The field of contenders for the ECAC Championship in Albany was pared down to two frontrunners—No. 1 Colgate and No. 4 Dartmouth—and two unexpected challengers, Harvard and Clarkson, in the quarterfinal playoff round last weekend. With an automatic-bid to the NCAA Tournament as the door prize, all four teams will be in action on Friday as part of the single-elimination semifinal.

Colgate is the only team with a mathematical possibility to enter the NCAA Tournament via an at-large bid, but the Raiders’ chances of doing so are quite slim.

The best hope all four teams have of prolonging the hockey season is to beat their rivals and earn the NCAA auto-bid that goes hand-in-hand with the Whitelaw Trophy. For some teams that task looks daunting, but all four squads have factors in their favor.

NO. 1 COLGATE RAIDERS

ECAC Record: 14-6-2

Record Against Remaining Teams: 2-3-1

Top Forward: LW Jon Smyth 42 points, 21 goals and 21 assists

Top Defenseman: Rob Brown 19 points, 3 goals and 16 assists

Goaltender: Steve Silverthorn 18-8-4, 1.82 GAA and .926 save percentage

The Cleary Cup winners as the ECAC’s regular season champs, Colgate enjoyed a first-round bye before fighting out a tough 2-1 series win over St. Lawrence last weekend in Hamilton.

The Raiders rallied for two straight wins after dropping the opening contest; all three games were decided by one goal.

St. Lawrence coach Joe Marsh, who saw his team’s opening skating style stymied by Colgate’s defense, feels that the Raiders are playing with confidence.

“Their team offense, I think, is third [in our league],” he said. “Their team defense, I think, is third. Their power play…third, their penalty kill…third. That’s pretty consistent; they’ve been good in all areas.”

Yale coach Tim Taylor agreed, saying that Colgate “has very good balance”.

“They’ve found ways to win all year, they’re a very, very resourceful team,” he added.