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Husson University, Thomas College and the University of Maine at Farmington hockey teams will not be playing this fall, as the New England Collegiate Conference suspended the conference game during the fall semester due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The three schools participated in the conference last season after the North Atlantic conference was reduced to those hockey schools. New England College left the conference after the 2018 season, and Colby-Sawyer College left last year.
I am certainly disappointed but not surprised, said Husson University athletic director Frank Pergolizzi. Hopefully some opportunities will arise in the spring.
If the hockey season is moved to spring, there would be an interesting dilemma for Husson because softball coach Diann Ramsey is the new hockey coach.
Pergolizzi said Ramsey has an experienced softball staff in Lee Speronis, Rick Roberts and Jenn Plourde and they can help fill the void if Ramsey is stuck with hockey.
Ramseys’ hockey assistants are Kaitlin Dolloff and Libby Kain, who graduated from Husson in 2017.
The other teams in the NECC are College of Our Lady of the Elms, Dean College and Becker College in Massachusetts, New England College in New Hampshire and Manhattanville College in New York.