ALBANY, N.Y. - ECAC Hockey has announced the pairings for the best-of-three first-round of the 2017 ECAC Men's Hockey Championship. Playoff games begin Friday, March 3. The top four seeds, No. 1 Harvard, No. 2 Union, No. 3 Cornell and No. 4 St. Lawrence all earned a first-round bye, while seeds five through eight will host seeds nine through 12 next weekend, March 3-5.

Despite closing out the regular season with a three game winning streak, Quinnipiac (19-13-2, 13-8-1) fell just one-point shy of the coveted fourth place spot. Instead the reigning ECAC champs are the number-five seed and play host to 12^th seeded Brown (4-23-2, 3-18-1). The two teams should be pretty familiar with one another. Both schools closed out their regular season schedules against each other, Saturday, with the Bobcats coming away with a 4-1 win.

The winner of this series moves on to play St. Lawrence (16-11-7, 12-6-4) in the second round.

Clarkson, the post season’s sixth-seed, welcomes 11^th seeded RPI to the Cheel Arena for their best-of-three series. The winner of this match-up moves on to face Cornell (18-6-5, 13-4-5).

The two schools split their two games against one another this season. The Golden Knights (15-14-5, 10-9-3) topped the Engineers (8-26-1, 6-16-0), 5-2 in Lake Placid, but lost the series’ second game 2-1.  Clarkson is 4-5-1 in their last 10 games, while RPI played their best hockey in February, posting three wins.

The battle between the conference’s seven and 10 seeds may be the most entertaining. Princeton (13-13-3, 8-11-3), the seventh seed, plays host to Colgate (8-20-6, 6-13-3).

Thanks to a 4-1 victory, over Yale Saturday, Princeton locked up home ice against the Red Raiders. The Tigers have been much better at home, than on the road, posting an 8-4-2 mark in front of their home fans, while going just 4-9-1 away from the Baker Rink.

Colgate had high expectations heading into the season. After all, they played for the ECAC title last season in Lake Placid and they opened a brand new facility ahead of this season, The Class of 1965 Arena. The Red Raiders were okay on home ice, skating to a 6-7-1 mark, but on the road, they managed only two wins, with 11 losses and two ties.  

The winner of this series will be on the road for the second round. They’ll travel to Schenectady to take on Union (23-8-3, 16-4-2), where the Dutchmen are 10-3-1.

Finally, number-eight Yale entertains number-nine Dartmouth. Both team are struggling right now. The Bulldogs (11-13-5, 7-11-4) closed out the regular season with back-to-back losses and are 3-6-1 in their last 10, while the Big Green (10-16-3, 7-13-3) are riding a three game losing streak and are 3-7 in their last 10.

Harvard (22-5-2, 16-4-2) awaits this winner.

The remaining four teams will come to Lake Placid, N.Y., Friday and Saturday, March 17 and 18, to play in the ECAC Hockey Championship Tournament. The winner of this tournament receives an automatic bid to the 71^st annual NCAA Division I men’s hockey tournament.

The two semifinal games will take place Friday, March 17, at 4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. and the championship game will be played Saturday, March 18, at 7:30 p.m.

All-session tickets can be purchased by calling the Lake Placid Olympic Center box office at 518-523-3330, or by visiting www.tickets.com. Tickets are priced at $55 for adults (ages 13-64), and $45 for juniors (12 & under) and seniors (65 & older).  Single day adult tickets are also on sale for $35 for adults and $30 for juniors and seniors.

 Fans can also follow all of the action on Facebook, @ECACHockey, Twitter (@ecachockeyMWD1) and join in on the conversation using #ecachockeychampwknd.

For more information about all of the events and activities on ORDA’s Olympic venues, visit www.WhitefaceLakePlacid.com.

Media Advisory: Attached to this press release is 2017 ECAC Men’s Hockey

Championship Media Credential Request Form. Complete and return the form to ECAC Hockey’s Ed Krajewski, ekrajewski@ecachockey.com, no later than Monday, March 13, for consideration.

-- ORDA --

Established in 1982, the New York State Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) was created by the State of New York to manage the facilities used during the 1980 Olympic Winter Games at Lake Placid. ORDA operates Whiteface, Belleayre and Gore Mountain ski areas; the Olympic Sports Complex at Mt. Van Hoevenberg; the Olympic speed skating oval, Olympic jumping complex and Olympic arena. As host to international and national championships, the Authority has brought millions of athletes, spectator and participants to the region, resulting in significant economic development.