CCHA Tournament | |
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Conference Hockey Championship | |
Sport | Ice hockey |
Conference | Central Collegiate Hockey Association |
Number of teams | 8 |
Format | Single-elimination; best two-of-three opening round; single-game semifinals and final |
Current stadium | Campus sites |
Played | 1972–2013, 2022–present |
Last contest | 2022 CCHA Tournament |
Current champion | Minnesota State Mavericks |
Most championships | Michigan State Spartans (11) |
Winner trophy | Mason Cup |
Official website | ccha.com |
The CCHA Tournament is the conference tournament for the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA). 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 2002. In other years, the trophy was simply 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 1972–77. From 1978–81, 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 1993–94 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.
The CCHA, in its original form, dissolved in 2013 as a consequence of the early-2010s conference realignment. A new CCHA, which considers itself a continuation of the original league, began play in 2021–22, and the tournament resumed at that time with the Mason Cup once again awarded to the tournament champion.[1]
CCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament champions[]
Tournament format[]
Starting with the first season of the revived conference in 2021–22, all eight league members qualify for the tournament, seeded according to regular-season conference records. All games are held at campus sites. The quarterfinals consist of best-of-three series, with each series hosted by the higher-seeded team. The semifinals and final consist of single games, also hosted by the higher seed in each matchup.[2]
Previous formats[]
- 1972
The CCHA Tournament format begins as a single-game elimination two-round format.
- 1973
A round-robin championship format was adopted. Although not a member of the CCHA's Division I, Western Michigan is invited as the fourth team in the CCHA Tournament.
- 1974–75
The single-game elimination format returns. Western Michigan is invited for a second year as the fourth team in the CCHA Tournament.
- 1976
Championship game is changed to a two-game, total-goals series.
- 1977–81
All tournament rounds are changed to a two-game, total-goals series.
- 1982–85
First round series remain a two-game, total-goals series. Semifinals and finals are changed to single-game elimination format. The CCHA Tournament is expanded from four teams to eight teams in a three-round format.
- 1986
First round series changed to a best two-of-three format. Semifinals and finals remain single-game elimination.
- 1990
After Bowling Green is selected for the NCAA tournament over Michigan despite the Wolverines victory over the Falcons in the consolation game, the CCHA eliminates the consolation game.
- 1993–94
With the addition of Kent State and Notre Dame to the league and Alaska as an affiliate member, tournament expanded to 12 teams. A quarterfinal at Joe Louis Arena narrows the field from six to four. Alaska is placed in the tournament by team choice. In order, the top six teams select their opponent for the first round among the bottom five teams and Alaska.
- 1995
The tournament retracts to 10 teams. A highest seed-hosts, midweek play-in game narrows the field from five to four.
- 1996–99
Tournament format returns to eight teams.
- 2000–01
The tournament field expanded back to 10 along with the midweek play-in game.
- 2002–05
All 12 teams qualified for the tournament with a quarterfinal at Joe Louis Arena narrowing the field from six to four. The consolation game returned to boost records and rankings for NCAA Tournament selection.
- 2006–13
All 12 league members qualified for the tournament. A four-round format was introduced beginning in 2006 with the top four seeds receiving byes and the remaining eight teams playing in an on-campus best two-of-three first round series. After the first round, the field was reseeded for the quarterfinal round for an on-campus best two-of-three series. The remaining four teams were reseeded for the CCHA Championship at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit. Two semifinals were played on Friday afternoon and night. The championship game was played the following night, preceded by the consolation game.
Championship appearances[]
"Modern Era"[]
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.
"Road to the Joe"[]
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.
"Super Six"[]
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.
References[]
- ↑ Famed Mason Cup to be awarded to CCHA playoff champion. Central Collegiate Hockey Association (May 19, 2021). Retrieved on May 21, 2021.
- ↑ CCHA releases 2021-22 conference schedule. Central Collegiate Hockey Association (May 20, 2021). Retrieved on August 14, 2021.
External links[]
Central Collegiate Hockey Association | |
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Current members | Bemidji State Beavers - Bowling Green Falcons - Ferris State Bulldogs - Lake Superior State Lakers - Michigan Tech Huskies - Minnesota State Mavericks - Northern Michigan Wildcats - St. Thomas Tommies |
Future members | Augustana Vikings (joining in 2023) |
Former members | Alaska Nanooks - Kent State Golden Flashes - Miami RedHawks - Michigan Wolverines - Michigan State Spartans - Nebraska–Omaha Mavericks - Notre Dame Fighting Irish - Ohio Bobcats - Ohio State Buckeyes - Saint Louis Billikens - Illinois–Chicago Flames - Western Michigan Broncos |
Current awards | All-CCHA Teams - Defenseman of the Year - Forward of the Year - Goaltender of the Year - Coach of the Year - Player of the Year - Rookie of the Year - Tournament MVP |
Defunct awards | Best Defensive Defenseman - Best Defensive Forward - Best Offensive Defenseman - Scholar-Athlete of the Year - Ilitch Humanitarian Award |
NCAA - CCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament (Champions, Mason Cup) Joe Louis Arena (former conference tourney site) |
This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at CCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Ice Hockey Wiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License 3.0 (Unported) (CC-BY-SA). |