WAKEFIELD, Mass. - The Women's Hockey East Association commissioner Joe Bertagna announced today that Boston University will serve as host of the 2017 Women's Hockey East Tournament Championship Weekend at Walter Brown Arena on Saturday, March 4, and Sunday, March 5. The tournament will decide the winner of the Bertagna Trophy in the league's 15th anniversary season.

"Walter Brown Arena is a terrific site for an event of this importance," said Bertagna. "We are thankful for Boston University's willingness to host and we are happy that our athletes will compete for this championship in such an historic venue."

"Our program is proud to take on the responsibility of hosting Hockey East's championship weekend," BU head coach Brian Durocher said. "I'm confident that our entire administration and staff will do a great job in making it a world-class event and we look forward to supporting the league and all its great teams."

Information regarding ticket sales and surrounding events will be released at a future date.

The Women's Hockey East semifinals will be held on Saturday, March 4, with games tentatively slated for 1:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. Single-admission tickets are valid for both Saturday contests. The winners of each semifinal will advance to the 15th annual Women's Hockey East Championship Game on Sunday, March 5, which is tentatively scheduled for 1 p.m.

Before taking to the ice at Walter Brown Arena, the four Hockey East semifinalists will navigate through the league's quarterfinal round during the previous weekend (Feb. 24-26). The top-eight teams in the league standings at the conclusion of the regular season will qualify for the 2017 Women's Hockey East Tournament and seeds No. 1-4 will host seeds No. 5-8 in a best-of-three quarterfinal series on campus sites.

About The Women's Hockey East Association: The Women's Hockey East Association is a nine-team, Division-I college hockey conference which began play in 2002-2003, with offices based in Wakefield, Mass. Member schools include Boston College, Boston University, University of Connecticut, University of Maine, Merrimack College, University of New Hampshire, Northeastern University, Providence College and University of Vermont. The league also sponsors a 12-team men's league which began play in 1984.