The Union College men’s hockey team won’t be heading to Tampa, Fla., for the Lightning Classic over the New Year’s holiday.
The tournament, which had been co-hosted by the Tampa Bay Lightning and Notre Dame, has been moved to suburban Chicago, and has a new name. The Shillelagh College Hockey Tournament will take place Jan. 2-3 at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Ill. The Dutchmen will face the Fighting Irish in the opening round. UMass-Lowell and Minnesota-Duluth is in the other game.
No official reason been given for the move. But several sources have indicated that the new owners of the Lightning pulled the plug on the tournament. That left Notre Dame scrambling to find a new venue.
A Notre Dame spokesman said late Thursday that an official announcement will be released soon, possibly as early as today.