COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – With the 2023-24 regular season complete, the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) Quarterfinal match-ups are set and games times have been finalized for the first round of the 2024 NCHC Playoffs, the Conference announced Sunday.
 
The top four seeds host the bottom four seeds in best-of-three quarterfinal series beginning Friday, March 15 through Sunday, March 17, if necessary. The four series winners then advance to the 2024 NCHC Frozen Faceoff at Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minn. on March 22-23, where the 2024 tournament champion will be crowned.
 
While Penrose Cup champion North Dakota was locked into the No. 1 seed and a date with No. 8 seed Miami coming into this weekend, the remaining seedings and quarterfinal pairings came down to the final game of the regular season between Gold Pan rivals Colorado College and Denver. With DU’s 4-3 win in Saturday’s finale, the Pioneers clinched the No. 2 seed and will welcome seventh-seeded Minnesota Duluth for the quarterfinals. St. Cloud State landed as the No. 3 seed and will host No. 6 seed Western Michigan, while Colorado College finishes as the No. 4 seed and will entertain No. 5 seed Omaha to start the playoffs. The Huskies and Tigers tied for third place with 41 points, but SCSU held the tiebreaker with more regulation wins, 10 to 9.
 
Every game of the NCHC Quarterfinals next weekend (March 15-17) can be seen on NCHC.tv. For fans who don’t already have an NCHC.tv pass, the NCHC Quarterfinal Pass is available for purchase to watch all the playoff action Friday through Sunday. The complete NCHC Quarterfinal schedule is listed at the end of the release.

No. 8 seed Miami at No. 1 seed North Dakota
No. 3 ranked North Dakota (24-10-2, 15-8-1 NCHC) won its fourth Penrose Cup in five years and sixth NCHC regular-season title overall to earn the No. 1 seed. The RedHawks (7-24-3, 1-21-2 NCHC) finished as the No. 8 seed for the fourth straight season, setting an NCHC low for fewest wins and points in conference play.

Friday’s series opener begins at 7:07 p.m. CT at Ralph Engelstad Arena, while Saturday’s Game 2 and Sunday’s if-necessary contest will begin at 6:07 p.m. CT. All three games will be televised on Midco Sports and streamed on NCHC.tv.

The Fighting Hawks head into the postseason after being swept at No. 16/17 Omaha over the weekend, but won all four meetings this season against Miami, including one in overtime in Oxford. UND has made each of the last three Frozen Faceoffs, including winning the tournament in 2021 on home ice. Miami, stuck in a 14-game winless streak and five-game losing streak, is looking for its first trip to the Frozen Faceoff semifinals since 2015 when it won the title.
 
The teams last met in the NCHC Tournament in 2021 when UND knocked off the RedHawks in a single-game quarterfinal, 6-2, at The Ralph. Their only other NCHC Tournament contest came in the inaugural Frozen Faceoff semifinals in 2014 won by Miami.
 
No. 7 seed Minnesota Duluth at No. 2 seed Denver
No. 4 ranked Denver (24-9-3, 15-7-2 NCHC) is coming off a split with in-state foe No. 10/12 Colorado College and earned home ice for the quarterfinals for a third straight season. Minnesota Duluth (12-18-5, 8-14-2 NCHC) swept rival No. 17/16 St. Cloud State to close the regular season, despite the seventh-place finish being UMD’s lowest in its NCHC history. The Pioneers and Bulldogs met in only one series during the season, with Denver winning both games in Duluth, including in overtime in the opener.
 
Friday’s quarterfinal opener is set for 7:07 p.m. MT at Magness Arena, while Saturday and Sunday’s if-necessary contest are both slated for 6:07 p.m. MT. All three games will be exclusively available on NCHC.tv
 
DU is the only team in the NCHC to make all nine Frozen Faceoff semifinals to date, with the Pioneers having won the NCHC Tournament in 2014 (inaugural tournament) and again in 2018. UMD last made the Frozen Faceoff in 2022, when the Bulldogs won their third NCHC Tournament crown (2017, 2019). Minnesota Duluth has advanced to the Frozen Faceoff semifinals six times previously.
 
The teams last met in the NCHC postseason in the 2022 Frozen Faceoff semifinals when UMD prevailed, though DU defeated the Bulldogs a week later in the NCAA regional final. In their only previous NCHC quarterfinal meeting back in 2015, DU swept UMD in Denver.
 
No. 6 seed Western Michigan at No. 3 seed St. Cloud State
No. 17/16 St. Cloud State (15-14-5, 11-9-4 NCHC) finished in the top half of the NCHC for a fourth straight season and sixth time in seven years, earning home ice for a third straight year after the 2021 tournament was held all in Grand Forks, N.D. where SCSU was the No. 2 seed. The No. 15/14 ranked Broncos (20-13-1, 11-13-0 NCHC) are on the road for a quarterfinal series for the first time since 2018, though they were also the No. 6 seed in the 2021 single-elimination NCHC Tournament played on neutral ice in Grand Forks.
 
The 2024 playoff series among top-20 teams, where the lower NCHC seed is ranked higher nationally, gets underway Friday at 7:37 p.m. CT, with Saturday’s Game 2 and Sunday’s if-needed Game 3 at 6:07 p.m. CT. All three games from the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center will be televised locally on FOX9+ and available anywhere on NCHC.tv.
 
The Huskies enter the playoffs on a four-game losing streak, including a pair of losses at UMD this weekend, with the first coming in overtime. The Broncos, meanwhile, swept rival Miami to close the regular season. SCSU’s last win came against Western Michigan back on Feb. 24, with WMU winning the first game of that series in overtime. The Huskies are 3-1-0 against the Broncos this season, sweeping WMU in Kalamazoo back in November.
 
St. Cloud State are the defending Frozen Faceoff champions, winning its second NCHC Tournament title last season (also in 2016). Western Michigan last made the Frozen Faceoff in 2022, when they were the runners-up to UMD. SCSU and WMU were slated to meet in the 2020 NCHC Quarterfinals before the COVID-19 pandemic cancelled the tournament. They last met in the postseason in 2016 when the Huskies swept a quarterfinal series at home.
 
No. 5 seed Omaha at No. 4 seed Colorado College
The final quarterfinal match-up has No. 10/12 Colorado College (20-11-3, 14-8-2 NCHC) hosting a playoff series for the first time in NCHC history, with CC’s previous-best NCHC finish a sixth-place showing in 2019. The No. 16/17 ranked Mavericks (20-10-4, 13-8-3 NCHC) head to Colorado Springs as one of the hottest teams in the NCHC, riding a four-game winning streak and seven-game unbeaten streak (6-0-1).
 
Friday’s top-20 series opener between the Tigers and Mavericks at Ed Robson Arena has puck drop set for 7:07 p.m. MT. Saturday’s Game 2 and Sunday’s if-necessary Game 3 are slated for an hour earlier. All three games will be available exclusively on NCHC.tv.
 
Colorado College enters the postseason coming off a hard-fought split with rival No. 4 Denver, while Omaha earned the program’s first-ever sweep of No. 3 North Dakota to close the regular season. CC and UNO met in only one series this season, just two weeks ago in Omaha, with the Mavericks earning a shutout win and 1-1 tie on Feb. 23-24 as part of their seven-game unbeaten streak.
 
Last season, the Tigers had their best-ever NCHC postseason showing, advancing to their first Frozen Faceoff championship game (as the No. 7 seed) before falling to SCSU. CC also made the Frozen Faceoff in 2019, while Omaha is still searching for its first trip to the Frozen Faceoff. These will be the first-ever NCHC postseason meetings between the teams.
 
The four NCHC Quarterfinal series winners are then re-seeded for the Frozen Faceoff semifinals, which are set for Friday, March 22 at 4:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. CT at Xcel Energy Center. The championship game is on Saturday, March 23 at 7:30 p.m. CT. All three Frozen Faceoff games are nationally televised exclusively on CBS Sports Network and can also be seen on their authenticated stream. Tickets to the 2024 NCHC Frozen Faceoff can be purchased here, while ticket information is available here.

In addition to the three Frozen Faceoff games, the Minnesota Wild host the St. Louis Blues on the afternoon of Championship Saturday, March 23 for fans wanting to see more live hockey in Saint Paul. NCHC Fan Fest will be held both Friday and Saturday before the Frozen Faceoff games each day at Smorgie’s Bar & Restaurant across from Xcel Energy Center. Team practices leading into championship weekend are open to the public on Thursday, March 21 during the day, with the annual NCHC Fan Skate on the same Xcel Energy Center ice that night.  

Last season, two of four lower seeds advanced from the 2023 NCHC Quarterfinals in No. 7 seed CC and No. 6 seed North Dakota. Fourth-seeded St. Cloud State went on to win its second NCHC Frozen Faceoff championship, defeating Colorado College in the title game, 3-0, on March 18, 2023.
 
2024 NCHC QUARTERFINALS SCHEDULE (all games available on NCHC.tv)
Friday, March 15
Miami at North Dakota, 7:07 p.m. CT (TV: Midco Sports)
Western Michigan at St. Cloud State, 7:37 p.m. CT (TV: FOX9+)
Minnesota Duluth at Denver, 7:07 p.m. MT
Omaha at Colorado College, 7:07 p.m. MT
 
Saturday, March 16
Miami at North Dakota, 6:07 p.m. CT (TV: Midco Sports)
Western Michigan at St. Cloud State, 6:07 p.m. CT (TV: FOX9+)
Minnesota Duluth at Denver, 6:07 p.m. MT
Omaha at Colorado College, 6:07 p.m. MT
 
Sunday, March 17 (if necessary)
Miami at North Dakota, 6:07 p.m. CT (TV: Midco Sports)
Western Michigan at St. Cloud State, 6:07 p.m. CT (TV: FOX9+)
Minnesota Duluth at Denver, 6:07 p.m. MT
Omaha at Colorado College, 6:07 p.m. MT