ECAC Hockey

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ECAC Hockey
ECAC Hockey logo.svg
FormerlyEastern College Athletic Conference (1962–2004)
ECAC Hockey League (2004–2007)
Association NCAA
Founded1961;63 years ago (1961)
CommissionerDoug Christiansen
Sports fielded
Division Division I
No. of teams12
Headquarters Clifton Park, New York
Region Northeastern United States
Official website www.ecachockey.com
Locations
Map - College Hockey - ECAC Hockey states.svg
Locations of current ECAC Hockey member institutions. ECACHockeyLocations.png
Locations of current ECAC Hockey member institutions.

ECAC Hockey is one of the six conferences that compete in NCAA Division I ice hockey. The conference used to be affiliated with the Eastern College Athletic Conference, a consortium of over 300 colleges in the eastern United States. This relationship ended in 2004; however, the ECAC abbreviation was retained in the name of the hockey conference. [1] ECAC Hockey is the only ice hockey conference with identical memberships in both its women's and men's divisions. Cornell has won the most ECAC men's hockey championships with 13, followed by Harvard at 11. Quinnipiac, which joined the league in 2005, already has 7 regular season championships. ECAC Hockey teams have won 10 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Championships, most recently in 2023.

Contents

History

ECAC Hockey was founded in 1961 as a loose association of college hockey teams in the Northeast. [2]

Cornell won the first NCAA championship for ECAC Hockey in 1967 in 4-1 victory over fellow ECAC Hockey team Boston University.

The Big Red won their second title in 1970 to complete the first and thus far only undefeated campaign in NCAA Division I men's ice hockey history, this time with a 6-4 victory over Clarkson.

ECAC Hockey completed back-to-back titles when Boston University won the 1971 championship with a 4-2 victory over Minnesota. The Terriers then made it two in a row for their school and three straight for ECAC Hockey when they repeated as champions in 1972 with a 4-0 victory over Cornell.

Boston University won their third title in 1978 with a 5-3 victory over Boston College, another ECAC Hockey member at that time.

In June 1983, concerns that the Ivy League schools were potentially leaving the conference and disagreements over schedule length versus academics caused Boston University, Boston College, Providence, Northeastern and New Hampshire to decide to leave the ECAC to form what would become Hockey East, which began play in the 1984–85 season. [1] By that fall, Maine also departed the ECAC for the new conference. [3]

This left the ECAC with twelve teams (Army, Brown, Clarkson, Colgate, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, RPI, St. Lawrence, Vermont, and Yale). Army would stay in the conference until the end of the 1990–91 season, at which point they became independent (they now play in Atlantic Hockey) and were replaced by Union College. Vermont left the ECAC for Hockey East at the end of the 2004–05 season, and were replaced in the conference by Quinnipiac. [1]

RPI won its second national championship, and first as a member of ECAC Hockey when it defeated Providence of the newly formed Hockey East, 2-1 at the 1985 championship tournament. The Engineers previously won in 1954 as a member of the Tri-State League.

Harvard won its first and thus-far only NCAA Division I Hockey Championship when the Crimson topped Minnesota, 4-3 in overtime at the 1989 Tournament.

After seven titles and multiple Frozen Four representatives in the preceding 23-year period, ECAC Hockey suffered through a 23-year drought before Yale won its first title at the 2013 Tournament with a 4-0 victory over first-time finalists Quinnipiac. The 2013 Tournament was also unique in that with Quinnipiac defeating fellow ECAC Hockey school Union to advance to the Frozen Four before losing to Yale in the final, the only teams to defeat an ECAC school at the Tournament were other schools from ECAC Hockey.

The Dutchmen gained a measure of revenge when it won the 2014 Championship with a 7-4 victory over Minnesota.

After finishing runner up again in 2016, Quinnipiac finally broke through to win their first title at the 2023 Tournament with a 3-2 overtime victory over Minnesota.

The ECAC began sponsoring an invitational women's tournament in 1985. ECAC teams began playing an informal regular season schedule in the 1988–89 season, with the conference officially sponsoring women's hockey beginning in the 1993–94 season. [4] ECAC teams won two of the three pre-NCAA American Women's College Hockey Alliance national championships, New Hampshire winning in 1998 and Harvard in 1999.

The ECAC was the only Division I men's hockey conference that neither gained nor lost members during the major conference realignment in 2011 and 2012 that followed the Big Ten Conference's announcement that it would launch a men's hockey league in the 2013–14 season.

Membership

There are 12 member schools in the ECAC. Since the 2006–07 season, all schools have participated with men's and women's teams, making ECAC Hockey the only Division I hockey conference with a full complement of teams for both sexes. [1]

Ivy League Teams

Six Ivy League universities with Division I ice hockey programs are members of ECAC Hockey. Those schools are: Harvard, Dartmouth, Cornell, Yale, Princeton, and Brown University. Columbia University does not currently have a varsity intercollegiate ice hockey program. Penn supported an intercollegiate varsity hockey program in the past and was an ECAC Hockey member from 1966 to 1978 before the team was disbanded. The Ivy school that has the best record against other Ivy opponents in regular season ECAC games is crowned the Ivy League ice hockey champion. The Ivy League schools require their teams to play seasons that are about three weeks shorter than those of the other schools in the league. [5] Thus, they enter the league schedule with fewer non-conference warm-up games. Harvard competes in the annual Beanpot Tournament.

Members

InstitutionLocationNickname (men's)Nickname (women's)FoundedHistorical AffiliationEnrollmentPrimary ConferenceColors
Brown University Providence, Rhode Island Bears Bears 1764 Nonsectarian, founded by Baptists [6] 9,380 [7] Ivy League      
Clarkson University Potsdam, New York Golden Knights Golden Knights 1896Private/Non-sectarian4,300 [8] Liberty League (D-III)   
Colgate University Hamilton, New York Raiders Raiders 1819Private/Baptists [9] 2,982 [10] Patriot League    
Cornell University Ithaca, New York Big Red Big Red 1865Private/Non-sectarian23,600 [11] Ivy League    
Dartmouth College Hanover, New Hampshire Big Green Big Green 1769Private/Congregationalist 5,753 [12] Ivy League    
Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts Crimson Crimson 1636Private/Unitarian 20,042 [13] Ivy League      
Princeton University Princeton, New Jersey Tigers Tigers 1746Nonsectarian, but founded by Presbyterians [14] 6,677 [15] Ivy League    
Quinnipiac University Hamden, Connecticut Bobcats Bobcats 1929Private/Non-sectarian10,290 [16] MAAC    
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Troy, New York Engineers Engineers 1824Private/Non-sectarian7,633 [17] Liberty League (D-III)   
St. Lawrence University Canton, New York Saints Saints 1856Non-denominational, founded by Universalist Church of America 2,487 [18] Liberty League (D-III)   
Union College Schenectady, New York Garnet Chargers Garnet Chargers 1795Private/Non-sectarian2,050 [19] Liberty League (D-III)   
Yale University New Haven, Connecticut Bulldogs Bulldogs 1701Private/Congregationalist 12,458 [20] Ivy League    
ECAC members
Union Dutchmen men's ice hockey players.jpg
Union Garnet Chargers
Brown Bears ice hockey players Jan 2023.jpg
Brown Bears
Yale University Bulldogs vs. Union College Dutchmen - February 8, 2014 (12399315653) (cropped).jpg
Yale Bulldogs
RPI Engineer Altti Nykanen with the puck.jpg
RPI Engineers
Quinnipiac Bobcats 2023-2024 team members.jpg
Quinnipiac Bobcats
Harvard Crimson players after game.jpg
Harvard Crimson
Cornell ice hockey players March 2019 (cropped).jpg
Cornell Big Red
Clarkson Golden Knights ice hockey players Feb 2023.jpg
Clarkson Golden Knights
St. Lawrence Saints players 2023.jpg
St. Lawrence Saints
Colgate Mens Hockey 13.jpg
Colgate Raiders

Membership timeline

Quinnipiac UniversityNiagara UniversityRochester Institute of TechnologyUnion CollegeUniversity of MaineUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of VermontYale UniversitySt. Lawrence UniversityRensselaer Polytechnic InstitutePrinceton UniversityHarvard UniversityDartmouth CollegeCornell UniversityColgate UniversityClarkson UniversityBrown UniversityProvidence CollegeNortheastern UniversityUniversity of New HampshireBoston UniversityBoston CollegeUnited States Military AcademyWilliams CollegeNorwich UniversityMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyMiddlebury CollegeMerrimack CollegeUniversity of Massachusetts AmherstHamilton CollegeUniversity of ConnecticutColby CollegeBowdoin CollegeAmherst CollegeAmerican International CollegeECAC Hockey

  Men    Women    Both  

Men's tournament sites

[21] [22]

A men's game between Dartmouth and Princeton at Thompson Arena in Hanover Dartmouth vs Princeton ice hockey 1, 2007.jpg
A men's game between Dartmouth and Princeton at Thompson Arena in Hanover

The ECAC Championship Game has been held at the following sites:

The winner of the game is awarded the Whitelaw Cup and receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Men's Division I Hockey Tournament.

Men's tournament champions

Men's regular season champion

The Cleary Cup, named for former Harvard player and coach Bill Cleary since 2001, is awarded to the team with the best record in league games at the end of the regular–season. There is no tie–breaking procedure should two or more teams end the season with the same record and the trophy is shared. A tie breaking procedure is applied to determine the top seed in the ECAC conference tournament. The Cleary Cup winner is not given any special consideration in the NCAA tournament as the ECAC awards its automatic bid to the winner of the ECAC tournament.

Women's ECAC championship games

[23]

Men's conference records

Team's records against current conference opponents. (As of the end of the 2018-19 season.)

School Brown Clarkson Colgate Cornell Dartmouth Harvard Princeton Quinnipiac Rensselaer St. Lawrence Union Yale Total
WLTWLTWLTWLTWLTWLTWLTWLTWLTWLTWLTWLTWLTWin%
Brown 1968925588438076983847116139072121024630639304813252314771028452727103.396
Clarkson 6819988531856671773317575812843471216399511112772113327576408771468109.612
Colgate 58258538818588415515172556859488162326365572805442945151655060086.480
Cornell 80438675618845815834967866119153822174633811644584322985618760508106.592
Dartmouth 836983173751517498366613913104891610212424664261426317981121560377591.441
Harvard 11647135857125625866781113967131575912151455837862447341761449122905536117.618
Princeton 72901134847485985391889104165815812121713668112570112536710914111562919103.387
Quinnipiac 2410616123231621722421102141551712117791515418175227520414346.578
Rensselaer 633095197116563538631146426375886937117179608375340115752654658294.485
St. Lawrence 483013721271180725456417614244462770251115154836073829364411162056793.521
Union 23251427335294442243931267173463625717185405311293832727529836676.454
Yale 102778407685151661858112981591144221411091172255257641641127275725810105.474

Conference arenas

Meehan Auditorium Brown University.jpg
Meehan Auditorium, February 22, 2020.
SchoolHockey arena (built)Capacity
Brown Meehan Auditorium (1962)3,100
Clarkson Cheel Arena (1991)3,000
Colgate Class of 1965 Arena (2016)2,222
Cornell Lynah Rink (1957)4,267
Dartmouth Thompson Arena (1975)4,500
Harvard Bright-Landry Hockey Center (1956/1979)3,095
Princeton Hobey Baker Memorial Rink (1923)2,092
Quinnipiac M&T Bank Arena (2007)3,386
Rensselaer Houston Field House (1949)4,780
St. Lawrence Appleton Arena (1951)2,300
Union Frank L. Messa Rink at Achilles Center (1975)2,225
Yale Ingalls Rink (1958)3,500

Awards

Men's

At the conclusion of each regular season schedule the coaches of each ECAC team vote which players they choose to be on the two to four All-Conference teams: [26] first team and second team (rookie team starting in 1987–88 and third team beginning in 2005–06). Additionally they vote to award up to 7 individual trophies to an eligible player at the same time. ECAC Hockey also awards a Conference Tournament Most Outstanding Player as well as an All-Tournament Team, which are voted on at the conclusion of the conference tournament. Three awards have been bestowed every year that ECAC has been in operation while the 'Best Defensive Defenseman' was retired from 1967–68 thru 1991–92 [27] and the All-Tournament team was discontinued from 1973 thru 1988. [28]

NCAA Records

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 ECAC Hockey men's ice hockey tournament</span>

The 2009 ECAC Hockey Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 48th tournament in league history. It was played between March 6 and March 21, 2009. First Round and Quarterfinal games were played at home team campus sites, while the final four games were played at the Times Union Center in Albany, New York. By winning the tournament, Yale received the ECAC Hockey automatic bid to the 2009 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.

The 2009–10 NCAA Division I women's ice hockey season began on October 2, 2009, ending with the 2010 NCAA Division I Women's Ice Hockey Tournament's championship game on March 21, 2010 at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis. It marked the third time that Minneapolis had hosted the Frozen Four. The tournament's opening round was scheduled for Friday, February 26, 2010, followed by the Final Faceoff on Saturday through Sunday, March 6–7, 2010. The quarterfinals were played on Friday through Saturday, March 12–13, 2010, with the Frozen Four played on Friday and Saturday, March 19 and 20, 2010.

The 2009–10 ECAC Hockey women's ice hockey season marked the continuation of the annual tradition of competitive ice hockey among ECAC Hockey members.

The Clarkson Golden Knights women's hockey team is an NCAA Division I ice hockey team that represents Clarkson University in rural Potsdam, New York. The Golden Knights have been a member of ECAC Hockey since 2004, and play home games in Cheel Arena on the Clarkson University campus.

The 2010–11 NCAA Division I women's ice hockey season began in October, ending with the 2011 NCAA Division I Women's Ice Hockey Tournament's championship game in March, 2011. The Frozen Four was hosted by Mercyhurst College at Louis J. Tullio Arena in Erie, Pennsylvania.

The 2010–11 ECAC Hockey women's ice hockey season marked the continuation of the annual tradition of competitive ice hockey among ECAC members.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2010 ECAC Hockey men's ice hockey tournament</span>

The 2010 ECAC Hockey Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 49th tournament in league history. It was played between March 5 and March 20, 2010. First Round and Quarterfinal games were played at home team campus sites, while the final four games were played at the Times Union Center in Albany, New York. By winning the tournament, Cornell received the ECAC Hockey automatic bid to the 2010 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.

The 2006 ECAC Hockey Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 45th tournament in conference history. It was played between March 3 and March 18, 2006. Opening round and quarterfinal games were played at home team campus sites, while the final four games were played at the Pepsi Arena in Albany, New York. By winning the tournament, Harvard received the ECAC's automatic bid to the 2006 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.

The 2005 ECAC Hockey Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 44th tournament in league history. It was played between March 4 and March 19, 2005. Opening round and quarterfinal games were played at home team campus sites, while the final four games were played at the Pepsi Arena in Albany, New York. By winning the tournament, Cornell received the ECAC's automatic bid to the 2005 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.

The 1999 ECAC Hockey Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 38th tournament in league history. It was played between March 12 and March 20, 1999. Quarterfinal games were played at home team campus sites, while the final five games were played at the Olympic Arena in Lake Placid, New York. By winning the tournament, Clarkson received the ECAC's automatic bid to the 1999 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.

The 2000 ECAC Hockey Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 39th tournament in league history. It was played between March 10 and March 18, 2000. Quarterfinal games were played at home team campus sites, while the final five games were played at the Olympic Arena in Lake Placid, New York. By winning the tournament, St. Lawrence received the ECAC's automatic bid to the 2000 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.

The 2001 ECAC Hockey Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 40th tournament in league history. It was played between March 9 and March 17, 2001. Quarterfinal games were played at home team campus sites, while the final five games were played at the Olympic Arena in Lake Placid, New York. By winning the tournament, St. Lawrence received the ECAC's automatic bid to the 2001 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.

The 2002 ECAC Hockey Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 41st tournament in league history. It was played between March 8 and March 16, 2002. Quarterfinal games were played at home team campus sites, while the final five games were played at the Olympic Arena in Lake Placid, New York. By winning the tournament, Harvard received the ECAC's automatic bid to the 2002 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.

The ECAC Hockey Tournament is the conference tournament for ECAC Hockey. The winner of the tournament received an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament which has occurred every year the NCAA has allowed automatic berths into the tournament. The ECAC tournament champion has only once not received an invitation to the NCAA tournament, that coming in 1963 when Harvard won its first conference championship.

The 2003 ECAC Hockey Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 42nd tournament in league history. It was played between March 7 and March 22, 2003. First Round and Quarterfinal games were played at home team campus sites, while the final four games were played at the Pepsi Arena in Albany, New York. By winning the tournament, Cornell received the ECAC's automatic bid to the 2003 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.

The 2004 ECAC Hockey Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 43rd tournament in league history. It was played between March 5 and March 20, 2004. First Round and Quarterfinal games were played at home team campus sites, while the final four games were played at the Pepsi Arena in Albany, New York. By winning the tournament, Harvard received the ECAC's automatic bid to the 2004 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.

The 2007 ECAC Hockey Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 46th tournament in league history. It was played between March 2 and March 17, 2007. First Round and Quarterfinal games were played at home team campus sites, while the final four games were played at the Times Union Center in Albany, New York. By winning the tournament, Clarkson received the ECAC Hockey automatic bid to the 2007 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.

The 2008 ECAC Hockey Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 47th tournament in league history. It was played between March 7 and March 22, 2008. First Round and Quarterfinal games were played at home team campus sites, while the final four games were played at the Times Union Center in Albany, New York. By winning the tournament, Princeton received the ECAC Hockey automatic bid to the 2008 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 ECAC Hockey men's ice hockey tournament</span>

The 2014 ECAC Hockey Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 53rd tournament in league history. It was played between March 7 and March 22, 2014. First Round and Quarterfinal games were played at home team campus sites, while the final four games were played at the Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid, New York. By winning the tournament, Union received the ECAC's automatic bid to the 2014 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015 ECAC Hockey men's ice hockey tournament</span>

The 2015 ECAC Hockey Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 54th tournament in league history. It was played between March 6 and March 21, 2015. First Round and Quarterfinal games were played at home team campus sites, while the final four games were played at the Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid, New York. By winning the tournament, the Harvard Crimson received the ECAC's automatic bid to the 2015 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.

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