DULUTH, Minn.--The Northern Collegiate Hockey Association office has released revised formats for the upcoming NCHA men's conference Harris Cup Playoffs and the NCHA women's conference Slaats Cup Playoffs. The new formats were approved by member school athletics directors after the announcement from the NCAA that the men's and women's national championships for 2020-21 were cancelled.

The formats for both the Harris Cup and Slaats Cup Playoffs will be as follows:

• Eight teams from each conference will qualify for postseason, with the top four teams in each division earning playoff bids. Those teams will be seeded 1-4 within their divisions.
• Quarterfinals will be single-game elimination and tentatively scheduled to be played Wednesday, March 10 at high seeds. Quarterfinals will be played within divisions.  (North #4 at North #1, North #3 at North #2, etc.)
• The Semifinals will be two-plus-minigame series and are tentatively scheduled to be played the weekend of March 12-14. The series will be hosted by the high seeds.
• The Championships will be two-plus-minigame series and are tentatively scheduled to be played the weekend of March 19-21.

This weekend (March 5-7) marks the final weekend of conference play for both the men's and women's conferences. Every team in the men's conference is still alive to make the playoffs as the schedule move toward its finale. All eight women's conference teams will qualify for the postseason.

--NCHA office