CCHA Tournament

The CCHA Tournament is the conference tournament for the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA). The winner of the tournament receives an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. The winner of the tournament also receives the Mason Cup, which began in 2002. In other years, the trophy was simply known as the CCHA Tournament Championship Trophy.

The tournament was first held in 1972, the first year of conference play. It was held at The Arena in St. Louis, Missouri from 1972–77. From 1978–81, the CCHA Tournament was held at the rink of the higher seed. Starting in 1982, the CCHA Tournament first round was held at the rink of the higher seed with Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan hosting the CCHA Tournament semifinals and finals. From 1993–94 and 2002–05, the CCHA championship format had six teams competing at Joe Louis Arena with the bottom four teams competing for the third and fourth spots in the semifinals.

CCHA Tournament champions

The following is a list of champions, along with the dates, finalists, coaches, scores, tournament record and seeds.

"Modern Era"

In 1981–82, four teams from the WCHA (Michigan, Michigan State, Michigan Tech and Notre Dame) defected to the CCHA. The four teams brought their long, storied history with 12 combined NCAA National Championships giving the young, up-start league instant credibility. The tournament championship was moved from small on-campus rinks to Joe Louis Arena, home of the NHL's Detroit Red Wings. These events give the league a distinct turning point at which the "Modern Era" of the CCHA Tournament begins.

"Road to the Joe"

Commissioner Bill Beagan coined the phrase "Road to the Joe" in describing the CCHA Tournament in 1985–86. The phrase is commonly used in reference to the CCHA Tournament.

"Super Six"

With the tournament expanding to 12 teams in 2001–02, the CCHA adopted the name "Super Six" in reference to the six teams who advance past the first round to the CCHA championships at Joe Louis Arena. The name was dropped following the 2005 season when the CCHA championships were reduced back to four teams.

Memorable moments

* 1983 - In what has been dubbed "The All-America Shoot-Out," Bowling Green All-American Brian Hills is awarded a penalty shot at 4:35 of the first overtime. Michigan State All-American goaltender Ron Scott denies Hills' scoring attempt.
* 1996 - Lake Superior State makes an incomparable ninth consecutive CCHA championship game appearance.

External links

* [http://ccha.collegesports.com/ Central Collegiate Hockey Association's Official Athletic Site]