Columbia University Captures 2025 Ivy League Tournament Championship

by ECHC Communications

Providence, R.I. — Columbia University opened its 2025–26 season in dominant fashion, claiming the 2025 Ivy League Tournament Championship at Brown University’s Meehan Auditorium on Sunday. Columbia capped a statement weekend with a 4–0 shutout victory over Harvard in the title game, reinforcing its position as a standard-bearer in the club hockey landscape.

This year’s Ivy League Tournament featured its largest field to date. Following Brown’s successful hosting of the 2024 edition, invitations were extended to all eight Ivy League club programs. While Penn was unable to attend and Yale withdrew, the final field included Brown, Princeton, Harvard, Cornell, Dartmouth, and Columbia, a dual-registered program competing in both the newly formed ACDC (American Collegiate Development Conference) and AAU College Hockey Division 3.

Columbia entered the tournament looking to build on a historic 2024-25 season, which included an ECHC Black Division Championship and a run to the AAU College Hockey National Semifinals.

POOL play dominance

Columbia started its season with authority on Friday night, routing Princeton 10–1.

  • Brandon Avezov fueled the offense with 4 goals and 3 assists, while Chris Lerner recorded a hat trick and an assist.

  • Troy Daniels added 1 goal and 4 assists, with Ronan Robinson (1G, 2A) and Robert Solomon (first goal for Columbia) also finding the scoresheet.

Saturday brought two more victories: a 3–1 win over Dartmouth and a 2–0 shutout of Cornell.

  • Against Cornell, goaltender Liam Hadcock delivered a stellar 43-save shutout, his first for Columbia.

  • Avezov (unassisted) and Robinson (assisted by Avezov and Lerner) provided the goals.

By Sunday morning, Columbia had already secured a spot in the Championship Game, but still faced Brown in the final pool-play matchup. With their place in the final already locked in, Columbia dropped a 10–1 decision to the host, a result that had no effect on their championship bid.

championship rematch v. harvard

Earlier on Sunday, Columbia punched its ticket to the final by defeating Harvard 5–3 in a hard-fought morning matchup. Hours later, the two teams met again with the championship on the line.

The final belonged entirely to Columbia.

  • Lucas Murray opened the scoring with his first career goal (assisted by Ronan Robinson).

  • Tournament standout Brandon Avezov added two more tallies, one assisted by Lerner and Daniels, and another from Lerner alone.

  • Robinson sealed the 4–0 win with an unassisted strike.

In goal, Frank Boal turned aside all 31 shots he faced to record his first shutout for Columbia and secure the tournament title.

NEW FACES, KEY Contributions

Several newcomers made an immediate impact for Columbia University Club Hockey (CUCH):

  • Lucas Murray registered his first assist and first goal.

  • Drew Skotarczak, Nick Chiang, Nick Venable, Jack O’Sullivan, and Jesse Mikelberg each recorded their first assists.

  • Goaltenders Frank Boal and Liam Hadcock each posted shutouts in their Columbia debuts.

Looking Ahead

Columbia University’s championship performance at Meehan Auditorium signals a program on the rise. With dual membership in the ACDC and AAU College Hockey D3, Columbia is set to compete at multiple levels of college club hockey.

After conquering the Ivy League field, Columbia now turns its focus to regular season play, aiming to build on last season’s Black Division crown and push even deeper into the National Tournament picture.