June 5, 2006
Des Moines to Host CHA Tournament

The 2007 CHA Tournament will be held March 9-11 in Des Moines, Iowa, the sixth site in the tournament's eight-year history, according to Bemidji State's schedule, which was released Monday. The CHA confirmed the dates of the tournament but is awaiting a finalized contract before officially announcing the site.

CHA teams will play 20 league games in 2006-07, the same as 2005-06 despite the loss of Air Force to Atlantic Hockey. To make up the lost games, the league has created an unbalanced schedule in which each school plays two league opponents four times and two others six times.

Bemidji State, the two-time defending CHA Tournament champions, will play Niagara and Robert Morris four times each. The Beavers will face the other two members of the league, Alabama-Huntsville and Wayne State, six times each.

Despite the reduction in teams from six to five, the CHA Tournament champion is still assured an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament for the upcoming year. The conference has received a one-year waiver to the NCAA rule requiring six teams for any conference to receive an automatic bid, and the NCAA is considering a proposal to extend that waiver beyond 2007.