The Final Five is alive and well, thank you. Even without the Gophers and Wisconsin. P.S. Get used to that.

Bruce McLeod, the commissioner of the WCHA, said he could not be happier how the conference's season-ending tournament, the Final Five, has gone this year with a revised format.

Six teams, instead of five, advanced to the 2011 Final Five because the WCHA expanded to 12 teams with the addition of Bemidji State and Nebraska Omaha.

Two quarterfinals Thursday drew a combined crowd of 12,903. Friday's semifinals drew 13,131 and 15,008. That's a total of 41,042 for three sessions.

"Without playing the championship game, our gross income is higher than it was last year," McLeod said.

Impressive, he said, especially considering three of the teams in the field are from far away: Colorado College, Denver and Alaska Anchorage.

This is the 11th Final Five at Xcel Energy Center, and the WCHA's contract with the Xcel is up. But McLeod said the conference is close to signing a two-year extension, even with a Big Ten hockey conference looming.

U.S. College Hockey Online said an official announcement on a six-team Big Ten hockey league could come as soon as Monday, with the Gophers and Wisconsin joining the CCHA's Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State as well as new program Penn State. The Big Ten would start in 2013-14.

"I have heard that," McLeod said. "I can't confirm it."

But the WCHA is making plans for life after the Gophers and Badgers.

"The reality is Minnesota and Wisconsin will need games," McLeod said. "With six teams, if they play each other four times, that's only 20 games."

McLeod said there is a tentative agreement between the WCHA and its two departing longtime members to keep playing nonconference games.

The WCHA is also gathering fan feedback. A consulting firm, hired by the WCHA, is surveying fans at the Final Five about the tournament.

"We want to stay [at the Xcel] and do what we can," McLeod said. "We spent a long time building it to this point. It's a fantastic facility. You have a great group of people to work with, and they are positive about our future."

Etc. • Gophers coach Don Lucia said on KFAN radio Saturday that he scouted a junior hockey game Friday and was going to another that day. He also said his son Mario, a junior at Wayzata, will make his college choice soon and is considering other schools besides the Gophers. Mario is considered the state's top high school prospect for the 2011 NHL draft.

• North Dakota's Matt Frattin was named Final Five MVP. The all-tournament team included forwards Frattin, Jaden Schwartz of Colorado College and Anthony Maiani of Denver; defensemen Chay Genoway of North Dakota and Matt Donovan of Denver; and Denver goalie Sam Brittain.