The opening round of the 2026 Colorado High School Activities Association (CHSAA) Ice Hockey State Championships began this week, featuring teams from both 4A and 5A divisions competing for a spot in the quarterfinals.
In the 5A bracket, Mountain Vista, seeded sixth, secured a 3-1 win over Lewis-Palmer and will face third-seeded Cherry Creek in the next round. Fifth seed Denver East defeated Castle View with a score of 6-0 to advance against fourth seed Regis Jesuit. Chaparral, ranked ninth, edged Ralston Valley 4-3 and moves on to play top-seeded Poudre School District. The final first-round matchup between Monarch (No. 7) and Heritage (No. 10) is set for Saturday; the winner will meet second-seeded Valor Christian.
For the 4A division, Colorado Springs District 11 (No. 8) earned a narrow victory over Crested Butte (No. 9), winning 4-3 to advance against Battle Mountain, which holds the top seed. Summit (No. 7) will play Liberty (No. 10) on Saturday for a chance to compete against second seed Colorado Academy.
Quarterfinal matches are scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday at various home sites for both divisions. Semifinal games will be held on February 28 at Ed Robson Arena in Colorado Springs, with the first two games for the 4A division starting at 11:30 a.m. and continuing at 2 p.m., followed by the two semifinals in the 5A division at 4:30 p.m. and again at 7 p.m.
The state championship contests are planned for March 2 at Magness Arena on the University of Denver campus, where winners of each semifinal will compete—4A finalists take the ice at 5 p.m., while their counterparts in the 5A category follow at 7:30 p.m.
