Five Men's Ice Hockey Teams Hit the Ice for ECAC Hockey Championship First Round

ECAC Men's Hockey Championship Coverage

PRINCETON, N.J. -- Ivy League men's hockey teams embark on another busy weekend on the ice with five squads competing March 8-10 in the first round of the 2013 ECAC Men's Hockey Championship.

Dartmouth, Brown, Princeton, Cornell and Harvard are all action in best-of-three series to see which one advances to the quarterfinal to face one of top four seeds, including third seed and 2013 Ivy League champion Yale (16-10-3, 12-9-1 ECAC Hockey, 8-2-0 Ivy League).

Two of the first-round pairings pit League foes against each other as the fifth-seeded Big Green (13-11-5, 9-9-4 ECACH, 4-3-3 Ivy) welcomes Harvard (9-17-3, 6-14-2 ECACH, 2-6-2 Ivy) to Thompson Arena. Dartmouth played two tough games against the Crimson during the regular season, edging out a 3-2 victory on Jan. 12 and settling for a 1-1 tie in Cambridge, Mass. on Feb. 10.

In the always competitive 8-9 matchup, the eighth-seeded Tigers (10-14-5, 8-10-4 ECACH, 5-4-1 Ivy) hope to replicate its regular-season success against the ninth-seeded Big Red (12-14-3, 8-11-3 ECACH, 2-6-2 Ivy). Princeton swept the series with Cornell this year as the first meeting was high scoring (5-3) and the second one was more of a defensive struggle (1-0), lead by 39 saves by Tiger junior Mike Conlon.

Seventh-seeded Brown (11-12-6, 7-9-6 ECACH, 5-5-0 Ivy) clawed its way back into hosting ECAC Tournament first-round games for the first time since 2005 when the team finished sixth. Picked  to finish last in the preseason poll, the Bears host No. 10 Clarkson with hopes of making back to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2010. Brown tied 3-3 with the Golden Knights back on Nov. 10 then got a 3-2 victory on Jan. 11.

The first-round winners advance to the best-of-three quarterfinal round to be played over March 15-17. The semifinals, third-place and championship games take place March 22-23 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J.

FIRST ROUND (Best-of-three series)
Friday-Sunday, March 8-10
No. 12 Harvard at No. 5 Dartmouth
Friday, March 8 - 7 pm
Saturday, March 9 - 7 pm
Sunday, March 10 (if necessary) - 5 pm

No. 10 Clarkson at No. 7 Brown
Friday, March 8 - 7 pm
Saturday, March 9 - 7 pm
Sunday, March 10 (if necessary) - 7 pm

No. 9 Cornell at No. 8 Princeton
Friday, March 8 - 7 pm
Saturday, March 9 - 7 pm
Sunday, March 10 (if necessary) - 7 pm

QUARTERFINALS (Best-of-three series)
Friday-Sunday, March 15-17
TBD at No. 1 Quinnipiac
TBD at No. 2 Rensselaer
TBD at No. 3 Yale
TBD at No. 4 Union

SEMIFINALS
Friday, March 22
Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, N.J.
  Game 1: Quarterfinal Winners, 4 pm
  Game 2: Quarterfinal Winners, 7:30 pm

CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, March 23
Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, N.J.
  Third-Place Game, 4 pm
  Championship, 7 pm