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The ECAC tournament has finally arrived, and the Bulldogs are ready. The Elis will play Colgate University (14–16–4, 9–9–4 ECAC) in the first round of the ECAC Tournament this Friday at 7 p.m. Yale will then meet Colgate again at 7 p.m. on Saturday and 5 p.m. on Sunday, if the first two games are split. 

After a split weekend in the last games of regular season play — a 3–2 triumph in overtime over No. 17 Clarkson University and a 1–3 loss to St. Lawrence University — the Yale men’s hockey team (8–19–1, 7–14–1) is ready to start the postseason with a bang. 

“Last weekend was a big energy booster going into the last few … games and then carrying into playoffs,” forward Ian Carpentier ’24 said. 

The last time the Blue and White faced the Raiders was on Jan. 16, where the Bulldogs secured the shootout win against Colgate in the 2–2 overtime game. Carpentier and forward Justin Pearson ’22 had goals and goalkeeper Nate Reid ’24 made 33 saves throughout the course of the game. 

Both teams gained one point in the conference standings for the draw, and the Elis gained an additional one from winning the shootout, which included goals from forward Teddy Wooding ’23 and Pearson. 

“It was a great bounce back win,” head coach Keith Allain ’80 told Yale Athletics after the matchup. “The guys have been through a lot the last few weeks [and] we got better each period. … The guys deserve a lot of credit for the way they played tonight.”

Earlier this season, Yale met Colgate on Nov. 19,  2021, where the Bulldogs fell 3–0. The Raiders scored all three of their goals in the first period and outshot the Elis 24–14. Goalkeeper Connor Hopkins ’23 made 21 stops in the game. 

Since 2004, Yale has played Colgate 31 times and leads the series 16–10–5. 

Since the last time the two teams played, Colgate went 6–4–3, with wins against Dartmouth, Cornell, Union College, St. Lawrence and Princeton and losses to No. 5 Quinnipiac University, Harvard and Clarkson University. Yale recently won against Clarkson, Union and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and fell to St. Lawrence, Princeton, Harvard, Dartmouth and Quinnipiac. 

In their most recent game, Colgate fell 4–0 to No. 5 Quinnipiac. During the game, the Bobcats opened scoring in the opening period and remained dominant throughout the game. Raiders goalkeeper Mitch Benson made 22 saves in total and kept the third period scoreless.

“We just weren’t able to generate much tonight,” Raider head coach Don Vaughan said to Colgate Athletics. “We did have some very good looks on our power play tonight, but we couldn’t find a way to get the puck past their goalie.”

The Bulldogs received a similar result in their last matchup with Quinnipiac, with the Bobcats taking a 4–0 win. The Elis had a two-minute 5-on-3 in the third period yet were unable to shift the momentum of the game in their favor. 

Despite their most recent split weekend, the Bulldogs are ready to find success in the ECAC Ice Hockey Tournament, and Colgate is ready to defend their home ice. 

“We shift our focus now to the playoffs,” Vaughan said. “We are excited to be home next weekend for the first round. We expect another hard-fought series against a tough Yale team.”

The ECAC Championship will take place at 7:30 p.m. on March 19.