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The Hockey East Championship Tournament returns to TD Garden in March |
Wakefield, Mass. - Hockey East Commissioner Joe Bertagna announced the 2011-2012 men's composite schedule
for the league's upcoming 28th season of play on Thursday afternoon. 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 2011-12 Hockey East season commences with four exhibition games next weekend, beginning on October 1.
The conference officially opens regular-season play on Friday, October 7 with two league games as Massachusetts
travels to Northeastern and Maine hosts Merrimack at Alfond Arena. Boston College will head west to begin the year and
compete in the Ice Breaker Tournament at the University of North Dakota opening with CCHA foe Michigan State. Boston
University will host UNH the next night at Agganis Arena on Saturday, Oct. 8th in the season opener for both clubs.
Providence College will open its season the next weekend on Oct. 14, hosting the Terriers at Schneider Arena, while
Massachusetts will host Bentley on Friday as well to open its schedule. UMass-Lowell kicks off its season on October
14 with a two-game set at Minnnesota State. The Vermont Catamounts will be the last Hockey East team to officially
start the year, as they head to the University of Minnesota for a two-game series, beginning on October 21, at Mariucci
Arena.
The schedule will also be highlighted by Frozen Fenway, as Fenway Park hosts another Hockey East doubleheader on
Saturday, January 7th, as UMass faces Vermont (4pm) and Maine squares off against UNH (7:30pm).
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 9-11, 2012. The four quarterfinal winners will advance to the TD Garden in Boston for the semifinals and
Championship Game on Friday, March 16 (5/8 p.m.) and Saturday, March 17 (8 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 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 seven NCAA championships
in the past 19 years.
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