By By Patrick McHugh, News Staff

This season the women’s hockey team will have a game moved from one historic location, Matthews Arena, to another.
Fenway Park will host a college hockey doubleheader Jan. 8, 2010, featuring the Northeastern women against the University of New Hampshire at 4 p.m., and the Boston College men versus’ Boston University at 7:30 p.m, a matchup of the last two Division 1 national champions. The announcement was made by Hockey East Commissioner Joe Bertagna, in conjunction with the Boston Red Sox and Fenway Sports Group, at Fenway Aug. 20.
Senior co-captain Annie Hogan said she was surprised to hear the team would have a chance to play in ‘America’s Most Beloved Ballpark.’
‘This really did come out of left field,’ Hogan said. ‘It’s such an excellent experience and we’re awfully lucky to be a part of it.’
NU Athletics Director Peter Roby said once the announcement was made by the NHL that the Boston Bruins would play a New Year’s Day game at Fenway, the members of the Fenway Sports Group contacted Bertagna about college games being played there. Bertagna then spoke to Roby at the league’s yearly meetings about including Northeastern in the event.
Roby described the negotiations of the event, including whether the men’s or women’s teams would play in the event.
‘We had a lot of different scenarios on how we would do it,’ Roby said. ‘It became a situation where we didn’t all agree on what was the best format. Then we came onto this doubleheader featuring men’s and women’s, and that seemed to be the one we could all agree on, and that’s where we went.’
This is not the first college hockey game to be played outdoors. In 2001, Michigan and Michigan State played at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Mich., and in 2006 Wisconsin and Ohio State squared off at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisc. It will, however, be the first time a women’s college hockey game has been played outdoors.
While women’s hockey head coach Dave Flint is working as an assistant coach for the US national team in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, interim co-head coaches Linda Lundrigan and Lauren McAuliffe will be behind the bench for the season.
Lundrigan said the venue means a lot for her team, the university and women’s hockey at large.
‘It’s a chance to expose our game to men’s hockey fans as well as the people of Boston who might come to this unique event,’ Lundrigan said. ‘From our standpoint we’re just honored to have been included and that Northeastern can be represented. More so than anything I was thinking how lucky we are to be here.’
According to the official ticket website, tickets.com/fenwayhockey, pre-sale tickets for the doubleheader have already sold out, but there will be a limited number of tickets available to the general public Sept. 17 at 12 p.m. Tickets range from $5 in the lower levels near the field to $150 in the private suites. Ticket options for Northeastern season ticket holders and students will be released in the future. All revenue from the game will be spread amongst the Hockey East schools.
Both Lundrigan and McAuliffe said motivation will not be a problem for this game, but keeping the players focused on the game and the elements might be difficult given the circumstances. Both games of the doubleheader are considered official games and will count in the league standings.
Last season the women finished with a record of 12-20-3 and were eliminated in the Hockey East Quarterfinals 2-1 by Boston University Feb. 28. The Wildcats won the conference championship’ a year ago.
Roby said the spectacle will be significant not only to the players on the ice but to the league and the Athletics Department as a whole.
‘It’s a tremendous opportunity to bring attention to the Hockey East teams and Northeastern,’ Roby said. ‘It also sends a powerful message about the commitment we’ve made to our women’s programs, not just in hockey, but overall.’