2012 ECAC Men's West Playoff Bracket Announced

CENTERVILLE, Mass. – Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Commissioner Rudy Keeling has announced the ECAC Men’s West Playoff Seedings.  Elmira clinched its fifth consecutive regular season title to earn the No. 1 seed and a semifinal home game.  Manhattanville will host the second semifinal game as the No. 2 seed.  Hobart, Utica and Neumann finish the season in the No. 3 through No. 5 seeds, respectively.  Utica will host Neumann in the first round contest on Wed., Feb. 22 at 7 p.m.  The winner of the Utica/Neumann game will advance to the semifinals, where top-seeded Elmira will host a 7 p.m. game on Feb. 25.  Hobart will travel to Manhattanville for the other semifinal game, also on Feb. 25 at 7 p.m.

Elmira finishes the season with a 15-7-3 overall record and an 8-2-2 record in conference play.  The Soaring Eagles are led by senior forward Kevin Willer, who finished the season by tallying 32 points on 12 goals and 20 assists.  Elmira will host the lowest-remaining seed during the semifinals of the ECAC Men’s West Tournament on Feb. 25.

The No. 2 seed belongs to a Manhattanville squad that finished the regular season with a 13-8-3 record, finishing .500 in the conference with a 6-6-0 record.  Junior forward Scott Hudson finished the campaign with 29 points, tallying 14 goals and 15 assists in 24 games played.  The Valiants owe a great deal of their postseason position to an eight game streak without a loss.  From Jan. 3 to Jan. 21, Manhattanville went 6-0-2 to rise up the standings.

Hobart finishes the regular season one point ahead of Utica after finishing 5-6-1 in conference play.  The Statesmen, who finished the regular season 14-10-1, earn the No. 3 seed.  Hobart is led by junior forward Frank Salituro, who recorded 26 points off of 11 goals and 15 assists.

Utica clinched a home game in the first round of the ECAC Men’s West tournament with the help of junior forward Evan Chlanda and Senior Tim Coffman, who were two of the top three point scorers in the league this season.  Chlanda led the league with 1.32 points per game, finishing the season with 33 points off of 15 goals and 18 assists.  Coffman tallied 11 goals and 21 assists for 32 points.  The Pioneers finished their season with a 15-8-2 overall record, finishing 4-6-2 in the conference. 

Neumann enters the tournament with a 13-7-3 overall record and 3-6-3 record in the conference.  The Knights are paced by Cory Park, who netted a team-leading 13 goals along with nine assists for 22 points.

No. 4 Neumann def. No. 1 Elmira, 5-4 (OT) Box Story

No. 3 Hobart def. No. 2 Manhattanville, 6-2 Box Story