It wouldn't be the offseason without some spicy conference realignment news, and this year has already delivered. Last night, it was reported that Notre Dame would leave the prestigious Hockey East conference to join the Big Ten for the 2017-2018 season. That gives the Big Ten seven hockey playing schools in the conference, and creates a lot of questions, not just for hockey, but for the conference as a whole.
Why would Notre Dame join the Big Ten for hockey?
On purely competitive grounds, this might not make a lot of immediate sense for the Irish.