This past weekend, the Women’s Ice Hockey team traveled to Amherst for the NESCAC final four playoffs. In the prior quarterfinal game, the Continentals had defeated Williams in an exciting 3–1 affair at home in Sage Rink. They were spurred on by home supporters in the quarterfinal, so traveling to Amherst presented a new, away-from-home challenge in the next round of the playoffs. Hoping to continue their postseason success, Hamilton was eager to face Colby in the semifinals.
Hamilton and Colby went back and forth for the entire game as the teams took turns capturing the lead. Hamilton had the advantage of three power plays in the first two periods, but they could not capitalize until Nancy Loh ’23 scored on a 5-on-3 situation to tie the game 2–2. With 18 seconds left in the second period, the Continentals took their first lead of the contest to close out the period 3–2. However, the Mules came out firing and scored just under 5 minutes into the 3rd to tie the game 3–3. Colby showed out with a dominant 3rd period with 12 shots on goal — compared to only seven from Hamilton — and plenty of scoring chances. But it was the Continentals who were able to put the clinical play together, as Loh slid the puck past the Colby goalkeeper to take the lead once again. Loh notched her third career hat-trick and added to a total of six goals against Colby this past season. Evie Sheridan ’26, recently named to the second team all NESCAC, held strong in front of the net for the rest of the third period to maintain the lead and secure the win for Head Coach Emily McNamara’s team.
After this nail-biting performance, Hamilton entered the NESCAC final to face Amherst, who arrived as the no.1 team in the NESCAC and in the nation. The Continentals came into the game looking for the first NESCAC championship in program history, while Amherst came seeking their fifth title. It was a long anticipated matchup: Hamilton had not encountered the Mammoths since the first two games of the regular season. In the first, they had fallen 4–0 in a crushing shutout, but Hamilton responded the next day, produced a shutout of their own, and won 2–0. However, as the regular season matchups took place months before Saturday’s NESCAC championship game, both teams came in with limited knowledge of what to expect from the other.
Hamilton fought hard but sadly could not manage to beat Amherst’s first year goalie Natalie Stott, the NESCAC rookie of the year. The Continentals also suffered two penalties in the first period, which helped Amherst gain momentum and score their first goal on a power play. Despite Hamilton’s efforts, they suffered a tough 5–0 loss against the Mammoths.
Hamilton still achieved incredible success in 2022–23 with an impressive 18–4–2 regular season record. Furthermore, Coach McNamara was named NESCAC Coach of the Year, Abby Kuhns ’23 was named NESCAC player of the year, and Loh earned a spot on the first team all-NESCAC. However, the Continentals’ season is not over yet.
This Women’s Hockey team made history with their first NESCAC championship appearance, and they have another opportunity to do something special. This upcoming week, Hamilton will play Nazareth College at home on Sage Rink in the first round of the NCAA Division III Women’s Ice Hockey tournament. There is the possibility that they meet Colby or Amherst later on in the tournament. Nevertheless, Hamilton has proven they can turn their luck after a tough loss and bounce back. We wish best of luck to the Continentals, and we hope to see everyone at Sage Rink this Wednesday, March 8th at 7 p.m. to cheer the team to victory! If they win, Hamilton will travel to Michigan to face Adrian College in the semifinals.
