One of Hamilton’s most cherished athletic traditions, the Citrus Bowl returned to Russell Sage Rink on Fri., Jan. 28, as the men’s hockey team faced off against Wesleyan College in its first weekend home game since the start of the spring semester.
In front of a full house, the Continentals were unable to overcome an early Wesleyan barrage that left the score at 3–0 in favor of Wesleyan heading into the first intermission. An unfortunate combination of early penalties helped the Cardinals get on the board, taking the lead on a power-play goal with just over eight minutes left in the first period. Just a few minutes later, the lead had expanded to three, and fans were beginning to get anxious that the sought-after, citrusy, first goal might never come.
Facing an uphill battle, the team showed great persistence to stay in the game. After a scoreless second period, Hamilton outshot Wesleyan 11–4 in the third and final period, flipping the ice and putting together a real comeback bid.
The moment everyone had been waiting for came with 7:30 min. left in the game. Up on the power play, Nick Rutigliano
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22 fed Jordi Jefferson
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22, who found Jeremy Smith
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24 at the point for a thunderous one-timer that found its way to the back of the net, leaving the score at 3–1 Wesleyan, where it would remain until the final buzzer. Though technically banned in recent years, moments later the inevitable miniature barrage of orange projectiles flew onto the ice in a time-honored moment of achievement, school spirit, tradition and general buffoonery.
For the fans, the result did not seem to take too much away from the atmosphere, “It was a fun game despite the loss. Sean Storr
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22 really stepped it up after giving up three goals in the first period. Wesleyan’s goalie kinda kept us from doing much of anything when we got the opportunities,” said fan Noah Bridgeman
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24. Storr finished with a season high 32 saves on 35 shots, keeping the lead from growing higher while the offense did its best to muster up a comeback.
The allure of the orange-based celebration still draws many students and faculty to the biggest game of the year. Said Bridgeman, “Despite losing, it was a fun game up until the end. I wish throwing oranges wasn’t banned, I want to see the whole rink covered in oranges. It was cool to see the rink packed and the energy felt high throughout.”
Hamilton earned a massive 4–3 overtime victory over Trinity the next day, on a game winner from Grisha Gotovets
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25, who is second on the team with five goals. After the weekend, the team sits at 5–6–0 in NESCAC play with two overtime losses, positioning them at seventh place in the league.
Continue scrolling for additional photos from the Citrus Bowl.
