Playoff Format
What you need to know:
- Top 6 teams from each division, West & East, will advance to the playoffs
- Round 1, Quarterfinals and Semifinal matchups are the best-of-three series within each division
- The higher seed will have home ice advantage hosting two of the three possible games
- The finals will be a single game hosted by the highest remaining Ontario based seed, determined by regular season point totals
- In the event of an upset, there is NO reseed
- The Queen's Cup is a single game hosted by the highest remaining Ontario seed
Key Dates:
Round 1 (inside division) |
February 16th – 22nd, 2026 |
Quarterfinals (inside division) |
February 23rd – March 1st, 2026 |
Semifinals (inside division) |
March 2nd- 8th, 2026 |
114th Queen's Cup |
Saturday, March 14th, 2026 |
How to Watch:
All OUA playoff games, including the Queen's Cup, are available to watch live on OUA.tv.
Tickets for all OUA playoff games and the Queen's Cup are sold by the host institution. Please visit the host school’s website for ticket information.
The Queen's Cup:
The OUA Men’s Hockey Championship is named after Queen’s University, who donated the silver cup for the Canadian Intercollegiate Hockey Union Championship. The original silver bowl was retired after the 1999-00 season and replaced by a new cup that sits atop the original wooden base. The original Queen’s Cup is not in the care of the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.
U SPORTS Berths:
For the 2025-26 Season, the U SPORTS Berths structure dictates that the OUA will have 3 representatives; 1 being the OUA Champion and 2 assigned berths which will consist of the OUA finalists and the OUA bronze medalists.
