ST. PAUL — Information about American college hockey was scarce in British Columbia when Curtis Gedig, a senior defenseman at Ohio State, grew up and played junior hockey there. Local news media did not cover it. Few college games were televised. Michigan State and Boston College might as well have been in a different solar system.

“I really didn’t know a lot,” Gedig said. “I was really uneducated up there. I had to seek out friends who knew more about it, American guys on the team.”

While playing for three teams over two seasons in the British Columbia Hockey League, Gedig found plenty of teammates to ask. When he decided to play for the Buckeyes, some of his friends were surprised. They knew the Ohio State name from football and basketball, he said, but had no idea the university had a hockey team.

Big Ten Conference hockey coaches and officials expect that to change.

With Big Ten hockey starting up this fall, the Big Ten Network plans to televise 27 regular-season games beginning Oct. 11, including eight consecutive Friday night doubleheaders from Jan. 10 to Feb. 28. Seven more games

will be shown on ESPNU or

ESPNews.