In their final weekend of NESCAC regular season play, the women’s hockey team swept the Connecticut College Camels, allowing only one goal in the series. The wins, 2–1 on Friday, Feb. 15, and 2–0 on Saturday, Feb. 16, were significant for the team and allowed them to claim the third seed in the NESCAC tournament for the upcoming weekend. Additionally, with the shut out on Saturday, the women set a program record for most wins in a single season.
Captain Andrea Rockey ’19 recorded two goals on the weekend, both in remarkably similar fashion. 4:15 into the first period on Friday, Rockey scored off a deflection from Jenna Jewell ’19 to claim the 1–0 lead. Taegan Blackwell ’19 extended that lead in the second period off a power play goal. At the point, Emily Williams ’19 slipped the puck to Blackwell, who wristed the puck past the goaltender from the the top of the left face-off circle for the 2–0 lead. The Camels put up a fight, netting one goal in the third to cut the lead in half, but the Continentals defended well in the last ten minutes to record the win.
In Saturday’s game, Rockey initiated the scoring again, this time at 4:03 into the first as she collected the rebound off a shot from Kate Piacenza ’21 and fired past the Camels’ netminder. In a tight battle, the Continentals second goal came late in the third, when the Camels pulled their goaltender for an extra skater. At 17:02, Mya Berretta ’22 netted the final goal of the game, sealing the shutout.
The game was also a record-setting 15th program win. The victory gave the Continentals the third seed in the playoffs and home ice advantage. First-year netminder Gab Venne ’22 made 51 saves on the weekend.
The Continentals will host sixth-seeded Colby College on Saturday, Feb. 23 at 4 PM in Sage Rink in the quarterfinal round of the NESCAC playoffs. The Continentals and the Mules squared off earlier in the season on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1. The Continentals swept the weekend, recording wins of 4–2 and 2–0 and receiving a goal apiece from Rockey and Berretta.
With a 4–2 regular season win over nationally ranked #14 Williams College, the Hamilton men’s hockey team earned themselves the fourth seed and a home game in the quarterfinal round of the NESCAC tournament. The Continentals will host the travelling Ephs on Saturday, Feb. 23 in Sage Rink at 1 PM.
After playing to a 3–3 tie on Friday, February, Feb. 15 against the Middlebury Panthers, the team knew they had to come out strong in the first two periods. They got off to a good start, with the Continentals earning two powerplay goals from Sterling Bray ’20 and Josh Labonte ’21. Cameron Radziwon ’20 gave Hamilton the lead with 3:25 left in the third, and it looked like the Continentals could maintain the lead, but with 56 seconds left to play the Panthers tied it up, forcing the game to overtime. The extra five minutes of OT saw no goals by either team, and per division rules, ended in a tie.
Saturday afternoon’s game was different in nature and in energy. Although the Continentals fell to a one-goal deficit early on, they wasted little time coming back. Just under three minutes after Williams scored, Bennett Morrison ’20 took advantage of a botched play by the Ephs netminder, and threw the puck at an empty net from a tough goalline angle. The puck deflected in and the Continentals tied up the game.
The second period saw two Continental goals and a 3–1 lead, the first 5:34 into the period when Andrew Court ’22 collected the rebound off an initial shot by Radziwon and backhanded it into the net for the tally. With fourteen seconds to play in the period, Jordi Jefferson ’22 deflected Blayne Oliver’s shot over the head of the Ephs goaltender and into the net, giving Hamilton a two-goal lead going into the third period.
After strong play, but no goals by the Continentals in the third, the game became even more exciting. With four minutes left in the period, the Ephs utilized a power play to cut Hamilton’s lead down to one. Perhaps playing back the game reel of Friday night’s tie in their heads, the Continentals cut Williams off there. Despite sustained effort from six Ephs skaters, the Continentals secured the win, with Jefferson sliding the puck into an empty Williams net at 19:54 in the third period to make the final score 4–2.
The Continentals played the Williams Ephs twice this season and the outcomes appear night and day on paper. Saturday’s win at Sage shared little in common with the 3–0 loss the men suffered in Williamstown back on Dec. 8. The Ephs will be back at Sage this coming Saturday, Feb. 23 at 1 PM, for a quarterfinal matchup against the boys in blue. Tickets are available at the athletics office.
