The College Hockey America tournament will return to Buffalo’s HarborCenter in 2017.
“We are thrilled to be able to return to the HarborCenter for a second straight year,” said CHA commissioner Robert DeGregorio in a statement. “All three games were highly competitive [in 2016], not to mention, we had nearly 2,500 people come out during the two days of the tournament, providing a fantastic atmosphere for our student-athletes.”
The first neutral-site tournament in CHA history had Mercyhurst winning its first tournament championship since 2013 as the Lakers defeated Syracuse 4-3 in overtime. It was the highest-attended CHA tournament with a combined 2,386 people entering the HarborCenter between the two days.
For 2017, all six teams will travel to Buffalo to compete for the CHA championship and the league’s auto-bid to the NCAA tournament. Teams seeded three through six will play on Thursday, March 2 in a pair of quarterfinal games, with the winners advancing to Friday’s semifinal games against the top two seeds. The championship game will take place on Saturday, March 4.
“We envision the new format to bring some of that win-or-go-home magic that the NCAA tournament possesses to our own tournament,” added DeGregorio. “And we hope, with that excitement, our tournament in Buffalo can become a destination for our teams and fans.”
Tournament game times will be determined later in the season. Ticket and tournament hotel information will also be available at a later date.
