A major upheaval is underway in college sports, with a large number of large schools changing conferences in pursuit of more television revenue.
Hockey East commissioner Steve Metcalf doesn’t fret that his league will be affected by any aftershocks.
“In Hockey East, we’ve been together a long time,” he said. “There’s a lot of familiarity with the schools and natural rivalries. It makes sense for so many reasons for us to be together.”
Potential realignment and expansion was just one of the issues Metcalf discussed during an exclusive interview with USCHO.com.
“With the exception of the Big Ten, all the hockey-playing schools are in hockey playing conferences,” Metcalf said. “What’s happening in the rest of the world is being driven by a lot of things, those things aren’t driving or influencing college hockey so much. I haven’t even heard a rumor anywhere about a college hockey team moving conferences. A lot of conferences, there’s a lot of history there or (they) make sense because of the geography. That’s not going to change.”
Metcalf — who became Hockey East commissioner in 2020 after more than 20 years at the University of New Hampshire — said there are no concrete plans in place to add another school to the men’s league, which currently stands at 11.
“It would have to be something the league felt made us stronger, better,” he said. “Do I think having an even number (of schools) would help us in scheduling? Certainly. But I also don’t think we would enter into a decision lightly. We would be very careful about that. We have a strong group and strong Hockey East brand.”
Metcalf said the best development this season has been the return of fans after the COVID-19 pandemic forced games to be played in empty arenas last season. He said attendance has been strong, with crowds of up to 8,000 fans at some games.
“It’s not going to be great attendance every night for everyone,” he said. “We know that, that’s the way it goes. Historically, numbers will pick up as you get later in the season, when sports like football are over. I think fans are pretty excited to be back and see their teams, and that’s obviously good for us.”
Of course, the pandemic is by no means over. Earlier this week, Boston College postponed its games at Notre Dame on Friday this Friday and home against Harvard on Tuesday Nov. 30, due to COVID protocols.
“I think it was the right thing to do,” Metcalf said. “The BC medical folks were the ones making the decision, and we’re supportive of that. They’re non-conference games, so it’s a little different. If this was BC-BU we’d be more anxious about it.”
This is the second year that Hockey East has streamed all of its games online, with most of those games being free. Before the season, Metcalf had said that the free streaming games were being offered as a “thank you” to fans for their loyalty during the pandemic, and as a service to those who would rather not attend games in person due to the pandemic.
“We’ve had a great situation with CBS and the streaming and a great partnership with NESN,” Metcalf said. “With not only more men’s games that we’ve ever done, but women’s games as well, we’ve set the bar high, and I’m optimistic it will be even better.”
Metcalf said it’s unlikely the games will remain on a free platform forever.
“That’s just the reality of how these things go,” he said.
One of the league’s signature events, Frozen Fenway, is likely to return at some point in the near future, Metcalf said. The league has held outdoor games at Fenway Park sporadically since 2010, when it piggybacked on the NHL’s Winter Classic.
“We’ve had preliminary discussions with the Red Sox,” Metcalf said. “They love doing outdoor games. I think it’s likely Hockey East will play at Fenway again.”
Though no concrete plans for Frozen Fenway were in place before the Covid pandemic, the previous events were in 2014 and 2017, which would have put a 2020 Frozen Fenway in sync with a three-year cycle.
“There’s something very attractive about Fenway — it’s such an iconic facility,” Metcalf said. “We have a great relationship with the Red Sox, and they love hockey. They just simply love hockey.”
