The WCHA has announced that the 2026 Kwik Trip WCHA Final Faceoff will be hosted by St. Thomas and held at the brand-new. state-of-the-art Lee & Penny Anderson Arena on March 5-7, 2026.
“We are excited for the best of the WCHA to be showcased at the brand-new state-of-the-art Lee & Penny Anderson Arena in 2026 on the University of St. Thomas campus,” said WCHA commissioner Michelle McAteer in a statement. “The staff from St. Thomas is committed to providing a first-class experience for our student-athletes and fans. The facility will soon be one of the most impressive in college hockey, and this event will help put it on the map.”
The 2026 WCHA postseason begins on Feb. 27 with four best-of-three first-round series. The four winners will advance to the WCHA Final Faceoff with the winner getting the league’s automatic bid into the NCAA championship.
The annual event will be hosted by St. Thomas for the first time in league history. The first WCHA playoff championship was held March 2-4, 2000 at the Bloomington (Minn.) Ice Gardens. Since that inaugural event, the tournament has been held in Rochester, Minn. (2001), Blaine, Minn. (2002), Grand Forks, N.D. (2003, 2015), Minneapolis, Minn. (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 & 2024), Duluth, Minn. (2008, 2012, 2025) and Bemidji, Minn. (2014).
The reigning WCHA Final Faceoff champion, Wisconsin, leads all league teams with 11 postseason titles (2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2024, 2025), followed by Minnesota with eight (2002, 2004, 2005, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2018, 2023), Minnesota Duluth with five (2000, 2001, 2003, 2008, 2010) and Ohio State with two (2020, 2022).
