Seven underclassmen not returning as UConn readies for Hockey East

As one door closes and a new opens, UConn hockey coach Mike Cavanaugh is in the midst of preparing his roster for the everyday rigors of Hockey East play.

Seven underclassmen will not be returning to Connecticut for the Huskies' inaugural season in their new conference. Seven players, forwards Joe Birmingham, Tyler Bouchard, Brett Skibba and Sean Gaffney along with defensemen Kevin Tuohy, Chris Bond and Christian Neumann, have been cut from Cavanaugh's roster.

Cavanaugh, known as a terrific recruiter over his almost two decades as Boston College's assistant coach, is bringing in a strong recruiting class led by NHL Draft prospect Miles Gendron of the Rivers School.

The Huskies will be playing all their conference games at the XL Center in Hartford, Conn. with the exception of a league game against Notre Dame which will be played at the Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport. The Huskies will play several nonconference games in Bridgeport as well, the purpose to drum up support from the New York City alumni base.

There have been rumors of either a new facility or renovations to the current on-campus facility, the Freitas Forum, but as of now there has been no concrete news.