Season 6 Episode 19 of the Chasing MacNaughton Podcast from Tech Hockey Guide; CCHA Tinder. This week, THG’s fearless leader was nowhere to be found, so Rob Gilreath and Matt Cavender were joined by Cam Watkins from the Chattin’ Mavericks podcast. In this episode, they discussed Minnesota State’s season to date, impressions of Mankato’s second year head coach Luke Strand, the upcoming matchup between Michigan Tech and Minnesota State, the CCHA standings and the outlook for the future of the CCHA.
Mankato’s season so far
Rob started off the episode by asking Cam for his thoughts on Minnesota State’s season so far. Cam was happy by Mankato’s early season win against Michigan but less so about the team’s split to Merrimack. Cam talked about Mankato’s series this past weekend against Northern Michigan exposing some of Mankato’s vulnerabilities, especially on offense. The guys talked about Rhett Pitlick’s awful shootout attempt against Northern before pivoting to how well he’s played to start the season. Cam talked about Pitlick meeting the expectations of what he was brought in to do.
Rob also asked Cam for his thoughts on Mankato head coach Luke Strand now that Strand is in his second season. Cam talked about Strand settling in and his incredible network of connections in the hockey world. Cam did knock some odd roster decisions Strand has made but was impressed with the hybrid defensive style Strand has implemented in Mankato.
Matt asked Cam who else on the roster has been a surprise and Cam could not stop praising goaltender Alex Tracy. Cam also complimented Luke Ashton on defense and talked about how the game noticeably changes in momentum when Ashton is on the ice. Cam talked about Luigi Benincasa being fun to watch as a transfer from Ferris State too.
Minnesota State series preview
Rob started off the preview of Tech’s upcoming series against Mankato by pointing out that Tech hasn’t played anyone of note within the CCHA so far. Cam saw the series as the best two teams in the CCHA, but wasn’t sure if Mankato would come out angry at their loss to Northern or would continue regressing. He talked about Mankato’s first line needing to step up and produce more as well as special teams needing to improve. Cam predicted an overtime win for Mankato on Friday and a shootout win for Tech on Saturday. Matt thought that the games would be must see TV for CCHA fans and predicted a split with OT wins both nights.
CCHA
The guys talked about the CCHA playoffs and having a race to the bottom to determine who will be left out. Rob liked watching teams having to earn their spot in the league playoffs and Matt was the exact opposite and enjoys the idea that every team might have a chance to go dancing, however small. There was a discussion on the current standings and how some of the quirks will be worked out by season’s end when everyone has played the same number of games. Later in the show, the guys talked about the CCHA using points percentage to determine the standings and how those percentages are calculated with overtime and shootouts factoring in. The guys talked about Augustana being a hard team to pin down given some of their good wins and bad losses.
Cam turned the tables on the Rob and Matt and asked them for their thoughts on the future of the CCHA in light of St. Thomas leaving the league. Rob thought the league has been settling in nicely and that Commissioner Don Lucia has done a lot of good things for the league. Rob brought up the fact that the CCHA will never get the “blue chip” type of players but pointed out that the league seems to have found success recruiting in Europe. Matt took the opportunity to rail on St. Thomas and how they have treated the CCHA as a stepping stone to the NCHC, but overall was happy with where the CCHA has positioned itself. Matt also discussed the recent CHL eligibility change and thought that the new rules would greatly benefit the CCHA.
Cut for time
This week’s cut time for Patrons is approximately 14 minutes long. There was extended conversation on Pitlick’s shootout attempt. The guys discussed the color of hockey sticks and goalie pads. There was a conversation about Mankato having four goalies on their roster. The guys talked about Midco Sports and what’s been good and bad with the streams. There was a discussion on Mankato’s TV broadcasters and the team’s gray jerseys.
Learn More
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