MINNEAPOLIS — The last season of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association’s traditional look has been as tense and strong as ever.

Perhaps the six teams still alive in the conference playoffs can top that this weekend. After this year’s WCHA tournament, the league and the landscape of the sport will never be the same.

Minnesota State, Wisconsin, Colorado College, North Dakota, Minnesota and St. Cloud State are left in the bracket, with five games to determine the Broadmoor Trophy winner before eight of the league’s current 12 teams leave for other conferences. The WCHA will play on, but many of the storied rivalries will be gone.

St. Cloud State coach Bob Motzko says it’s sad to realize the Huskies won’t have another opportunity to play in the Final Five.