The Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) unveiled its 2023-24 preseason polls on Monday.

Ferris State, which opens the season on Oct. 7-8 at home against the Miami (Ohio) RedHawks, was picked to finish seventh overall by both the league's head coaches and the media.

Overall, Michigan Tech tallied 67 points out of a possible 70, including a league-high four first-place votes, in taking home the top spot in the coaches' poll, with Northern Michigan grabbing 66 (3 first-place votes) and Bowling Green picking up 55. Bemidji State had 49 points, which was good for fourth, while St. Thomas claimed the eighth and final first-place vote and was tied with Minnesota State with 45 points apiece. Ferris State and Lake Superior State captured 36 and 29 points in the poll, respectively.

The eight CCHA head coaches competing in a full conference schedule ranked each school in projected order of finish for the regular season, excluding their own. Points were awarded on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4 basis.

In the preseason media poll, Michigan Tech picked up 152 points in the poll with 11 first-place votes. Northern Michigan collected 133 points and was tied with third place Bowling Green (124) with two first-place votes apiece. Defending MacNaughton Cup and Mason Cup Champion Minnesota State was fourth with 114 points (1 first-place vote), while Bemidji State University (100 points), St. Thomas (88), Ferris State (72) and Lake Superior State (49) rounded out the league.

The CCHA Media Poll was comprised of 16 members of the local and national media, who cover the conference and its teams regularly. Points were awarded on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3 basis.

The CCHA Media Day took place on Tuesday, September 19, beginning at 10:50am ET / 9:50am CT. Along with CCHA Commissioner Don Lucia and CCHA Director of Officiating Marco Hunt, all nine CCHA Head Coaches previewed the upcoming season and answered questions from local, regional and national media outlets via Zoom.

The CCHA officially drops the puck on year three of the reconfigured league on Saturday, October 7. Seven CCHA teams will be in action across opening weekend, with conference play getting underway with a pair of series on October 27.

Fans can stream all CCHA games live and on-demand, on their home televisions, computers, tablets, and mobile devices via the FloSports app. The FloSports App can be accessed on all screens and streaming devices by downloading the FloSports app on Amazon Fire TV, Roku, Apple TV, the App Store and Google Play Store. Additionally, FloSports can be accessed on any smart device browser by visiting FloHockey.tv.

Single-game tickets for the 2023-24 Bulldog Hockey campaign are on sale now and can be purchased online at FerrisStateBulldogs.com/Tickets.