NWHL to play 2020-21 season in bubble at Herb Brooks Arena
The National Women's Hockey League will hold its upcoming season in a controlled environment at an American landmark.
The NWHL will conduct the 2020-21 campaign without fans in attendance at Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid, New York, the league announced Wednesday.
Each of the league's six teams will play a five-game regular-season schedule comprising of one game against every other team. A playoff round will then determine which teams qualify for the Isobel Cup semifinals, which will be decided in a single-game format. The final will take place on Feb. 5.
The clubs will arrive in a staggered manner on Jan. 21 and 22, with the regular season beginning Jan. 23.
Everyone in the bubble will undergo regular COVID-19 testing and is expected to follow the appropriate health and safety protocols.
The league will pay the players their full salaries despite the abbreviated schedule.
Herb Brooks Arena played host to the "Miracle on Ice," the U.S. Olympic hockey team's improbable triumph in 1980. Herb Brooks, who died in 2003, was the head coach of that team, and the rink was renamed in his honor in 2005.
The facility was built for the 1980 Olympics and has been used for college hockey championships and occasional ECHL games since.