HENNIKER, N.H. - The New England College men's ice hockey team officially announced their schedule for the 2025-26 season on Tuesday.

The 'Grims have joined the Little East Conference (LEC) along with Babson College, Norwich University, Vermont State University-Castleton, UMass-Boston, and the University of Southern Maine who all previously competed in the New England Hockey Conference (NEHC).  

The Pilgrims will begin their season on October 18th as they travel to Colchester, Vermont to scrimmage the Purple Knights of Saint Michael's College. A week later the 'Grims will host the 2025 Division III Frozen Four Finalists Curry College in an exhibition matchup with a 4:00 PM puck drop.  

The team will open LEC competition when they travel to Vermont on November 7th and 8th as they take on Vermont State University – Castleton and Norwich University. The 'Grims return home and host the next four LEC opponents at the Lee Clement Arena. They then play three non-conference opponents before a three-week gap between games for Winter Break.  

After two more non-conference matchups at the beginning of January 2026, the Pilgrims continue competition with LEC opponents USM and Babson. This is the first matchup against Babson since the 'Grims beat them, 2-0, in the NEHC Quarterfinals last season. They play USM and Babson again, this time at home, on February 20th and 21st, respectively, to close out the regular season. 

The LEC tournament will start on February 25th with the quarterfinal round, followed by the semi-final round on February 28th, and the championship game on March 7th. 

For continuing coverage of New England College Athletics, visit athletics.nec.edu and follow the Pilgrims on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.