BY: Men's ECAC Hockey

ALBANY, N.Y. -- ECAC Hockey (@ecachockeyMWD1) today announced the finalists for the 2016-‘17 Tim Taylor Coach of the Year Award. Rick Bennett, Ted Donato and Ron Fogarty have each been nominated for the honor by their peers. These three coaches have guided their teams to impressive seasons and launched their teams into the league’s postseason quarterfinal round.

Selected to finish seventh in the preseason coaches’ poll and eighth in the preseason media poll, Bennett guided Union to a share of the ECAC Hockey regular-season title, capturing the program’s fourth Cleary Cup. In his sixth year behind the bench with the Dutchmen, Bennett led Union to its fourth 20+ win season under his reign and a top-10 national-ranking in the last portion of the season.

Union ranked first in the league in scoring offense averaging 3.95 goals per game in 22 league games, while ranking second in power-play success scoring on 23.9% of their opportunities. He has taken the program to national prominence holding an overall 22-6-0 postseason record and boasts a 15-6-0 league postseason mark entering this weekend’s quarterfinal round. Bennett was tabbed as the 2012 Tim Taylor Coach of the Year Award in his rookie campaign.

Under Donato Harvard earned a earned a share of the ECAC Hockey regular-season title, and the top seed in the ECAC Hockey Playoffs. The title is the 11th in program history and first since the 1993- ‘94 campaign. The Crimson has been ranked in the top ten throughout the entire season and are currently riding the nation’s second longest winning streak at 12 games (11-0-1). Harvard went over the 20-win plateau for a season for the 17th time in program history. It is only the second 20-win season in the last 10 years for Harvard as it had 21 in 2014-15. The Crimson is unbeaten at the Bright-Landry Hockey Center this season, going 11-0-2. The last time Harvard finished a season unbeaten at home was 1993-94 when it went 10-0-3. Harvard showcased a balanced attack this season finishing second in both scoring offense (3.86 goals per game) and scoring defense (2.14 goals per game) in league-play.

Third-year head coach Ron Fogarty led Princeton to a 15-14-3 overall current record, earning home ice for the ECAC Hockey playoffs for the first time since the 2012-’13 season, as the No. 7 seed with an 8-11-3 league mark. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, the Tigers were the hottest team in the nation with a 7-2-0 record. The Tigers won a thrilling best-of-three series against Colgate last weekend at Hobey Baker Rink, the first ECAC Hockey series win for Princeton since the 2009 playoffs. The Tigers, picked to finish 12th in both preseason polls, have increased their overall win total by 10 games and surpassed conference wins by five from last season.

These three coaches will look to guide their teams into next weekend’s Men’s ECAC Hockey Championship Tournament, in Lake Placid, N.Y. 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, in the 1980 Arena-Herb Brooks Rink, 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.