DANBURY, Conn. – ECAC Hockey officially unveiled the 2025-26 men’s league schedule today, laying the foundation for what promises to be another thrilling season of NCAA Division I ice hockey.
The pursuit of the Cleary Cup (regular season champion) and the Whitelaw Trophy (tournament champion) will span the league’s traditional 132-game schedule, beginning on Friday, October 31, and culminating on Saturday, March 22, with the 2026 ECAC Men’s Championship at the historic Olympic Center in Lake Placid, N.Y.
Continuing its commitment to competitive balance and tradition, ECAC Hockey’s regular season once again features the most balanced format in the nation. Each of the 12 member institutions will face all 11 conference opponents twice—once at home and once on the road—ensuring a fair and competitive path to postseason play.
Last season, Quinnipiac claimed a fifth straight Cleary Cup, with 16 league wins, holding off Clarkson by five points in the standings. Colgate and Union claimed the other two Opening Round byes as the third and fourth overall seeds, respectively.
The winner of the regular season claims the Cleary Cup and the number one seed in the ECAC Hockey Championship tournament. Quinnipiac has won the Cleary Cup for five seasons in a row, while Clarkson, Cornell, and Harvard are all tied for the most Cleary Cups in league history (11 each).
The Cleary Cup is named after former Harvard Director of Athletics and Men’s Hockey coach Bill Cleary, who also led the Crimson to the 1955 Final Four as a player and First Team All-American.
As the regular season concludes, the league’s 12 members battle for the Whitelaw Cup, named after former league Commissioner Scotty Whitelaw. Whitelaw was a league administrator for 29 years and was integral in the eventual formation of ECAC Hockey and the postseason championship.
The league’s playoff structure remains as follows for 2025-26:
- Opening Round – One game hosted by 5-8 seeds vs. 9-12 seeds
- Quarterfinals – Best-of-three series hosted by 1-4 seeds vs. winners of Opening Round games
- Championship Weekend – Semifinals and final (Lake Placid, NY)
Cornell captured its league-best 14th ECAC Tournament championship last season. The Big Red are trailed closely by Harvard’s 11 men’s titles, while no other program in the league’s history has won more than seven tournament trophies. The Big Red continued their momentum into the NCAA Tournament where Mike Schaefer's squad knocked off top-seeded Michigan State before falling in overtime in the regional final against Boston University.
The ECAC Women’s Hockey schedule is subject to change and missing game times will be provided closer to the season. The non-conference portion of the 2025-26 schedule will be added to the league site once all ECAC Hockey teams announce their own non-conference schedules.
KEY DATES IN 2025-26:
- Friday, Oct. 3 – Official Start Date for NCAA Competition
- Friday, Oct. 31 – First ECAC league contest (Union vs. RPI)
- Friday, Nov. 7 – First Full Weekend of League Play
- Saturday, February 28 – Final Day of ECAC Men’s Regular Season
- March 6-7 – ECAC Men’s Hockey Opening Round
- March 13-15 – ECAC Men’s Hockey Quarterfinals
- March 20-21 – ECAC Men’s Hockey Championship Weekend
- March 26-28 – NCAA Regionals
- Thursday, April 9 – Frozen Four Semifinals (Las Vegas, NV)
- Saturday, April 11 – National Championship (Las Vegas, NV)
For daily updates on ECAC Hockey news, stories, awards, and more, be sure to follow @ecachockey on Twitter, @ecachockey on Instagram, and like the ECAC Hockey Facebook page.