The Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I ice hockey-only conference that has operated during two separate periods. The conference was founded in 1971 and disbanded in 2013 following major conference realignment, with then-member Bowling Green taking ownership of the conference name. In 2021, the CCHA was reestablished with eight members, including Bowling Green. At the completion of each regular season, both versions of the CCHA have held the CCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament to determine the conference champion. The tournament champions receive the Mason Cup.
The tournament has had a variety of formats.
The tournament was first hosted at the St. Louis Arena in St. Louis, Missouri with Ohio State winning the inaugural tournament. Michigan State won the most CCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournaments with eleven while Michigan appeared in the most championship game appearances with seventeen. Ron Mason has coached thirteen championship teams, more than any other CCHA coach, and also has the most championship game appearances as coach with seventeen. The Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan hosted the tournament from 1982 to 2013. The St. Louis Arena hosted the tournament six times, while the BGSU Ice Arena in Bowling Green, Ohio and Lakeview Arena in Marquette, Michigan each hosted the championship game twice.
In the final championship tournament of the original CCHA in 2013, Notre Dame defeated Michigan.
In February 2020, seven schools that had announced their departures from the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, effective after the 2020–21 season, announced they would start play in a new CCHA in 2021–22. Four of these schools had played in the final season of the original CCHA, and a fifth had briefly been a member.
The CCHA tournament resumed in 2022 with a new format in which all games are played at campus sites. Specifically, the first round consists of best-of-three series, with all games hosted by the higher seed in each matchup; the semifinals are single games hosted by the top two surviving seeds; and the final is also a single game hosted by the highest remaining seed.
Champions
Year Winning team Coach Losing team Coach Score Location Venue Reference 1972 Ohio State Saint Louis 3–0 St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis Arena 1973 Bowling Green — — — St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis Arena 1974 Saint Louis Lake Superior State 8–3 St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis Arena 1975 Saint Louis Lake Superior State 8–3 St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis Arena 1976 Saint Louis Western Michigan 15–4 (agg.) St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis Arena 1977 Bowling Green Saint Louis 5–4 (agg.) St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis Arena 1978 Bowling Green Saint Louis 13–3 (agg.) Bowling Green, Ohio BGSU Ice Arena 1979 Bowling Green Ohio State 11–7 (agg.) Bowling Green, Ohio BGSU Ice Arena 1980 Northern Michigan Ferris State 15–9 (agg.) Marquette, Michigan Lakeview Arena 1981 Northern Michigan Ohio State 6–4 (agg.) Marquette, Michigan Lakeview Arena 1982 Michigan State Notre Dame 4–1 Detroit, Michigan Joe Louis Arena 1983 Michigan State Bowling Green 4–3 (OT) Detroit, Michigan Joe Louis Arena 1984 Michigan State Western Michigan 5–0 Detroit, Michigan Joe Louis Arena 1985 Michigan State Lake Superior State 5–1 Detroit, Michigan Joe Louis Arena 1986 Western Michigan Michigan State 3–1 Detroit, Michigan Joe Louis Arena 1987 Michigan State Bowling Green 4–3 (OT) Detroit, Michigan Joe Louis Arena 1988 Bowling Green Lake Superior State 5–3 Detroit, Michigan Joe Louis Arena 1989 Michigan State Lake Superior State 4–1 Detroit, Michigan Joe Louis Arena 1990 Michigan State Lake Superior State 4–3 Detroit, Michigan Joe Louis Arena 1991 Lake Superior State Michigan 6–5 (OT) Detroit, Michigan Joe Louis Arena 1992 Lake Superior State Michigan 3–1 Detroit, Michigan Joe Louis Arena 1993 Lake Superior State Miami 3–0 Detroit, Michigan Joe Louis Arena 1994 Michigan Lake Superior State 3–0 Detroit, Michigan Joe Louis Arena 1995 Lake Superior State Michigan State 5–3 Detroit, Michigan Joe Louis Arena 1996 Michigan Lake Superior State 4–3 Detroit, Michigan Joe Louis Arena 1997 Michigan Michigan State 3–1 Detroit, Michigan Joe Louis Arena 1998 Michigan State Ohio State 3–2 (2OT) Detroit, Michigan Joe Louis Arena 1999 Michigan Northern Michigan 5–1 Detroit, Michigan Joe Louis Arena 2000 Michigan State Nebraska-Omaha 6–0 Detroit, Michigan Joe Louis Arena 2001 Michigan State Michigan 2–0 Detroit, Michigan Joe Louis Arena 2002 Michigan Michigan State 3–2 Detroit, Michigan Joe Louis Arena 2003 Michigan Ferris State 5–3 Detroit, Michigan Joe Louis Arena 2004 Ohio State Michigan 4–2 Detroit, Michigan Joe Louis Arena 2005 Michigan Ohio State 4–2 Detroit, Michigan Joe Louis Arena 2006 Michigan State Miami 2–1 Detroit, Michigan Joe Louis Arena 2007 Notre Dame Michigan 2–1 Detroit, Michigan Joe Louis Arena 2008 Michigan Miami 2–1 Detroit, Michigan Joe Louis Arena 2009 Notre Dame Michigan 5–2 Detroit, Michigan Joe Louis Arena 2010 Michigan Northern Michigan 2–1 Detroit, Michigan Joe Louis Arena 2011 Miami Western Michigan 5–2 Detroit, Michigan Joe Louis Arena 2012 Western Michigan Michigan 3–2 Detroit, Michigan Joe Louis Arena 2013 Notre Dame Michigan 3–1 Detroit, Michigan Joe Louis Arena 2022 Minnesota State Bemidji State 2–1 (OT) Mankato, Minnesota Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center 2023 Minnesota State Northern Michigan 3–2 (OT) Mankato, Minnesota Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center 2024 Michigan Tech Bemidji State 2–1 Bemidji, Minnesota Sanford Center 2025 Minnesota State St. Thomas 4–2 Mankato, Minnesota Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center
References General
Specific
External links CCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament