Change of plan: Alabama will visit Springdale

Photo credit: Edward Matthews
Photo credit: Edward Matthews

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Alabama to visit the Jones Center on November 20

Fayetteville, AR – November 11 – In an exciting change of schedule, the neutral site game between the Division I Razorbacks and arch-rival Alabama has been moved to Springdale.  Initially scheduled to take place in Springfield, Missouri, the teams recently reached an agreement for the game to be moved to Springdale.  The critical contest will take place on Sunday, November 20, at 2 pm and will mark the only meeting between the two teams during the 16-17 season.

Ranked for much of the season to this point, the Alabama Frozen Tide (7-6-1) has enjoyed wins over West Virginia, John Carroll, Oklahoma, and Liberty—among others. Last weekend, the Tide appeared at the Buffalo Meltdown tournament where they went 1-2-0 overall.  After dropping their first game to Western Michigan 7-5, the Tide rebounded to defeat Canisius 7-2 before falling on the tournament’s final day to Syracuse by a 7-2 margin.  The Tide will play host to Division III Middle Tennessee State this weekend before traveling to Missouri State next weekend for a pair of games against the Ice Bears before making the short trek to Springdale.

Like Arkansas, Alabama is a second-year Division I team, but the two teams are no stranger to one another.  The historically heated rivalry dates back to 2008 when the Tide swept the inaugural series.  The back and forth series last convened in October of 2015 in Springdale, Arkansas, when Arkansas defeated Alabama 4-1 in both contests.

The teams have just one common opponent this season entering the single game series–Oklahoma.  The Tide split with Oklahoma back in September.  After dropping game one 4-0 on September 15, Alabama rebounded to earn a resounding 9-2 victory over the Sooners the next night.  The Hogs did not have similar success against the Sooners.  Although both games were competitive and saw Arkansas in the lead for significant stretches of the series, Oklahoma ultimately swept the Razorbacks by 5-4 and 3-1 (ENG) scores on September 30 and October 1.

The puck will drop at the Jones Center at 2 pm on November 20.  The game is sure to sell out so plan to arrive early.