Minnesota State Mankato will get the CCHA’s automatic bid for the NCAA men’s hockey tournament after winning its conference tournament semifinal at home over Bemidji State on Saturday night.
Minnesota State Mankato clinches spot in NCAA men’s hockey tournament because of St. Thomas' ineligibility
The Mavericks and Tommies will meet for the Mason Cup on Friday, but an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament is not on the line.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
March 16, 2025 at 4:51PM
The Mavericks (26-8-3) will play host to St. Thomas in Friday night’s Mason Cup championship game, after the Tommies defeated Bowling Green 3-1 in Mendota Heights. But because the Tommies (19-13-5) still are in the NCAA-mandated transitionary period from their move from Division III to Division I, they remain ineligible for the NCAA tournament this year.
That meant the winner of the Minnesota State-Bemidji State game would get the CCHA’s automatic bid. Adam Eisele scored two goals and Alex Tracy had a 27-save shutout for the Mavericks, who will be in their sixth national tournament in the past seven years.
In the St. Thomas-Bowling Green game, Liam Malmquist scored the winning goal at 7:47 of the third period and Jake Sibell made 32 saves.
The St. Thomas men’s basketball team ran into a similar situation last weekend when it advanced to the Summit League tournament final before losing to Nebraska Omaha. Had the Tommies won, Omaha would have gotten the Summit’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament anyway on account of being the league regular-season champion.
Niko Medved could be the next Gophers men’s basketball coach after making his third NCAA tournament in four seasons with Colorado State.
