who is actually any good this year, I asked my 5-year old who we should pick this week. Behold, a lot of ties. It can’t be any worse, right?

[TalonsUpPuckDown]

Congratulations to our sole week 5 winner AgentClass who outclassed the entire field with 26 points on the week! Major stick taps to (who else) AgentClass who demonstrated an unshakeable belief in the CCHA by being the only contestant to correctly pick Lake Superior to top Clarkson on Saturday. There were four contestants who correctly picked the Lake Superior/St. Lawrence tie on Friday (AgentClass, CFBHome, iowabasedtraveler, and StevieYNot) none of whom were Footballguy51 who picked all the other OOC games as ties. Tough break. I'd like to give a quick shout out to the entire field who correctly picked Augustana to top Northern Michigan on Friday. No blood drawn in that game, at least as the Pick 'Em contest is concerned.

Another week means another leader atop the standings. The field is now chasing the pace set by GoNanooks who is now 2 points clear of Puckdude40 and 3 points clear of NoClue. GoNanooks remains in the lead in the Battle for the Beagan and is one game/3 points ahead of MTUHuskyGold. Here are the current standings:

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Contestant      Points %  Games
GoNanooks        .663       62
MTUHuskyGold     .647       63
puckdude40       .641       63
NoClue           .636       63

The bonus is back for week 6.

While it's still early to be thinking about the playoffs, it's never too early to start thinking about snagging one of those coveted first round byes. Based on an early projection of the number of contestants still in this thing at the end of the season we're looking at anywhere from 3 to 5 byes. If you want to improve your playoff seeding, get those picks in!

Week 6
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[BillyLP]

Wow, I had to work hard to guess as badly as I did this week!

[footballguy51]

Wow, I had to work hard to guess as badly as I did this week!

Work? This disaster of mine is all skill.

[TalonsUpPuckDown]

Wow, I had to work hard to guess as badly as I did this week!

Work? This disaster of mine is all skill.

Take heart in knowing that this year's average pick percentage through six weeks is WAAAAAAY below the historical average.

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Season   Average Pick % Through Week 6
2022-23	              .552
2023-24	              .491
2024-25	              .492
2025-26	              .481

Average Pick % 2022-23 through 2024-25: .512
Average Pick % 2025-26:                 .481	

It's not just you guys, it's everyone and it's due to the CCHA being significantly more unpredictable at the start of this season compared to previous seasons when we pretty much knew who was who.

[TalonsUpPuckDown]

As we await the results of Tuesday's battle of the saints (St. Thomas/St. Cloud), here's the week 7 form to get you fired up.

Week 7
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