The New England Hockey Conference has canceled the remainder of its 2020-21 conference schedule, the conference’s Board of Directors announced in a Monday release, amid the ongoing resurgence of the coronavirus pandemic in the Northeast. The NEHC, which houses 12 Division 3 teams in six Northeast states, already had announced the postponement of the 2020...
The New England Hockey Conference has canceled the remainder of its 2020-21 conference schedule, the conference’s Board of Directors announced in a Monday release, amid the ongoing resurgence of the coronavirus pandemic in the Northeast.
The NEHC, which houses 12 Division 3 teams in six Northeast states, already had announced the postponement of the 2020 portion of its league schedule in late July.
Men's teams in the NEHC are: Babson, Castleton, Hobart, Johnson & Wales, New England College, Norwich, Skidmore, Southern Maine, Suffolk and UMass Boston. The women's NEHJ teams are: Castleton, Johnson & Wales, New England College, Norwich, Plymouth State, Salem State, Southern Maine, Suffolk and UMass Boston.
At that point, it was said that conference members could still schedule conference and non-conference games, but that they would not count in the league standings, while the powers that be worked on a plan to get a season off the ground in 2021.
Now, with cases rising daily, the conference is scrapping its season altogether.
“The NEHC had remained optimistic that a season could safely take place this winter,” the statement says. “However, with a surge in cases both nationally and regionally, state-to-state travel amongst the membership has proved insurmountable. The NEHC membership hails from six different states that each have a variety of travel restrictions in place as it pertains to crossing state lines during the pandemic.”
By default, the cancellation includes the 2021 NEHC championship tournament.
The NEHC was one of the few conferences in the nation, at any age level, that managed to complete its 2019-20 season and crown a champion in March, days before the COVID-19 pandemic escalated and resulted in the initial lockdown.
On March 7, Norwich University won its second straight title over Hobart College.
Members of the conference still have the autonomy to schedule games based on their own institutional policies, the release said, much like the Connecticut-based Founders League, which canceled its winter season at the end of October.
So, while there won’t be any league play or champion this year, teams can still schedule games if they, their schools and their potential opponents are willing.
Individual institutions may make announcements regarding any scheduled games.
Liam Flaherty can be reached at liam.flaherty@hockeyjournal.com and on Twitter @_LiamFlaherty.
