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

[mbenecke]

Come on guys, it's not that hard.

[TalonsUpPuckDown]

Hats off to BillyLP who wins week 19 with a total of 22 points. Ay Ziggy! Stick taps to SectionP who was the only contestant to correctly pick the Lakers to upset the Huskies on Friday. Also, stick taps to Hockey John and Footballguy51 who were the only two contestants to correctly pick the Beavers to top the Mavs on Saturday. mbenecke continues to show it's really not that hard by not only remaining atop the standings but also increasing his lead over NoClue to 5 points.

The yearly bonus paid out this week. Should a team other than BG score 9 or more goals over the next two weeks the bonus will be adjusted accordingly. There were 5 contestants who have the Falcons with 9 goals on the year. Here's how that looks:

Code: Select all

Contestant       Team  Goals  Total
BGSURICK           3     2      5
BillyLP            3     2      5
Bronco Hockey Fan  3     2      5
mbenecke           3     2      5
Xelraz             3     2      5
Soulbeaver         3     1      4
AgentClass         3     0      3
BGHockeyFan94      3     0      3
Hockey John        3     0      3
TalonsUpPuckDown   3     0      3
Footballguy51      0     2      2
GA_Husky           0     2      2
iowabasedtraveler  0     2      2
John J. MacInnes   0     2      2
Manurespreader     0     2      2
NoClue             0     2      2
SectionP           0     2      2
beaverhockeyfan    0     1      1
Berger21           0     1      1
giwan              0     1      1
GoNanooks          0     1      1
Puck Master        0     1      1
puckdude40         0     1      1
StevieYnot         0     1      1
SweeneyHawksHockey 0     1      1

Not much jockeying in the Race for the Sauer with iowabasedtraveler still in the lead but now only 2 bonus points back is Soulbeaver It looks like this one is going down to the wire.

Code: Select all

Contestant          Bonus
iowabasedtraveler     41
Soulbeaver            39
mbenecke              34
beaverhockeyfan       33
Icd80                 31

In the Battle for the Beagan NoClue remains firmly atop the leaderboard a full 3 games ahead of mbenecke. We're not ready to call this one just yet but next week could be make or break here.

Code: Select all

Contestant    Points %    Games
NoClue         .690        177
mbenecke       .678        177
GoNanooks      .662        163
Tommiealum93   .660        166

The latest bracketology can be found below the weekly standings.

Week 20
View response summaries
View response details

[mbenecke]

mbenecke continues to show it's really not that hard by not only remaining atop the standings but also increasing his lead over NoClue to 5 points.

Thank you for quoting my BSing.

[BillyLP]

Two weeks in a row! Just goes to show that the best way to get on a heater is to go with your gut and do absolutely no research. Here I come, Vegas!

[TalonsUpPuckDown]

mbenecke continues to show it's really not that hard by not only remaining atop the standings but also increasing his lead over NoClue to 5 points.

Thank you for quoting my BSing.

Wow, I didn't think anyone actually read the crap I write!

Billy, it takes three in a row for it to officially be considered a streak.

[mbenecke]

Two weeks in a row! Just goes to show that the best way to get on a heater is to go with your gut and do absolutely no research. Here I come, Vegas!

Closing your eyes and living randomly is the way to go.

Throw $50 on black for me.

[TalonsUpPuckDown]

Hey gang, there are some regulars who still don't have picks in. ahemmbeneckeahem. Sorry, had something in my throat.

Now is not the time to drop the ball.

[mbenecke]

Hey gang, there are some regulars who still don't have picks in. ahemmbeneckeahem. Sorry, had something in my throat.

Now is not the time to drop the ball.

That would've been an all-time fumble, so thanks for the reminder.

[TalonsUpPuckDown]

Yes, pick 'em is easy. So easy, in fact, that if you guessed that the week 20 winner would be mbenecke then you'd be right about something this week. Congrats to mbenecke for posting 23 points this week! And with this win mbenecke's lead at the top of the standings has grown to a whopping 17 points over NoClue and iowabasedtraveler. There are 34 points available in week 21 before subtracting points for OT's and while the staff at Pick 'Em HQ has yet to run the final regression analysis, we can safely say that NoClue iowabasedtraveler will have some serious work to do to catch up.

Over the weekend the Tommies and Vikings totaled 119 SOGs. No one picked up all 10 points, however, six contestants picked up 9 points. Here's how the bonus paid out:

Code: Select all

Contestant          Bonus
Berger21              9
Footballguy51         9
iowabasedtraveler     9
mbenecke              9
Puck Master           9
TalonsUpPuckDown      9
SectionP              8
giwan                 7
Soulbeaver            7
GoNanooks             6
Manurespreader        6
beaverhockeyfan       5
puckdude40            5
StevieYnot            5
MTUHuskyGold          4
Bronco Hockey Fan     3
NoClue                3

iowabasedtraveller remains atop the leaderboard in the Race for the Sauer and is now holding a 4 point lead over Soulbeaver with 10 bonus points up for grabs in the final week.

Code: Select all

Contestant         Bonus
iowabasedtraveler    50
Soulbeaver           46
mbenecke             43
beaverhockeyfan      38
Berger21             36

The Battle for the Beagan is now tied with mbenecke and NoClue in a one-week Thunderdome cage match for bragging rights. Who will come away with the hardware? Don't know, but remember...two men enter, one man leaves. GoNanooks remains lurking in third but will need to catch fire this week and hope the leaders stub their toes to claim the trophy.

Code: Select all

Contestant   Points %   Games
NoClue        .684       183
mbenecke      .684       183
GoNanooks     .665       169
puckdude40    .657       183
SectionP      .655       183

It's the last week of the regular season. Time sure files. The final bracketology is posted below the scoreboard. Playoffs start next week. Good luck!

Week 21
View response summaries
View response details

[TalonsUpPuckDown]

Congratulations to mbenecke who is the 2025-26 winner of the MacNaughton Cup! Additionally, 18 points is the largest winning margin in CCHA Pick 'Em history. Wow. And Ay Ziggy!

Congratulations to Icd80 who is the week 21 winner with 20 points. Stick taps to CFBHome who was the only contestant to go 7-for-8 on picks this weekend missing only Saturday's Tommies/Beavers game. Now take that big MO into the playoffs.

Congratulations to mbenecke who is the 2025-26 winner of the Bill Beagan trophy! mbenecke edged out NoClue by a mere .004 percentage points in one of the closest finishes in CCHA Pick 'Em history.

Code: Select all

Contestant   Points %   Games
mbenecke      .685       191
NoClue        .681       190
GoNanooks     .665       177
SectionP      .655       191
Tommiealum93  .652       179

There were 18 goals scored by the away teams in week 21 and 19 goals scored by the home teams. Add 'em up and you get a 4-way tie between Icd80, puckdude40, SectionP, and Tommiealum93 for weekly bonus honors. Interestingly, no one picked up more than half the bonus points:

Code: Select all

Contestant         Home  Away  Total
Icd80                5     0     5
puckdude40           3     2     5
SectionP             0     5     5
Tommiealum93         5     0     5
giwan                4     0     4
John J. MacInnes     4     0     4
TalonsUpPuckDown     1     3     4
Footballguy51        1     2     3
iwearpurple          2     1     3
Berger21             0     2     2
GoNanooks            2     0     2
Hockey John          2     0     2
beaverhockeyfan      1     0     1
Manurespreader       1     0     1
MTUHuskyGold         1     0     1
Soulbeaver           1     0     1
SweeneyHawksHockey   1     0     1

Congratulations to iowabasedtraveler who is the 2025-26 winner of the Jeff Sauer trophy! In another close race, iowabaedtraveler finished ahead of Soulbeaver by only 3 bonus points.

Code: Select all

Contestant         Bonus
iowabasedtraveler    50
Soulbeaver           47
mbenecke             43
SectionP             39
beaverhockeyfan      39

Thanks everyone for a great regular season! Turning our attention to the playoffs, the top 6 seeds will each receive a first round bye - be sure to fill out a form for the entire weekend, I'll only use entries for the second game and a reminder that everyone will submit picks for both games that will count for the first round on Friday and the second round on Saturday. Also, with things switching to a mano-a-mano format, picks will not be made available until everyone has completed a form. First round playoff brackets are below the season's final standings. Good luck in your quest for the Mason Cup!

Playoffs, Rounds 1 and 2






CCHA Pick 'Em Playoffs
Winner receives the Mason Cup.

Playoff Eligibility
This year all contestants will make the playoffs. Additionally, a contestant has to have been reasonably active in making weekly picks throughout most of the season, especially during the second half. I'm trying to keep this fair for contestants who've been involved all year while keeping it open for late arrivals who are showing a commitment without writing down a ton of rules. Final decisions are at the discretion of the commissioner. So far, everyone who has been submitting picks the past couple of weeks is currently in.

Playoff Seeding
Matches are head-to-head, single elimination with snake seeding for bracket pairings (1 vs. 32, 2 vs. 31, etc.). Seeding and tie breakers are determined in the following manner based on regular season results:
1) Total Points (including bonus)
2) Points Percent (excluding bonus)
3) Total Points earned during the final 2 (or 3, or 4, or…) weeks of the CCHA regular season including bonuses until the tie is broken. Basically the “hotter” player down the stretch is favored
4) Based on the total number of playoff contestants, top seeds may earn a bye in the first round

Playoff Rounds
o The first round will be based on the Friday, March 6th CCHA Quarterfinal playoff games with bonuses (4 games total, field reduced to 16).
o The second round will be based on the Saturday, March 7th CCHA Quarterfinal playoff games with bonuses (4 games total, field reduced from 16 to 8)
o Quarterfinals will be based on the first CCHA Semifinal playoff game with bonuses listed on CCHA.com held on Saturday, March 14th (1 game, field reduced from 8 to 4).
o Semifinals will be based on the second CCHA Semifinal playoff game with bonuses listed on CCHA.com held on Saturday, March 14th (1 game, field reduced from 4 to 2).
o The championship matchup will be based on the CCHA Championship game on March 20th plus bonuses.

Scoring
o 3 pts for a win, 0 pts for a loss.
o 2-3 bonus questions for each round worth 1-5 points.
o In all cases, ties go to the higher seed.

[TalonsUpPuckDown]

Let’s get in-depth on these matchups and see what’s what. First up is the Midwest regional.

(1) mbenecke vs. Bye – Our 2025-26 MacNaughton Cup champion and Bill Began Award winner (and also 2022-23 Bill Beagan Award winner) finally put it all together by picking with both his head and his heart. He led the way with a league and career best pick percentage of .685 and piled up a third best 43 bonus points. Talk about a strong finish, mbenecke lead the way for 8 of the final 9 weeks in the season and was outside the top 10 only once while spent 13 weeks in the top 3. What a year for mbenecke!

(8) giwan vs. (25) PuckMaster – giwan finished week 1 at the bottom of the rankings and pulled off the amazing feat of improving each and every week the rest of the way to finish in the #8 spot. A little stronger start and our 2021-22 MacNaughton Cup champ may have secured one of those coveted byes. Pick percentage was .625 (good for 18th) and bonus was 33 points (tied for 10th) but this contestant has a history of making deep playoff runs. On the other bench sits PuckMaster who struggled early, missed a couple of weeks, and never seemed to catch fire. While the pick percentage is .579 the bonus play is solid with 27 points. This match pits strength vs. strength and weakness vs. weakness. It should be a good one. Winner gets mbenecke.

(16) GoNanooks vs (17) Tommiealum93 – Boasting the league’s third best pick percentage at .665 has to be a tad frustrating as this level of performance would be good enough to win the Beagan in most years. GoNanooks was in it early season with two weekly wins and 4 top-5 finishes. Missing a few weeks took the MacNaughton out of play and sentenced them to a mid-level seed, but the consistency and historical talent is still there. Tommiealum93 missed nearly the same number of games yet posted nearly identical numbers. A .652 pick percentage, good enough for 5th best, and an identical 22 bonus points makes for an interesting matchup. From a skills perspective, each of these contestants would normally be seeded much higher. The fact that they’re going head-to-head in the first round makes for must see TV!

(9) SweeneyHawksHockey vs. (24) manurespreader – Ouch! One of the strongest contestants in the history of this pick ‘em just couldn’t quite figure out the CCHA this year. SweeneyHawksHockey, the 2022-23 MacNaughton and Mason Cup champion, ended up with a .640 pick percentage and 26 bonus points. Starting out slow and making up ground is not uncommon for this contestant, but falling off the pace towards the end caused the uncharacteristically low seeding. However, nine top-5 finishes shows that some mojo remains. Talk about not figuring out the CCHA, manurespreader never had a weekly finish better than 22nd. Ouch! However, despite the .532 pick percentage there is a ton of upside here with 33 bonus points on the season. This matchup pits strength vs. weakness and is likely a little closer than it may first appear.

[mbenecke]

Like I always say, it's really not that hard.

(I expect to somehow lose to the bye in the first round.)

[TalonsUpPuckDown]

Now on to the West regional.

(2) iowabasedtraveler vs. Bye – Our MacNaughton Cup runner up spent the final 17 weeks in the top 10 and 10 of the final 11 weeks in the top 5 with 12 top-5 weekly finishes. That’s a strong showing for a possible ROY award, if there was one. Interestingly enough, this was accomplished with never winning a single week. Wow! Did I mention iowabasedtraveler is the 2025-26 winner of the Jeff Sauer Trophy? No? Well, leading the way with a whopping 50 bonus points will get you some hardware. The only chink in the armor is a .638 pick percentage which is right near the median. Still, it was an incredible season.

(7) Bronco Hockey Fan vs. AgentClass – You have to go waaaayyy back to the 2018-19 season when this Pick ‘Em wore WCHA branding to find the last time Bronco Hockey Fan brought home some hardware. However, that year was a clean sweep as all the trophies found their way to K’zoo, a feat that has yet to be duplicated. How about this year, though? Well, pick percentage and bonus points are in the middle of the field (.634/31). The season looked like a normal curve; top-10 at the start and finish, lower third quartile in the middle. The talent is there and it’s clear there’s some momentum in play. Paging AgentClass, paging AgentClass. Buehler? Buehler? Anyone? Looks like this one could be a bye for Bronco Hockey Fan

(15) soulbeaver vs (18) Icd80 – The 2023-24 Bill Beagan Trophy winner languished in the middle of the pack throughout despite 2 consecutive weekly wins and 3 top-5 finishes. So what happened here? Well, soulbeaver’s pick percentage ended up at a .583, but the bonus play was good enough to finish only 3 points from winning the hardware at 47. Icd80 has a rich history in this contest claiming the 2022-23 MacNaughton and Mason Cups and last year’s Mason Cup (and going down as the only two-time Mason Cup winner). So what happened here? Well, pick percent is .652 which is good for fifth and bonus is 36 which is good for eighth. The difference comes down to a couple of missed weeks. Remember, if you wanna win it, ya gotta get in it! Draft Kings has their eye on this match, it’s a real clash of the Pick ‘Em titans!

(10) TalonsUpPuckDown vs. (23) John J. MacInnes – Nobody cares about this guy’s Pick ‘Em history. Yeah, he’s won some hardware but what’s important is that he stunk it up big time this year. He could never get a handle on the league. A .614 pick percentage is OK and 38 bonus points is nothing to shake a stick at, but cracking the weekly top-10 only twice (finishing 10th both times) lays bare the struggle this season has been. On the other bench is John J. MacInnes who also struggled with no top-10 finishes and a .582 pick percentage and 31 bonus points. Missing a week cost this contestant a couple of spots in the playoff seeding but let’s be clear – this match is a tossup. Winner gets Bronco Hockey Fan.

[TalonsUpPuckDown]

Next up, the North Regional

(3) SectionP vs. Bye – Our third place finisher missed out on the Bill Beagan trophy by .030 percentage points posting a pick percentage of .655 which was fourth most. Also, SectionP collected 39 bonus points on the year which was, you guessed it, tied for the fourth most. That’s some consistent performance. Speaking of consistency, they had arguably the most consistent performance this season with 20 out of 21 weeks spent in the top 10(!), with 7 of those weeks in the top 5. The only thing missing from this impressive resume is a weekly win.

(6) BillyLP vs. Bye – Our #6 seed took the long way to snagging the last bye in the field. BillyLP spent the first 5 weeks of the season in the top-10 and the last 4 weeks of the season in the top-10. In the middle, well, it was a little rough. A .640 pick percentage and 30 bonus points coupled with 5 top-5 finishes including 2 weekly wins in weeks 18 and 19 shows that he’s peaking at the right time.

(14) Berger21 vs (19) Hockey John– Talk about beauty in symmetry, Berger21 posted 363 total points on the season and a .636 pick percentage (right at the median). The 38 bonus points were 6th best in the field and there were 6 top-5 weekly finishes to show for the effort. The entire season was spent bouncing around the middle of the field due partly to missing a week, but a strong push at the end secured the 14 seed. Is momentum in play here? Maybe, but the 2023-24 Mason Cup runner-up is also feeling some momentum despite some struggles figuring the league out this season. Hockey John struggled with a .578 pick percentage and 23 bonus points spending the season bouncing around the lower third of the field. However, despite the 11 19th place finishes, the last couple of weeks has shown he may be recapturing that 23-24 form. Momentum vs. momentum. The folks at Draft Kings have this one as a pick ‘em Pick ‘Em.

(11) StevieYNot vs. (22) CFBHome – Two weekly wins in a row and 6 top-5 finishes show that StevieYNot has the goods to go deep in this tournament. The challenge is that the season has been an inverse normal curve; beginning of the season was outside the top 10, the middle of the season was top 5 including leading in the race for the MacNaughton, and the end of the season was back outside the top-10. The key is that the .620 pick percentage and 33 bonus points may have landed this contestant in the 11 seed, but the upside here could be the strongest in the entire field. CFBHome struggled with the bonus, picking up only 9 points. The pick percentage was in the third quartile at .583 but the lower seeding is in part to missing a week (if ya wanna win it, ya gotta get in it!). Two top-5 finishes and 6 top-10 finishes show there’s some upside here. Is it enough upside to out-upside their opponent’s upside? Draft Kings has their eye on this match.

[footballguy51]

Like I always say, it's really not that hard.

(I expect to somehow lose to the bye in the first round.)

I'm changing my name to "bye". Maybe that will make the difference in my performance. That, or I will truly perform like a bye week each week. I'm leaning more towards that latter option.