September 19, 2012

The 2013 WHEA Championship returns to Hyannis Youth and Community Center

Wakefield, Mass. - Hockey East announced the league's 2012-13 women's composite schedule for its 11th season of play on Wednesday afternoon.

The Connecticut Huskies will officially kick off the regular-season schedule, as they travel to Union College on Saturday, September 29th. Six other league teams will play exhibition contests on the weekend of Sept. 29 and 30. Boston University, the 2012 WHEA Tournament Champions, will open its season on Friday, October 5th on the road in the league opener against Boston College at Conte Forum. Northeastern University, the 2012 WHEA Regular-Season Champions, will open the year at Colgate on Oct. 5th, while New Hampshire also opens that same day at Syracuse.

Providence College opens with a series against Bemidji State on Friday, October 5 at Schneider Arena and Vermont begins the year on Saturday, October 6th under first-year head coach Jim Plumer against first-year program Penn State University at Gutterson Fieldhouse. The Maine Black Bears are the last team to officially open the year on Friday, October 12th at Quinnipiac.

All eight teams will qualify for the WHEA Tournament for the first time in league history, after the athletic directors voted back in June to expand the tournament format. The top four seeds will host a one-game quarterfinal playoff game the weekend of March 1-3. The winners of the quarterfinal matchups advance and then are reseeded in semifinal play.

Hockey East will host the 2013 Women's Hockey East Championship Tournament at the Hyannis Youth and Community Center (HYCC) on Saturday, March 9th and Sunday, March 10th in the Lt. Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Memorial Skating Rink. The semifinals will be held on Saturday, March 9th with games at 12:30pm and 3:30pm. The winners of each semifinal will advance to the 11th annual Women's Hockey East Championship Game on Sunday, March 10th, which is tentatively scheduled for 1pm.

The Women's Hockey East Association is an eight-team, Division-I college hockey conference which began play in 2002-2003, with offices based in Wakefield, Mass. The league also sponsors a 10-team men's league which began play in 1984.