LAKE PLACID, N.Y. — For the first time in more than 30 years, the Colgate Raiders have claimed the Whitelaw Cup as ECAC Hockey’s Men’s Tournament Champions, defeating the defending champion Harvard Crimson by a final score of 3-2.
 
The No. 5 seed Raiders advanced to today’s championship match-up after a double overtime upset over the regular season champion Quinnipiac Bobcats last night, with Ross Mitton scoring the game-winner in the game’s 89th minute off a rebound from Alex DiPaolo. Later that night, the No. 2 seed Harvard secured their shot to defend their 2022 tournament title with a 1-0 overtime win over Cornell.
 
Today’s championship game between Colgate and Harvard was the third meeting of the season between the two teams, with each program taking one victory in the season series (Colgate won 6-4 on December 3, Harvard won 5-4 in overtime on January 27).
 
The title match got off to a speedy start, with Colton Young striking just 1:01 into the period on the power play to give the Raiders an early lead, with assists from Ethan Manderville and brother Alex Young. Just over ten minutes later, Alex Young would add another goal, taking the puck the length of the ice and faking out Harvard netminder Mitchell Gibson before tapping the puck over Gibson’s shoulder and extending the lead to two.
 
Harvard got on the board in the middle frame, with 2023 Howies Hockey Best Defensive Defenseman Henry Thrun making it a one-goal game with a shot from the top of the circle that found its way through traffic and into the back of the net.
 
Not to be outdone, Colgate regained the two-goal cushion with 10:22 to play in the second period. Sophomore Levi Glasman scored just the third goal of his 2022-23 campaign to give the Raiders a comfortable 3-1 lead going into the third period with a rush down the ice that culminated in the team’s third goal of the evening.
 
With under ten to play in the final frame, Harvard’s Matthew Coronato made it a one-goal game again, converting on the power play to cut the Crimson deficit to one. Though the Crimson were determined not to go down without a fight, Raiders goaltender Carter Gylander made a flurry of saves in the final seconds to keep the game from going to overtime and secure Colgate’s first Whitelaw Cup since the 1989-90 season.
 
At the conclusion of the game, the 2023 ECAC Hockey Men’s All-Tournament Team was announced as follows:

Forward: Ross Mitton (Colgate)
Forward: Alex Young (Colgate)
Forward: Alex Laferriere (Harvard)
Defense: Henry Thrun (Harvard)
Defense: Zach Metsa (Quinnipiac)
Goaltender: Carter Gylander (Colgate)

Colgate goaltender Carter Gylander was honored as the ECAC Hockey Men’s Tournament Most Outstanding Player.

With their win today, Colgate secures the league's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. Tomorrow, the rest of the league’s teams await their fate with the 2023 NCAA selection show tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. EST, airing live on ESPN+ and ESPNU.

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