ECAC Hockey explained

ECAC Hockey should not be confused with Eastern College Athletic Conference.

ECAC Hockey
Color:color:white; background:#005189;
Font Color:
  1. FFFFFF
Association:NCAA
Division:Division I
Teams:12
Sports:Ice hockey
Mens:12 teams
Womens:12 teams
Region:Northeastern United States
Formerly:Eastern College Athletic Conference (1962–2004)
ECAC Hockey League (2004–2007)
Headquarters:Clifton Park, New York, U.S.
Commissioner:Doug Christiansen
Website:www.ecachockey.com
Map:Map - College Hockey - ECAC Hockey states.svg
Map Size:250

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 University has won the most ECAC men's hockey championships with 13, followed by Harvard at 11, and Quinnipiac, which joined the league in 2005, with seven. ECAC Hockey teams have won 10 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Championships, most recently in 2023.

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 University, Dartmouth, Cornell University, Yale University, Princeton University, 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

Brown UniversityProvidence, Rhode IslandBearsBears1764Nonsectarian, founded by Baptists[6] 9,380[7] Ivy League
Clarkson UniversityPotsdam, New YorkGolden KnightsGolden Knights1896Private/Non-sectarian4,300[8] Liberty League (D-III)
Colgate UniversityHamilton, New YorkRaidersRaiders1819Private/Baptists[9] 2,982[10] Patriot League
Cornell UniversityIthaca, New YorkBig RedBig Red1865Private/Non-sectarian23,600[11] Ivy League
Dartmouth CollegeHanover, New HampshireBig GreenBig Green1769Private/Congregationalist5,753[12] Ivy League
Harvard UniversityCambridge, MassachusettsCrimsonCrimson1636Private/Unitarian20,042[13] Ivy League
Princeton UniversityPrinceton, New JerseyTigersTigers1746Nonsectarian, but founded by Presbyterians[14] 6,677[15] Ivy League
Quinnipiac UniversityHamden, ConnecticutBobcatsBobcats1929Private/Non-sectarian10,290[16] MAAC
Rensselaer Polytechnic InstituteTroy, New YorkEngineersEngineers1824Private/Non-sectarian7,633[17] Liberty League (D-III)
St. Lawrence UniversityCanton, New YorkSaintsSaints1856Non-denominational, founded by Universalist Church of America2,487[18] Liberty League (D-III)
Union CollegeSchenectady, New YorkGarnet ChargersGarnet Chargers1795Private/Non-sectarian2,050[19] Liberty League (D-III)
Yale UniversityNew Haven, ConnecticutBulldogsBulldogs1701Private/Congregationalist12,458[20] Ivy League

Membership timeline

DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyyImageSize = width:1000 height:auto barincrement:20Period = from:1961 till:2025TimeAxis = orientation:horizontalPlotArea = right:30 left:0 bottom:50 top:5

Colors = id:men value:rgb(0.6,0.6,1) legend:men id:women value:rgb(0.5,0.8,0.5) legend:women id:both value:rgb(0.5,0.8,0.8) legend:both id:line value:black id:bg value:white

PlotData= width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s

bar:AIC color:men from:06/01/1961 till:06/01/1964 text:American International (1961-64) bar:Amh color:men from:06/01/1961 till:06/01/1964 text:Amherst (1961-64) bar:Bow color:men from:06/01/1961 till:06/01/1964 text:Bowdoin (men, 1961-64) bar:Bow color:women from:06/01/1994 till:06/01/1995 text:(women, 1994-95) bar:Col color:men from:06/01/1961 till:06/01/1964 text:Colby (men, 1961-64) bar:Col color:women from:06/01/1993 till:06/01/1999 text:(women, 1993-99) bar:UCt color:men from:06/01/1961 till:06/01/1964 text:Connecticut (men 1961-64) bar:UCt color:women from:06/01/2001 till:06/01/2002 text:(women, 2001-02) bar:Ham color:men from:06/01/1961 till:06/01/1964 text:Hamilton (1961-64) bar:Mas color:men from:06/01/1961 till:06/01/1964 text:Massachusetts (1961-64) bar:Mer color:men from:06/01/1961 till:06/01/1964 text:Merrimack (1961-64) bar:Mid color:men from:06/01/1961 till:06/01/1964 text:Middlebury (men, 1961-64) bar:Mid color:women from:06/01/1994 till:06/01/1995 text:(women, 1994-95) bar:MIT color:men from:06/01/1961 till:06/01/1964 text:MIT (1961-64) bar:Now color:men from:06/01/1961 till:06/01/1964 text:Norwich (1961-64) bar:Wil color:men from:06/01/1961 till:06/01/1964 text:Williams (1961-64) bar:Arm color:men from:06/01/1961 till:06/01/1973 text:Army (1961-73, 1984-91) bar:Arm color:men from:06/01/1984 till:06/01/1991 bar:BC color:men from:06/01/1961 till:06/01/1984 text:Boston College (men, 1961-84) bar:BC color:women from:06/01/1994 till:06/01/2001 text:(women, 1994-2001) bar:BU color:men from:06/01/1961 till:06/01/1984 text:Boston University (1961-84) bar:NH color:men from:06/01/1961 till:06/01/1964 text:New Hampshire (men, 1961-64, 1966-84) bar:NH color:men from:06/01/1966 till:06/01/1984 bar:NH color:women from:06/01/1993 till:06/01/2001 text:(women, 1993-2001) bar:Nes color:men from:06/01/1961 till:06/01/1984 text:Northeastern (men, 1961-84) bar:Nes color:women from:06/01/1993 till:06/01/2001 text:(women, 1993-2001) bar:Pro color:men from:06/01/1961 till:06/01/1984 text:Providence (men, 1961-84) bar:Pro color:women from:06/01/1993 till:06/01/2001 text:(women, 1993-2001) bar:Bro color:men from:06/01/1961 till:06/01/1993 text:Brown (men, 1961-present) bar:Bro color:both from:06/01/1993 till:end text:(women, 1993-present) bar:Cla color:men from:06/01/1961 till:06/01/2004 text:Clarkson (men, 1961-present) bar:Cla color:both from:06/01/2004 till:end till:end text:(women, 2004-present) bar:Clg color:men from:06/01/1961 till:06/01/2001 text:Colgate (men, 1961-present) bar:Clg color:both from:06/01/2001 till:end text:(women, 2001-present) bar:Cor color:men from:06/01/1961 till:06/01/1993 text:Cornell (men, 1961-present) bar:Cor color:both from:06/01/1993 till:end text:(women, 1993-present) bar:Dar color:men from:06/01/1961 till:06/01/1993 text:Dartmouth (men, 1961-present) bar:Dar color:both from:06/01/1993 till:end text:(women, 1993-present) bar:Har color:men from:06/01/1961 till:06/01/1993 text:Harvard (men, 1961-present) bar:Har color:both from:06/01/1993 till:end text:(women, 1993-present) bar:Pri color:men from:06/01/1961 till:06/01/1993 text:Princeton (men, 1961-present) bar:Pri color:both from:06/01/1993 till:end text:(women, 1993-present) bar:RPI color:men from:06/01/1961 till:06/01/2007 text:RPI (men, 1961-present) bar:RPI color:both from:06/01/2007 till:end text:(women, 2007-present) bar:StL color:men from:06/01/1961 till:06/01/1993 text:St. Lawrence (men, 1961-present) bar:StL color:both from:06/01/1993 till:end text:(women, 1993-present) bar:Yal color:men from:06/01/1961 till:06/01/1993 text:Yale (men, 1961-present) bar:Yal color:both from:06/01/1993 till:end text:(women, 1993-present) bar:Ver color:men from:06/01/1963 till:06/01/1964 text:Vermont (men, 1963-64, 1974-2005) bar:Ver color:men from:06/01/1974 till:06/01/2001 bar:Ver color:both from:06/01/2001 till:06/01/2005 text:(women, 2001-06) bar:Ver color:women from:06/01/2005 till:06/01/2006 bar:Pen color:men from:06/01/1967 till:06/01/1978 text:Penn (1967-78) bar:Mne color:men from:06/01/1979 till:06/01/1984 text:Maine (men, 1979-84) bar:Mne color:women from:06/01/1998 till:06/01/2001 text:(women, 1998-2001) bar:Uni color:men from:06/01/1991 till:06/01/2003 text:Union (men, 1991-present) bar:Uni color:both from:06/01/2003 till:end text:(women, 2003-present) bar:RIT color:women from:06/01/1993 till:06/01/1995 text:RIT (women, 1993-95) bar:Nia color:women from:06/01/1998 till:06/01/2001 text:Niagara (women, 1998-2001) bar:Qui color:men from:06/01/2005 till:06/01/2006 text:Quinnipiac (2005-present) bar:Qui color:both from:06/01/2006 till:end

ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:5 start:01/01/1965

Men's tournament sites

[21] [22] 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.)

SchoolTotal
WLTWLTWLTWLTWLTWLTWLTWLTWLTWLTWLTWLTWLTWin%
align=left style=";" 1968925588438076983847116139072121024630639304813252314771028452727103
align=left style=";" 6819988531856671773317575812843471216399511112772113327576408771468109
align=left style=";" 58258538818588415515172556859488162326365572805442945151655060086
align=left style=";" 80438675618845815834967866119153822174633811644584322985618760508106
align=left style=";" 836983173751517498366613913104891610212424664261426317981121560377591
align=left style=";" 11647135857125625866781113967131575912151455837862447341761449122905536117
align=left style=";" 72901134847485985391889104165815812121713668112570112536710914111562919103
align=left style=";" 2410616123231621722421102141551712117791515418175227520414346
align=left style=";" 633095197116563538631146426375886937117179608375340115752654658294
align=left style=";" 483013721271180725456417614244462770251115154836073829364411162056793
align=left style=";" 23251427335294442243931267173463625717185405311293832727529836676
align=left style=";" 102778407685151661858112981591144221411091172255257641641127275725810105

Conference arenas

BrownMeehan Auditorium (1962)3,100
ClarksonCheel Arena (1991)3,000
ColgateClass of 1965 Arena (2016)2,222
CornellLynah Rink (1957)4,267
DartmouthThompson Arena (1975)4,500
HarvardBright-Landry Hockey Center (1956/1979)3,095
PrincetonHobey Baker Memorial Rink (1923)2,092
QuinnipiacM&T Bank Arena (2007)3,386
RensselaerHouston Field House (1949)4,780
St. LawrenceAppleton Arena (1951)2,300
UnionFrank L. Messa Rink at Achilles Center (1975)2,225
YaleIngalls 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]

All-Conference teams

First Team1961–62
Second Team1961–62
Third Team2005–06
Rookie Team1987–88
All-Tournament Team1962

Individual awards

Player of the Year1961–62
Rookie of the Year1961–62
Tim Taylor Award1986–87
Best Defensive Defenseman1961–62
Best Defensive Forward1992–93
Ken Dryden Award1995–96
Student-Athlete of the Year2006–07
Wayne Dean Sportsmanship Award2022–23 †
Most Outstanding Player in Tournament1962
† Open to both men and women.

NCAA Records

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: timeline of ECACH history, ECACHockey.com. ecachockey.com.
  2. Web site: History of ECAC Hockey . College Hockey Historical Archives . January 29, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120415203828/http://www.augenblick.org/chha/ecac_his.html . April 15, 2012 . live .
  3. Web site: HockeyEastOnline.com - About Hockey East. www.hockeyeastonline.com. September 6, 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20110722130743/http://www.hockeyeastonline.com/men/hea/index.php. July 22, 2011. dead.
  4. Web site: Women's Season Summaries . ECAC Hockey . January 27, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220409031527/http://static.psbin.com/a/4/icu4mof139nz83/W_Season_Summaries.pdf . April 9, 2022 . live .
  5. Web site: Cornell Men's Hockey Downs Yale to Win 2012 Ivy League Title . September 17, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120908065114/http://ivyleaguesports.com/sports/mice/2011-12/releases/MIH_Cor_Champs . September 8, 2012 . dead .
  6. Brown's website characterizes it as "the Baptist answer to Congregationalist Yale and Harvard; Presbyterian Princeton; and Episcopalian Penn and Columbia", but adds that at the time it was "the only one that welcomed students of all religious persuasions."https://www.brown.edu/Administration/Admission/gettoknowus/ourhistory.html
  7. Web site: facts about Brown University. brown.edu. March 29, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20080724023259/http://www.brown.edu/web/facts.shtml. July 24, 2008. dead.
  8. Web site: History & Facts About Clarkson University. www.clarkson.edu. November 30, 2018. February 5, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180205205046/http://clarkson.edu/about-clarkson/history-facts. dead.
  9. Web site: Origins of Colgate University. www.colgate.edu.
  10. Web site: Key Facts and Figures About Colgate University. www.colgate.edu.
  11. Web site: University Facts - Cornell University. Office of Web Communications, Cornell. University. www.cornell.edu.
  12. Web site: This Page Has Moved. www.dartmouth.edu.
  13. http://www.news.harvard.edu/glance/ Harvard at a glance
  14. Web site: University Chapel: Orange Key Virtual Tour of Princeton University. www.princeton.edu. November 12, 2020. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20080223144933/http://www.princeton.edu/~oktour/virtualtour/Stop05.htm. February 23, 2008. – Princeton online campus tour
  15. Web site: Facts & Figures. Princeton University.
  16. Web site: About Us. Quinnipiac University.
  17. Web site: Quick Facts - RPI INFO. info.rpi.edu.
  18. Web site: SLU Quick Facts (2018). St. Lawrence University.
  19. Web site: Union at a Glance. Union College.
  20. Web site: Yale Facts. August 3, 2015. Yale University.
  21. Web site: ECAC Hockey – 1961-62 Season Summary. www.ecachockey.com. November 12, 2020.
  22. Web site: ECAC Hockey – 1982-83 Season Summary. www.ecachockey.com. November 12, 2020.
  23. Web site: ECAC Hockey – 1984-85 Season Summary. www.ecachockey.com. November 12, 2020.
  24. Web site: Harvard Men's Hockey Series Results. November 12, 2020.
  25. Web site: Men's Hockey Series History. Princeton University Athletics.
  26. News: Gostisbehere, Bodie, Carr earn spots on ECAC Hockey All-League Teams. Union Athletics. March 21, 2013. August 1, 2013.
  27. News: ECAC Hockey Awards. College hockey Historical Archive. August 1, 2013.
  28. News: All-Tournament Honors. ECAC Hockey. May 12, 2014.
  29. Web site: St. Lawrence University. www.stlawu.edu. August 15, 2007. May 25, 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20090525045727/http://www.stlawu.edu/sports/m_hockey/program.html. dead.
  30. Web site: Almanac ... Longest Games. College Hockey News.
  31. Web site: Quinnipiac makes history in 5 OT hockey game. March 13, 2010. ESPN.com.
  32. Web site: Statistics | College Hockey . USCHO.com . October 14, 2018.
  33. Web site: DI Men's Ice Hockey. NCAA.com.

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