LAKE PLACID — Hockey fans will have the opportunity to view and take photos of themselves with the Stanley Cup when it returns to Lake Placid’s Olympic Center on Friday, March 22. The Cup, won by the NHL’s Washington Capitals last season, will be on a free display, on the second floor, near the entrance to the Herb Brooks Arena, 1980 Rink, from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

The Cup returns to Lake Placid ahead of the ECAC Men’s Ice Hockey Championship Tournament which also begins Friday in the Olympic Center. This weekend, Brown, Clarkson, Cornell and Harvard battle for the prestigious Whitelaw Cup and an automatic bid into the NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey National Championship Tournament.

The Stanley Cup is awarded annually to the NHL’s playoff champion. Originally commissioned in 1982 as the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup, the Stanley Cup is professional sports oldest, existing trophy.

  Since the 1914-15 season 23 teams have claimed the Cup. It was not awarded in 1919 due to the Spanish Flu and in 2005 because of the NHL’s work stoppage. The Montreal Canadiens have won the Cup a record 24 times and is the last Canadian-based franchise to win it, in 1993.

The Washington Capitals begin defense of their championship title, when the NHL playoffs begin Wednesday, April 10.

For more information about all of the events and activities on ORDA’s Olympic venues, visit www.WhitefaceLakePlacid.com.