NCHC Ditches Frozen Faceoff Neutral Site Tournament, Moving On Campus

(KNSI) – Another college hockey conference neutral site tournament bites the dust.

For those who grew up going to the Final Five and Frozen Faceoff, this week marks a sad milestone. Other midwestern leagues, including the powerful Big Ten, had already moved their playoffs on-campus exclusively in the past five years. The National Collegiate Hockey Conference, where St. Cloud State plays, is doing the same.

The board of directors made the decision on Monday, and the format will go into effect in 2026. A play-in game between the eight and nine seeds will be followed by best-of-three quarterfinals, then standalone semifinal and final rounds, all hosted by the top remaining seeds.

The NCHC is expanding to nine teams when it welcomes Arizona State into the fold.

A statement from Commissioner Heather Weems says the move is expected to be a boon to member schools. “The expansion to a three-week playoff immediately preceding NCAA regional play maintains the competitiveness of our Frozen Faceoff championship while providing our teams with a better schedule for travel and rest. NCHC member institutions are excited to battle for home-site seeding and to play in front of loyal fans and supporters as they chase the Frozen Faceoff trophy and automatic qualification into the NCAA tournament.”

In the days of the original WCHA, the playoffs had an opening round played on-campus, with the winners advancing to a three-day tournament at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. The two highest seeds had a play-in game Thursday, followed by two semifinals on Friday, a consolation game Saturday afternoon, and a championship Saturday night. Every game required a separate ticket and sold out. Overall attendance used to be nearly 120,000 people.

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