St. Thomas Officially Joins the NCHC Today, Making It a 10-Team Conference

The University of St. Thomas becomes the National Collegiate Hockey Conference's newest member on July 1, 2026, kicking off a restructured season with more games, a new tournament format, and a fresh hub city in Saint Paul.

A Conference Milestone Takes Effect Today

College hockey entered a new era this morning. The University of St. Thomas, known as the Tommies, officially joined the National Collegiate Hockey Conference on July 1, 2026, bringing NCHC membership to 10 teams for the first time in the conference's history. Head coach Enrico Blasi will lead the program into its first NCHC season, with conference play opening on the road at Miami University on October 30.

The NCHC was founded in 2013 and quickly established itself as one of the most competitive conferences in NCAA Division I men's hockey. The league has produced multiple Hobey Baker Award winners and appeared in the national championship game in the majority of seasons since formation. Adding St. Thomas brings a rising program and a brand-new arena in Saint Paul, Minnesota, to a conference that already includes powerhouses like Denver, Minnesota Duluth, and North Dakota.

The conference restructured its schedule, tournament format, and travel partnerships to absorb the 10th member in a way that creates genuine competitive balance across the expanded league. What results is a 2026-27 season that looks meaningfully different from anything the NCHC has run before, with more games, more markets, and a postseason that leaves no program behind.

What the New Format Looks Like on Paper

The 2026-27 NCHC schedule will include 120 conference games, the first time in the conference's history that total has been reached. Each team plays 24 conference games across 14 weekends, with regular season conference play concluding February 27, 2027. St. Thomas opens its first home NCHC series November 13-14 at the new Lee and Penny Anderson Arena in Saint Paul, adding a second major Minnesota market to the conference's footprint alongside the Twin Cities programs already in the league.

The expanded Frozen Faceoff tournament has been redesigned to include all 10 teams. Under the previous format, the 9th-place program was excluded from the conference postseason. That dynamic disappears completely in the new structure. A best-of-three first round runs on campus sites March 5-7, followed by a single-game quarterfinal on March 12 and semifinals and championship rounds at campus venues across three weeks in March.

Travel partner pairings shifted to reflect the new geography. Colorado College and Denver, Miami and Western Michigan, and Minnesota Duluth and North Dakota now operate as restructured travel pairs. St. Thomas adds Saint Paul as a new destination for visiting fans, giving road-tripping hockey supporters a strong anchor city in the conference's existing geographic core.

Denver's Championship Season Set the Bar for the Incoming Class

St. Thomas joins an NCHC that just came off its most visible national moment. Denver won the 2026 Frozen Four at T-Mobile Arena on the Las Vegas Strip, defeating Wisconsin 2-1 in the championship game to claim the program's 11th national title. Freshman goaltender Johnny Hicks finished the season unbeaten after taking over the starting role in January, posting a .957 save percentage and setting a new NCAA single-season record at that position.

The championship run reinforced the NCHC's standing as the conference producing the sport's deepest talent and most competitive regular season. For St. Thomas, stepping into that competition level in year one is a genuine challenge, but the Tommies have been building toward the NCHC for several years and arrive with a program that has earned serious national attention in its recent seasons.

The 2026 NHL Draft class also includes several NCHC-developed players highlighted as top prospects by NCAA.com, with projected top picks having built their profiles in NCHC arenas. That pipeline continues to attract elite recruits to the conference's member schools, and St. Thomas will compete for those same players starting with the 2026-27 recruiting cycle.

What the Expansion Means for Fans Following the Sport

A 10-team conference with an all-inclusive postseason and 120 conference games means more high-stakes hockey distributed across more of the regular season. Under the old format, programs that clinched a top-8 postseason position early could see late-season conference weekends become lower-stakes. With all 10 teams competing in the Frozen Faceoff, every conference game carries weight through February.

For fans in Las Vegas, the expansion connects directly to what the Ice Vegas Invitational is built to celebrate. The NCHC is home to several of the most recognizable brands in college hockey, and a deeper, 10-team conference only strengthens the level of competition in the league that produces marquee programs for events like the one on the Strip.

Keep a close eye on ticket announcements for upcoming Ice Vegas Invitational matchups as the 2026-27 schedule firms up. College hockey on the Strip is an established draw, and an expanded, more competitive NCHC is a strong reason to follow the season closely from puck drop in October through March.

5 Things to Know About the NCHC's 10-Team Era

The conference looks different starting today. Here is what matters most about the expansion and how it changes the 2026-27 season for players and fans.

1. St. Thomas opens NCHC play October 30 at Miami: Head coach Enrico Blasi leads the Tommies into conference play on the road, beginning in a tough environment against an established NCHC program.
2. All 10 teams now compete in the Frozen Faceoff: The redesigned postseason format eliminates the 9th-place exclusion, ensuring every program has a conference tournament to play for through the full regular season.
3. Lee and Penny Anderson Arena in Saint Paul hosts the first home series November 13-14: St. Thomas brings a new home venue and a second major Minnesota market to the NCHC footprint.
4. 120 conference games is a conference first: The 2026-27 slate breaks NCHC history with 14 weekends of conference action providing more meaningful games than any prior season.
5. Denver's 11th title came in Las Vegas with a record-setting freshman goalie: Johnny Hicks's .957 save percentage in the 2026 championship run set a new NCAA single-season record and underscored why the NCHC produces the sport's top talent.

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