Heading into the final night of the ECAC men’s hockey season, the top four teams all still have a chance to finish in first place. Cornell, currently alone in first place, owns the advantage, but a Red loss or tie could pave way for any of the other three teams to win the top seed. Here’s the lineup of games among the top third of the league Saturday:
- Cornell at Clarkson, 7 p.m.
- Quinnipiac at Yale, 7 p.m.
- Harvard at Union, 7 p.m.
Below are the current standings of the top four teams in the conference.
1. Cornell 13-5-3 (29 pts)
T-2.Harvard 13-6-2 (28 pts)
T-2. Quinnipiac 13-6-2 (28 pts)
4. Clarkson 13-7-1 (27 pts)
In the event of a tie atop the standings, all the tied teams are awarded a share of the Cleary Cup, ECAC Hockey’s regular-season trophy, but only one team can be seeded No. 1 in the playoffs. Tiebreaking procedures rely on head-to-head records first and then moves to total conference wins. If those two do not resolve the tie, then records against the top four teams will be compared.
Here are the potential outcomes with respect to first place.
Cornell wins the No. 1 seed if:
Cornell beats Clarkson
OR
Cornell ties Clarkson, AND Quinnipiac and Harvard both lose or tie
Quinnipiac wins the No. 1 seed if:
Quinnipiac beats Yale AND Cornell loses or ties
Harvard wins the No. 1 seed if:
Harvard beats Union AND Quinnipiac and Cornell both lose or tie
Clarkson wins the No. 1 seed if:
Clarkson beats Cornell AND Quinnipiac and Harvard both lose or tie