University of Massachusets Athletics
Hockey East Unveils 2020-21 Schedule
November 11, 2020 | Hockey
League also unveils NESN schedule through January 1; UMass to appear on NESN nine times
AMHERST, Mass. -- The Hockey East Association announced Wednesday 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. 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.
Massachusetts will kick off the season with a weekend series at Maine on November 20-21, and will appear on the NESN airwaves nine times in the first six weeks of the season.
In addition, UMass Athletics announced that it will not host fans at its home events until further notice. The decision was made following consultation with local public health and university officials and in accordance with the Governor's Executive Order prohibiting large capacity venues from opening to the public.
Virtual season ticket offerings will be available for fans at a later date. Stay tuned to UMassAthletics.com and @UMassHockey on social media for information.
"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 that will count toward the final Army ROTC Hockey East Regular Season Standings to determine the 2020-21 Hockey East Regular Season Champion. The schedule features 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 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.
Details on the 2021 Hockey East Tournament formats will be announced at a later date.
Massachusetts will kick off the season with a weekend series at Maine on November 20-21, and will appear on the NESN airwaves nine times in the first six weeks of the season.
In addition, UMass Athletics announced that it will not host fans at its home events until further notice. The decision was made following consultation with local public health and university officials and in accordance with the Governor's Executive Order prohibiting large capacity venues from opening to the public.
Virtual season ticket offerings will be available for fans at a later date. Stay tuned to UMassAthletics.com and @UMassHockey on social media for information.
"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 that will count toward the final Army ROTC Hockey East Regular Season Standings to determine the 2020-21 Hockey East Regular Season Champion. The schedule features 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 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.
Details on the 2021 Hockey East Tournament formats will be announced at a later date.
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