ECAC Hockey became the final college hockey conference to release its schedule for the 2020-21 campaign on Wednesday, announcing a Dec. 31 start date for its four remaining league members: Clarkson, St. Lawrence, Quinnipiac and Colgate. The other eight members of the ECAC — the six Ivy League schools, Rensselaer and Union — dropped out...
ECAC Hockey became the final college hockey conference to release its schedule for the 2020-21 campaign on Wednesday, announcing a Dec. 31 start date for its four remaining league members: Clarkson, St. Lawrence, Quinnipiac and Colgate.
The other eight members of the ECAC — the six Ivy League schools, Rensselaer and Union — dropped out last month due to lingering concerns over the surging pandemic.
The first conference game of the year will take place on Dec. 31, but the rest will play out in January and February, with the final regular-season game scheduled for March 6.
Each of the men’s programs will play 18 games, with six against each opponent. The women’s teams will play four games against each opponent for a total of 12.
At the conclusion of the regular season, each of the four programs will compete in single-elimination championship events, all of which will be held on campus sites.
The men’s championship weekend is slated to be held March 18-20, while the women’s championship tournament is set for March 5-7. The winners will qualify to receive an automatic bid for the NCAA championship, the league’s release said.
“We are excited to announce our men’s and women’s league schedules for 2021,” ECAC commissioner Stephen Hagwell said on Wednesday. “The compilation of the league schedules are the result of the collaboration of our administrators and coaches, who have worked tirelessly to create, to the extent possible, a safe and healthy environment in which our student-athletes have an opportunity to compete. We look forward with great anticipation to see how things play out during the season.”
The schedules were made to align to ensure multiple teams do not travel to the same site on a given day in order to minimize contact tracing, the release added.
In the release, the league also pointed to several “open” weekends placed throughout the schedule in order to make up any games that may have to be postponed due to COVID-19, much like Hockey East’s “flex” weekends.
No fans will be allowed at games, the league said.
Liam Flaherty can be reached at [email protected] and on Twitter @_LiamFlaherty.
