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National Collegiate Hockey Conference postpones start of the 2020 season

<p>Miami hockey will skate onto the ice again this December.</p>

Miami hockey will skate onto the ice again this December.

Miami hockey will have to wait at least another two months to skate on the ice for real game competition.

On Sept. 8, the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) Board of Directors unanimously voted to follow the rest of Division I hockey and delay the season.

The conference released a statement Thursday, announcing plans to begin playing no earlier than Nov. 20. 

“The health and safety of all involved across the campus communities, particularly our student-athletes, is the top priority,” said NCHC commissioner Josh Fenton in the statement. 

Fenton also said the NCHC fully expects to play at some point this season, but the conference is obligated to do so in “a safe and responsible manner.”

Miami’s hockey team has fallen upon hard times of late, but the RedHawks are poised to make a jump this year, with coach Chris Bergeron entering his second year and a more experienced roster returning many of its top contributors. Last year, Miami finished 8-21-5.

The team was originally set to begin the regular season against Michigan State on Oct. 16.

The NCHC will announce more detailed plans later in the fall as more information about the COVID-19 pandemic — and its effects on the campuses of the NCHC’s eight members — becomes apparent.

schmelj2@miamioh.edu

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