T.J. Tynan of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish takes a shot as Wade Bergman of the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs defends during semifinals of the 2011 NCAA Men’s Frozen Four on April 7, 2011 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
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(CBS) Irish hockey, welcome to the Hockey East.
Notre Dame announced Wednesday it would join the Hockey East beginning in the 2013-14 season. The move came with the end of the CCHA, the program’s current conference.
“When the necessity of decising where we would play hockey in the future was presented to us, we felt a special pressure to get it right,” Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick said at a press conference held at the new Compton Family Ice Arena on campus.
“At the end of the day, the choice was a clear one for us.”
The Irish open their 2011-12 season ranked No. 1 in the USCHO poll. They now join a conference that has produced seven NCAA titles since 1993.
“This is a huge day for our program,” Irish coach Jeff Jackson said. “Without question, knowing the coaches in that league and the programs in that league, this gives us the opportunity to play the top teams in the country on a regular basis.”
