Canadian television broadcast station TSN and College Hockey Inc. announced a partnership Friday that will bring unprecedented coverage of NCAA Division I men’s ice hockey to Canada.
The live coverage for 2014-15 will feature 37 games from Hockey East and Big Ten conferences as well as the Hockey East tournament and the Frozen Four championship. The first game took place Friday Oct. 17 when Notre Dame secured a 5-3 home victory over Lake Superior State. Tonight’s game between the two teams can also be seen on TSN at 6 p.m. on TSN2. TSN2 will show most of the games during the regular season, with TSN3 and TSN4 being added to the lineup during the postseason.
This isn’t the first venture into college sports for TSN, as they have the March Madness and the upcoming College Football Playoff packages in their arsenal. “This partnership will allow TSN to deliver Canadian fans unprecedented access to the excitement of NCAA Hockey,” said Mike Snee, Executive Director, College Hockey Inc. to TSN.ca. “Canadians have always had a strong presence in college hockey and currently make up 30% of all Division I players. TSN will provide fans in Canada the chance to see for themselves why so many skilled Canadian hockey players are choosing college hockey, and why NCAA Hockey is the fastest growing development path to professional hockey.”
“Canadians have always had a strong presence in college hockey and currently make up 30% of all Division I players.”- Mike Snee, Executive Director, College Hockey Inc.
Notre Dame will be featured six times, including the first three games. In the package there will be two games shown each in October, November, and December, with more games being shown later in the season. 17 games will be shown in March and April, including 11 NCAA tournament games and five Hockey East tournament games. TSN subscribers will have access to expanded coverage through on-demand and live streaming via TSN GO.
Players who were groomed through college hockey have been showing an increased presence in the NHL. Last season, all-time highs were reached when 305 former NCAA players played in the NHL making up 31 percent of the league. Every team has a former NCAA player on their roster with Chicago Blackhawks having the most players with 13.
