2026 West Region Boys' Hockey Tournament

Drop the puck

The West Region Boys’ Hockey Tournament returns to Bismarck High’s VFW Sports Center. This mark's the 32nd edition of the NDHSAA-sponsored event.

This year’s postseason got underway with two play-in contests at home sites on Monday, Feb. 16. (7) Bottineau-Rugby defeated (10) Hazen-Beulah, 6-1.  In the other contest, (9) Williston broke a scoreless tie in the third en route to a 3-1 win over (8) Dickinson.  Bottineau-Rugby and Williston move into the quarterfinals on Thursday, Feb. 19. Loser-out and semifinals will be held on Feb. 20 with two state qualifiers and the championship to be played on Feb. 21.

2024-25 Rewind

 Minot High got a big monkey off of its back last season, winning the West Region Tournament for the first time since 2005-06. The Magicians were the top team throughout the regular season and it continued in the postseason. Other state qualifiers included (2) Bismarck Century and (4) Mandan and (6) Bottineau-Rugby.

Who will emerge champion this weekend?

Well, top seed and defending champion Minot United would have to be the favorite. The program has reached the tournament final in each of the past three seasons. But there are several others capable of stringing three wins together. There was plenty of parity in the WDA this season judging by how close the race in the standings were for spots 2-3-4-5. Among teams with a strong shot at the title are Bismarck Legacy, Jamestown, Mandan and Bismarck Century. This may be the most wide open the tournament field has been in quite some time.

New name, same results

There was a name change for the hockey program in the Magic City. With the opening of Minot North a couple seasons ago, some hockey players were attending school there. As a result, the school district decided to adopt the “Minot United” name to reflect both schools participating in hockey and other activities. The name is new, but on-ice success continues in Minot.

Underdogs can bite!

Continuing the theme of recent seasons, seeds 5-8 are very much in play to grab a state tournament berth. Last season, No. 6 Bottineau-Rugby qualified.

Welcome back!

For the first time since 2023, Bismarck High has reached the tournament quarterfinals. The Demons are the No. 6 seed and seeking their first state tournament berth since 2019-20.

Nail-biter hockey: Thirty-one, yes, 31 WDA regular season games were decided by a goal, showcasing the parity in the conference this season. 

A plethora of point producers

 Nine WDA players finished regular season play with 30 or more points. Bismarck Legacy senior Harrison Johnson led the conference with 47 points (22G/25A). That is second in the state behind West Fargo Sheyenne’s senior Bennet Benson, who finished with 55 points, including 24 goals. Top WDA point producers in regular season games: 1. Harrison Johnson, Bis. Legacy, Sr., 47 pts; 2. Oliver Thompson, Minot United, Sr., 41; 3. Heath Frykman, Bis. Century, Sr., 38; 4. Beckham Presley-McKay, Bis. Legacy, So., 36; 5. Ben Garlie, Bis. Legacy, Sr.,  34

The puck stops here!

Jamestown’s Leif Hanson and Mandan’s Jacob Walch have both pitched four shutouts in goal. Century’s Noah Hamar and Bismarck High’s Owen Deeter each have three. Here are the top WDA goaltenders based on saves percentage: 1. Luke Richeson, Minot United, So., 93.1 pct; 2. Cooper Anderson, Mandan, Sr., 93.0 pct; 3. Jacob Walch, Mandan, Jr., 91.3 pct; 4. ParkerRoers, Dickinson, Jr., 91.1 pct; 5. Leif Hanson, Jamestown, Jr.,  90.6 pct.

Icings

The WDA’s record against EDC teams in reg. season play was 8-13...Five WDA teams (Bismarck Century, Bismarck Legacy, Jamestown, Mandan, Minot United) finished with a winning record in regular season play...PSP Network, based in Minot, will provide a subscription livestream service for all region tournament games...There has been a different W. Region Tournament champion in each of the past five seasons (Century, Jamestown, Legacy, Dickinson and Minot)...The ND state tournament is Feb. 26-28 in Fargo.