You want more college hockey? You’ve got it. Hockey East has announced its 2020-21 schedule which will begin on November 20 with three games and continue through March 6. Not all teams will kick things off right away, with Boston University not playing until the start of December.
Men’s and women’s hockey will be, for the most part, aligned this season to keep transmission risk lower and there will be a “vigorous testing program for the teams, staff, and officials.” This is huge news for top prospects like Spencer Knight of Boston College, who had an outstanding freshman season but needs to keep getting into games to continue his development.
- Of course, Knight’s BC teammate Alex Newhook has been invited to Team Canada’s World Junior selection camp that starts later this week, meaning he won’t be taking part in the first part of the Hockey East schedule. As Ryan S. Clark of The Athletic reports, Newhook will leave the BC program on Friday to take part in the month-long selection camp, chasing a dream of suiting up for Canada after he was cut from the team last year. The 19-year-old forward was selected 16th overall by the Colorado Avalanche in 2019 and won the Tim Taylor Award as the best rookie in the NCAA last season.
- Speaking of good news on the college front, the University of Alabama-Huntsville announced that it has received a long-term multi-million dollar financial commitment and will continue to be a Division I hockey program. The Chargers were in danger of dissolving earlier this year thanks to financial concerns, but after a GoFundMe quickly reached a fundraising goal, more commitments have been made by alumni and the college administration to reinstate the program.