This story will be updated as new developments dictate. Last update: Thursday, 7 a.m. ET.
As the coronavirus continues to cause the cancellation of large events across the country and states of emergency are declared in Massachusetts and Connecticut, new developments continue to surround the Hockey East tournament, which kicks into high gear this weekend.
For Hockey East, the key updates came Wednesday afternoon.
Schools in the UMass system announced that they would either close or remain closed after spring break and students would take classes online. UMass Athletics, for its part, issued a statement early Wednesday afternoon saying Hockey East games involving UMass and UMass Lowell this weekend were still on, and Hockey East later announced those games will now be played without fans. Boston College home games will also be played without fans.
For its part, ahead of both March Madness and the Frozen Four, the NCAA issued a statement Wednesday by commissioner Mark Emmert saying the basketball tournament would be played in empty buildings, with only essential staff attending. This approach apparently also includes the Frozen Four.
The NCAA's Frozen Four this year is slated to be held in Detroit, April 9 and 11.
In other leagues and other sports, games have been postponed, canceled and/or played in empty buildings because of the pandemic. After a player tested positive for the virus, the NBA suspended its season Wednesday night. The National College Players Association previously asked the NCAA to consider holding tournaments without crowds.
The ECAC quarterfinal between Harvard and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, originally to be played in an empty rink, has been canceled. This move conceivably would prematurely end Harvard's season. The NCAA Division III women’s basketball tournament regional in Amherst, Massachusetts, will be held in empty arenas. Same goes for the NCAA Division III women’s basketball tournament held in Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine.
The Ivy League canceled its men’s and women’s basketball championship tournaments that were to be held Friday and Saturday in Cambridge, Massachusetts. On Wednesday, Division III NESCAC cancelled spring sports and conference tournaments across all sports. Boston-area schools are planning on moving classes to online-only.
Brian Smith, associate commissioner of Hockey East, told the Bangor (Maine) Daily News on Tuesday that the conference has worked on contingency plans in case the outbreak worsens. One change implemented is that for the traditional postgame handshake line, players will keep their gloves on and coaches will not take part.
At the boys prep school tournament in Hartford, Conn., over the weekend, training staff was seen doling out hand sanitizer to coaches after going through the handshake line. Cornell is among the institutions considering holding games in empty arenas. Other teams are considering playing in arenas other than their own.
“I think it’s real unfortunate that drastic measures are being taken for what’s not proven to be really that harmful at this point, so hopefully we have fans here," UMass coach Greg Carvel told reporters on Tuesday, before the cancellations. "Players deserve it, so we’re crossing our fingers and hoping that it doesn’t affect our games this week.”
The uncertainty of the situation, with new cases being diagnosed hourly in the United States and new deaths occurring around the world, means teams are having to adjust on the fly. As of Wednesday, in the U.S. more than 1,000 cases had been diagnosed in 36 states and the District of Columbia, with 26 deaths.
"It’s ongoing. It’s a work in progress," Norm Bazin, coach of UMass Lowell, told New England Hockey Journal Wednesday morning. "It seems to be changing by the hour, to be frank with you. I don’t like to think about what’s going to happen in the next 48 hours because so much has happened already in the last 48 hours."
For their part, the players are trying to stay focused on the task at hand, which is namely the Hockey East playoffs.
“I know hockey-wise we’re focusing, and it’s just kind of a normal week," UMass player Jake Gaudet told New England Hockey Journal's Liam Flaherty on Tuesday. "I think we’re ... prepared that things might be a little bit unpredictable as to whether or not we have fans or where we play or what’s going to happen, so we’re just trying to take it day-by-day and stay on top of the hockey side of things.”
“We’re just making sure that we stay healthy," said UMass player Mitchell Chaffee on Tuesday. "That’s the biggest thing we can do, is just take the little things just to stay healthy. But we can create our own energy out here, and all of our students will probably be on spring break anyways, but we’re more looking forward to bring our own energy and have some fun.”
Liam Flaherty contributed reporting from UMass for this story. Mike Zhe also contributed reporting.
Paul Grant is an editor and a writer for HockeyJournal.com and Seamans Media. He previously oversaw hockey content at ESPN.com and Sporting News. You can connect with him at pgrant@hockeyjournal.com.
