The ECAC Hockey season came to a close in a relatively non-dramatic fashion, as there wasn’t much at stake on Saturday. Quinnipiac’s 4-1 win over Brown Friday secured the program’s third Cleary Cup in the last four seasons. Now the Bobcats will try to win the program’s first Whitelaw Cup. Yale, Harvard, St. Lawrence round out the top four in the standings. Here are the matchups for the best-of-three opening round next weekend.
No.12 Princeton at No. 5 Clarkson
No. 12 Princeton at No. 5 Clarkson
No. 11 Brown at No. 6 Rensselaer
No. 10 Colgate at No. 7 Dartmouth
No. 9 Union at No. 8 Cornell
Raiders close Starr Rink in style
It was a disappointing regular season for Colgate, as the Raiders finished in tenth place after earning a first-round bye last year. The 22 losses for the Raiders are the second-most in coach Don Vaughan’s 23-year tenure with the team. The only year Colgate lost more games under Vaughan was in the 2010-11 season, when the Raiders finished 11-28, but made the league semifinals as the No. 12 seed.
Colgate did that after playing better during the final month of the regular season. If the Raiders are going to make a run in the league tournament, they could point to last weekend as a starting point. Colgate played its final games at Starr Rink, allowing one goal in a sweep of Rensselaer and Union.
Junior Jake Kulevich’s second-period goal on Saturday was the game winner against the Dutchmen, and will go down as the final goal scored by the men’s team at Starr Rink. The Raiders will begin play next season at the new Class of 1965 arena.
Clarkson rallies
It was a tough road trip for the Golden Knights last weekend. Losses at Brown and Yale essentially knocked Clarkson out of consideration for a first-round bye. But give the Golden Knights credit, as they bounced back with home wins against Harvard and Dartmouth.
Those wins moved Clarkson up the No. 5 seed, meaning a series win over Princeton would send the Golden Knights to face St. Lawrence in the second round.
Last regular season home game for long-time St. Lawrence sports information director
Saturday not only marked the final game at Starr Rink for Colgate, but the last regular season home game for St. Lawrence sports information director Wally Johnson, who is retiring after 41 years at the school. The school honored Johnson during Saturday’s game against Harvard.
Photo Courtesy of Saints Athletics
