Tri-State League (ice hockey)

Last updated
Tri-State League
Association NCAA
Founded1950
Sports fielded
Division Division I
No. of teams6 (1950–51), 5 (1951–52),
4 (1952–53 through 1958–59),
3 (1959–60 through 1971–72)
Region Northeastern United States

The Tri-State League is a defunct NCAA Division I ice hockey-only conference. The league was the first attempt at creating a conference for hockey programs and, while it did not succeed in its goals, succeeding conferences were able to learn from the mistakes made and flaws in its design to form effective and long-lasting divisions.

Contents

History

Formed in 1950 by the six colleges, all located in the Northeast, the Tri-State League was named for the three states represented by the schools: Massachusetts with Williams, New York with Clarkson, Colgate, Rensselaer and St. Lawrence and Vermont with Middlebury. [1] In the first season each school played one another once, resulting in five conference games for every team. After the 1950–51 season, however, Colgate left the conference, leaving the league with only five member teams. The following year seven western teams formed the MCHL [2] and while it wasn't a direct rival to the Tri-State League it had several advantages over its eastern counterpart. For one the MCHL contained the majority of the regional schools playing D-I ice hockey so its league champion would almost assuredly be invited to the NCAA tournament whereas the Eastern region had more than 30 schools playing at the top level, giving the Tri-State League a much smaller footprint. Its influence grew even smaller after the second season when Williams left the conference, not only reducing its numbers to four, but no longer making the conference's title geographically correct.

It wasn't all bad news for the Tri-State League, however, as St. Lawrence was invited to play in the 1952 tournament. In fact, the Tri-State League would send a representative to the tournament each year from 1952 through 1964. [3] With the success of the three remaining New York schools, Middlebury was left far behind in the standings, winning only two games over a seven-year stretch before leaving the conference after 1958–59. With only three teams as members the Tri-State League was a conference in name only and became completely superfluous in 1961 when the 28-team mega conference, ECAC Hockey, was formed including all three teams still in the Tri-State League. [4]

The Tri-State League continued to award a trophy at the conclusion of the regular season for several years, even after changing its name to the ICAC (Independent College Athletic Conference), but even that was abandoned after 1971–72. [5] Since joining ECAC Hockey in 1961, Clarkson, Rensselaer and St. Lawrence have remained in the conference and were reunited with Colgate the same year. While both Middlebury and Williams were inaugural members of the ECAC, both were dropped down to Division III after the conference split in 1964 and became founding members of the NESCAC in 1971 where they still reside (as of 2014).

Firsts

Aside from being the first official conference in the college hockey ranks, the Tri-State League also produced the first postseason conference game ever played when Clarkson and Middlebury tied at the end of the first season and were matched in a tie-breaker to determine the league champion. [1] There wouldn't be another conference playoff game until the 1960 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament. When Rensselaer won the national title in 1954 it became only the second eastern school to do so, and the first to win as part of a conference (Boston College had won in 1949 as an independent).

Members

[Interactive fullscreen map]
Locations of all Tri-State League members
InstitutionNicknameLocationFoundedTenureFateCurrent conference
Clarkson University Golden Knights Potsdam, New York 18961950–1972 ECAC Hockey
Colgate University Red Raiders Hamilton, New York 18191950–1951 Independent ECAC Hockey
Middlebury College Panthers Middlebury, Vermont 18001950–1959 Independent NESCAC
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Engineers Troy, New York 18241950–1972 ECAC Hockey
St. Lawrence University Saints Canton, New York 18561950–1972 ECAC Hockey
Williams College Ephs Williamstown, Massachusetts 17931950–1952 Independent NESCAC

Membership timeline

St. Lawrence Saints men's ice hockeyRPI Engineers men's ice hockeyClarkson Golden Knights men's ice hockeyMiddlebury PanthersWilliams EphsColgate Raiders men's ice hockeyTri-State League (ice hockey)

Related Research Articles

ECAC Hockey US collegiate ice hockey conference

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. 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 12, followed by Harvard at 11.

RPI Engineers mens ice hockey College ice hockey program

The RPI Engineers men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). The Engineers are a member of ECAC Hockey (ECACH). They play at the Houston Field House in Troy, New York.

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 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 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 following is a list of NCAA women's collegiate ice hockey teams, and conferences they compete in, that compete for berths in the annual NCAA Women's Ice Hockey Tournament. The championship has existed since the 2000–2001 season and conferences include the university teams of Divisions I and II of the NCAA.

2014 ECAC Hockey Mens Ice Hockey Tournament

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.

1991–92 NCAA Division I mens ice hockey season

The 1991–92 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season began in October 1991 and concluded with the 1992 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament's championship game on April 4, 1992, at the Knickerbocker Arena in Albany, New York. This was the 45th season in which an NCAA ice hockey championship was held and is the 98th year overall where an NCAA school fielded a team.

1984–85 NCAA Division I mens ice hockey season

The 1984–85 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season began in October 1984 and concluded with the 1985 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament's championship game on March 30, 1985 at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan. This was the 38th season in which an NCAA ice hockey championship was held and is the 91st year overall where an NCAA school fielded a team.

1971–72 NCAA University Division mens ice hockey season

The 1971–72 NCAA University Division men's ice hockey season began in November 1971 and concluded with the 1972 NCAA University Division Men's Ice Hockey Tournament's championship game on March 18, 1972 at the Boston Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. This was the 25th season in which an NCAA ice hockey championship was held and is the 78th year overall where an NCAA school fielded a team.

The 1969–70 NCAA University Division men's ice hockey season began in November 1969 and concluded with the 1970 NCAA University Division Men's Ice Hockey Tournament's championship game on March 21, 1970, at the Olympic Arena in Lake Placid, New York. This was the 23rd season in which an NCAA ice hockey championship was held and is the 76th year overall where an NCAA school fielded a team.

1964–65 NCAA University Division mens ice hockey season

The 1964–65 NCAA University Division men's ice hockey season began in November 1964 and concluded with the 1965 NCAA University Division Men's Ice Hockey Tournament's championship game on March 20, 1965 at the Meehan Auditorium in Providence, Rhode Island. This was the 18th season in which an NCAA ice hockey championship was held and is the 71st year overall where an NCAA school fielded a team.

1961–62 NCAA mens ice hockey season

The 1961–62 NCAA men's ice hockey season began in November 1961 and concluded with the 1962 NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament's championship game on March 17, 1962 at the Utica Memorial Auditorium in Utica, New York. This was the 15th season in which an NCAA ice hockey championship was held and is the 68th year overall where an NCAA school fielded a team.

The 1951–52 NCAA men's ice hockey season began in November 1951 and concluded with the 1952 NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament's championship game on March 15, 1952 at the Broadmoor Ice Palace in Colorado Springs, Colorado. This was the 5th season in which an NCAA ice hockey championship was held and is the 58th year overall where an NCAA school fielded a team.

The 1950–51 NCAA men's ice hockey season began in November 1950 and concluded with the 1951 NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament's championship game on March 17, 1951 at the Broadmoor Ice Palace in Colorado Springs, Colorado. This was the 4th season in which an NCAA ice hockey championship was held and is the 57th year overall where an NCAA school fielded a team.

The Middlebury Panthers men's ice hockey team represents Middlebury College in men’s hockey and has done so since 1922. The Panthers currently play at the Division III and have won the most championships (8) of any D-III program. For a time the team did play along with top-level programs but when men's ice hockey divided into separate tiers in the mid-1960s Middlebury left the upper echelon.

The 2020–21 ECAC Hockey men's ice hockey season was the 60th season of play for ECAC Hockey and took place during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season. The regular was delayed until on November 22, 2020 and conclude on March 6, 2021.

References

  1. 1 2 "Tri-State League Standings". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
  2. ↑ "History of the WCHA". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
  3. ↑ "NCAA Tournament". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
  4. ↑ "ECAC Standings". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
  5. ↑ "History of the Tri-State League/ICAC". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
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