The National Collegiate Hockey Conference tournament is the conference tournament for the NCHC. The winner of the tournament receives an automatic berth into the NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournament.
The NCHC was founded in the 2013–14 season with eight former WCHA and CCHA members. The inaugural tournament was held in 2014 and included all eight conference members in a three-round championship. The inaugural championship was won by Denver by a score of 4–3 over Miami. The first four NCHC Championship games were held at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, before shifting over to the Grand Casino Arena in nearby Saint Paul, Minnesota.
In 2026, the tournament will move away from the Twin Cities and be hosted at campus sites for the first time ever, excluding the moved 2021 tournament.
The NCHC Tournament begins with four best-of-three series featuring the conference's top eight teams held at campus sites. The semifinals and finals are single-elimination games held at the Grand Casino Arena.
Prior to Arizona State joining the NCHC during the 2024–25 season, all eight conference teams made the tournament. Initially, the eighth and ninth seeds were intended to contest a play-in game at the site of the first seed in 2025,[3] but this format was later changed to include only the top eight teams and eliminate the play-in game. The tournament will move entirely to campus sites in 2026 and adopt a three-week format, once again including only the conference's top eight teams. Beginning in 2027 with the addition of St. Thomas to the NCHC, all ten teams will once again participate in the tournament.[4]
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