It has been 243 days since March 12, the day the 2019-20 college hockey season officially died.
But as we sit here on November 9, 2020, the sport finally has life once again.
Late last week, the WCHA announced a package of women’s hockey games for the 2020 portion of its abbreviated schedule, including eight games (four at Amsoil Arena) for UMD. The Bulldogs open that run a week from Friday in Mankato against Minnesota State, then play back-to-back home series against Minnesota (Nov. 27-28) and St. Cloud State (Dec. 4-5) before finishing up at Wisconsin (Dec. 11-12).
Monday, the NCHC took its turn, revealing its 2020-21 conference schedule, which right now represents the only scheduled games for member schools. The door is open for NCHC teams to schedule non-league competition after the new year, something NCHC commissioner Josh Fenton told me a few weeks ago would be a possibility. The league resisted letting its teams play games before its season-opening pod games in Omaha kick off Dec. 1 because they wanted to protect the ability to get those games in as much as possible.
For UMD, the pod will open with seven games in a stretch of 12 days, and it starts with a doozy on Dec. 2 against Denver, a matchup of the only programs to make the round of eight in five straight NCAA Tournaments, teams that would have been likely favored to run that streak to six straight years in 2020 had the tournament not been scuttled.
The Bulldogs’ schedule for the run in Omaha is as follows:
Dec. 2 vs Denver
Dec. 4 vs Miami
Dec. 6 vs Colorado College
Dec. 8 vs Miami
Dec. 10 vs North Dakota
Dec. 12 vs Denver
Dec. 13 vs Colorado College
Dec. 16 vs Omaha
Dec. 19 vs North Dakota
Dec. 20 vs Omaha
As you can see, the Bulldogs will be jumping right in, with seven games in 12 days once they get started. Look, these guys haven’t gotten to play in a real game for pretty much nine months. You could tell them that Denver game is going to be at 3am on Thursday in Paducah, Kentucky*, and everyone would still be excited.
(* – I mean no disrespect to Paducah, Kentucky, but it doesn’t strike as a hockey hotbed.)
When teams return to their home bases after Dec. 20, they will have a break of around ten days before the 2021 portion of the schedule starts on New Year’s Day. UMD’s schedule will consist exclusively of games against St. Cloud State, Miami, and Western Michigan, which again is just fine with everyone because they want to play and will play whoever they can play.
Jan. 1 at St. Cloud State
Jan. 2 vs St. Cloud State
Jan. 8 vs St. Cloud State
Jan. 9 at St. Cloud State
Jan. 15-16 at Miami
Jan. 21-22, 24 vs Western Michigan
Feb. 5-6 vs Miami
Feb. 11-12, 14 at Western Michigan
Feb. 26 at St. Cloud State
Feb. 27 vs St. Cloud State
(Playoffs will be as previously planned, until and unless something changes. We’ll burn that bridge when we get there.)
Yes, those are three-game series against Western Michigan, scheduled the way they are to save on travel costs. That trip and the Miami trip should be the only time UMD has to spend on hotel once they get home from Omaha, which is a big boost cost-wise in a season where revenues will be limited by government-enacted crowd restrictions.
As far as that idea goes, it’s way too early to tell, but the first UMD women’s games — if they feature fans at all — will be limited to 250 spectators.
We’ll have more to come actually breaking down the hockey that will be played in Omaha, but I wanted to get you the schedules for now.
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I’ve received a lot of questions on social media. I do not intend to travel this season, at least not until the playoffs if at all. There are multiple reasons, including safety and family considerations on my part, as well as trying to take overall finances into account for this company, which goes to great expense to bring you these games every season. We’ve taken a hit as a result of the pandemic, too.
The fact that I am currently recovering from COVID-19 doesn’t change my plans at all.
(By the way, recovery for everyone in my house — and we’ve all tested positive within the last week — is going very well, and we continue to appreciate and be somewhat overwhelmed by the well wishes from all corners of the hockey and UMD worlds. I will be continuing to work from home, likely through this week at a minimum.)
I do intend to call every minute of every UMD game, so hopefully you can join us for the ride.
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