Hockey East facts for kids

Northeastern University playing hockey against the University of Massachusetts Amherst

Hockey East is a sports league for colleges and universities in the United States. These schools play ice hockey against each other every year. It's part of the NCAA Division I, which is the highest level of college sports.

Before 2013, all the teams in Hockey East were from New England. Then, the Notre Dame men's hockey team from Indiana joined. The teams that win the Hockey East championship get a special invitation to the NCAA national hockey tournaments.

What is Hockey East?

Hockey East is a group of colleges and universities that compete in ice hockey. It's one of the top college hockey leagues in the USA. Teams play games against each other throughout the season. The best teams then play in a tournament to find the Hockey East champion.

How Many Teams Are in Hockey East?

There are 12 schools that are part of Hockey East. Many of these schools have both men's and women's hockey teams in the league. Some schools only have a men's team, and one school only has a women's team in Hockey East.

Current Member Schools

Here are the schools that are currently members of Hockey East. If it's not noted, the school has both a men's and women's team in the league.

• Boston College
• Boston University
• University of Connecticut (Only the women's team is in Hockey East. The men's team joined in July 2014.)
• University of Maine
• University of Massachusetts Amherst (often called "UMass") (Men's team only)
• Merrimack College (Men's team only. Their women's team joined in 2015–16.)
• University of New Hampshire
• Northeastern University
• University of Notre Dame (Men's team only)
• Providence College
• University of Massachusetts at Lowell (often called "UMass Lowell") (Men's team only)
• University of Vermont

Recent Changes to the League

In July 2014, the University of Connecticut men's hockey team moved into Hockey East. Before this, only their women's team played in the league.

One year later, in 2015, Merrimack College also made a change. Their women's team, which used to be a club team, became a full varsity team. This means it became an official college sport, and that team also joined Hockey East.

Images for kids

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  Hockey East membership beginning in 2017–18. Holy Cross (in green) joined the women's league in 2018-2019.

See also

In Spanish: Hockey East para niños