ALBANY, N.Y. --- ECAC Hockey league play begins Tuesday night, Oct. 29, for the defending national champion, 12 school conference when Harvard visits RPI. Conference play gets underway on the 2013-’14 season when the puck drops in the 5,217 seat Houston Field House, home of the Engineers since 1949, at 7 p.m.

Picked sixth in the conference’s pre-season coaches’ poll, the Crimson (1-0) hope to rebound from last season’s 6-14-2 league mark, in which they scored a league low 45 goals.  RPI (4-1), picked to finish second this season in the coaches’ poll, has its offense rolling, averaging 4.4 goals per game.  The defense is giving up just over two goals per game.

The league’s 10 other teams all begin conference play, Saturday, Nov. 1.  Reigning national champions Yale (1-1) will play host to St. Lawrence University.  Coming off their first-ever national championship, the Bulldogs received five first place votes in the conference coaches poll, finishing first, while the Saints (4-2) were picked 10^th.

Quinnipiac (6-1), who fell to Yale in the national championship game, open their season on the road against Colgate. The Bobcats were chosen third by the league coaches, while the Raiders (2-4) were selected ninth.

Other games Saturday pit Brown (2-0) hosting surprising Clarkson (6-1-1) and Union (1-2-2) traveling to Dartmouth (0-2). Harvard will entertain RPI and Princeton (1-1) will be at Cornell (2-0).

Sunday’s line up of league games has Brown traveling to Quinnipiac, RPI hosting Colgate, Princeton entertaining Yale and St. Lawrence will be at Harvard.  Union will welcome Colgate and Clarkson’s road trip continues when they travel to Dartmouth.

In March, the ECAC Hockey conference championships return to Lake Placid, N.Y. for the first time in 10 years.  Tickets for the March 21-22 tournament will go on sale through the Olympic Center box office Nov. 4, 2013. The winner of the conference championship earns an automatic bid into the NCAA national championship tournament.

-- 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.