LAKE PLACID — The New York State Olympic Regional Development Authority (Olympic Authority) announces the first year of the Adirondack Winter Invitational men’s hockey tournament that will bring together some of the top National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I programs in the nation for a midseason showcase Friday, Dec. 29 and Saturday, Dec. 30 at the Olympic Center’s 1980 Herb Brooks Arena.
University of Massachusetts-Amherst takes on Cornell in the opening game Friday, followed by Arizona State against Clarkson in the nightcap. The two winners from Friday’s games will face off Saturday night for the championship, and the losing teams will take the ice in the consolation round.
“We’re really excited to bring this caliber of hockey to Lake Placid during the holiday season,” said Olympic Center General Manager Chadd Cassidy. “This is the point in the schedule when college teams are coming off a holiday break, and begin to position for the stretch run of the season. With both Clarkson and Cornell here, it may give us a preview of the ECAC Championships coming up in March 2024.”
INVITATIONAL SCHEDULE
Friday, Dec. 29
UMass-Amherst vs. Cornell, 4 p.m.
Arizona State vs. Clarkson, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 30
Consolation Game, 4 p.m.
Championship Game, 7:30 p.m.
THE TEAMS
Cornell and Clarkson are both part of the ECAC Hockey conference, which hosts its championship tournament at the 1980 Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid every March. Cornell lost to Boston University in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA tournament last year, then opened the 2023-24 season with seven wins in a row. Clarkson held a 3-4 overall record going into regular season conference play that started Nov. 10. The ECAC Hockey Championships will take place March 22-23, 2024 at the Olympic Center.
Clarkson has been to the NCAA tournament championship game three times – 1962, 1966 and 1970 – but has never won the title. Cornell won the NCAA championship in 1967 and 1970.
Massachusetts plays in the Hockey East Conference, while Arizona State is a Pac-12 school that plays as a Division I independent for men’s hockey. The Sun Devils, an NCAA Division I team since 2016-2017, will join the National Collegiate Hockey Conference starting in the 2024-2025 season.
Arizona State made its lone NCAA Tournament appearance in 2019. Coached by Greg Carvel, now in his eighth season at UMass, the Minutemen reached the NCAA Tournament’s Frozen Four in 2019 and 2021, capturing the school’s first men’s hockey national title in 2021.
Cornell (No. 10), Arizona State (No. 14), and Massachusetts (No. 15) were all ranked in the top 20 of the U.S. College Hockey Online (USCHO) Division I poll on Nov. 13.
TICKETS
Single-day and two-day ticket options are available and can be purchased online at www.lakeplacidolympiccenter.com. For more information, call the Olympic Center Box Office at (518) 523-3330 between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.
UPCOMING CALENDAR
The Olympic Center, site of two of the biggest moments in sports history that occurred during the 1980 Winter Olympics, has a busy schedule ahead this winter. In addition to Can/Am youth and adult hockey tournaments taking place nearly every week and the Miracle Holiday Classic youth tournament Dec. 15-17, the Olympic Center will also host the ISI Figure Skating Championships on Jan. 5-6, Empire State Winter Games on Feb. 1-4, the ECAC Hockey Championships March 22-23, the US Figure Skating National Intercollegiate Final on April 12-14, and the Miracle on Ice Fantasy Camp on May 5-9. The newly renovated Olympic Center, which consists of three indoor rinks, an outdoor oval and conference center, also hosts regular indoor and outdoor public skating sessions.