The Cube hosted the West Coast Hockey Conference Playoffs, part of the American Collegiate Hockey Association, this past weekend.
The three-day set of matches saw seven Men’s Division 2 teams from California, Arizona, and New Mexico compete on the ice for the conference championship.
“I love this tournament because it’s some of the best hockey you’re going to get around here,” said Tyler Goeckner-Zoeller, the commissioner of the WCHC.
“You have college kids who are fighting for their universities year after year.”
California State University, University of California, Los Angeles, and Loyola Marymount University were among the California teams fighting for the top spot in the West.
The other schools competing were the University of New Mexico, Northern Arizona University, Grand Canyon University, and Arizona State University.
This is the fourth year the WCHC playoffs have been hosted at the Cube. Officials say attention and attraction have grown, and the commissioner is pleased to showcase hockey’s competitiveness in a region where the sport isn’t the most popular.
“You know, California is an interesting place. There’s like 20 hockey rinks in all of California,” said Goeckner-Zoeller.
“For us to be able to host this [tournament] here right now is really exciting to have the community support.”
In the end, the University of New Mexico Lobos took home the championship by knocking out the Arizona State Sun Devils 6-2 on Sunday.
