NEW YORK (November 2, 2011)— The NBC Sports Group will air 16 live college hockey games this season on NBC Sports Network, including four from the Hockey East Tournament (one Quarterfinal, both Semifinals and the Final). This season’s schedule, which marks the first time that the NBC Sports Group will air college hockey games, was developed through partnerships with numerous collegiate hockey associations and universities.

The coverage begins on VERSUS, which will be rebranded as the NBC Sports Network on Jan. 2, on Saturday, December 31, when No. 4 Notre Dame hosts No. 12 Boston University at 7 p.m. ET. The remainder of this season’s schedule, which includes a game each Friday in primetime starting in January, will be seen on NBC Sports Network. The schedule culminates with live coverage of the Hockey East Tournament with a Quarterfinal game on March 9, as well as both Semifinals and the Final on March 16 and 17, 2012, respectively, from TD Garden in Boston, Mass.

“We are excited to be launching our first-ever college hockey package by building a destination on Friday nights on the NBC Sports Network with many of the preeminent brands in the sport,” said Jon Miller, President of Programming for NBC Sports Group.

Additional regular-season highlights include No. 4 Notre Dame hosting No. 3 Michigan on Jan. 20; No. 9 Yale facing Harvard on Jan. 27; and a Feb. 10 doubleheader featuring No. 1 Boston College traveling to Vermont and No. 8 Denver hosting No. 5 Minnesota.

The college hockey telecasts will be produced by the same Emmy Award-winning team that oversees all of the NHL games for the NBC Sports Group, led by Sam Flood, Executive Producer for NBC Sports and VERSUS.

The NBC Sports Group also recently announced a multi-year deal with Notre Dame to have their home games televised on the NBC Sports Network beginning with the 2013-14 season, when the school joins Hockey East.

NBC Sports Network’s College Hockey Schedule (all times ET, subject to change):

DATE GAME TIME

Saturday, Dec. 31 #12 Boston University at #4 Notre Dame 7:00 p.m. (VERSUS)

Jan. 6 Dartmouth at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 13 #14 Minnesota-Duluth at Nebraska-Omaha 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 20 #3 Michigan at #4 Notre Dame 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 27 #9 Yale at Harvard 7:30 p.m.

Feb. 3 Cornell at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 7:30 p.m.

Feb. 10 #1 Boston College at Vermont 7:30 p.m.

Feb. 10 #5 Minnesota at #8 Denver 10:00 p.m.

Feb. 17 Dartmouth at #9 Yale 7:30 p.m.

Feb. 24 #12 Boston University at Vermont 7:30 p.m.

Feb. 24 #15 North Dakota at #8 Denver 10:00 p.m.

March 2 #8 Denver at Nebraska-Omaha 7:30 p.m.

Hockey East Tournament

March 9 Quarterfinals 7:30 p.m.

March 16 Semifinals 5:00 p.m. and 8 p.m.

March 17 Finals 8:00 p.m.

All rankings based off USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine 2011-12 Men’s College Hockey Poll #5 (October 31, 2011).