According to the Eagle Tribune's Merrimack hockey beat writer Mike McMahon, this coming season's Fenway Park outdoor college hockey game will feature UMass, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.
"Source indicates UMass vs. Maine and UNH vs. UVM will be an outdoor double-header at Fenway Park this January. Unsure of date."
We shall call this event the New England State School Un-Beanpot!
If true, I like how Hockey East is going to run UMass out there as the token Massachusetts team for an event held at Boston's Fenway Park. Now while this matchup is much more digestible than having just Maine and New Hampshire face off at Fenway, it still leaves something to be desired, no?
I mean, why stop at inviting just these four schools? Where is the love for Merrimack, UMass-Lowell, Providence and Northeastern, of which all four programs are located closer to Fenway than UMass, Maine, UNH and UVM?
Heck, why stop at inviting four or even eight teams to this event? If you really want to "spread the wealth," why not just invite all 10 Hockey East programs to Fenway and hold an all-day Hockey East outdoor college hockey extravaganza? Start the event at noon on a Saturday and stage these five Hockey East matchups: UMass-Lowell vs. Merrimack, Providence vs. Northeastern, Maine vs. UMass, New Hampshire vs. Vermont, and cap off the day with a Boston College vs. Boston University rematch under the lights of Fenway.
Now that's an outdoor college hockey event worth attending.