WAKEFIELD, Mass. – Hockey East Association officials announced that tickets to the 2006 Hockey East Championship Tournament will go on sale Saturday, Dec. 3, at 11 a.m.

Championship tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster and at the TD Banknorth Garden box office. The tournament semifinal games will take place on Friday, March 17, and are scheduled to face off at 5 and 8 p.m. Ticket prices are $15/$25 per seat for the balcony or $34 per seat in the loge, and include admission to both semifinal games.

Maine baseball signs six players

ORONO – University of Maine baseball coach Steve Trimper announced Thursday he has received National Letters of Intent (NLI) from Joe Martin, Matt Howard, Kevin Jackson, Myckie Lugbauer, Lee Verweel and Chris Wojick.

Martin is a 6-1, 176-pounder from Portland High School. He batted .340 last year and .500 for Portland as a sophomore with 13 stolen bases and was 4-2 as a pitcher.

Howard plays in the outfield and at shortstop. He batted a league-leading .475 as a sophomore with a school-record 28 stolen bases for Weston High School.

Lugbauer is a 6-4, 205-pound catcher who plays at first base. In 2005, he batted .394 with five home runs and 35 RBIs for Mahopac High School, which finished as Section I finalists. Verweel is a 6-4, 190-pound left-handed pitcher from Malvern Collegiate. He went 7-2 last year with a 2.40 ERA average with 63 strikeouts in 44 innings.

Wojick is 6-0, 175 pounds and is expected to pitch and catch for the Black Bears. He finished his junior season at Montville High School with a record of 3-2 with a 0.72 ERA, the lowest in school history.

UMF set to host hoop tourneys

FARMINGTON – The University of Maine at Farmington’s women’s and men’s basketball teams will each host a four-team, two-day season opening basketball tournaments to start their respective seasons this weekend. It all begins with a women’s doubleheader on tonight and continuing through Sunday afternoon. In all, there will be eight games at Dearborn Gymnasium this weekend.

The women’s tournament begins at 5:30 tonight, when top-ranked University of Southern Maine meets Williams College. At 7:30 p.m., the UMF Beavers will host the University of Maine at Presque Isle.

On Saturday, the tournament concludes with the consolation game at 1 p.m. and the championship game slated to begin at 3 p.m. The men’s tournament starts on Saturday night, as Lyndon State and Wentworth meet at 5:30 p.m., followed by UMF and UMPI at 7:30 p.m. The tournament continues on Sunday with a consolation game at 1 p.m., followed by the championship game at 3 p.m.

Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for students.