Print

NCHC TOURNAMENT FORMATS

The NCHC will use three different postseason formats from 2025 through 2027, due to membership changes and championship site location. After holding its final Frozen Faceoff at Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minn. in 2025 and its first Frozen Faceoff on campus sites in 2026, below is the 2027 format and details:


2027 NCHC TOURNAMENT
50469Starting in 2026-27, the NCHC membership expands to 10 teams with the addition of the University of St. Thomas. The 2027 NCHC Tournament will also expand to allow all 10 teams to make the playoffs. The NCHC Tournament will again be spread out over three weeks and held entirely on campus sites, like in 2026. 

Beginning with the 2027 NCHC Playoffs and beyond, the top five seeds will host the bottom five seeds (No. 1 vs. No. 10, No. 2 vs. No. 9, No. 3 vs. No. 8, No. 4 vs. No. 7, and No. 5 vs. No. 6) in the first round of the NCHC Playoffs in a best-of-3 series (March 5-7, 2027). The following weekend, the five remaining teams will be re-seeded and three games will take place. The two lowest remaining seeds (now seeds No. 4 and No. 5) will play a single-game quarterfinal on a Friday night (March 12, 2027) at the site of the No. 1 seed. The next night (Saturday, March 13, 2027), both NCHC Semifinals will take place with the No. 1 seed hosting the winner of the quarterfinal game and the No. 2 seed welcoming the No. 3 seed.
 
The NCHC Championship Game will then take place the next weekend on Friday, March 19, 2027, with the highest remaining seed hosting the other semifinal winner. Should the University of Minnesota Duluth host the title game, the final will slide back to Saturday, March 20 due to a building conflict at AMSOIL Arena on March 19. The winner of the NCHC Tournament receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

2027 NCHC Tournament Dates

  • March 5-7 - Best-of-3 First-Round Series (campus sites/top five seeds)
  • Fri., March 12 - One, single Quarterfinal Game (at site of No. 1 seed)
  • Sat., March 13 - Single-game Semifinals (campus sites/two highest remaining seeds)
  • Fri., March 19 (or Sat., March 20*) - Championship Game at highest remaining seed
* if Minnesota Duluth hosts the championship