ECAC Hockey Tournament: Union, Colgate and Quinnipiac punch tickets to Lake Placid

Three of the four teams that will compete for the Whitelaw Cup as ECAC Hockey Tournament champion in Lake Placid next weekend are set. The top three seeds in the tournament, Union, Colgate and Quinnipiac, all moved on to the semifinals after sweeping their quarterfinal series.

Union, winner of the Cleary Cup as ECAC Hockey regular season champion, swept Dartmouth. After winning 3-0 over the Big Green last night, the Dutchmen closed the series out Saturday with a 4-2 come-from-behind victory. Daniel Carr tied the score in the second period before Max Novak scored the game-winner midway through the third. Daniel Ciampini added an empty netter and Mike Vecchione scored the game's first goal in the first period.

Vecchione, a freshman, had two goals and three assists in the series while Carr had three goals and an assist over the two games. Colin Stevens stopped 65 of 67 shots on the weekend.

Colgate advanced to the semifinals by sweeping St. Lawrence. Darcy Murphy had a hat trick and Joe Wilson had a goal and two assists as the Raiders defeated the Saints, 4-3, on Saturday evening. Don Vaughn's Colgate squad won game one, 2-1.

The Raiders will play Quinnipiac in one semifinal next weekend. The Bobcats swept rival Yale, 6-2 and 5-3. Freshman Sam Anas scored his 20th and 21st goals of the season while the second, third and fourth lines each chipped in for a goal apiece in Saturday's victory.

Jordan Samuels-Thomas broke a 3-3 tie with a power play goal 4:40 into the third period. Anas added insurance exactly four minutes later with his second of the night. Travis St. Denis and Tommy Schutt were the other goal scorers for Rand Pecknold's team.

Union's semifinal opponent is still to be determined. Clarkson evened up its series with Cornell with a 4-1 victory over the Big Red on Saturday night at Lynah Rink in Ithaca. Jeff DiNallo, Christian Powers and James de Haas staked the Golden Knights to a 3-0 lead before the midway mark of the second period.

Cornell's Patrick McCarron made it a 3-1 game, but Mike Schafer's Big Red could not get any closer. Jarrett Burton added an empty-netter with eight seconds to play. Steve Perry stopped 23 of 24 shots he faced for the victory.

Game three is Sunday night at 7 p.m. The winner will face the Dutchmen next Friday in Lake Placid.

The ECAC semifinals and final will be broadcast on Fox College Sports Atlantic. The league is returning to Lake Placid after a hiatus where the event was moved to Albany and, more recently, Atlantic City.

Jeff Cox covers college, junior and high school hockey, NCAA recruiting and NHL Draft prospects. Follow him on twitter @JeffCoxSBNation.