Cornell, Havard Vie for NCAA Postseason Berth at ECAC Women's Hockey Championship

ECAC Women's Hockey Championship Coverage

Portions courtesy of Cornell Athletic Communications and Harvard Athletic Communications

PRINCETON, N.J. -- All eyes turn to Ithaca, N.Y., this weekend as the four ECAC Women's Hockey squads descend on Lynah Rink to determe which one raises the trophy as the 2013 champion and earns an automatic bid to the National Collegiate Women's Ice Hockey Championship.

The host and top-seeded Big Red (25-5-1, 18-3-1 ECAC Hockey, 8-1-1 Ivy League) take on No. 5 seed St. Lawrence in the first semifinal at 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 9. The Crimson (23-5-3, 17-3-2 ECACH, 8-1-1 Ivy) follows at 4 p.m. against No. 3 Clarkson. Both semifinals and the championship game will be carried live on ESPN3.

In the most recent national polls released earlier this week, Cornell enters the weekend ranked second by USCHO.com third by USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine, while Harvard is sixth in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll and seventh in the USCHO.com Poll.

The Big Red swept St. Lawrence in three games this regular season. The Saints, the defending tournament champions, defeated Cornell 3-1 in the championship game last year. Harvard lost to the Golden Knights twice this year by idential 3-1 scores on Jan. 25 and Feb. 23.

The two semifinal winners hit the ice for the championship game on Sunday, March 10 at 1 p.m.

The eight-team bracket for the 2013 NCAA Tournament will be unveiled on NCAA.com on Sunday, March 10 at 6 p.m.

SEMIFINALS
Saturday, March 9
No. 5 St. Lawrence at No. 1 Cornell, 1 pm [ESPN3]
No. 3 Clarkson vs. No. 2 Harvard, 4 pm [ESPN3]

CHAMPIONSHIP
Sunday, March 10
Semifinal No. 1 Winner vs. Semifinal No. 2 Winner, 1 pm [ESPN3]