If you’re looking for a reason to be excited about next season, start with the fact that UND will play some of college hockey’s biggest names and programs right here in Grand Forks. The Fighting Hawks will open the 2023-2024 NCHC schedule with three games against teams that were in the 2023 NCAA tournament (Minnesota, Boston University, and Wisconsin). The first two of those games are part of an icebreaker tourney at Ralph Engelstad Arena.
The rest of the conference’s regular-season schedule will feature a lot of familiar opponents, including three series with the top four from last year’s regular season standings. The Fighting Hawks will also visit Denver, St. Cloud State, and Western Michigan this season, as well as a nonconference matchup with Minnesota Duluth. And of course, the defending national champions will be in town for their home opener on November 2.
With a number of players leaving this season via transfer and a new coaching staff in place, it’s unclear how the 2023-23 Fighting Hawks will fare against some of college hockey’s best teams. But they will have plenty of chances to find out if the team is ready to take another step in its growth in the coming months, starting with a pair of games against top-20 opponents at the Ice Breaker Tournament in October.
2022-23 Hockey East Tournament
Boston University’s men are the No. 1 seed for this year’s Hockey East tournament and are looking to win the conference’s championship for the first time since the 2018-19 season. The Terriers will face the lowest advancing team from the Opening Round. First-year head coach Jay Pandolfo is eager to see if his team can continue its postseason run against the Vermont Catamounts, who defeated BU in the 2009 Frozen Four and won the program’s only Hockey East title that season.
A win will send BU to its first semifinal appearance in the league’s modern-day format, while a loss will send the Catamounts back to the quarterfinals. The other quarterfinal matchup is fifth-seeded UMass Lowell visiting fourth-seeded Northeastern in a winner-take-all contest at the Toscano Family Ice Forum in Storrs.
The winners of those games will advance to the semifinals set for Friday at TD Garden, which is home to the NHL’s Boston Bruins. The semifinals will determine the winner of the Lamoriello Trophy and an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
2023 Hockey East Women’s Tournament
NESN will air both the women’s and men’s finals on March 17-18 at TD Garden. The men’s game will begin at 7:30 p.m., followed by the women’s final at 9:30 p.m.
For fans that will be unable to attend the semifinals, Hockey East plans to provide streaming options for both of the games. The championship, set for March 18, will also be streamed live on NESN and NESN+. 108 Hockey East alumni are currently on NHL rosters, the most of any conference. The full list of NHL teams can be found here.