WCHA Final Five
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The WCHA Men's Tournament was the conference tournament for the men's division of the
Western Collegiate Hockey Association The Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) is a college ice hockey conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a women's-only conference. From 1951 to 1999, it operated as a me ...
(WCHA), an
NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...
men's ice hockey conference that originally operated from 1951 to 2021. The tournament was also referred to as the WCHA Final Five, the moniker for the tournament's closing rounds. The winner of the tournament received an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. From 1985 to 2018, the winner of the tournament received the
Broadmoor Trophy The Broadmoor Trophy is a trophy that was awarded to the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) playoff champion from 1985 until its discontinuation in 2018. The trophy itself dates to 1981, when it was awarded to the WCHA regular season c ...
, before that trophy was retired in favor of the Jeff Sauer WCHA Championship Trophy.


History

The
Western Collegiate Hockey Association The Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) is a college ice hockey conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a women's-only conference. From 1951 to 1999, it operated as a me ...
(WCHA) is the oldest active
NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...
ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...
-only conference beginning in 1959–60, and based in
Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...
. At the conclusion of each regular season, it held a tournament to determine its conference champion(s). The tournament has had many variations over the course of its history, starting with four teams and naming two regional champions. The modern format of the tournament, where only one champion was crowned, wasn't codified until 1981–82 after four teams left to join the CCHA and the NCAA began to offer automatic bids to the National Tournament rather than inviting finals participants.
Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...
has won the most WCHA championships with 15.
Murray Armstrong Murray Alexander Armstrong (January 1, 1916 – December 8, 2010) was a Canadian professional ice hockey centre and National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) ice hockey Head Coach. Playing career Armstrong played junior hockey with the ...
has won the most titles (10), all with Denver, and appeared in the second most title games. John MacInnes has appeared in the most title games (15) and won the second most, all with
Michigan Tech Michigan Technological University (Michigan Tech, MTU, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Houghton, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1885 as the Michigan Mining School, the first post-secondary institution in the Uppe ...
. These numbers are, however, misleading as the WCHA had named two tournament champions for most of its first 22 years rather than offering a game(s) to decide a single champion, the era that both Armstrong and MacInnes coached in. Had this policy continued unabated
Doug Woog Douglas William Woog (January 28, 1944 – December 14, 2019) was an American ice hockey coach and broadcaster. He was a member of the United States Hockey Hall of Fame, inducted in 2002. Woog was coach of the University of Minnesota Golden Go ...
would be tied with Armstrong for most titles as well as winning 5 consecutive (1990–1994) and appearing in 12 consecutive finals (1986–1997). Following the 2012–13 season, college hockey underwent a major
conference realignment Since 2020 many college or university athletic programs have changed membership from one National Collegiate Athletic Association athletic conference to another. Announced future changes ;Notes * The "year" column indicates the calendar year ...
, leaving the WCHA with an almost completely new set of teams. In 2019, seven members of the men's WCHA announced they would be leaving the WCHA to form a new, revived CCHA conference. The 2020–21 season would be the last for the current iteration of the WCHA, with Lake Superior State winning the final WCHA men's tournament.


Championship Round Performance

Game records may not add up to the amount of championship round appearances due to the championship round being multiple games in certain years.


Location of WCHA Tournaments

*1961–1987: Campus Sites *1988–1993, 1995, 1997: St. Paul Civic Center, St. Paul, MN *1994, 1996, 1998:
Bradley Center The Bradley Center (also known as the BMO Harris Bradley Center under sponsorship agreements) was a multi-purpose arena located on the northwest corner of North Vel R. Phillips Ave. and West State Streets in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United ...
, Milwaukee, WI *1999–2000:
Target Center Target Center is a multi-purpose arena located in Minneapolis that opened in 1990. It hosts major family shows, concerts, sporting events, graduations and private events. Target Corporation, founded and headquartered in Minneapolis since 1902, h ...
, Minneapolis, MN *2001–2013, 2015:
Xcel Energy Center Xcel Energy Center is a multipurpose arena in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. Completed in 2000 and often called "The X" by fans, it is named for its locally based corporate sponsor Xcel Energy. With an official capacity of 17,954, the arena ...
, St. Paul, MN *2014, 2016:
Van Andel Arena Van Andel Arena is a multi-purpose arena situated in the Heartside district of Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States. The arena attracted over five million patrons in its first 5 years, 1996–2001. It serves as the home of the Grand Rapids Gri ...
, Grand Rapids, MI"WCHA Announces Playoff Championship to be Played in Grand Rapids in 2014 & 2016, Saint Paul in 2015 & 2017,"
press release from WCHA.com, 3/23/2013 *2017–2020: Campus Sites *2021:
Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center The Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center is a 5,280-seat (8,200 for concerts) multi-purpose arena in Mankato, Minnesota, Mankato, Minnesota, built in 1994 and opened in early 1995. It is home to the Minnesota State Mavericks men's ice hockey t ...
, Mankato, MN


References


External links

{{WCHA men's ice hockey tournament WCHA men's ice hockey tournament Ice hockey competitions in Saint Paul, Minnesota College ice hockey tournaments in Minnesota