Yale, Harvard to meet at Madison Square Garden

Yale and Harvard will take their ancient rivalry to the bright lights of The Big Apple next season.
The schools have signed a deal to play each other at New York's Madison Square Garden on Jan. 11, the Register has learned. The time has yet to be determined, as have the television rights, but the game is expected to be broadcast nationally.

Yale and Harvard will play their ECAC Hockey conference games on Dec. 7 at Ingalls Rink and on Feb. 21 at Harvard's Bright Hockey Center. The Madison Square Garden game will count as part of the non-conference schedule for both schools. It's part of a two-year contract, both schools hopeful they can play there again during the 2014-15 season.

Cornell has played to capacity crowds at Madison Square Garden in 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2012, with an upcoming game against Boston University there scheduled for Nov. 30.

Yale and Harvard could sell out the building's 18,200 seats. The schools have met before at Madison Square Garden, the last coming on Dec. 21, 1970.

Yale is becoming quite familiar with NHL arenas. The Bulldogs won the national championship at Pittsburgh's Consol Energy Center last month, and will open next season as part of the field at the Ivy Shootout, scheduled for the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. on Oct. 25-26. Brown, Dartmouth and Princeton will also compete.

The rest of Yale's non-conference schedule includes games at Ingalls Rink against Sacred Heart (Nov. 16), Merrimack (Nov. 30) and Holy Cross (Dec. 29). Yale plays at Vermont on Jan. 4. There is also a scrimmage against the University of Ontario Institute of Technology on Oct. 19 and an exhibition game with the Russian Red Stars on Dec. 27, both at Ingalls Rink.