2026 CCHA tournament
College ice hockey tournament
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The 2026 CCHA Tournament was the 47th tournament in the history of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association. It began on March 6 and ended on March 20, 2026. All games were played at home campus sites. By winning the tournament, Minnesota State received the CCHA's automatic bid for the 2026 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournament.
| 2026 CCHA men's ice hockey tournament | |
|---|---|
| Dates | March 6–20, 2026 |
| Teams | 8 |
| Finals site | Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center Mankato, Minnesota |
| Champions | Minnesota State (4th title) |
| Winning coach | Luke Strand (2nd title) |
| MVP | Alex Tracy (Minnesota State) |
CCHA men's Ice Hockey Tournaments 2027 → | |
Format
The first round of the postseason tournament features a best-of-three games format, while the semifinals and final are single games held at the campus sites of the highest remaining seeds. The top eight conference teams in the standings participated in the tournament. Teams are seeded No. 1 through No. 8 according to their final conference standings, with a tiebreaker system used to seed teams with an identical number of points accumulated. The higher-seeded teams each earned home ice and hosted one of the lower-seeded teams.[1] The teams that advance out of the quarterfinals are reseeded according to the regular season standings. The semifinals and final are single-elimination games. The winners of the semifinals play one another to determine the conference tournament champion.
Conference standings
| Conference record | Overall record | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | W | L | T | OTW | OTL | SW | PTS | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | |||
| #14 Minnesota State †* | 26 | 14 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 51 | 71 | 53 | 40 | 22 | 11 | 7 | 111 | 81 | ||
| #18 St. Thomas | 26 | 15 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 50 | 89 | 67 | 38 | 21 | 12 | 5 | 131 | 109 | ||
| #17 Augustana | 26 | 14 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 50 | 72 | 49 | 37 | 22 | 11 | 4 | 109 | 74 | ||
| Michigan Tech | 26 | 16 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 49 | 84 | 59 | 39 | 23 | 13 | 3 | 126 | 106 | ||
| Bowling Green | 26 | 15 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 49 | 80 | 59 | 36 | 18 | 11 | 7 | 107 | 88 | ||
| Bemidji State | 26 | 11 | 11 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 36 | 69 | 68 | 36 | 13 | 19 | 4 | 98 | 103 | ||
| Lake Superior State | 26 | 8 | 16 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 31 | 57 | 83 | 36 | 11 | 22 | 3 | 92 | 121 | ||
| Ferris State | 26 | 6 | 18 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 22 | 70 | 100 | 37 | 8 | 27 | 2 | 91 | 138 | ||
| Northern Michigan | 26 | 3 | 21 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 44 | 98 | 34 | 3 | 29 | 2 | 56 | 132 | ||
| Championship: March 20, 2026 † indicates conference regular-season champion (MacNaughton Cup) * indicates conference tournament champion (Mason Cup) Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll; updated March 22, 2026 Source: CCHA | ||||||||||||||||||
Bracket
| Quarterfinals March 6–8 | Semifinals March 14 | Championship March 20 | ||||||||||||||
| 1 | Minnesota State | 5 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Ferris State | 1 | 2* | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Minnesota State | 7 | ||||||||||||||
| 4 | Michigan Tech | 2 | ||||||||||||||
| 2 | St. Thomas | 4* | 5 | — | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Lake Superior State | 3 | 2 | — | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Minnesota State | 4 | ||||||||||||||
| (Teams are reseeded after the Quarterfinal round) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | St. Thomas | 1 | ||||||||||||||
| 3 | Augustana | 5 | 2 | — | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Bemidji State | 2 | 1 | — | ||||||||||||
| 2 | St. Thomas | 2 | ||||||||||||||
| 3 | Augustana | 1 | ||||||||||||||
| 4 | Michigan Tech | 5 | 3 | — | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Bowling Green | 3 | 2 | — | ||||||||||||
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)
Results
Note: All game times are local.
Quarterfinals
(1) Minnesota State vs. (8) Ferris State
| March 6, 2026 7:07 pm | Minnesota State | 5–1 (2–0, 1–1, 2–0) | Ferris State | Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center Attendance: 3,068 |
| Game reference | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alex Tracy | Goalies | Martin Lundberg | Referees: Rick Nelson Sterling Egan Linesmen: Nick Huff Patrick Giles | |||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| 8 min | Penalties | 4 min | ||||||||||||||||||
| 35 | Shots | 13 | ||||||||||||||||||
| March 7, 2026 6:07 pm | Minnesota State | 1–2 (OT) (0–0, 1-1, 0–0, 0–1) | Ferris State | Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center Attendance: 2,866 |
| Game reference | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alex Tracy | Goalies | Martin Lundberg | Referees: Rick Nelson Sterling Egan Linesmen: Nick Huff Patrick Giles | ||||||||
| |||||||||||
| 4 min | Penalties | 8 min | |||||||||
| 29 | Shots | 13 | |||||||||
| March 8, 2026 5:07 pm | Minnesota State | 2–0 (0–0, 2–0, 0–0) | Ferris State | Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center Attendance: 2,065 |
| Game reference | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alex Tracy | Goalies | Martin Lundberg | Referees: Rick Nelson Sterling Egan Linesmen: Nick Huff Patrick Giles | |||||
| ||||||||
| 6 min | Penalties | 6 min | ||||||
| 46 | Shots | 17 | ||||||
| Minnesota State wins series 2–1 |
|---|
(2) St. Thomas vs. (7) Lake Superior State
| March 6, 2026 7:07 pm | St. Thomas | 4–3 (OT) (2–0, 0–3, 1–0, 1–0) | Lake Superior State | Lee & Penny Anderson Arena Attendance: 1,217 |
| Game reference | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carsen Musser | Goalies | Rorke Applebee | Referees: Michael Forys Bobby Lukkason Linesmen: Andrew Dokken Nathan Voll | ||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 min | Penalties | 17 min | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 40 | Shots | 25 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| March 7, 2026 7:07 pm | St. Thomas | 5–2 (1–1, 1–0, 3–1) | Lake Superior State | Lee & Penny Anderson Arena Attendance: 1,286 |
| Game reference | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carsen Musser | Goalies | Rorke Applebee | Referees: Michael Forys Bobby Lukkason Linesmen: Andrew Dokken Nathan Voll | ||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6 min | Penalties | 10 min | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 43 | Shots | 29 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| St. Thomas wins series 2–0 |
|---|
(3) Augustana vs. (6) Bemidji State
| March 6, 2026 7:07 pm | Augustana | 5–2 (1–0, 2–0, 1–2) | Bemidji State | Midco Arena Attendance: 3,082 |
| Game reference | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Josh Kotai | Goalies | Max Hildebrand | Referees: Colin Hronforst Nicholas Bradshaw Linesmen: Kyle Domin Gabe Halonen | ||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4 min | Penalties | 2 min | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 27 | Shots | 33 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| March 7, 2026 6:07 pm | Augustana | 2–1 (0–1, 0–1, 2–1) | Bemidji State | Midco Arena Attendance: 3,082 |
| Game reference | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Josh Kotai | Goalies | Max Hildebrand | Referees: Colin Hronforst Nicholas Bradshaw Linesmen: Kyle Domin Gabe Halonen | ||||||||
| |||||||||||
| 6 min | Penalties | 4 min | |||||||||
| 19 | Shots | 43 | |||||||||
| Augustana wins series 2–0 |
|---|
(4) Michigan Tech vs. (5) Bowling Green
| March 6, 2026 7:07 pm | Michigan Tech | 5–3 (2–1, 1–1, 2–1) | Bowling Green | MacInnes Student Ice Arena Attendance: 2,836 |
| Game reference | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Owen Bartoszkiewicz | Goalies | Tyler Palmer | Referees: Stephen McInchak Bruce Vida Jr Linesmen: Eric Froberg Jamie Grace | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6 min | Penalties | 2 min | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 18 | Shots | 39 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| March 7, 2026 6:07 pm | Michigan Tech | 3–2 (1–0, 1–0, 1–2) | Bowling Green | MacInnes Student Ice Arena Attendance: 3,160 |
| Game reference | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Owen Bartoszkiewicz | Goalies | Cole Moore | Referees: Steve McInchak Bruce Vida Jr. Linesmen: Eric Froberg Jamie Grace | ||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
| 6 min | Penalties | 2 min | |||||||||||||||
| 26 | Shots | 42 | |||||||||||||||
| Michigan Tech wins series 2–0 |
|---|
Semifinals
(1) Minnesota State vs. (4) Michigan Tech
| March 14, 2026 7:07 pm | Minnesota State | 7–2 (3–0, 4–1, 0–1) | Michigan Tech | Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center Attendance: 3,520 |
| Game reference | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alex Tracy | Goalies | Owen Bartoszkiewicz Ryan Manzella Bryant Lee | Referees: Colin Kronforst Bobby Lukkason Linesmen: Nathan Voll Andrew Dokken | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4 min | Penalties | 0 min | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 21 | Shots | 25 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(2) St. Thomas vs. (3) Augustana
| March 14, 2025 4:07 pm | St. Thomas | 2–1 (0–0, 0–0, 2–1) | Augustana | St. Thomas Ice Arena Attendance: 2,338 |
| Game reference | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carsen Musser | Goalies | Josh Kotai | Referees: Steve McInchak Bruce Vida Jr. Linesmen: Eric Froberg Jamie Grace | ||||||||
| |||||||||||
| 2 min | Penalties | 2 min | |||||||||
| 28 | Shots | 24 | |||||||||
Championship
(1) Minnesota State vs. (2) St. Thomas
| March 20, 2026 7:07 pm | Minnesota State | 4–1 (1–1, 1–0, 2–0) | St. Thomas | Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center Attendance: 4,892 |
| Game reference | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alex Tracy | Goalies | Carsen Musser | Referees: Rick Nelson Sterling Egan Linesmen: Nick Huff Patrick Giles | ||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
| 8 min | Penalties | 8 min | |||||||||||||||
| 39 | Shots | 30 | |||||||||||||||
Tournament awards
Three Stars
- 1st Alex Tracy* (Minnesota State)
- 2nd Evan Murr (Minnesota State)
- 3rd Dylan Godbout (St. Thomas)