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 Fenway Park will host a double-header of Hockey East action on Saturday, January 7 |
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BOSTON - The City of Boston, the Boston Red Sox, Hockey East Association and Fenway Sports Management (FSM) today announced the return of ice to Fenway Park for Frozen Fenway 2012 with a Hockey East doubleheader on January 7th, pending city approval.
"Few experiences in my four decades in college hockey were as special as the first Frozen Fenway in 2010," said Hockey East Commissioner Joe Bertagna. "It was a once in a lifetime experience for our four schools the first time around and I expect the same in 2012. Given that we will help launch Fenway Park's 100th anniversary season, we are doubly grateful for this opportunity."
Fenway Park will again be the site of two great Hockey East matchups with two men's college hockey teams taking the ice on January 7th for an outdoor hockey doubleheader. The Hockey East games will feature the University of Vermont (UVM) Catamounts against the University of Massachusetts (UMass) Minutemen at 4:00 p.m., and the University of New Hampshire (UNH) Wildcats against the University of Maine (UMaine) Black Bears at 7:30 p.m.
"We look forward to kicking off Fenway Park's 100th anniversary celebrations with Frozen Fenway 2012, which is a great way for thousands of families to come and enjoy favorite winter pastimes as we begin celebrating its milestone year," said Red Sox Executive Vice President/COO Sam Kennedy. "We want to thank Mayor Menino for his continued support, and welcome back Joe Bertagna and Hockey East to America's Most Beloved Ballpark."
"Boston is the best sports town in America and the capital of the hockey world. On January 7, 2012 it only gets better. This is going to be a great Hockey Day in New England. We saw how successful the Winter Classic was and I'm confident that top-notch college hockey at Fenway Park will make for another unforgettable experience, drawing fans from across the region and serving as a major platform to showcase the people, culture, and local businesses that make our city special. As part of this event, I am proud to announce that there will be two full days of public skating during Frozen Fenway 2012. This will give families and children the chance to experience the ice, just like their favorite college players. I want to thank the Red Sox, the Hockey East Association, and the participating schools for working with the City to create this great event," said Mayor Thomas M. Menino.
Tickets for the hockey doubleheader go on sale September 13 at noon (EST) and will be available at redsox.com/frozenfenway, by calling (877) RED-SOX9, or at the Fenway Park box office. Fans with disabilities may also call (877) RED-SOX9 to purchase accessible seating. The Red Sox' TTY number for hearing-impaired fans is (617) 226-6644. Students and alumni of the participating schools can also purchase tickets through their respective colleges and universities.
While the UNH and UMaine hockey rivalry has often been referred to as the "Border War," the upcoming doubleheader will create a four-way border war between the four competing state schools. The hockey games at Fenway Park will be the 56th all-time meeting between UVM and UMass and the 111th all-time meeting between UNH and UMaine.
In the all-time series history, UVM leads the series with UMass, 33-15-6 in 54 meetings. UMaine leads the series with UNH, 56-48-5 in 109 meetings. Both UNH and Maine were ranked in the national polls last year with UNH finishing second in the Hockey East standings and Maine finishing in fifth place.
New England Sports Network (NESN) is scheduled to broadcast three hockey games on January 7 creating "Hockey Day in New England". The tripleheader begins at 1 p.m. when the Bruins take on the Canucks for the first time since the Stanley Cup finals. The network will then move to Fenway Park where it will showcase the two great Hockey East matchups at 4:00 and 7:30 p.m.
"This is going to be an exciting day for New England hockey fans," said NESN President Sean McGrail. "We are pleased to be broadcasting all three back-to-back games to New England fans on NESN in what will be 'Hockey Day in New England'." The 2012 hockey games at Fenway Park will mark the second time outdoor hockey has been played at the ballpark and the second time that college hockey games have been played since 2010. Boston University defeated Boston College, 3-2, in the inaugural event on Jan. 8, 2010 in front of a soldout crowd of 38,472 fans, while UNH bested Northeastern in the women's game by a 5-3 score.
"We are lucky to be in a town that's great for both baseball and hockey and we're excited to once again continue this outdoor tradition in 2012," said Kennedy.
Quote from UMaine Head Coach Tim Whitehead:
"The Black Bears are honored to participate in this Frozen Fenway event, and we want to thank Sam Kennedy & the Fenway Sports Management group, along with Joe Bertagna & Hockey East for making this possible. We are excited about the opportunity to play at Fenway Park, especially against the Wildcats. This should be another fantastic Maine - UNH matchup, among the many classic games between our two teams over the years."
Quote from UNH Head Coach Dick Umile:
"I'm absolutely thrilled for UNH men's hockey to be part of the Frozen Fenway doubleheader. I believe the UNH/Maine rivalry is as good as any in college hockey and bringing the game to a venue like Fenway Park is huge. Being from Boston, it doesn't get any better than playing at Fenway Park. We are honored to be part of this experience and we are looking forward to the opportunity."
Quote from UVM Head Coach Kevin Sneddon:
"To say our program is honored to be a part of the Frozen Fenway event is a major understatement. This will be an experience of a lifetime for our student-athletes, staff, and fans. We'd like to thank the Red Sox, Fenway Sports Management, Hockey East, NESN, and all of our sponsors for making this dream come true."
Quote from UMass Head Coach Don Cahoon
"Any Division I hockey program would be ecstatic to have the opportunity to play at Fenway Park – such a historic site and venue. When you think of the Flagship program for the state of Massachusetts playing in front of so many proud alumni, it creates a unique and special situation for our program to be a part of. The game itself will be extremely meaningful because it is at the start of the second half of the year, a critical part of the season, within the Hockey East alignment. These games will be hard fought, the teams are going to be well-prepared, and the results will be of significant value to the league standings for UMass and all the programs involved."
Quote from UNH alum James van Riemsdyk (Philadelphia Flyers Foward)
"It will be a huge thrill for everyone involved with the game and will definitely enhance the rivalry Maine and UNH already have."
Quote from Maine alum Jimmy Howard (Detroit Red Wings Goaltender)
"I think it's a great opportunity for all of the student-athletes to participate in a game that they will remember for the rest of their lives. A Maine vs. New Hampshire game at Fenway Park will be thrilling."
Quote for Vermont alum Aaron Miller (14-year NHL career, member of the 2002 USA Olympic Team)
"I am delighted the Catamounts will be part of such a high profile event that will showcase our program, university and college hockey as a whole. I have many great memories from my time as a student-athlete at UVM and I can only imagine how exciting this will be for our current players and our loyal fans. As a former Catamount and avid Red Sox fan, I look forward to being in Fenway Park on January 7th with thousands of fellow Vermont fans."
Quote from UMass alum Jonathan Quick (Los Angeles Kings Goaltender)
"I think it is great for UMass to get to play in Frozen Fenway, especially against a team like UVM, BU and BC had a great experience with the outdoor game and I think it's great that schools outside the city have the opportunity to participate in an such a prestigious event."
About Hockey East
The Hockey East Association is a 10-team Division I college men's hockey conference founded in 1984 and an eight- team Division I women's league which began play in 2002-03. The men's league has won seven NCAA championships in the past 19 years.
About Fenway Sports Management
Fenway Sports Management (formerly Fenway Sports Group) specializes in sponsorship sales and brand management consulting, and serves as the global sports sponsorship sales arm of Fenway Sports Group. Since its inception in 2004, FSM has created successful integrated sponosrship programs for the blue chip brands it represents including: the Boston Red Sox, Boston College Athletics, Liverpool FC, LRMR/LeBron James, Major League Baseball Advanced Media, New England Sports Network (NESN), PGA TOUR Playoff event the Deutsche Bank Championship and Roush Fenway Racing. FSM's current and former consulting clients include Athletes' Performance, Dunkin' Donuts, Gulf Oil, JetBlue, Solar Blue, Stop & Shop and Verizon Wireless. FSM operates with an entrepreneurial spirit, and seeks opportunities to create and be involved with a select number of new projects with an eye toward those that are beneficial to its parent Company. In 2010, FSM helped bring the NHL's storied outdoor Winter Classic to Fenway Park, where the Boston Bruins hosted the Philadelphia Flyers and developed Sun Life Frozen Fenway, the first-ever outdoor college hockey doubleheader to take place at the historic Park. That summer FSM also produced Football at Fenway, an international friendly match featuring legendary Scottish Premier League contender Celtic Football Club vs. Sporting, a leading club from Portugal. For more information, visit www.FenwaySportsManagement.com.
This article originally published at http://HockeyEastOnline.com