Clarkson’s Chris Klack holds up the Whitelaw Cup during the ECAC championship game in Lake Placid in 2019. Klack, now a senior with the team, scored the game-winning goal in 2019 to win the ECAC title. (News photo — Lou Reuter)

LAKE PLACID — After a two-year absence because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Eastern College Athletic Conference men’s ice hockey championship will return to the Olympic Center in Lake Placid on Friday and Saturday.

Battling for not only the ECAC title, but an automatic bid to the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I championship tournament will be Clarkson, Colgate, Harvard and Quinnipiac.

The four teams have combined for 17 appearances in the ECAC semifinal tournament, since the event returned to Lake Placid in 2014.

The Quinnipiac Bobcats return to the 1980 Herb Brooks Arena as the top seed in the tournament. The Bobcats will take on the fifth-seeded Colgate Raiders in the first of two games on Friday. The puck will drop at 4 p.m.

The second semifinal game will be a rematch from the 2018 and 2019 ECAC semifinal game, with the two-seed Clarkson Golden Knights battling the three-seed Harvard Crimson at 7:30 p.m.

“It seems like every time we go there that’s who we are playing against,” Clarkson head coach Casey Jones told reporters on Tuesday. “They’re obviously a really good team. I’ve watched a few of their games here recently and they are a really talented team. They are like that every year, so we’ll have to be prepared and on our best game to advance.

“We’re excited about it. Just to get to the venue with the fans and all that,” he added. “We’re excited about the crowd. We’re excited about getting to Placid after a couple of years here.”

After sweeping Union College in the quarterfinal round, the Golden Knights return to the ECAC tournament as the defending champions, having won the title in 2019.

Boasting a season record of 21-9-6, Clarkson will be led by their junior forwards Mathieu Gosselin and Anthony Romano. With 33 points so far this season, Gosselin ranks third in the ECACs for points. Romano is tied for second in ECAC with 15 goals this season.

Despite the Golden Knights’ Jacob Mucitelli earning coach Jones his 200th career win on March 12 — which advanced the team to ECAC semifinal game — the team will stick with their typical starting goaltender Ethan Haider.

“Ethan will play on Friday night. We kind of knew that going in. I just thought that in the middle of the season this year, we had a little bit of a hiccup in net,” Jones said. “We just felt that Moose (Mucitelli) had come in and done a good job. He warranted a playoff game, from experience and what he did in the regular season with the stats he put up.

“Friday going into the Harvard game it’s Ethan. There’s nothing wrong with that,” he added. “We’ll roll with that. From here on out it’s one game at a time now, it’s that time of the year. That’s the way it will be.”

The Crimson will look to dethrone the No. 14 NCAA ranked Golden Knights, with their young core.

Harvard’s first-year forward Matthew Coronato ,along with sophomore Alex Laferriere, has led the team offensively.

Coronato, who was drafted 13th overall in the 2021 NHL draft, has 15 goals and 14 assists this season. Laferriere, has almost identical numbers, with 14 goals and 15 assists. Laferriere was also named ECAC rookie of the year on Monday.

“(Laferriere’s) scored a lot of big goals for us. He’s been an offensive contributor each and every night,” Harvard head coach Ted Donato told reporters on Tuesday. “I think his game has rounded out quite well. He plays in a lot of situations for us. He plays on the powerplay. He’s a guy that’s adapted very quickly to college hockey.”

The Crimson come into the game with a record of 18-10-3. The team is currently ranked 17th in the NCAA standings.

The top team in the ECAC standings-wise will be the Bobcats. Quinnipiac ranks sixth in the NCAA with an overall record of 30-5-3.

A big reason for the team’s success has been the play of their goaltender, Yaniv Perets, who was named ECAC Player of the Year on Wednesday, along with, winning the Ken Dryden Goalie of the Year Award on Tuesday.

“I’m thrilled with him (Perets). Great player, great teammate. I think we play a really good team defense in front of Yaniv and in front of Dylan (St. Cyr). There are many times when they bail us out,” Quinnipiac head coach Rand Pecknold told reporters on Tuesday.

The Bobcat’s Zach Metsa has also been a driving force for his team. As a defenseman, Metsa recorded 36 points — the second most in the ECAC — which included a league-high 27 assists.

“We had a pretty good slump in like January, February and honestly, I think we might’ve gone 6-0 in that slump,” said Pecknold, who was named ECAC Coach of the Year on Tuesday. “It was because our goalies stood on their head each game and won games for us. We really had some struggles, which is the mark for a good team when you are in a slump and you’re still winning.”

After upsetting Cornell in the best-of-three quarterfinal game on Sunday, the Raiders became the second team from New York play to earn a spot in the ECAC semifinals.

“I’m just excited for our guys, I’m just really happy for them that they stuck with the process and found a way to get Lake Placid,” Colgate head coach Don Vaughan told reporters on Tuesday. “It’s been since 2015, so none of our guys have obviously experienced it. They’re excited to get up there and so is our staff.”

Colgate is led by two brothers from Calgary, Alberta, Alex and Colton Young. Colton, a junior, recorded a team-high 32 points, while Alex, a sophomore had the second-most points with 31.

With an overall record of 17-17-4, Colgate comes into the ECAC tournament as the clear underdogs, but despite that, Vaughn said there is certainly a feeling that his team could do something special.

“Everybody understands how good Quinnipiac is. We know how deep they are, how dynamic they play,” Vaughn said. “We’ll talk about that structure of how they are going to bring it on us. I think we are going to have to be prepared to defend and don’t turn pucks over.”

Those interested in attending can purchase a ticket in person at the ticket desk on the first floor of the Lake Placid Conference Center. Tickets can also be purchased by phone at 518-523-3330, or online at lakeplacidlegacysites.com.

Tickets for a single day are set at $40 for adults and $35 for juniors and seniors. All tournament passes are on sale at $60 for adults and $50 for juniors and seniors.