# ECAC Hockey men's tournament

The ECAC Hockey Tournament is the conference tournament for ECAC Hockey. The winner of the tournament received an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament which has occurred every year the NCAA has allowed automatic berths into the tournament. The ECAC tournament champion has only once not received an invitation to the NCAA tournament, that coming in 1963 when Harvard won its first conference championship (the second year in existence for the ECAC).
The tournament was first held in 1962, the first year of conference play. It was held at Boston Arena in Boston from 1962–66. It then moved to the much larger Boston Garden From 1967–92 (capacity for ice hockey games was 14,000+ in the Garden as opposed to the ~4,000 at the Arena). Because of a schism that occurred in the ECAC that saw most Boston-area schools break away and form the Hockey East conference in 1984, the championship rounds moved to the Olympic Arena in Lake Placid, New York, for the next decade (1993–2002). From 2003–2010, along with a change to the tournament format, the semifinal and championship games were moved to the Pepsi Arena in Albany, New York, which changed its name to the 'Times Union Center' in 2007. From 2011 thru 2013 the final four games were held at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and afterwards it was announced that the 2014 championship would return to Lake Placid and play at the since renamed Herb Brooks Arena.

## History

In 1960, two play-in games were held for the top four eastern teams that were up for two spots in the NCAA tournament. About a year and a half later, ECAC Hockey was founded and included nearly 30 programs. Despite the cumbersome arrangement, the league held its first conference tournament in 1962 and has crowned a champion every year since with the exception of 2020 (as of 2023).
In response to a threat from the Ivy League schools to split from the conference over scheduling disagreements, the six teams that comprised the East Division left the conference to form Hockey East in 1984. ECAC Hockey still contained eleven teams after the break and was able to retain its automatic bid to the tournament, a necessity for the stability of a conference.
The tournament was first hosted at the Boston Arena and was moved to the Boston Garden in 1967. The tournament remained there from 1967 through 1992 and was succeeded by the Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid, New York, from 1993 to 2002 and again from 2014 to the present. The Times Union Center and the Boardwalk Hall have also hosted ECAC tournament championships.
Cornell has won the most ECAC Hockey championships with 13 and also has the most championship game appearances with 24. Current Cornell coach Mike Schafer has won the most championships with six and also has coached in the most championship games with 12 appearances.
In 1989 the championship trophy was renamed in honor of retiring commissioner Robert Whitelaw.

## Formats
### 1962

The ECAC Hockey Tournament format begins as a single-game elimination three-round format featuring the top eight teams in the standings.

### 1983

The quarterfinal round is changed to a two-game format where if the two teams are tied afterwards a 'mini-game' is held to determine who advances. Overtime is not played in the quarterfinals outside the 'mini-games'

### 1990

Two preliminary games are added to determine the final two qualifiers in the tournament played between the teams that finished seventh thru tenth in the standings.

### 1992

The quarterfinal round was changed to a single-elimination format.

### 1993

The quarterfinal round was converted into a modified best-of-three series where the first team to receive three points would advance (2 points for a win 1 point for a tie) with only the third game permitted to continue past a 5-minute overtime if the score was still tied.

### 1998

The preliminary round was scrapped and the quarterfinal round expanded into 5 modified best-of-three series. The two lowest-seeded teams to advance out of the quarterfinals would then play in a single 'Four vs. Five' game to determine the final semifinalist.

### 2000

The quarterfinal round was altered to include standard best-of-three series with no ties allowed.

### 2003

ECAC Hockey adds a fourth round to the tournament (called the 'First Round') and includes all 12 conference teams in the tournament. The First round pits the fifth thru twelfth teams in the standings in four best-of-three series with the winners advancing to the quarterfinals. The top four teams in the standings automatically advance to the quarterfinal round and play the remaining four teams in reverse order of their finish in the standings in a second best-of-three round. The semifinal, third-place and championship games are all single-elimination.

### 2014

The third place game is eliminated.

### 2021

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, only four competing institutions will compete in a single-elimination championship over the course of one championship weekend.
2023
After 20 years, the opening round of the tournament gets changed to single-elimination, replacing the best-of-three format prior; the quarterfinals remain best-of-three, however, along with the semifinals and final both being single games.

## Champions

| Year | Winning team | Coach | Losing team | Coach | Score | Location | Venue |
| 1962 | St. Lawrence | George Menard | Clarkson | Len Ceglarski | 5–2 | Boston | Boston Arena |
| 1963 | Harvard | Cooney Weiland | Boston College | John Kelley | 4–3 (OT) | Boston | Boston Arena |
| 1964 | Providence | Tom Eccleston | St. Lawrence | George Menard | 3–1 | Boston | Boston Arena |
| 1965 | Boston College | John Kelley | Brown | James Fullerton | 6–2 | Boston | Boston Arena |
| 1966 | Clarkson | Len Ceglarski | Cornell | Ned Harkness | 6–2 | Boston | Boston Arena |
| 1967 | Cornell | Ned Harkness | Boston University | Jack Kelley | 4–3 | Boston | Boston Garden |
| 1968 | Cornell | Ned Harkness | Boston College | John Kelley | 6–3 | Boston | Boston Garden |
| 1969 | Cornell | Ned Harkness | Harvard | Cooney Weiland | 4–2 | Boston | Boston Garden |
| 1970 | Cornell | Ned Harkness | Clarkson | Len Ceglarski | 3–2 | Boston | Boston Garden |
| 1971 | Harvard | Cooney Weiland | Clarkson | Len Ceglarski | 7–4 | Boston | Boston Garden |
| 1972 | Boston University | Jack Kelley | Cornell | Dick Bertrand | 4–1 | Boston | Boston Garden |
| 1973 | Cornell | Dick Bertrand | Boston College | Len Ceglarski | 3–2 | Boston | Boston Garden |
| 1974 | Boston University | Jack Parker | Harvard | Bill Cleary | 4–2 | Boston | Boston Garden |
| 1975 | Boston University | Jack Parker | Harvard | Bill Cleary | 7–3 | Boston | Boston Garden |
| 1976 | Boston University | Jack Parker | Brown | Richard Toomey | 9–2 | Boston | Boston Garden |
| 1977 | Boston University | Jack Parker | New Hampshire | Charlie Holt | 8–6 | Boston | Boston Garden |
| 1978 | Boston College | Len Ceglarski | Providence | Lou Lamoriello | 4–2 | Boston | Boston Garden |
| 1979 | New Hampshire | Charlie Holt | Dartmouth | George Crowe | 3–2 | Boston | Boston Garden |
| 1980 | Cornell | Dick Bertrand | Dartmouth | George Crowe | 5–1 | Boston | Boston Garden |
| 1981 | Providence | Lou Lamoriello | Cornell | Dick Bertrand | 8–4 | Boston | Boston Garden |
| 1982 | Northeastern | Fern Flaman | Harvard | Bill Cleary | 5–2 | Boston | Boston Garden |
| 1983 | Harvard | Bill Cleary | Providence | Lou Lamoriello | 4–1 (OT) | Boston | Boston Garden |
| 1984 | Rensselaer | Mike Addesa | Boston University | Jack Parker | 5–2 | Boston | Boston Garden |
| 1985 | Rensselaer | Mike Addesa | Harvard | Bill Cleary | 5–1 | Boston | Boston Garden |
| 1986 | Cornell | Lou Reycroft | Clarkson | Cap Raeder | 3–2 (OT) | Boston | Boston Garden |
| 1987 | Harvard | Bill Cleary | St. Lawrence | Joe Marsh | 6–3 | Boston | Boston Garden |
| 1988 | St. Lawrence | Joe Marsh | Clarkson | Cap Raeder | 3–0 | Boston | Boston Garden |
| 1989 | St. Lawrence | Joe Marsh | Vermont | Mike Gilligan | 4–1 | Boston | Boston Garden |
| 1990 | Colgate | Terry Slater | Rensselaer | Buddy Powers | 5–4 | Boston | Boston Garden |
| 1991 | Clarkson | Mark Morris | St. Lawrence | Joe Marsh | 5–4 | Boston | Boston Garden |
| 1992 | St. Lawrence | Joe Marsh | Cornell | Brian McCutcheon | 4–2 | Boston | Boston Garden |
| 1993 | Clarkson | Mark Morris | Brown | Bob Gaudet | 3–1 | Lake Placid, New York | Olympic Arena |
| 1994 | Harvard | Ronn Tomassoni | Rensselaer | Buddy Powers | 3–0 | Lake Placid, New York | Olympic Arena |
| 1995 | Rensselaer | Dan Fridgen | Princeton | Don Cahoon | 5–1 | Lake Placid, New York | Olympic Arena |
| 1996 | Cornell | Mike Schafer | Harvard | Ronn Tomassoni | 2–1 | Lake Placid, New York | Olympic Arena |
| 1997 | Cornell | Mike Schafer | Clarkson | Mark Morris | 2–1 | Lake Placid, New York | Olympic Arena |
| 1998 | Princeton | Don Cahoon | Clarkson | Mark Morris | 5–4 (OT) | Lake Placid, New York | Olympic Arena |
| 1999 | Clarkson | Mark Morris | St. Lawrence | Joe Marsh | 3–2 | Lake Placid, New York | Olympic Arena |
| 2000 | St. Lawrence | Joe Marsh | Rensselaer | Dan Fridgen | 2–0 | Lake Placid, New York | Olympic Arena |
| 2001 | St. Lawrence | Joe Marsh | Cornell | Mike Schafer | 3–1 | Lake Placid, New York | Olympic Arena |
| 2002 | Harvard | Mark Mazzoleni | Cornell | Mike Schafer | 4–3 (2OT) | Lake Placid, New York | Olympic Arena |
| 2003 | Cornell | Mike Schafer | Harvard | Mark Mazzoleni | 3–2 (OT) | Albany, New York | Pepsi Arena |
| 2004 | Harvard | Mark Mazzoleni | Clarkson | George Roll | 4–2 | Albany, New York | Pepsi Arena |
| 2005 | Cornell | Mike Schafer | Harvard | Ted Donato | 3–1 | Albany, New York | Pepsi Arena |
| 2006 | Harvard | Ted Donato | Cornell | Mike Schafer | 6–2 | Albany, New York | Pepsi Arena |
| 2007 | Clarkson | George Roll | Quinnipiac | Rand Pecknold | 4–2 | Albany, New York | Times Union Center |
| 2008 | Princeton | Guy Gadowsky | Harvard | Ted Donato | 4–1 | Albany, New York | Times Union Center |
| 2009 | Yale | Keith Allain | Cornell | Mike Schafer | 5–0 | Albany, New York | Times Union Center |
| 2010 | Cornell | Mike Schafer | Union | Nate Leaman | 3–0 | Albany, New York | Times Union Center |
| 2011 | Yale | Keith Allain | Cornell | Mike Schafer | 6–0 | Atlantic City, New Jersey | Boardwalk Hall |
| 2012 | Union | Rick Bennett | Harvard | Ted Donato | 3–2 | Atlantic City, New Jersey | Boardwalk Hall |
| 2013 | Union | Rick Bennett | Brown | Brendan Whittet | 3–1 | Atlantic City, New Jersey | Boardwalk Hall |
| 2014 | Union | Rick Bennett | Colgate | Don Vaughan | 5–2 | Lake Placid, New York | Herb Brooks Arena |
| 2015 | Harvard | Ted Donato | Colgate | Don Vaughan | 4–2 | Lake Placid, New York | Herb Brooks Arena |
| 2016 | Quinnipiac | Rand Pecknold | Harvard | Ted Donato | 4–1 | Lake Placid, New York | Herb Brooks Arena |
| 2017 | Harvard | Ted Donato | Cornell | Mike Schafer | 4–1 | Lake Placid, New York | Herb Brooks Arena |
| 2018 | Princeton | Ron Fogarty | Clarkson | Casey Jones | 2–1 (OT) | Lake Placid, New York | Herb Brooks Arena |
| 2019 | Clarkson | Casey Jones | Cornell | Mike Schafer | 3–2 (OT) | Lake Placid, New York | Herb Brooks Arena |
| 2020 | Cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic | Cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic | Cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic | Cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic | Cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic | Cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic | Cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic |
| 2021 | St. Lawrence | Brent Brekke | Quinnipiac | Rand Pecknold | 3–2 (OT) | Hamden, Connecticut | People's United Center |
| 2022 | Harvard | Ted Donato | Quinnipiac | Rand Pecknold | 3–2 (OT) | Lake Placid, New York | Herb Brooks Arena |
| 2023 | Colgate | Don Vaughan | Harvard | Ted Donato | 3–2 | Lake Placid, New York | Herb Brooks Arena |
| 2024 | Cornell | Mike Schafer | St. Lawrence | Brent Brekke | 3–1 | Lake Placid, New York | Herb Brooks Arena |

## Performance by team

The code in each cell represents the furthest the team made it in the respective tournament:
* – Team not in ECAC Hockey
* FR Preliminary / First round (4 teams from 1990 to 1997, 10 teams from 1998 to 2002, 8 teams afterwards)
* QF Quarterfinals (2 teams from 1998 to 2002, no quarterfinals in 2021)
* SF Semifinals (2 teams 2021)
* F Finals
* CH Champion
Note: the remainder of the 2020 tournament was cancelled prior to the start of the quarterfinal round.
| School | # | QF | SF | F | CH | 62 | 63 | 64 | 65 | 66 | 67 | 68 | 69 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 75 | 76 | 77 | 78 | 79 | 80 | 81 | 82 | 83 | 84 | 85 | 86 | 87 | 88 | 89 | 90 | 91 | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 |
| Cornell | 53 | 49 | 39 | 23 | 12 | | | | QF | F | CH | CH | CH | CH | SF | F | CH | SF | SF | SF | SF | QF | SF | CH | F | | | | SF | CH | | QF | SF | SF | SF | F | | QF | QF | CH | CH | QF | FR | SF | F | F | CH | QF | CH | F | QF | SF | F | CH | F | SF | QF | SF | FR | QF | F | SF | F | QF | – | QF | SF |
| Harvard | 53 | 45 | 35 | 23 | 11 | SF | CH | QF | | | QF | QF | F | SF | CH | SF | QF | F | F | SF | | | | | | F | CH | QF | F | SF | CH | SF | SF | QF | SF | QF | SF | CH | QF | F | QF | SF | FR | FR | SF | CH | F | CH | F | CH | QF | F | FR | QF | QF | F | FR | FR | CH | F | CH | SF | SF | QF | – | CH | F |
| St. Lawrence | 50 | 35 | 19 | 11 | 7 | CH | SF | F | | QF | SF | QF | QF | QF | | | | QF | | | | | | | | QF | SF | | QF | QF | F | CH | CH | QF | F | CH | QF | FR | FR | QF | FR | FR | F | CH | CH | FR | FR | QF | QF | QF | SF | FR | SF | SF | QF | FR | QF | QF | SF | SF | QF | FR | FR | FR | CH | QF | QF |
| Clarkson | 60 | 49 | 34 | 15 | 6 | F | SF | SF | SF | CH | QF | SF | SF | F | F | QF | SF | | QF | QF | SF | QF | QF | SF | SF | SF | QF | SF | SF | F | QF | F | QF | SF | CH | SF | CH | SF | SF | SF | F | F | CH | QF | FR | SF | FR | F | QF | QF | CH | QF | FR | FR | FR | FR | FR | QF | FR | QF | QF | F | CH | QF | | SF | QF |
| Boston University | 17 | 17 | 15 | 7 | 5 | | | | SF | SF | F | SF | SF | SF | SF | CH | QF | CH | CH | CH | CH | SF | SF | | | | QF | F | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Rensselaer | 50 | 34 | 14 | 6 | 3 | QF | | SF | | | | | QF | | QF | QF | QF | SF | | | QF | QF | | QF | | | QF | CH | CH | QF | SF | QF | QF | F | QF | SF | SF | F | CH | QF | SF | FR | SF | F | FR | SF | QF | QF | FR | FR | FR | FR | QF | FR | FR | QF | FR | FR | QF | QF | FR | FR | FR | QF | – | QF | FR |
| Princeton | 36 | 16 | 7 | 4 | 3 | | | | | | | QF | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | QF | | | QF | | FR | FR | QF | QF | FR | F | FR | SF | CH | SF | FR | FR | FR | FR | FR | FR | FR | QF | CH | SF | FR | FR | FR | FR | FR | FR | FR | QF | CH | FR | QF | – | FR | QF |
| Union | 25 | 14 | 5 | 4 | 3 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | | | QF | FR | | QF | | | FR | FR | | FR | FR | FR | FR | FR | QF | QF | F | QF | CH | CH | CH | QF | FR | SF | QF | QF | FR | – | QF | FR |
| Boston College | 17 | 17 | 7 | 5 | 2 | QF | F | QF | CH | QF | SF | F | QF | QF | | | F | | | QF | QF | CH | | QF | QF | QF | | SF | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Colgate | 46 | 35 | 15 | 4 | 2 | | QF | QF | | QF | | QF | | | | | | | | | | | | QF | SF | QF | | QF | QF | QF | QF | QF | QF | CH | QF | FR | QF | QF | SF | QF | FR | FR | QF | SF | | FR | QF | SF | SF | SF | QF | SF | FR | QF | SF | SF | FR | F | F | FR | FR | QF | FR | QF | SF | SF | CH |
| Providence | 16 | 16 | 5 | 4 | 2 | QF | QF | CH | QF | | | | | | QF | QF | | QF | QF | | QF | F | QF | SF | CH | QF | F | QF | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Yale | 37 | 27 | 6 | 2 | 2 | | | | | | QF | | | | | | | | | | | | QF | | | | QF | | QF | SF | SF | | QF | QF | QF | QF | QF | | | | QF | SF | FR | FR | FR | FR | QF | FR | FR | QF | FR | QF | CH | QF | CH | QF | SF | QF | QF | QF | QF | FR | QF | QF | – | FR | QF |
| Quinnipiac | 17 | 16 | 8 | 4 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | QF | F | QF | QF | QF | QF | QF | SF | SF | SF | CH | SF | QF | QF | QF | F | F | SF |
| New Hampshire | 14 | 14 | 5 | 2 | 1 | | | | – | – | | | QF | QF | | SF | QF | QF | QF | QF | F | QF | CH | | QF | SF | SF | QF | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Northeastern | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | | | QF | QF | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | QF | CH | | | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Brown | 41 | 24 | 10 | 3 | 0 | | QF | | F | SF | QF | QF | | QF | QF | | | | QF | F | QF | SF | | | | | | | | | QF | | | QF | FR | QF | F | SF | QF | QF | | FR | FR | | | FR | SF | QF | QF | FR | FR | FR | QF | SF | FR | FR | SF | FR | FR | FR | FR | FR | SF | FR | – | FR | FR |
| Dartmouth | 30 | 20 | 9 | 2 | 0 | | | | QF | | | | | | | | | QF | | QF | | | F | F | | | | | | | | | | | | | FR | | | FR | | | | FR | SF | QF | SF | SF | QF | SF | SF | FR | FR | FR | SF | QF | QF | QF | QF | SF | FR | QF | QF | FR | – | FR | FR |
| Vermont | 21 | 15 | 5 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | SF | | | | QF | QF | | | | | | QF | QF | SF | F | FR | QF | FR | FR | QF | QF | SF | QF | FR | FR | | QF | | QF | FR | SF | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Pennsylvania | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | | | | QF | QF | SF | | | | | | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Colby | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | SF | | | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Army | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | QF | QF | QF | | | | | | | | | | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | | | | | | | | | | | | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Maine | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | | QF | | | | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |