Tuesday morning Hockey East announced a six-year partnership with ESPN to stream its games on the network’s streaming service ESPN+. The deal, which encompasses over 300 games, includes three games on ESPNU and a national broadcast of the league’s women’s championship on “an ESPN network.”
The move comes on the heels of a long journey for Hockey East and continues a nationwide scramble for good positioning with TV rights. It was not long ago when college hockey online streaming was, to be frank, a wasteland. Fans of the sport frequently had to purchase a streaming service costing upwards of $80 a year-and that was just for their school’s home games.