Press Release – HockeyEastOnline.com
BOSTON – Hockey East Commissioner Joe Bertagna announced the 2012-2013 men’s composite schedule for the league’s upcoming 29th season of play on Tuesday afternoon at the conference annual media day at TD Garden. The schedule features a 27-game league slate for each of the 10 member schools in addition to several highlighted non-conference matchups during the season.
The 2012-13 Hockey East season officially opens on Saturday, October 6th as Maine hosts Quinnipiac at Alfond Arena and Merrimack College travels to ECAC foe Union that same night, to go along with seven exhibition games spread over the two-day weekend.
Northeastern will entertain Merrimack in the league opener on Wednesday, October 10 at Matthews Arena, while UMass-Lowell opens with Vermont on Friday, October 12 at the Tsongas Center. Massachusetts will host Connecticut at the Mullins Center, while New Hampshire will skate with WCHA opponent St. Cloud State at the Whittemore Center and Providence faces off with Sacred Heart at Schneider Arena on Friday night as well. Maine will square off with CCHA foe Notre Dame in the opening round of the IceBreaker Tournament at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo. on Friday. Boston University and Boston College are the last league teams to open the season officially, with league games on Saturday, October 13 with the Eagles traveling to Northeastern and the Terriers hosting Providence College at Agganis Arena.
The regular-season schedule will determine the eight teams that qualify for the Hockey East Championship Tournament, which begins with the best-of-three quarterfinal round on the campuses of the four high seeds on the weekend of March 15-17, 2013. The four quarterfinal winners will be reseeded and advance to the TD Garden in Boston for the semifinals and Championship Game on Friday, March 22 (5/8 p.m.) and Saturday, March 23 (7 p.m.). Tickets for the Hockey East Championship at the TD Garden will go on sale in early December and can be purchased by calling 800- 745-3000 or visiting their website at http://www.ticketmaster.com.
The Hockey East Association is a 10-team Division I college men’s hockey conference founded in 1984 and an eightteam Division I women’s league which began play in 2002-03. The men’s league has won eight NCAA championships in the past 20 years. Since 1999, Hockey East has won six NCAA Championships and have placed 20 teams in the Frozen Four, along with 53 teams in the NCAA Tournament.
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