Yesterday was the unoffficial kickoff to a new season of Northeastern hockey – Hockey East Media Day at the TD Garden. A chance for the media to mingle with coaches and league officials, and catch up with other college hockey media folks who have returned from the summer break.

Here’s a breakdown on the major league-wide happenings and talking points from the event:

No Notre Dame…yet: League commissioner Joe Bertagna made mention of expansion only in the sense that he hadn’t started work on a league schedule past March 2013. It was both because of the potential for Hockey East to expand (though no schools were mentioned), and as a result, he would be interested in shortening the league schedule from 27 games. Notre Dame is still reportedly on the fence, likely due to the fluid situation with conference realignment in the football/basketball world. The prevailing thought is that this story won’t go away until Notre Dame makes a final decision.

No TV schedule…yet: This was less about back-room dealings for conference expansion and more to do with finalizing details with league partners NESN and CBS Sports Network, as well as a potential national deal with another TV outlet (likely Versus/NBC Sports Network). It’s expected that the TV schedule will be finalized soon.

Rosters delayed: The league did not publish its media guide for the new season on Tuesday, not only because of the TV schedule, but because several teams have delayed releasing official rosters. Due to three new coaches in the league, several players opting to leave for professional deals during the off-season, and the lack of practice time available to coaches, several teams have not yet finalized their rosters. This is by far the latest we’ve ever seen rosters published. We’re less than 10 days away from the start of the season!

–

Now, onto the Northeastern side of things…

No longer robots: We had an interesting discussion with Steve Quailer about the changes to the coaching staff. The words he used – it’s like a “breath of fresh air,” and the players aren’t being forced to be “robots” anymore. Strong words about a change in coaching philosophy that you could see coming from the moment Jim Madigan was named head coach. Listen for more in the audio we’ll be posting later today.

Exhibition tension: Madigan said that he would dress his entire team in Sunday’s exhibition against St. Francis Xavier, and it would be a “dry run” not only for his team, but for the coaches as well. This is perhaps the most important exhibition game Northeastern has played in several years, as it gives the new coaching staff a first look at real game conditions.

No major change to the system: Jim Madigan, as we know, has been closely tied to the Northeastern hockey program for many years. He said on Tuesday that he’s largely taken the previous system (he didn’t say it outright, but we assume that this includes the cycle) but has let the offense open up a bit. Look for a continuation of the “identity” that Northeastern has developed of a physical defense, but perhaps with a more aggressive offensive look.

Flaman honored: Joe Bertagna let the cat out of the bag, so to speak, as he mentioned that Fernie Flaman would be inducted into the Massachusetts Hockey Hall of Fame this fall. Yet another honor for Northeastern’s best coach in program history.

–

Look for part 2 of our Media Day redux this evening as we post full interviews with coaches and players from Tuesday’s event.

Alex Faust Hockey Hockey East