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Frozen Four: ECAC will claim first Frozen Four Championship since Harvard in 1989

Yale or Quinnipiac will become the first school from the ECAC to win an NCAA Hockey Championship since 1989 when Harvard took home the trophy.

By Jeff Cox
Quinnipiac goaltender Eric Hartzell makes a save in the Frozen Four.
Quinnipiac goaltender Eric Hartzell makes a save in the Frozen Four.
Justin K. Aller

The fans of the other college hockey conferences have mocked the ECAC for quite some time now, but a team from the ECAC will win the NCAA National Championship Saturday night. Yale and Quinnipiac both advanced to the 7 p.m. ET game with wins Thursday in the Frozen Four semifinals.

Out of the big four conferences, the ECAC has had the least amount of post-season success for over two decades now. Let's take a look at the ECAC schools that have made the Frozen Four since 1989, the last time an ECAC team won it all.

1989: Harvard won the NCAA Championship with Ted Donato and Hobey Baker Memorial Award winner Lane MacDonald leading the way. The Crimson, coached by the legendary Bill Cleary, was the last ECAC team to win the NCAA Championship.

1990: Colgate lost to Wisconsin in the NCAA Championship game after downing Boston University in the semifinals.

1991: Clarkson lost to Boston University, 3-2, in the NCAA Semifinals. The Golden Knights had one of the best winning percentages of any program in college hockey until recently.

1994: In the semifinals, Harvard lost to eventual NCAA Champion Lake Superior State. The Lakers downed the Crimson 3-2 in overtime. Two nights later, Lake Superior would win their third title in seven years with a 9-1 spanking of BU.

1996: With future NHL stars Martin St. Louis and Tim Thomas leading the way, Vermont would lose 4-3 to Colorado College in the national semifinals.

2000: St. Lawrence, one game after winning a four-overtime affair with Boston University, lost, 4-2, against Boston College in the national semifinals.

2003: Cornell lost, 3-2, to New Hampshire in the national semifinals. Phoenix Coyotes prospect David LeNeveau had a 1.20 GAA and .940 save percentage on the year.

2012: Union, led by first year head coach Rick Bennett, became the first ECAC team to make the Frozen Four in 9 years.

Jeff Cox covers college hockey for SBNation. Follow him on twitter @JeffCoxSBNation for continuing coverage of the 2013 Frozen Four from the CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh.