NA3HL announces 2020 Fraser Cup Playoff Format and Championship

The North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) has announced its format and location for the 2020 NA3HL Fraser Cup Playoffs and Championship. The Fraser Cup crowns the National playoff champion from the NA3HL.

NA3HL Divisional Playoffs

Frontier Division Play-In Series (March 5-8): The Club seeded third in the Frontier Division will compete in a best-of-three series with the sixth seeded Club in the Frontier Division. The Club seeded fourth the Frontier Division will compete in a best-of-three series against the Club seeded fifth in the Frontier Division. The Clubs seeded one and two in the Frontier Division shall receive a bye into the division semi-finals. The higher seed shall have the right to host games one and three. The low seed shall have the right to host game two. The first Club to win two games in a play in series will be declared the winner of the series and advance to the Frontier Division Semi-Finals.

Division Semi-Finals (March 12-15): The top four teams in each division qualify for playoff competition. The Club seeded first in each division will compete in a best-of-three series with the fourth seeded Club in the same division. The Club seeded second in each division will compete in a best-of-three-series against the Club seeded third in the same division. The #1 and #2 seeds will have home ice advantage in the first round. The higher seed shall have the right to host games one and three. The lower seed shall have the right to host game two. Teams may agree to an alternate arrangement upon mutual agreement. The first club to win two games in a division semifinal series will be declared the winner of the series and advance to the next round of playoff competition.

Division Finals (March 19-22): The two Clubs in each division that won a division semifinal series shall compete in a best-of-three series against each other in the division finals. The higher seed shall have the right to host games one and three. The lower seed shall have the right to host game two. Teams may agree to an alternate arrangement upon mutual agreement. The first Club to win two games in a division final series will be declared the winner of the series and advance to the Fraser Cup Championship Tournament.





Fraser Cup Championship Tournament

The six divisional playoff champions will advance to the NA3HL Fraser Cup Championship Tournament, where they will play a two- game round-robin format followed by a semi-final and a championship game at The Edge Ice Arena in Bensenville, Illinois, from March 25-29. The six divisional playoff winners will be seeded 1-6 based on their regular season point totals. A round-robin format with two pools will be implemented, with the top two teams in each pool advancing to the Semi-Finals, where they will then cross over to play the other top two teams from the other pool. The winners of the Semi-Finals will advance to the Fraser Cup Championship Game.

Pool A: #1, #4, #6

Pool B: #2, #3, #5

Wednesday, March 25: 1 vs. 4, 2 vs. 3

Thursday, March 26: 1 vs. 6, 2 vs. 5

Friday, March 27: 4 vs. 6, 3 vs. 5

Saturday, March 28: Pool A 1st place vs. Pool B 2nd place, Pool B 1st place vs. Pool A 2nd place

Sunday, March 29: Championship Game

The Fraser Cup is named in the memory of Robert ‘Fraser’ Ritchie, a long-time staff member of the NAHL, NA3HL and NAPHL. On June 10, 2017, Ritchie passed away after a long and courageous battle with cancer. Although Ritchie ultimately lost his battle with the disease, his influence and daily interactions with all of the owners, coaches, staff, volunteers and administrators in the NAHL, NA3HL and NAPHL, will never be forgotten, and are now and forever memorialized with the annual awarding of the Fraser Cup.

The Fraser Cup will be held in cooperation with the first of six 2020 NAHL Combine events. Entering its seventh year in 2020, the NAHL Combines introduce and provide players with a weekend that involves the 'NAHL Experience,' which will consist of competitive hockey, education of the future levels of hockey, academic preparation for NCAA hockey and exposure to professional, college and junior scouts.