Dartmouth Men’s Hockey celebrates its first ECAC championship. Photo: ecachockey.com
Northwood students had a great couple of nights attending the ECAC Men’s Hockey Championship at the Olympic Center. The fans and alumni from Cornell, Dartmouth, Princeton, and Clarkson came into town to support their teams. The crowds were loud – with the pep bands adding to the atmosphere. There is lots of ECAC swag for purchase and an upgraded menu of food available at the game. ESPN was also broadcasting from the arena.
On Friday night the two semi-final games took place. The first game was Clarkson vs. Dartmouth. This was a rematch of last year’s semifinal that Clarkson won. Clarkson came out hard the first period but hit the post several times and Dartmouth was able to capitalize with two quick goals. Unfortunately, Clarkson never really got back into the game even though they outshot Dartmouth 31-26; they ended up losing 4-0. This was a very special night for Dartmouth. This was the first time since 1980 that Dartmouth has advanced to the ECAC finals.
The second semifinal on Friday night was Cornell vs. Princeton. This was a tight game; both teams were playing very hard. The game was tied until there was just under 8 minutes left in the third period when Princeton scored and won the game 3-2. This was the first time since 2018 that Princeton advanced to the ECAC finals. While Cornell did not move on to the ECAC Championship final, they were top 10 in the NPI hockey rankings and have a spot in the Men’s NCAA Hockey Tournament. They will play on March 27, 2026, in Colorado against the University of Denver.
The Championship Final was held on Saturday night. It was such a good game and very close between Princeton and Dartmouth. The game was tied 1-1 and had to go into overtime. The teams were so evenly matched, both had chances to win. In the end, with just over 8 minutes left to play, Dartmouth player Tim Busconi scored the game winner. The was the first ever ECAC win in Dartmouth’s history. Dartmouth’s goalie Emmett Croteau was named MVP of the tournament. Dartmouth is now also headed to the Men’s NCAA Hockey Tournament. They play University of Wisconsin in Massachusetts on March 26th.
This is definitely a high energy event held annually in Lake Placid. It is worth getting a student ticket to attend. Now we can watch the national tournament play out of the next couple of weeks to see which school is crowned the winner of the Frozen Four.
