ALBANY, N.Y. --- For the first time this season, six ECAC Hockey conference schools made the USCHO.Com top-25 division I men’s ice hockey poll.  The Big 10’s Minnesota (6-1-1) held onto the top spot, grabbing 38 first place votes, but the Golden Gophers had to share votes with fellow Big 10 school Michigan (6-1-1), who grabbed nine, en route to number two and the NCHC’s St. Cloud (6-1-1), who grabbed one first place vote, as they sit third in the poll. 

Quinnipiac took two first place votes and moved up one place in the weekly poll, from sixth to fifth.  The Bobcats (9-1-1, 3-0-1), who are unbeaten in conference play, lead the ECAC Hockey conference with seven points after weekend a win over Brown, 3-0, Friday night, and a 3-3 tie with the reigning national champions Yale, Saturday night.

Clarkson (9-2-1, 3-1-0) gained the most ground from last week to this week.  The Golden Knights jumped five spots from last week’s poll, where they were 16^th, following weekend road wins over Dartmouth (0-6-0, 0-4-0) and Harvard.  Clarkson posted a 3-2 victory over the Big Green Friday, before doubling up the Crimson (2-3-1, 1-3-1) 2-1 the following night. Picked last in the ECAC Hockey conference’s pre-season poll, Clarkson finds itself just one point behind Quinnipiac in the conference standings.

Both Yale and RPI remained ninth and 10^th, respectively, in this week’s poll.  Before falling to Quinnipiac, Saturday, the Bulldogs (3-1-2, 2-0-2), toppled Princeton 5-2 Friday.  The Engineers (6-2-2, 2-1-2) tied 19^th ranked Cornell (3-2-1, 1-2-1) Friday night, 3-3, before rebounding and beating Colgate (4-6-1, 2-2-0), 3-1, Saturday.

St. Lawrence found its way into the nation’s top-25 for the first time this season.  The Saints (6-2-2, 2-0-2) started off the weekend with a road win, 3-1 against Harvard, before edging Dartmouth 3-2.

For a complete listing of this week’s USCHO.Com top-25 log onto http://www.uscho.com/rankings/d-i-mens-poll/2013-2014/poll,1104/november-4,-2013/.

Tomorrow, Brown will travel to face the University of New Hampshire (3-5-1), while Princeton will host 16^th ranked Massachusetts Lowell (5-4-0), ahead of conference play resuming Friday and Saturday.

On March 21-22, the conference’s top four teams will face off in Lake Placid when the Olympic Center plays host to the 2014 ECAC Hockey men’s championships.  Lake Placid last played host to the tournament from 1993-2002 and the event marks the 53^rd overall conference championship.

The four top teams coming from the league’s quarterfinal tournament round will battle it out on the ice looking to capture the Whitelaw Cup and an automatic bid to the 67^th annual NCAA Division I men’s hockey tournament. The two semifinal games will take place Friday, March 21, at 4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. and the championship game will be played Saturday, March 22, 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 $50 for adults (ages 13-64), and $40 for juniors (12 & under) and seniors (65 & older), along with a special student ticket of $20 available, student identification card required, at the campuses of the four participating teams and a special designated ticket window at the 1980 Rink - Herb Brooks Arena box office.

-- 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.