April 25-29, 2025 | Ice Vault Arena, Wayne, N.J.
The National Collegiate Development Conference is pleased to announce that the 2025 Dineen Cup Championship Series will be held at the Ice Vault Arena in Wayne, N.J., running from April 25-29, 2025. Four teams will compete for the right to hoist the Dineen Cup in 2025, including the divisional playoff champions of the Atlantic, Mountain and New England Divisions, plus one Wild Card team. The Wild Card team will be the top regular season points-getter from the New England and Atlantic divisional finals. The NCDC Dineen Cup Championship Game will be played on April 29, 2025. The Dineen Cup Championship Series is double elimination.
“The NCDC is tremendously excited to be holding the Dineen Cup Championship Series in Wayne, N.J., the first time a single site will host the semifinals and finals since 2021,” said Tony Zasowski, Deputy Commissioner of the USPHL. “The new format for 2025 will provide a chance for NCAA and NHL scouts to see the NCDC’s top four title-contending teams hitting the ice in one building, giving our outstanding student-athletes the best opportunity for college and pro advancement. The Ice Vault Arena has proven itself as a fantastic host facility for events since before the founding of the USPHL, and we are absolutely confident the Ice Vault will put on an exciting show of over five days of high-intensity competition.”
The NCDC saw more than 165 players advance to NCAA hockey, including 61 players from the 2023-24 and prior seasons moving on to the NCAA Division I level. The 21-team league with a national footprint extending from New Jersey and New England to the Rocky Mountains also continues to impress NHL scouts, as there have been 18 NCDC players and alumni drafted since the founding of the Tuition-Free conference in 2017-18. Additionally, there were 28 former NCDC players that took part in 2024 NHL Development Camps, both through draft picks and free agent invitations.
The Dineen Cup is named for late coach Gary Dineen, a driving force in raising the profile of U.S. junior hockey, especially in the northeastern U.S. that had traditionally been dominated by prep school hockey. The NCDC Dineen Cup Champions since the league’s 2017-18 founding are the Islanders Hockey Club (2018), Boston Junior Bruins (2019), Jersey Hitmen (2021 and 2022), P.A.L. Jr. Islanders (2023) and South Shore Kings (2024).
2024-25 Dineen Cup Playoffs Format
Divisional Playoffs
New England and Atlantic Division Play-in series
Seeds 4 vs. 5 play a best of 3. Higher seed is the host/home team for all games.
All Divisions
Divisional Semi-Final: Best of 5
Divisional Final: Best of 5
Highest seed is the home team hosting Games 1, 3, and 5. There must be a day off after Games 2 and Game 4.
Dineen Cup Finals 2024-25
Four Teams Qualify: Divisional Champions Plus One Wild Card Team.
Wild Card shall be the New England or Atlantic team that loses the Divisional Final with the highest regular season winning percentage.
Format: Playoffs shall be a double elimination playoff.
All games are played to a winner following divisional playoff rules. Full 20-minute sudden-death overtime periods for each game if tied after regulation.
