Last week, Red Sox COO Sam Kennedy told me that the team was in the planning stage of bringing Frozen Fenway back to the Fenway Park for the winter of 2014.

“We are deep into the planning phase for the possibility of a return of Frozen Fenway in 2014,” Kennedy said. “We will need to secure proper City approvals and complete our negotiations with the many teams who are interested in competing before we will have any formal announcement.”

Hockey East commissioner, in an interview with Merrimack radio’s Mike Machnik on Friday night, confirmed that the league was hoping for the event to return, and that he hoped the teams without prior exposure to the event would be included.

According to several people, Merrimack College is likely to be involved in the event should it be approved and planned.

The preliminary plan, as I’ve been told by several sources, is for Boston College and Notre Dame to play in the nightcap with Merrimack and Providence likely the early game. UMass Lowell is likely to get a game as well.

The plan would give Merrimack, Providence and Lowell – the three teams who have yet to participate in the event – a game on the Fenway ice.