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Hockey East Announces 2020-21 Season Schedule & Return to Play Details

The Hockey East Association announced today details for its Return to Play plan for the 2020- 21 season, including composite league schedules, featuring a double round robin format. League play will begin on Friday, November 20 for both leagues. Hockey East also announced its NESN schedule through January 1 and news that other games streamed through its partnership with ViacomCBS Digital will be made free to fans all year.

“We’re excited to make this announcement today, and very appreciative of all the hard work by so many in making it happen,” said Hockey East Commissioner Steve Metcalf. “We’ve worked closely with all our member institutions in establishing protocols in an effort to play as safely as possible, while also giving our teams a complete and meaningful season.”

Each of the 11 men’s teams will play 20 league contests while the 10 women’s programs will compete in 18 games that will count toward the final Army ROTC Hockey East Regular Season Standings to determine the 2020-21 Hockey East Regular Season Champion. Both the men’s and women’s schedules feature weekend home-and-home series and day-of-game travel, with the exception of games involving Maine and Vermont, to allow for consistent testing protocols throughout the season while adhering to all state guidelines.

Three of the final five weekends of regular season play in each league are designated as Flex Weekends. These Flex Weekend contests are tentative and opponents may be adjusted in order to maintain a competitively balanced schedule for each team. If games are postponed during the regular season, these Flex Weekend games will be rescheduled with those postponed games. Any games played during Flex Weekends will be designated as “non-conference” games and will not count toward the Army ROTC Hockey East Standings. Additional Flex Dates have been added throughout the schedule where availability allowed to maximize flexibility to play a full regular season schedule and prioritize the student-athlete experience.

Team schedules were created to best ensure a double round robin regular season for each program. Efforts were also made to align men’s and women’s schedules to mitigate instances where multiple campus populations come into close contact in a single weekend.

The schedules were created in consult with Hockey East’s Return to Play Task Force. The Hockey East Return to Play Task Force, comprised of conference and school administrators, team physicians, athletic trainers, facility staff, and equipment managers met consistently over the last several months before making recommendations to league Athletic Directors. A critical component of the RTP protocol was a vigorous testing program for the teams, staff, and officials. The group’s work, recommendations, and guidance will be released at a future date prior to the start of the season and published on the league’s website, HockeyEastOnline.com.

“The Return To Play Task Force has done an incredible job creating league wide protocols which will give us the best chance of having a safe and successful season,” said Metcalf.

Hockey East will defer to each campus to determine the status of fan attendance for home games in accordance with state and local health and safety guidance. Schools will make individual announcements about fan attendance.

Hockey East will once again partner with NESN and ViacomCBS Digital to provide fans across the world the opportunity to view every single Hockey East game in the 2020-21 season. Today, Hockey East announced a slate of games that can be seen on NESN through January 1, as well as news that all other streamed games will be made available to fans for free on one of ViacomCBS Digital’s platforms. Full television schedule details and How-To-Watch information about streamed games, as well as specific game times, will be an nounced in the coming days.

Details on the 2021 Hockey East Tournament formats will be announced at a later date. Schedules are tentative and subject to change.

Hockey East on NESN Schedule Through January 1, 2021
Day Date Match Up League Time Channel
Fri. Nov. 20 Boston College at New Hampshire Women 4:30pm NESN
Fri. Nov. 20 New Hampshire at Boston College Men 7:00pm NESN
Fri. Nov. 20 Massachusetts at Maine Men 7:00pm NESN+
Sat. Nov. 21 Maine at Holy Cross Women 1:00pm NESN+
Sat. Nov. 21 New Hampshire at Boston College Women 4:30pm NESN
Sat. Nov. 21 Boston College at New Hampshire Men 7:00pm NESN
Fri. Nov. 27 Providence at Northeastern Women 1:00pm NESN
Fri. Nov. 27 Boston College at Providence Men 3:30pm NESN
Fri. Nov. 27 Vermont at Massachusetts Men 6:00pm NESN
Sat. Nov. 28 Providence at Boston College Men 1:00pm NESN
Sat. Nov. 28 UMass Lowell at Northeastern Men 3:30pm NESN
Sat. Nov. 28 Vermont at Massachusetts Men 6:00pm NESN
Fri. Dec. 4 Providence at Northeastern Men 3:30pm NESN
Fri. Dec. 4 New Hampshire at Massachusetts Men 6:00pm NESN
Sat. Dec. 5 Merrimack at Northeastern Women 2:00pm NESN
Sat. Dec. 5 Northeastern at Providence Men 4:30pm NESN
Sat. Dec. 5 UMass Lowell at Boston College Men 7:00pm NESN
Fri. Dec. 11 New Hampshire at Maine Men 3:30pm NESN
Fri. Dec. 11 Massachusetts at Boston University Men 6:00pm NESN
Sat. Dec. 12 Boston University at Massachusetts Men 3:30pm NESN
Sat. Dec. 12 Merrimack at Northeastern Men 6:00pm NESN
Sun. Dec. 13 Boston College at Northeastern Women 2:00pm NESN
Sat. Dec. 19 Providence at Massachusetts Men 3:30pm NESN
Sat. Dec. 19 Maine at UMass Lowell Men 6:00pm NESN
Sat. Dec. 19 Merrimack at New Hampshire Men 6:00pm NESN+
Sun. Dec. 27 New Hampshire at Providence Men 3:30pm NESN
Sun. Dec. 27 UMass Lowell at Massachusetts Men 6:00pm NESN
Mon. Dec. 28 Providence at New Hampshire Men 7:00pm TBD
Fri. Jan. 1 Boston University at Northeastern Men 1:00pm NESN
Fri. Jan. 1 UConn at New Hampshire Men 4:00pm NESN
Fri. Jan. 1 Vermont at Providence Men 7:00pm NESN

Igor Burdetskiy

Igor Burdetskiy

Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & CEO at Hooked on Hockey Magazine
I grew up playing Ball and Roller Hockey day and night somewhat religiously throughout elementary and middle school. The two don't compare though when I lace up the skates and hit the ice. I live and breathe hockey beyond the perspective of "it's just a game" and I will gladly talk hockey for hours with anyone. Hockey is more than just a lifestyle, it's a culture of passionate people who make memories every time the puck is dropped. Hockey has not only helped me get through some of the hardest times in life but has created some of the best memories to date. Want to talk hockey with me? Shoot me an email: iburdetskiy@hookedonhockey.com and let's talk some hockey!
Igor Burdetskiy
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