Atlantic Hockey announced that it will move two of its league contests from campus sites to the FleetCenter in Boston as part of a college hockey doubleheader on Saturday, Feb. 12.
The January 21 game between Quinnipiac and Holy Cross originally slated to be played in Worcester and the February 12 game between Bentley and Connecticut will be moved to the ice generally occupied by the currently out-of-work Boston Bruins.
The Feb. 12th date happens to be the Saturday between the two Beanpot Mondays at the FleetCenter.
This is the first time that the FleetCenter will play host to non-tournament college hockey games. The building annually hosts the Beanpot, an in-season tournament for Boston’s four hockey programs — Harvard, Boston University, Boston College and Northeastern — as well as the Hockey East Championship each March. Last year, the FleetCenter hosted the NCAA Frozen Four for the second time in its near dacade of existance.
It is not the first time, though, for Atlantic Hockey to play in an NHL building. Madison Square Garden hosted an annual game between UConn and Quinnipiac each February in which the Heroes’ Hat is presented to the winner of the season series in memory of those who lost their lives on September 11th. HSBC Arena in Buffalo has, in the past, played host to the Punch Imlach Classic which has featured league member Canisius.
This year, though, neither building hosted college hockey. With MSG, it was specifically because of the NHL work stoppage as the building currently has not laid ice and did not want to do so specifically for that one game.
