Sports
NESCAC Playoff watch
February 11, 2016
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Women’s Hockey
Following consecutive home losses to Williams, the Continentals earned an important road split against Bowdoin, one of their primary competitors for home-ice advantage in the first round of the NESCAC playoffs. Hamilton rebounded from a 2-0 loss to the Polar Bears on Feb. 5 to earn a 4-1 win the next day. Hamilton had not won a conference game since Jan. 23 before beating Bowdoin, when they finished a weekend sweep of last-place Wesleyan. The Continentals have another road doubleheader at Amherst this weekend before finishing with a home double against Conn College, who they trail by a half-game for home-ice advantage in the first round.
Men’s Hockey
Since a nine-game unbeaten streak which saw Hamilton enter the top-15 Division III hockey rankings for the first time, the Continentals have stumbled, losing three of their past four games. The Continentals dropped both games on their home stand, falling to Colby in overtime and getting blown out by Bowdoin, 6-2. The four-goal loss matched the team’s worst loss of the season, when they lost 4-0 at third-ranked Trinity. However, Hamilton has remained in third place during that skid, and still sits two games ahead of fourth-place Middlebury. The Continentals have two upcoming home games against cellar-dwelling Conn College (Feb. 13) and Tufts (Feb. 14), before closing out the regular season with trips to Middlebury and Williams.
Men’s Basketball
The Continentals appeared to be out of the playoff race following an 0-5 start to NESCAC play, but have since moved into a tie for the last two playoff spots with two wins in their past three conference games. Hamilton earned home wins over Middlebury and Bowdoin before a critical overtime loss against fellow playoff bubble team Colby. Beating the 1-6 Mules would have tied the Continentals with Conn College for seventh place and potentially afforded them breathing room on their season-ending road trip. The Continentals must now beat one of the conference’s top two teams, Trinity and Amherst, on the road to qualify for the postseason.