National Collegiate Hockey Conference Tournament Explained

National Collegiate Hockey Conference tournament
Optional Subheader:Conference hockey championship
Sport:Ice hockey
Conference:NCHC
Format:Single-elimination (Semifinal & Final), best two-of-three tournament (Quarterfinal)
Current Stadium:Xcel Energy Center[1]
Current Location:Saint Paul, Minnesota
Years:2014–present
Most Recent:2022
Current Champion:Minnesota Duluth (3rd title)
Most Championships:Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs (3)
Television:CBS Sports Network
Website:The Official Site of NCHC Hockey
All Stadiums:Target Center (2014–2017),Xcel Energy Center (2018–present)Ralph Engelstad Arena (2021)
All Locations:Minneapolis, Minnesota (2014–2017),St. Paul, Minnesota (2018–present)Grand Forks, North Dakota (2021)

The National Collegiate Hockey Conference tournament is the conference tournament for the NCHC. The winner of the tournament received an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament which has occurred every year the NCHC has been in existence, with the exception of 2011. The tournament is a successor to the CCHA Tournament which was discontinued after the conference dissolved due to the major realignment of ice hockey conferences that culminated in 2013–14.[2]

The inaugural tournament was held in 2014 and included all 8 member teams in a three-round championship.

NCHC Hockey Men's Ice Hockey Tournament champions

See main article: List of NCHC Tournament champions.

Formats

2014The NCHC Tournament begins with three-round format featuring all conference teams. The quarterfinals consist of four best-of-three series while all subsequent rounds are single-elimination.

Championship appearances

From 2014–present

By school

No. School Record Pct
4 Minnesota-Duluth 3–1
4 St. Cloud State 1–3
2 Denver 2–0
2 Miami 1–1
1 North Dakota 0–1
1 Western Michigan 0–1

By coach[3] [4]

No. Coach Record Pct
4 3–1
3 1–2
2 2–0
2 1–1
1 0–1
1 0–1
1 0–1

Formation[5]

After the Big Ten announced it was forming a hockey conference beginning with the 2013–14 season several teams from the WCHA decided to break from the conference and form a new contingent. As traditional powers Denver and North Dakota were among the teams leaving the NCHC's invitation to some of the remaining CCHA teams was appealing enough to get two more universities to join, swelling the NCHC's ranks to eight. Eventually all of the CCHA teams joined other conferences prior to 2013–14 necessitating its dissolution.[6]

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Target Center. NCHC Hockey. 2014-05-18.
  2. News: The CCHA is going away, but its history will have a final resting place. USCHO.com. 2013-03-06. 2013-07-23.
  3. News: Denver Men's Team History. 2014-05-18.
  4. News: Miami Men's Team History. USCHO.com. 2014-05-18.
  5. News: NCHC Histoty. College Hockey Historical Archive. 2014-05-18.
  6. News: The CCHA is going away, but its history will have a final resting place. USCHO.com. 2013-03-06. 2013-07-23.