The 2021 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 62nd and final
tournament
A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses:
# One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...
in the history of the men's
Western Collegiate Hockey Association
The Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) is a college athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a women's ice hockey-only conference. From 1951 to 1999, it operated a ...
. The tournament was held between March 12 and March 20, 2021. Quarterfinal games were played on home campus sites while semifinal- and championship-round games were held at the
Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center, the home venue for
Minnesota State. By winning the tournament,
Lake Superior State
Lake Superior State University (colloquially Lake State, Lake Superior State, Soo Tech, and LSSU) is a public college in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. It is enrolls approximately 2,000 students. Due to its proximity to the Canadian border, and th ...
received the
WCHA's automatic bid for the
2021 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.
After the 2020–21 season, the men's WCHA disbanded after seven of its members left to reestablish the
Central Collegiate Hockey Association
The Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) is a college athletic conference that participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. The current CCHA began play in the 2021–22 season; a previous incarnation, which the curr ...
. Two other members dropped men's hockey after the season. The WCHA remains in operation as a women-only league.
Format
The first round of the postseason tournament featured a best-of-three games format, while the semifinals and final were single games held at the campus site of the highest remaining seed. The top eight conference teams participated in the tournament. Teams were seeded No. 1 through No. 8 according to their final conference standings, with a tiebreaker system used to seed teams with an identical number of points accumulated. The higher seeded teams each earned home ice and hosted one of the lower seeded teams.
Conference standings
Bracket
Note: * denotes overtime periods
Results
Quarterfinals
(1) Minnesota State vs. (8) Ferris State
(2) Lake Superior State vs. (7) Alabama–Hutsville
(3) Bowling Green vs. (6) Northern Michigan
(4) Bemidji State vs. (5) Michigan Tech
Semifinals
(1) Minnesota State vs. (6) Northern Michigan
(2) Lake Superior State vs. (4) Bemidji State
Championship
(2) Lake Superior State vs. (6) Northern Michigan
Tournament awards
Most Outstanding Player
Ashton Calder (Lake Superior State)
References
{{2021 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournament navbox
WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament