After much anticipation, the official schedules for Denver’s hockey and basketball teams have been released.
The National Collegiate Hockey League (NCHC) previously released the league’s plans and protocols for the upcoming season, which are summarized here. On Nov. 9, the NCHC released the composite schedule.
Denver will begin their 26-game conference schedule against Minnesota Duluth on Wednesday, Dec 2. This season opener will take place in Omaha, Neb. as part of the league’s “pod” system, and the team will remain in Omaha until Dec. 20 to play a total of 10 games.
DU Hockey will host its home opener in Magness Arena on Saturday, Jan. 2 and will face rivals Colorado College to kick off the second part of the season. In the 2021 portion of the season, Denver will have eight home games in total with three against Colorado College and Omaha and two against North Dakota. The postseason format will be the same as before with four first-round playoff series to determine who will advance to the 2021 Frozen Four.
The battle for the Gold Pan will still take place this season, with a total of six games being played for the title. Three of the matches will be in Magness Arena, while the other three will be held at Colorado College in Colorado Springs, Colo.
The NCHC has not yet decided if fans will be allowed to attend games at a limited capacity during the second half of the season. However, those who wish to watch the games virtually are able to sign up for an NCHC.tv subscription.
The Summit League also released the official game schedule for both men and women’s basketball on Nov. 4. After having their season indefinitely suspended last March, the existence of a 2020-21 season was uncertain. However, both of DU’s basketball teams are now set to start their season on Jan. 2, 2021, in Vermillion, S.D. The teams will travel to play a conference double-header against South Dakota, whose men’s team has been ranked number one in the Summit League preseason polls, on Jan. 2 and Jan 3.
Both the men and women’s basketball teams will host their first home game on Friday, Jan. 15 against Oral Roberts.
