ECAC Final Four Set: Brown Upsets Yale To Join Union, St. Lawrence, Cornell In Albany

ECAC Final Four
#11 Brown Bears vs #2 Cornell Big Red: Friday at 4 PM ET, NHL Network
The Brown Bears shocked New Haven and the college hockey world on Sunday night, defeating ECAC regular season champion Yale in a decisive game three to eliminate the Bulldogs from the conference tournament. Brown moves on to the league semifinals in Albany, where they will take on second-seeded Cornell in a one game elimination format.

Brown is truly the definition of a Cinderella team. Nobody expected them to beat fifth-seeded Rensselaer on the road in the first weekend of the tournament, but the Bears were able to do so in three games, fending off an RPI comeback in the final game in the process. Even with that victory though, the Bears, with their 12-19-4 overall record on the season, were given no shot at beating Yale, a nationally ranked club.

But here they are, moving on to Albany and another one game, do-or-die situation versus the Big Red of Cornell. It’s easy to say they have no chance, but guess what? Brown has a chance. Yale, meanwhile, will likely earn an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament regardless of the loss.

#5 St. Lawrence Saints vs #3 Union Dutchmen: Friday at 7 PM ET, NHL Network

One might consider the Union College Dutchmen as another team lucky to be advancing to Albany. After they fell to the Quinnipiac Bobcats in a five overtime marathon on Friday night (the longest game in NCAA history), nobody would’ve been surprised to see Union fold up shop and throw in the towel early. But the Dutchmen had other thoughts in mind, beating the Bobcats on Saturday night 3-1 to send the series to a decisive third game.

In that third game, it was all Union. They easily put up a 2-0 lead, and a late QU push in the final few minutes made the score 2-1. Goaltender Corey Milan was simply too much to handle, however, and Union punched their first ever ticket to the semifinals with the victory.

St. Lawrence got past Colgate in relatively easy fashion this past weekend, completing a two-game sweep of the Raiders on the road. It took a three-goal third period, but the Saints advanced to this round for the second year in a row with the victory.

It’s the last year that the tournament’s final four will be held in Albany at the Times Union Center. It’ll move to Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall beginning in 2011. Each of the semifinal games are single-elimination. The winners will face off in the ECAC final on Saturday at 7 PM.