# 1986 ECAC Hockey men's ice hockey tournament

The 1986 ECAC Hockey Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 25th tournament in league history. It was played between March 7 and March 15, 1986. Quarterfinal games were played at home team campus sites, while the 'final four' games were played at the Boston Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. By winning the tournament, Cornell received the ECAC's automatic bid to the 1986 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.

## Format

The tournament featured three rounds of play. The four teams that finish below eighth place in the standings are not eligible for tournament play. In the quarterfinals the first seed and eighth seed, the second seed and seventh seed, the third seed and sixth seed and the fourth seed and fifth seed played a two-game series to determine the winner. In the two games no overtime was permitted and if the two teams remained tied after the two games then a 10-minute mini-game would be played where a sudden-death overtime was allowed if the scheduled time did not produce a victor. After the opening round every series becomes a single-elimination game. In the semifinals, the highest seed plays the lowest remaining seed while the two remaining teams play with the winners advancing to the championship game and the losers advancing to the third place game. The tournament champion receives an automatic bid to the 1986 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.

## Conference standings

Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; PTS = Points; GF = Goals For; GA = Goals Against
1985–86 ECAC Hockey standingsvte :
| | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall |
| | GP | W | L | T | PTS | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA |
| Harvard† | 21 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 36 | 129 | 53 | 34 | 25 | 8 | 1 | 187 | 95 |
| Yale | 21 | 15 | 6 | 0 | 30 | 104 | 72 | 30 | 20 | 10 | 0 | 160 | 116 |
| Cornell* | 21 | 13 | 6 | 2 | 28 | 101 | 74 | 32 | 21 | 7 | 4 | 145 | 104 |
| Rensselaer | 21 | 13 | 7 | 1 | 27 | 100 | 88 | 32 | 20 | 11 | 1 | 167 | 139 |
| Clarkson | 21 | 12 | 6 | 3 | 27 | 101 | 70 | 32 | 18 | 11 | 3 | 143 | 110 |
| Vermont | 21 | 11 | 10 | 0 | 22 | 64 | 63 | 31 | 17 | 13 | 1 | 102 | 99 |
| St. Lawrence | 21 | 10 | 11 | 0 | 20 | 92 | 92 | 31 | 16 | 15 | 0 | 145 | 150 |
| Colgate | 21 | 9 | 11 | 1 | 19 | 82 | 109 | 32 | 15 | 15 | 2 | 142 | 147 |
| Princeton | 21 | 7 | 13 | 0 | 14 | 76 | 82 | 30 | 11 | 17 | 2 | 109 | 111 |
| Dartmouth | 21 | 4 | 17 | 0 | 8 | 59 | 121 | 25 | 7 | 18 | 0 | 78 | 134 |
| Army^ | 11 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 4^ | 36 | 57 | 30 | 18 | 11 | 1 | 154 | 111 |
| Brown | 21 | 3 | 18 | 0 | 6 | 63 | 127 | 23 | 4 | 19 | 0 | 73 | 134 |
| Championship: Cornell † indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion ^ Army played a half schedule |||||||||||||||

## Bracket

Teams are reseeded after the first round
| Quarterfinals March 7–8 | Quarterfinals March 7–8 | Quarterfinals March 7–8 | Quarterfinals March 7–8 | Quarterfinals March 7–8 | | | Semifinals March 14 | Semifinals March 14 | Semifinals March 14 | Championship March 15 | Championship March 15 | Championship March 15 |
| 1 | Harvard | 2 | 6 | — | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Colgate | 0 | 4 | — | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Colgate | 0 | 4 | — | | | 1 | Harvard | 2 | | | |
| | | | | | | | 5 | Clarkson | 4 | | | |
| 2 | Yale | 6 | 9 | — | | | 5 | Clarkson | 4 | | | |
| 7 | St. Lawrence | 5 | 4 | — | | | | | | | | |
| 7 | St. Lawrence | 5 | 4 | — | | | | | | 3 | Cornell | 3* |
| (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | 3 | Cornell | 3* |
| (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | 5 | Clarkson | 2 |
| 3 | Cornell | 8 | 3 | — | | | | | | | | | 5 | Clarkson | 2 |
| 6 | Vermont | 3 | 3 | — | | | | | |
| 6 | Vermont | 3 | 3 | — | | | 2 | Yale | 2 | Third Place | Third Place | Third Place |
| | | | | | | | 3 | Cornell | 3** |
| 4 | Rensselaer | 1 | 4 | — | | | 3 | Cornell | 3** | 1 | Harvard | 6 |
| 5 | Clarkson | 3 | 6 | — | | | | | | 2 | Yale | 3 |
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

### Quarterfinals
#### (1) Harvard vs. (8) Colgate

* Harvard won series 2–0

#### (2) Yale vs. (7) St. Lawrence

* Yale won series 2–0

#### (3) Cornell vs. (6) Vermont

* Cornell won series 1–0–1

#### (4) Rensselaer vs. (5) Clarkson

* Clarkson won series 2–0

### Championship
#### (3) Cornell vs. (5) Clarkson
## Tournament awards
### All-Tournament Team

None

### MOP

* Doug Dadswell (Cornell)