2012 ECAC Men’s Hockey Championship

Within the collegiate hockey community, ECAC Hockey has a tradition and history unsurpassed by any other conference. On September 29, 2009, the league added another chapter to its illustrious tradition when it reached an agreement with Atlantic City Convention and Visitors Authority to conduct its men's championship at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. The 2012 championship will mark the second of the three-year agreement.   

Established in 1961-62, the ECAC Hockey comprises 12 of the most prestigious institutions in the nation. Member schools include Brown University, Clarkson University, Colgate University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Harvard University, Princeton University, Quinnipiac University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, St. Lawrence University, Union College and Yale University.

Boardwalk Hall is only the fifth site in the 51-year history of the event.  The championship has previously been conducted at the Boston Arena (1962-67), Boston Garden (1968-92), Olympic Arena in Lake Placid, NY (1993-02), and the Times Union Center, Albany, NY (2003-10).

The 2012 ECAC Men’s Hockey Championship marks the 10th year of the league's championship format featuring a 12-team championship held over three weekends.  From 1998-02, the league conducted a 10-team tournament with five teams advancing to the championship round.

ECAC Hockey tournament play will commence Friday, March 2 when the conference's Nos. 5-8 seeds, as determined by the final regular-season standings, host teams ranked Nos. 9-12 in first-round action. All series will be best-of-three games and will be played on the campuses of the higher-seeded teams.

The four first-round series winners will advance to quarterfinals action to face the conference's top four teams as determined by the final regular-season standings.  The best-of-three games series will be played on the campuses of the top four seeds March 9-11.

The conference's top four teams in 2011-12, as determined by the outcome of quarterfinals action, will gather at Boardwalk Hall to determine the conference tournament's 51st champion. The highest remaining seed from the quarterfinals shall host the lowest remaining seed; the second highest remaining seed shall host the third highest remaining seed.

As part of the championship, ECAC Hockey will conduct its annual awards banquet.

Listed below is a summary of the upcoming tournament schedule:
(Game times to be determined)

FIRST-ROUND (Friday, March 2 - Sunday, March 4 - Best-of-three)
No. 12 Brown at No. 5 Quinnipiac (Quinnipiac wins series 2-1)
No. 11 Princeton at No. 6 Yale (Yale wins series 2-1)
No. 10 Rensselaer at No. 7 Clarkson (Rensselaer wins series 2-1)
No. 9 Dartmouth at No. 8 St. Lawrence (Dartmouth wins series 2-0)

QUARTERFINALS (Friday, March 9 - Sunday, March 11 - Best-of-three)
No. 10 Rensselaer at No. 1 Union (Union wins series 2-0)
No. 9 Dartmouth at No. 2 Cornell (Cornell wins series 2-0)
No. 6 Yale at No. 3 Harvard (Harvard wins series 2-1)
No. 5 Quinnipiac at No. 4 Colgate (Colgate wins series 2-1)

FRIDAY, MARCH 16 (SEMIFINALS)

No. 1 Union 6, No. 4 Colgate 2
No. 3 Harvard 6, No. 2 Cornell 1

SATURDAY, MARCH 17 (THIRD-PLACE & CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES)
Third-Place Game: No. 2 Cornell 3 vs. No. 4 Colgate 0
Championship Game: No 1 Union 3 vs. No. 3 Harvard 1

2012 All-Tournament Team

F - Jeremy Welsh, Union
F - Daniel Carr, Union
F - Alex Killorn, Union
D - Shaye Gostisbehere, Union
D - Danny Biega, Harvard
G - Troy Grosenick

Most Outstanding Player - Jermey Welsh, Union