Not yet eligible for the NCAA tourney, St. Thomas still takes aim at a CCHA crown

The CCHA tournament begins Friday with best-of-three quarterfinals and interesting story lines, such as:

Can regular-season champion Minnesota State Mankato win the tournament for the third time in four years? Will second-year program Augustana make a Cinderella run and snag the CCHA’s automatic berth in the NCAA tournament? Does retiring Ferris State coach Bob Daniels end his career on a high note?

The most intriguing scenario, however, might belong to St. Thomas. The Tommies (16-13-5, 13-9-4 CCHA) finished third in the conference standings and are on a 12-3-1 heater since the calendar flipped to January. They play host to Ferris State in a best-of-three first-round series on Friday through Sunday at St. Thomas Ice Arena, and they have the look of a team that could be dangerous to play in the NCAA tournament.

Problem is for the Tommies, they can’t play in the NCAA tournament, even if they win the CCHA tournament and its automatic bid. St. Thomas is in its last year of a probationary period resulting from the school’s reclassification from NCAA Division III to Division I and is ineligible for NCAA tournament play.

Should the Tommies win the CCHA tourney and its Mason Cup trophy, the tournament runner-up would get the NCAA bid. The NCAA reduced the probationary period from five years to four years in January, and the Tommies will be eligible for NCAA play next season provided they meet certain criteria.

St. Thomas coach Rico Blasi embraces the chance to show what his team can do even if the ride won’t continue past the conference tournament.

“You always want to be playing your best hockey at the right time, and we feel like we’re getting there,” Blasi said. “… This is our tournament time, and we want to treat it with respect and make sure we put our best foot forward."

Blasi is a process-focused coach, and that shows up in the Tommies’ improvement from 3-32-1 the first season to 11-23-2 in year two and 15-20-2 last season. He and his players aren’t dwelling on this second-half hot streak.

“No one’s really talked about it,” he said. “We just went about our business, and the way we’ve built our culture is to just focus on what we can do and what we can control. All of a sudden, the season’s almost over and we find ourselves in a really good spot.”

Fresh off a four-overtime semifinal thriller in the MIAC women’s tournament semifinals, top-seeded Augsburg will face No. 2 seed Gustavus for the conference tournament championship at 6 p.m. Saturday at Ed Saugestad Rink. Aunna Schulte’s goal at 8:06 of the fourth overtime — or 128:06 of playing time — gave the Auggies (22-3-1) a 3-2 semifinal win over St. Mary’s in what is believed to be the longest game in Division III women’s history. Gustavus (21-5-0) beat Hamline 4-0 in the other semifinal.

Top-seeded Gustavus plays host to No. 3 seed St. Olaf at 6 p.m., Saturday for the MIAC men’s championship and automatic NCAA bid. The Gusties (15-9-2) topped Concordia (Moorhead) 5-2 in the semifinals, while the Oles (14-9-3) beat Bethel 3-1.

Here’s a look at this week’s projection of the NCAA Division I men’s tournament using current conference leaders to fill the automatic bids and the PairWise Ratings to fill the 10 at-large spots. Regionals are March 27-30, and the Frozen Four is April 10-12 in St. Louis.

1. Boston College vs. 16. Holy Cross

8. Connecticut vs. 10. Denver

Toledo, Ohio, Regional

2. Michigan State vs. 13. Quinnipiac

7. Boston U. vs. 9. Ohio State

3. Gophers vs. 15. Minnesota State Mankato

6. Providence vs. 11. Michigan

Allentown, Pa., Regional

4. Maine vs. 14. Penn State

5. Western Michigan vs. 12. UMass

*To fill Penn State’s spot in Fargo, Minnesota State moves from Toledo to Fargo and Quinnipiac moves from Allentown to Toledo. This helps attendance in Fargo and creates one fewer team requiring a flight. Minnesota State can bus to Fargo, and the NCAA committee has a history of grouping Minnesota teams in regionals held in Fargo or Sioux Falls.

* Ohio State moves from Manchester to Toledo, boosting Toledo’s attendance. Denver moves to Manchester.

Last two at-large teams in field: No. 12 UMass, No. 14 Penn State.