2026 United Collegiate Hockey Cup

2026 Independent men's ice hockey tournament
DatesMarch 5–7, 2026
Teams5
Finals siteCentene Community Ice Center
St. Charles, Missouri
ChampionsAlaska (1st title)
Winning coachErik Largen (1st title)
MVPLassi Lehti (Alaska)
Independent men's Ice Hockey Tournaments
2027 →

The 2026 United Collegiate Hockey Cup is the inaugural tournament arranged for independent Division I programs. It was played between March 5 and March 7, 2026, at the Centene Community Ice Center in St. Charles, Missouri.

Format

The tournament features three rounds of play. The five competing teams were sorted based upon their record in games against each other. The top three teams received a bye into the semifinal round while the two lowest-ranked teams played in a quarterfinal game. The winner of the quarterfinal game (Game One) advanced to play the top overall seed (Game Three). The loser of the quarterfinal match would play in the first consolation game (Game Four). The second- and third-ranked teams played in a semifinal match (Game Two) with the winner advancing to the championship (Game Six) and the loser being relegated to a consolation game (Game Four). The winner of the semifinal that included the top overall seed (Game Three) advanced to the championship game (Game Six) while the loser would face the victor of the first consolation game (Game Four) in a second consolation game (Game Five).[1]

Conference standings

2025–26 NCAA Division I Independent ice hockey standings
Overall record
GP W L T GF GA
Alaska* 33 15 15 3 96 99
Alaska Anchorage 33 5 27 1 57 134
Lindenwood 30 15 15 0 105 114
Long Island 33 14 18 1 105 112
Stonehill 35 10 22 3 88 118
Championship: March 7, 2026
* indicates tournament champion
Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll

Bracket

Bracket

Third Place Game
March 7		Consolation Semifinal
March 6		Quarterfinal
March 5		Semifinals
March 5, 6		Championship
March 7
1Alaska4†
4Stonehill4
3Long Island44Stonehill31Alaska4*
4Stonehill35Alaska Anchorage02Lindenwood3
3Long Island4*2Lindenwood5
5Alaska Anchorage33Long Island4

Note: * denotes overtime period(s)
Note: † denotes shootout win

Results

Note: All game times are local.

Quarterfinal

(4) Stonehill vs. (5) Alaska Anchorage

March 5, 2026
3:00 pm		Stonehill3–0
(0–0, 1–0, 2–0)		Alaska AnchorageCentene Community Ice Center
Attendance: 301
Game reference
Connor AndrolewiczGoaliesTyler KrivtsovReferees:
Danny Bethmann
Pat Sharron
Linesmen:
Gerard Lamoureux
Grant Kennedy
(Mexico, Rafalski) Brady Hunter (3) – GW – 35:561–0
(Galante, Posma) Leo Chambers (2) – 51:042–0
(Renfrew) Cole Melady (7) – EN – 57:403–0
4 minPenalties18 min
32Shots32

Semifinals

(1) Alaska vs. (4) Stonehill

March 6, 2026
3:00 pm		Alaska5–4 SO
(2–1, 1–1, 1–2, 0–0, 1–0)		StonehillCentene Community Ice Center
Attendance: 314
Game reference
Lassi LehtiGoaliesConnor AndrolewiczReferees:
Pat Sharron
Anthony Vikhter
Linesmen:
Rich Palo
Grant Kennedy
(Citara) Misha Danylov (4) – 01:151–0
(Cronin) Peyton Platter (7) – 03:202–0
2–108:31 – Joseph Grainda (11) (Lagerbäck, Lehtinen)
(Galante, Romer) Alexander Malinowski (10) – 22:413–1
3–226:16 – David Posma (2) (Chambers, Hunter)
3–340:44 – PP – Pat Murphy (7) (Galante, Romer)
3–451:28 – Joel Lehtinen (6) (Lagerbäck)
(Citara) Braden Birnie (7) – EA – 59:594–4
Cronin – SOW – 65:005–4
4 minPenalties4 min
38Shots37

(2) Lindenwood vs. (3) Long Island

March 5, 2026
7:00 pm		Lindenwood5–4
(1–2, 3–1, 1–1)		Long IslandCentene Community Ice Center
Attendance: 512
Game reference
Liam BeermanGoaliesDaniel DurisReferees:
Andy Bethmann
Anthony Vikhter
Linesmen:
Rich Palo
Vaughn Upton
(unassisted) Jaeden Mercier (3) – 01:351–0
1–106:15 – Luca Leighton (4) (Benoit, Kinch)
1–214:28 – Daniel Baldassarra (3) (Bernardo, Lucarelli)
(Savoie, Morneau) Olivier Houde (13) – 22:212–2
(Rego, Southgate) Jacob Delaney (3) – 29:263–2
(Fontaine, Southgate) Jacob Fletcher (13) – 38:034–2
4–339:24 – Dylan Kinch (9) (Griebel)
4–446:54 – J. R. Perdion (10) (Baldassarra, Benoit)
(Elias) Anselmo Rego (7) – GW – 59:525–4
6 minPenalties4 min
41Shots48

Championship

(1) Alaska vs. (2) Lindenwood

March 7, 2026
7:00 pm		Alaska4–3 OT
(1–0, 2–1, 0–2, 1–0)		LindenwoodCentene Community Ice Center
Attendance: 1,023
Game reference
Lassi LehtiGoaliesLiam BeermanReferees:
Danny Bethmann
Anthony Vikhter
Linesmen:
Rich Palo
Gerard Lamoureux
(Danylov, Citara) Peyton Platter (8) – 15:341–0
1–125:20 – Ethan Zielke (2) (Rego)
(Platter) Michael Citara (16) – 33:132–1
(unassisted) Dean Spak (2) – 34:203–1
3–250:16 – Louis-Philippe Fontaine (10) (Fletcher)
3–357:22 – Jacob Fletcher (14) (Southgate, Bevilacqua)
(Birnie) Chase Dafoe (13) – GW – 60:244–3
2 minPenalties0 min
22Shots42

Consolation Semifinal

(3) Long Island vs. (5) Alaska Anchorage

March 6, 2026
7:00 pm		Long Island4–3 OT
(0–0, 2–1, 1–2, 1–0)		Alaska AnchorageCentene Community Ice Center
Attendance: 486
Game reference
Daniel DurisGoaliesBryant MarksReferees:
Andy Bethmann
Danny Bethmann
Linesmen:
Vaughn Upton
Gerard Lamoureux
0–129:56 – PP – Aiden Westin (7) (Spencer, Kebreau)
(Perdion) Isaac Lambert (9) – 33:561–1
(Griebel, Benoit) Noah Serdachny (10) – PP – 35:272–1
(unassisted) Noah Serdachny (11) – 40:303–1
3–249:04 – Tye Spencer (8) (Marks)
3–352:07 – Aiden Westin (8) (McNarland, Gagnon)
(unassisted) Isaac Lambert (10) – GW – 64:114–3
23 minPenalties4 min
22Shots40

Third Place Game

(3) Long Island vs. (4) Stonehill

March 7, 2026
3:00 pm		Long Island4–3
(2–2, 1–0, 1–1)		StonehillCentene Community Ice Center
Attendance: 378
Game reference
Daniel DurisGoaliesLinards LipskisReferees:
Andy Bethmann
Pat Sharron
Linesmen:
Vaughn Upton
Grant Kennedy
(Griebel, Benoit) Noah Serdachny (12) – 10:541–0
1–112:57 – Pat Murphy (8) (Spencer, Kebreau)
1–215:54 – PP – Pat Murphy (8) (Marks)
(Griebel, Benoit) Sixten Jennersjö (8) – 17:062–2
(Lambert, Serdachny) J. R. Perdion (11) – 26:083–2
(unassisted) Noah Serdachny (13) – PP GW – 52:084–2
4–359:35 – EA – Matthew Romer (8) (Renfrew)
4 minPenalties8 min
28Shots28

Tournament awards

All-Tournament Team

  • G Lassi Lehti* (Alaska)
  • D Nolan Seed (Alaska)
  • D Nathan Rickey (Lindenwood)
  • F Michael Citara (Alaska)
  • F Jacob Fletcher (Lindenwood)
  • F Noah Serdachny (Long Island)

* Most Valuable Player(s)

[2]

References

  1. ^ "Bracket Finalized for Inaugural United Collegiate Hockey Cup". Lindenwood Lions. March 1, 2026. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
  2. ^ "Men's Hockey Suffers Overtime Defeat in UCHC Championship Game". Lindenwood Lions. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
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