Photo by: Kayden Kircher
NCHC Releases 2026-27 Conference Slate
4/21/2026 1:28:00 PM | Men's Hockey
Huskies will play a 24-game NCHC slate and begins annual rotation with new conference foe St. Thomas
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – A look ahead to next season for St. Cloud State Men's Hockey, as the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) announced its 2026-27 conference schedule on Tuesday. The Huskies will begin its NCHC slate at home against Arizona State on Oct. 30-31 and will finish with a home-and-home series against St. Thomas on Feb. 26-27.
For the first time, the NCHC conference slate features 120 games, while the new NCHC Tournament format will include all 10 teams across three weeks on campus sites. Even with the additional team, each member school will continue to play 24 conference games like in years past, with 12 at home and 12 away, as teams battle for the Julie and Spencer Penrose Memorial Cup, awarded to the NCHC regular-season champion. The conference calendar is once again spread across 14 weekends with each team playing 12 regular-season NCHC series. The 2027 NCHC Frozen Faceoff will then begin on Friday, March 5.
With the National increasing to 10 members for the upcoming season, the NCHC will also implement a new Frozen Faceoff playoff model in 2027, though it will remain entirely on campus sites for the second straight year and again take place over three weeks. After the ninth-place team did not qualify for the NCHC Tournament the last two years, all 10 teams will make the Frozen Faceoff starting in 2027.
The 2027 NCHC Tournament gets underway with best-of-three first round series from March 5-7, with the top five seeds hosting 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). 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 Friday, March 12 at the site of the No. 1 seed. The next night (Saturday, March 13), 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 occur the next weekend on either Friday or Saturday night (March 19 or 20, 2027), with the highest remaining seed hosting the other semifinal winner. The exact Championship Game date will be announced later in the offseason. The winner of the NCHC Frozen Faceoff receives the National Cup and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
After opening the conference slate at home against the Sun Devils, the Huskies will hit alternate home and away series over the first half of the season. SCSU will take road trips to Omaha (Nov. 6-7) and North Dakota (Nov. 20-21) and host Minnesota Duluth (Nov. 13-14) and Denver (Dec. 11-12) at the Brooks Center.
In the new year, SCSU will play two home-and-home series against St. Thomas, playing home games on Jan. 9 and Feb. 26 with road trips to St. Paul planned for Jan. 8 and Feb. 27. SCSU will host Miami (Jan. 15-16) and Omaha (Feb. 12-13) for two-game series and travel to Colorado College (Jan. 22-23), Western Michigan (Feb. 5-6) and Denver (Feb. 19-20).
All dates listed for the 2026-27 NCHC schedule are subject to change and times are still to be announced.
For all the latest on St. Cloud State Men's Hockey, stay tuned to SCSUHuskies.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Season ticket renewals for the 2026-27 season will officially open on May 1. As always, tickets will be available for purchase at www.scsutickets.com or by calling 1-877-SCSUTIX / 320-308-2137.
2026-27 NCHC SCHEDULE (Bold denotes home, all start times TBD)
Oct. 30-31 vs. Arizona State
Nov. 6-7 at Omaha
Nov. 13-14 vs. Minnesota Duluth
Nov. 20-21 at North Dakota
Dec. 11-12 vs. Denver
Jan. 8 at St. Thomas
Jan. 9 vs. St. Thomas
Jan. 15-16 vs. Miami
Jan. 22-23 at Colorado College
Feb. 5-6 at Western Michigan
Feb. 12-13 vs. Omaha
Feb. 19-20 at Denver
Feb. 26 vs. St. Thomas
Feb. 27 at St. Thomas
March 5-7 – NCHC First Round (at higher seeds)
March 12 – NCHC Quarterfinal (at #1 seed)
March 13 – NCHC Semifinals (at higher seeds)
March 19 or 20 – NCHC Championship (at higher seed)
March 25-28 – NCAA Regionals
April 8-10 – NCAA Frozen Four (Washington, D.C.)
For the first time, the NCHC conference slate features 120 games, while the new NCHC Tournament format will include all 10 teams across three weeks on campus sites. Even with the additional team, each member school will continue to play 24 conference games like in years past, with 12 at home and 12 away, as teams battle for the Julie and Spencer Penrose Memorial Cup, awarded to the NCHC regular-season champion. The conference calendar is once again spread across 14 weekends with each team playing 12 regular-season NCHC series. The 2027 NCHC Frozen Faceoff will then begin on Friday, March 5.
With the National increasing to 10 members for the upcoming season, the NCHC will also implement a new Frozen Faceoff playoff model in 2027, though it will remain entirely on campus sites for the second straight year and again take place over three weeks. After the ninth-place team did not qualify for the NCHC Tournament the last two years, all 10 teams will make the Frozen Faceoff starting in 2027.
The 2027 NCHC Tournament gets underway with best-of-three first round series from March 5-7, with the top five seeds hosting 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). 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 Friday, March 12 at the site of the No. 1 seed. The next night (Saturday, March 13), 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 occur the next weekend on either Friday or Saturday night (March 19 or 20, 2027), with the highest remaining seed hosting the other semifinal winner. The exact Championship Game date will be announced later in the offseason. The winner of the NCHC Frozen Faceoff receives the National Cup and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
After opening the conference slate at home against the Sun Devils, the Huskies will hit alternate home and away series over the first half of the season. SCSU will take road trips to Omaha (Nov. 6-7) and North Dakota (Nov. 20-21) and host Minnesota Duluth (Nov. 13-14) and Denver (Dec. 11-12) at the Brooks Center.
In the new year, SCSU will play two home-and-home series against St. Thomas, playing home games on Jan. 9 and Feb. 26 with road trips to St. Paul planned for Jan. 8 and Feb. 27. SCSU will host Miami (Jan. 15-16) and Omaha (Feb. 12-13) for two-game series and travel to Colorado College (Jan. 22-23), Western Michigan (Feb. 5-6) and Denver (Feb. 19-20).
All dates listed for the 2026-27 NCHC schedule are subject to change and times are still to be announced.
For all the latest on St. Cloud State Men's Hockey, stay tuned to SCSUHuskies.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Season ticket renewals for the 2026-27 season will officially open on May 1. As always, tickets will be available for purchase at www.scsutickets.com or by calling 1-877-SCSUTIX / 320-308-2137.
2026-27 NCHC SCHEDULE (Bold denotes home, all start times TBD)
Oct. 30-31 vs. Arizona State
Nov. 6-7 at Omaha
Nov. 13-14 vs. Minnesota Duluth
Nov. 20-21 at North Dakota
Dec. 11-12 vs. Denver
Jan. 8 at St. Thomas
Jan. 9 vs. St. Thomas
Jan. 15-16 vs. Miami
Jan. 22-23 at Colorado College
Feb. 5-6 at Western Michigan
Feb. 12-13 vs. Omaha
Feb. 19-20 at Denver
Feb. 26 vs. St. Thomas
Feb. 27 at St. Thomas
March 5-7 – NCHC First Round (at higher seeds)
March 12 – NCHC Quarterfinal (at #1 seed)
March 13 – NCHC Semifinals (at higher seeds)
March 19 or 20 – NCHC Championship (at higher seed)
March 25-28 – NCAA Regionals
April 8-10 – NCAA Frozen Four (Washington, D.C.)
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