Not sure if this has already been posted (or is old news), but saw a news article today stating that our hockey conference post season tournament will move to on campus sites exclusively in 2026. Host ice sites based on seeding.
So we will never have a home game? (Ducks and runs)
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2026 NCHC Championship Game in Oxford???
This makes sense for a conference that spans 75% of the country.
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It’s surprising and not. The NCHC was the last hockey conference holding a neutral site championship so it’s not surprising that they see the benefits other leagues have seen. It is surprising based on very recent statements by the league touting the value of the Frozen Faceoff.
Interesting comments from Sayler in the past to reference with this announcement:
Whenever the league throws out a doomsday scenario, it usually involves four schools being in the Frozen Faceoff in St. Paul: Miami, Western (Michigan), CC and Denver. Because then you have no local team participating, right?” Sayler said. “You don’t have any of the Minnesota schools, you don’t have North Dakota. Sometimes I do sit back and say, how does that make us feel, that we’re a member of this conference but yet a doomsday scenario is us being good? So there is some concern for that, and that tournament in St. Paul, plus the round of playoffs to get into that tournament are probably the most important revenue-drivers of the league. And Miami has the smallest rink in the league and we would probably sell as few tickets as any team in St. Paul, in the league. It does set up kind of funny that way when you start thinking about having more success and not driving more revenue for the league, and what is the league really focused on?
Presumably the league felt that with adding Arizona State, it was becoming more likely that campus games would be better for revenue than the St Paul tournament that really only three teams can easily bring fans to.
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Personally, I attended the old CCHA tournament in Detroit 5 or 6 times over the years. I never have even considered going to Minnesota for the NCHC tourney. If we ever get good again, I would welcome home playoff games.
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The NCHC Commissioner explained that the new format follows other leagues. One big benefit is more rest for players immediately prior to the NCAA tournament.