Coaches, Media Agree in CCHA: Michigan the Favorite

The CCHA’s coaches and media both picked Michigan to win the league championship this season, but both polls had Notre Dame and Miami nipping at the Wolverines’ heels.

Michigan got five of the 12 first-place votes in the coaches poll. Second-place Notre Dame had four, third-place Miami had two and fifth-place Northern Michigan got one.

In the media poll, the Wolverines took 24 of the 66 top spots. Notre Dame and Miami each had 20, with fourth-place Ohio State and eighth-place Michigan State each garnering one.

It was the first time in four years that the league’s coaches and media agreed on the preseason favorite, and in Michigan they have picked a team with a returning first-team All-American in forward Louie Caporusso and the defending CCHA rookie of the year, forward David Wohlberg.

Caporusso was a unanimous pick for the coaches’ preseason first team along with Miami forward Carter Camper. Northern Michigan forward Mark Olver, defenseman Erik Gustafsson and goaltender Brian Stewart and Notre Dame defenseman Ian Cole also were first-team picks.

The second team consisted of forwards Calle Ridderwall and Billy Maday of Notre Dame and John Albert of Ohio State; defensemen Eddie DelGrosso of Nebraska-Omaha and Kyle Lawson of Notre Dame; and Michigan goaltender Bryan Hogan.

Here is the coaches’ poll:

Team (first-place votes)  Points
1. Michigan (5) 114
2. Notre Dame (4) 111
3. Miami (2) 104
4. Ohio State 90
5. Northern Michigan (1) 85
6. Nebraska-Omaha 63
7. Alaska 61
8. Ferris State 50
9. Michigan State 46
10. Lake Superior State 29
11. Western Michigan 28
12. Bowling Green 11

And here is the media poll:

Team (first-place votes)  Points
1. Michigan (24) 731
2. Notre Dame (20) 712
3. Miami (20) 707
4. Ohio State (1) 547
5. Northern Michigan 502
6. Alaska 386
7. Nebraska-Omaha 377
8. Michigan State (1) 332
9. Ferris State 314
10. Western Michigan 256
11. Lake Superior State 189
12. Bowling Green 95