DETROIT – The 2011-12 Central Collegiate Hockey Association regular season recently came to an end, with a memorable and tightly-contested campaign wrapping up with the Ferris State Bulldogs having finished as the top-ranked team in the conference. Beginning this evening, Friday, March 2, the CCHA’s ‘Road To The Joe’ will officially begin when six teams kick off their opening round playoff matchups.

Ferris State, Michigan, Western Michigan, Miami and Michigan State all receive automatic byes to the conference quarter-finals by virtue of having finished in the Top 5 of the CCHA’s final regular season standings. The remaining six squads will look to advance by winning their upcoming best-of-three first round series: No. 9 Ohio State at No. 8 Notre Dame, No. 10 Alaska at No. 7 Lake Superior and No. 11 Bowling Green at No. 6 Northern Michigan.

This year’s CCHA Championship will be staged at Joe Louis Arena on Friday, March 16 (Semi-Final Game #1 – 4:30 p.m. & Semi-Final Game #2 – 8:00 p.m.) and Saturday, March 17 (Consolation Final – 3:30 p.m. & Mason Cup Final – 7:30 p.m.). Throughout the weekend, eleven lucky fans will win a one-of-a-kind autographed jersey combo of CCHA alumni who have gone on to skate in the NHL. An eclectic mix of in-arena promotions and contests will be utilized in distributing these one-of-a-kind prizes. The names/schools of the player jerseys featured in this unique promotion are listed below:


Kevin Bieksa (Bowling Green State University)

Dan Boyle (Miami University)

Erik Condra (University of Notre Dame)

Jack Johnson (University of Michigan)

Ryan Kesler (Ohio State University)

Chris Kunitz (Ferris State University)

Mark Letestu (Western Michigan University)

Drew Miller (Michigan State University)

Brian Rolston (Lake Superior State University)

Mike Santorelli (Northern Michigan University)

Aaron Voros (University of Alaska Fairbanks)


Tickets to the 2012 CCHA Championship are priced between $10 and $35 apiece and can be purchased at the JLA Box Office (313-396-7575), all Ticketmaster (800-745-3000) outlets and online at OlympiaEntertainment.com. Special Little Caesars Family Four-Packs – which include four tickets, four pizza slices and four soft drinks – are also available for purchase through all ticketing outlets beginning at only $44 per package. General admission upper bowl student seats, meanwhile, can be obtained for as low as $5 per ticket at the JLA Box Office only (a valid student ID must be presented at the time of purchase).