WAKEFIELD, Mass. - Hockey East Association commissioner Joe Bertagna and ESPNU vice president and general manager
Rosalyn Durant announced on Thursday afternoon a two-year agreement between the league and ESPNU to broadcast live Hockey
East action over the next two seasons.
In 2008-2009, ESPNU will air eight live games involving Hockey East teams, opening the season with Boston University at New
Hampshire on Sunday, October 19 at the Whittemore Center in Durham. The schedule will conclude with Merrimack at Providence
in late February at Schneider Arena in Providence. The ESPNU schedule features two games in October, November and February,
along with one game in December and January.
“We are thrilled to move our long-standing relationship with ESPNU to a new level,” said Hockey East commissioner Joe Bertagna.
“This agreement guarantees that our athletes and our programs will reach a new and greater audience during the regular season,
as ESPNU has been delivering our game to fans in the post-season.”
“The Hockey East Association is the home of many top collegiate programs in the country and we are thrilled to make ESPNU
a primary destination for fans to watch some of the rising stars of the sport,” said Rosalyn Durant. “We are proud to give hockey
fans an opportunity to follow the games from the regular season through the NCAA Championship.”
Justin Kutcher, an alum of Boston University, will handle play-by-play duties for the broadcasts and Damian DiGiulian, a former
assistant coach at Vermont, will serve as the color analyst in the eight-game package.
ESPNU will also provide live coverage of the 2009 NCAA Tournament Regional games. ESPN and ESPN2 also provide live coverage
of the Men’s Frozen Four annually.
ESPNU launched on March 4, 2005. The 24-hour college sports television network features more than 550 live events annually,
including college football, college basketball and Olympic sports from more than 25 Division I conferences, as well as premier high
school content. The network also has a wide-ranging, long-term agreement with the NCAA for enhanced coverage of 22 NCAA
Championships. ESPNU also offers comprehensive studio programming, including live simulcasts of ESPN Radio’s The Herd with
Colin Cowherd, and replays the best games of the week from ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN Regional Television. The brand is
also available in high definition on ESPNU HD and online at ESPNU.com. In addition, ESPNU Campus Connection, a multi-platform
student-generated content initiative, was introduced in August 2007.
The Hockey East Association is a 10-team, Division-I college hockey conference, with offices based in Wakefield, Mass. Founded
in 1983, the league has won five NCAA championships in the past 16 years. The conference also sponsors an eight-team women’s
league which began play in 2002-03.
2008-2009 ESPNU Broadcast Schedule |
| Date |
Game |
Time |
| Sun, Oct. 19 |
Boston University at New Hampshire |
5:00 p.m. |
| Fri, Oct. 24 |
Vermont at Boston College |
7:30 p.m. |
| Fri, Nov. 7 |
Notre Dame at Boston College (on ESPN Classic) |
7:00 p.m. |
| Sun, Nov. 9 |
Boston College at Maine |
4:00 p.m. |
| Sat, Dec. 6 |
Boston University at Boston College |
7:00 p.m. |
| Sun, Jan. 4 |
New Hampshire at Maine |
4:00 p.m. |
| Sun, Feb. 1 |
Massachusetts at Maine |
4:00 p.m. |
| Sun, Feb. 22 |
Merrimack at Providence |
4:00 p.m. |
