Due to multiple unforeseen travel complexities, caused by winter storm Ulmer, the opening night of the best-of-three NCHC quarterfinal series between sixth-seeded Colorado College and third-seeded Western Michigan at Lawson Ice Arena in Kalamazoo, Mich., has been pushed back one day and is expected to begin on Saturday, March 16.
The series was scheduled to start on Friday, March 15. The series is now expected to be played March 16 and 17, with the if-necessary decisive third game on Monday, March 18.
Puck drop for all games remains 7:05 p.m. EDT.
According to a news release, the NCHC and Colorado College worked extensively to coordinate alternative travel plans to get the Tigers to Kalamazoo with impending bad weather in the forecast. For multiple reasons, various travel plans for CC have not gone according to schedule. All three parties (CC, NCHC and WMU) continue to be in communication throughout the process.
“Unfortunately, weather has been an issue for NCHC team travel throughout the season and continued this week with the severe weather that hit Colorado on Wednesday,” NCHC commissioner Josh Fenton said in a statement. “In the interest of keeping competitive fairness between the teams, as well as looking out for the student-athletes’ well-being, the decision was made to delay the series.”
This marks the first time in the conference’s history an NCHC tournament game or series has had to be postponed. The NCHC did have to postpone a regular-season game earlier this year for the first time in its history, when it postponed the Jan. 18 game between Denver and Colorado College, also due to a bad snow storm and travel issues with Denver getting to Colorado Springs. It was made up on Feb. 26.
All other best-of-three NCHC quarterfinal series this weekend will move ahead as planned.
