Sports
Men’s hockey earns top-10 ranking for strong start in NESCAC play
By Grace Myers ’19
January 26, 2017
Tags sports
Men’s hockey began the season on a tear, sweeping the league 6-0-2 before the winter academic break, with progress looking to continue well into 2017. Since the advent of the new year, the Continentals have managed an impressive 6-2-0 in eight games, maintaining their position at first in the conference with an overall 6-2-2 record. Their sole losses were courtesy of the Tufts Jumbos and the Amherst team, the latter of which came to a conclusion with a devastating overtime loss of 2-1. Bolstered by strong offensive performance from both the forwards and defensemen, and backstopped by inspiring goaltending, the Continentals’ season looks to be one of the best yet.
Over the six-game stretch during winter break, the men’s hockey team was hard at work, garnering just a single loss in the time. The weekend series with Skidmore College was a sweep for the Continentals, who achieved a goal differential of +7 during the two games. Defenseman Bennett Morrison ’20 recorded his first goal of the season, and the 4-1 victory in the last game of the pairing marked the seventh time in 10 games that the Hamilton defense had held the opposing team to one goal or less.
The Continentals faced a grueling stretch to follow, with three division rivals challenging their yet-unbeaten record. After handily beating the Colby Mules 2-1 on Jan. 7, the Continentals carried their confidence into a 6-3 win over Bowdoin College. Bowdoin, down 2-0 after two periods of play, rebounded with four goals in the last 20 minutes of play, but this was matched and outpaced by the Continentals’ strong offensive play. Hamilton’s own Jon Carkeek ’17 picked up an impressive three assists on the day, a team and a NESCAC-high for assists by a defenseman. Carkeek also leads the league in defenseman points, with 15.
Jan. 13 saw yet another NESCAC game, this time against Connecticut College, which the Continentals took with gusto and renewed effort in the third period of play. Evan Buitenhuis ’18 continued his exemplary goaltending, rising to first place in the NESCAC in save percentage (0.951). Strong offensive play manifested in the clear face-off advantage, as Hamilton nearly doubled Connecticut’s face-off wins during the match.
Hamilton suffered its first two losses of the season, as the winter break for students came to an end, both of which came at the hands of conference rivals. Against Tufts University, Hamilton lost 3-1 to the Jumbos’ consistent play, despite the Continentals’ seven power play chances. Against Amherst, Hamilton lost a heart-breaker in overtime, dropping only their second game of the season. Amherst is now second only to Hamilton in the NESCAC with a conference record of 6-3-1, and seem to be the largest threat to Hamilton’s dominance.
The Continentals rebounded on Jan. 21 against non-division Franklin Pierce University winning by a score of 4-2 with more impressive play in the third period, rallying to defeat Franklin Pierce’s last-minute flurry of goal scoring. Senior goaltender Charlie Fennell ’17 backstopped the team to the win, holding his goals against average to an impressive 1.67. The Men’s hockey team faces another tough weekend on Jan. 27 and 28 against division rivals Trinity and Wesleyan, ranked fifth and sixth in the conference, respectively. Hamilton looks to continue build another win streak.
Hamilton’s exemplary team hosts the best defense in the league, allowing an average of only 1.62 goals per game, and also impressive talent in Carkeek’s league-leading 15 points. The offense is anchored by experience in Neil Conway ’18, who leads the team with 16 points, and Brandon Willett ’18, who leads the team with 9 goals. New talent in the form of Morrison on defense and Sterling Bray ’20 on offense gives the team a bright future both for the completion of this season and for seasons to come.