Four of the six Division 1 men’s conferences begin postseason play this weekend with best-of-three series taking place in both the ECAC and Atlantic Hockey.
Quinnipiac and Cornell split the Cleary Cup as ECAC regular-season champions and lead the group of four teams awaiting the winners of this weekend’s first-round series, while RIT and Sacred Heart are the two Tri-State teams that received byes in the Atlantic Hockey postseason.
In the 11-team AHC circuit, the top five teams played out of the first round with their season finishes, but one quarterfinal contest is already set between the two aforementioned clubs. The Tigers and Pioneers will contest their series — after Sacred Heart won a three-game set between the teams in last year’s first round — beginning Wednesday at Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, Conn.
Two of this weekend’s AHC sets involve Tri-State clubs as No. 11 Canisius visits No. 6 Niagara in a Western New York rivalry clash and No. 7 Mercyhurst hosts No. 10 Army West Point.
