Where would ND go if it left Hockey East? B1G is the most logical based on geography; but, it is a no go for political reasons. ECAC would have the same travel issues for ND as Hockey East without the cache of BC, BU, etc. . WCHA has some schools that are closer; but, none of the big names that ND wants. NCHC has Denver, North Dakota, UM-Duluth; but the travel would be as bad if not worse for ND. Atlantic, uh, not. Maybe the Irish could form a new league with Arizona St. once the Sun Devils are up to speed.
As for who would Hockey East replace ND with, HC adds nothing except to make BC happy with their 'biggest' sports rival. Cough, cough. Quinnipiac, Union & RPI all have positives and negatives. I don't see URI making the jump due to state budget issues while Hockey East does not align well with the academically oriented Ivy League teams (Dartmouth, Harvard, Brown, Cornell, Yale, Princeton). I wonder if a school like Delaware, who was a major rival for Penn St at the club level before the Nittany Lions made the jump to the B1G, be interested. What about Lehigh, Villanova or Pitt? Just thinking that a program that expands Hockey East into a new regions (NY or PA) while still being a bus ride away for most teams would be good.