The well-prepared women’s hockey team set out for Waterville, ME on Thursday, Nov. 29 for back-to-back games with the Colby College Mules. When the team returned to campus, they had collected two more wins and pushed their record to 5–2 overall and 3–1 in the NESCAC. Despite a season-opening loss to conference opponent Williams College in early November, the team kept their heads up, not letting the early loss affect them. As a result, the team has lost only once since — a hard-fought battle against Utica College that ended in a final score of 3–2. With a winning mindset, the Continentals were ready for their trip to Maine.
On Friday, Nov. 30, the team took to the ice at 7:00 PM to face the Mules in their first two road games of the new season. This was also their second series of NESCAC conference games in the 2018–19 season. From the time the puck was dropped, the team set an aggressive tone for the game.
In the first period, Hamilton scored the opening goal of the night as first-year Mya Berretta ’22 tallied her first collegiate goal. Berretta collected the puck from teammate Emily Williams ’19 and scored with a clever backhanded shot. Though the Mules scored to tie it up in the second period, the Continentals re-took the momentum — and the lead — shortly thereafter when another first-year, Nancy Loh ’22, scored her second goal of the season.
At the end of the second period the Continentals found the back of the net yet again as a shot by Michaela Giuttari ’20 was tipped in by her teammate Kate Piacenza ’21, her first goal of the season. Andrea Rockey ’19 scored the Continentals’ last goal of the game in the third period. Though the Mules were able to score once more, they were not able to weaken Hamilton’s firm grip on the game. Another noteworthy performance came courtesy of goalkeeper Sammy Johnson ’20 who made 22 saves and allowed just two goals to go in the 4–2 victory.
The Continentals made a quick turnaround and came out the following day Saturday, Dec. 1 to play Colby once more. Again the team showed the hosts that they were not going to back down from the challenge. With just over 30 seconds left to go in the first period, Giuttari scored her third goal of the season to put Hamilton up 1–0. Loh continued her strong play and recorded her third goal of the season, this one on an empty net. Johnson earned her first shut out of the season as the final horn sounded and closed out the 2–0 win. With the NESCAC victory over Colby under their belt, the Continentals turned their attention back to Russell Sage Arena and their next game against SUNY Potsdam.
The Potsdam Bears visited Clinton on Tuesday, Dec. 4 for a 7:00 PM puck drop. Building off of their two-game win-streak, the Continentals established their dominance early yet again by scoring the first goal of the game and effectively shifting the pressure to their opponents. Karina Sirabian ’21 was able to tip in a rebound from a shot by Emily Walther ’21 for her first goal of the season. The score remained 1–0 throughout the first two periods.
Nearly halfway through the third period the Bears took advantage of chaos in front of the net and slid the puck past goaltender Sid Molnar ’22. With the score tied when the buzzer sounded to end regulation, the teams moved on to a 5-minute overtime period. In the just over 30 seconds into the extra period, a dominant run by the first shift led to a goal by Missy Seagall ’21 as she sped into the Bears zone to score a top shelf goal to end the game. Notably, the Continentals outshot the Bears 53–12 in the game, cementing their offense as a league powerhouse.
Hamilton’s dominance is clear in the statistics. Hamilton leads the NESCAC in goals per game average, power play success, first-year scoring, special teams plus/minus, and also has the least penalty minutes. The combination of offensive power and clean play has helped Hamilton in the rankings and on the rink.
Hamilton’s goaltending is also superb; Johnson is third in the NESCAC in terms of goals against average (1.25) and save percentage (0.945). She is also the only goaltender in both men’s and women’s hockey to remain undefeated in the NESCAC, posing a tough challenge to opponents. First-year Molnar is also getting a solid start, with a 2.71 goals against average and a 0.867 save percentage.
The Continentals play again at 6:00 PM on Friday, Dec. 7 against SUNY Oswego in their last home game at Russell Sage Rink before winter break. The following day, Saturday, Dec. 8, the team will travel to north to SUNY Potsdam, hoping to get another win in their second game against them. These games will conclude December of the 2018–19 season. The women’s hockey team will pick back up in early January in the Delta Hotels Burlington Ice Hockey Classic over break. The next home game during classes will be Friday, Feb. 1 and Saturday, Feb. 2 both against Bowdoin College in the Russell Sage Rink.
