| CCHA Tournament | |
| Optional Subheader: | Conference hockey championship |
| Sport: | Ice hockey |
| Conference: | Central Collegiate Hockey Association |
| Format: | Single-elimination
|
| Current Stadium: | Campus sites |
| Years: | 1972–2013, 2022–present |
| Most Recent: | 2024 CCHA Tournament |
| Current Champion: | Michigan Tech Huskies |
| Most Championships: | Michigan State Spartans (11) |
| Trophy: | Mason Cup |
| Website: | ccha.com |
The CCHA Tournament is the conference tournament for the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA), an NCAA Division I men's ice hockey conference that originally operated from 1971 to 2013 and has been revived effective in 2021. The winner of the tournament receives an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. The winner of the tournament also receives the Mason Cup, which was first presented in 2001. In other years, the trophy was known as the CCHA Tournament Championship Trophy.
The tournament was first held in 1972, the first year of conference play. It was held at The Arena in St. Louis, Missouri from 1972 to 1977. From 1978 to 1981, the CCHA Tournament was held at the rink of the higher seed. Starting in 1982, the CCHA Tournament first round was held at the rink of the higher seed with Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan hosting the CCHA Tournament semifinals and finals. From 1993 to 1994 and 2002–05, the CCHA championship format had six teams competing at Joe Louis Arena with the bottom four teams competing for the third and fourth spots in the semifinals.
In February 2020, seven schools that had announced several months earlier that they would leave the Western Collegiate Hockey Association after the 2020–21 season announced that they would form a new CCHA, with the 2021–22 season as the first for the revived league.[1] The tournament resumed in 2022 with the Mason Cup once again being awarded to the tournament champion.[2]
See main article: List of CCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament champions and List of CCHA Most Valuable Player in Tournament.
| No. | School | Record | Pct | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | Michigan State | 11–4 | ||
| 15 | Michigan | 9–6 | ||
| 12 | Lake Superior State | 4–8 | ||
| 10 | Bowling Green State | 8–2 | ||
| 7 | Ohio State | 2–6–1 | ||
| 6 | Saint Louis | 3–5–1 | ||
| 4 | Northern Michigan | 2–2–1 | ||
| 3 | Western Michigan | 1–2–1 | ||
| 3 | Miami | 1–2 | ||
| 2 | Notre Dame | 1–1 | ||
| 2 | Ferris State | 0–3 | ||
| 1 | Minnesota State | 1–0 | ||
| 1 | Nebraska-Omaha | 0–1 |
| No. | Coach | Record | Pct | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | Ron Mason | 16–4 | .800 | |
| 15 | "Red" Berenson | 9–6 | .650 | |
| 7 | Jeff Jackson | 5–2 | .714 | |
| 6 | Rick Comley | 4–3–1 | .563 | |
| 6 | Bill Selman | 3–5–1 | .389 | |
| 4 | Frank Anzalone | 0–4 | .000 | |
| 3 | John Markell | 1–2 | .333 | |
| 3 | Jerry York | 1–2 | .333 | |
| 2 | Bill Wilkinson | 1–1 | .500 | |
| 2 | Jerry Welsh | 0–3–1 | .125 | |
| 3 | Enrico Blasi | 1–2 | .333 | |
| 1 | Dave Chambers | 1–0 | 1.000 | |
| 1 | Mike Hastings | 1–0 | 1.000 | |
| 1 | Jack Vivian | 1–0 | 1.000 | |
| 1 | Bill Neal | 0–1–1 | .250 | |
| 1 | Bob Daniels | 0–1 | .000 | |
| 1 | George Gwozdecky | 0–1 | .000 | |
| 1 | Mike Kemp | 0–1 | .000 | |
| 1 | Walt Kyle | 0–1 | .000 | |
| 1 | "Lefty" Smith | 0–1 | .000 | |
| 1 | Rick Duffett | 0–2 | .000 |
In 1981–82, four teams from the WCHA (Michigan, Michigan State, Michigan Tech and Notre Dame) defected to the CCHA. The four teams brought their long, storied history with 12 combined NCAA National Championships giving the young, up-start league instant credibility. The tournament championship was moved from small on-campus rinks to Joe Louis Arena, home of the NHL's Detroit Red Wings. These events give the league a distinct turning point at which the "Modern Era" of the CCHA Tournament begins.
Commissioner Bill Beagan coined the phrase "Road to the Joe" in describing the CCHA Tournament in 1985–86. The phrase is commonly used in reference to the CCHA Tournament.[5]
With the tournament expanding to 12 teams in 2001–02, the CCHA adopted the name "Super Six" in reference to the six teams who advance past the first round to the CCHA championships at Joe Louis Arena. The name was dropped following the 2005 season when the CCHA championships were reduced back to four teams.