Sports
Women’s hockey sweeps weekend against No. 6 ranked Middlebury
By Grace Myers ’19
February 2, 2017
Tags sports
The Hamilton women’s hockey team had an astounding series this past weekend, scoring two significant upset victories over nationally-ranked Middlebury College. With the wins, Hamilton pulled ahead of Amherst in the standings and is now in first place overall in the NESCAC, ahead of powerhouse Connecticut College. Middlebury went from second in the league to fifth during the course of the two days, courtesy of strong offensive and goaltending performances by Hamilton. Middlebury has never been swept in their home rink in a weekend series since the NESCAC league was established in 2001, a testament to just how impressive the Continentals’ sweep this weekend was.
Forward Kelli Mackey ’19, who posted 3 points on the weekend, emphasized the build-up to the weekend. “Middlebury has always been our rival; our coach went there,” she said. “Our juniors and seniors, during their freshman and sophomore year, they were the 8th seed...” Hamilton went to Middlebury, who was the first seed, “...and [Middlebury] beat them in four overtimes.” While the loss was difficult, it has provided motivation for the upper classmen: “It was a disappointing loss... [Middlebury has] always been the team to beat; every year in and out they’re usually at the top of the NESCAC, so everyone always wants to knock them off.” The Continentals carried this fervor and desire to win into the weekend, and came out the other end victorious.
The Jan. 27 game was a team record sixth shutout for Hamilton goaltender Sam Walther ’18, who made 21 saves to blank the Panthers by a score of 2-0. Mackey bolstered the Continentals’ effort, posting a goal and an assist in the game, utilizing both her speed and smart face-off wins. Her goal got Hamilton on the board on a power play after a Middlebury penalty for too many players on the ice. Mackey fired a shot from the right that deflected off of a defender and the goalpost for the first point of the game. Forward Andrea Rockey ’19 scored the second goal of the game off of another shot from Mackey, which was her team-leading eighth goal of the season. Senior forward Katie Parkman ’17 had an assist on both goals, and her 17 points on the season have her almost at a one point per game average. Walter’s shutout was aided by a league-leading defense, who top the NESCAC in scoring defense, penalty kill, and goals allowed. They shut down the Panthers’ two power play opportunities, and their penalty kill percentage rose to 96.1 percent, which is second in all of Division III Women’s Ice Hockey.
On Jan. 28, Hamilton completed the monumental sweep of Middlebury, as the Continentals triumphed 2-1 with an exciting last-minute goal to break a 1-1 tie. Both of the Hamilton goals came on the power play yet again, with the Continentals notching the first goal in the opening period, courtesy of Jenna Jewell ’18. Defender Michaella Giuttari ’20 had an assist on the goal, raising her points to an impressive eight for a first-year defensive player. Middlebury scored on its third power play of five during the night, a shot from the point that bounced off of a Hamilton skate and into the goal.
The second period was a rough one for the Continentals, who withstood a ferocious Middlebury attack to escape with a 1-1 tie as the Panthers rifled off 18 shots to Hamilton’s two over the course 10 minutes of power plays. On the game, Middlebury quadrupled Hamilton’s shots on goal 36-9, which were staved off by Walther’s fantastic goaltending. The tie continued deep into the third until the Rockey-Mackey combination on the power play paid off yet again: Rockey tipped in Mackey’s shot with 1:48 left in the third to pull ahead of the Panthers. Middlebury pulled their goaltender only 8 seconds later, but the Continentals were able to hold their lead until the final buzzer.
Special teams prevailed during the weekend, with every one of the five goals scored by either team coming on the power play. Hamilton’s sweep of Middlebury was not only record-setting, but also exciting in terms of playoff opportunities: the Continentals were able to knock the Panthers down three spots in the standings, efficiently establishing themselves as a powerhouse in NESCAC hockey. Mackey summed up the weekend best, saying “I think we just played a really, really good team game, team defense, and we scored and capitalized on all our opportunities.” The Continentals return to the ice this weekend, for two key conference games against Bowdoin at Russell Sage Rink. The games are Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 3 p.m. and carry large implications for Hamilton’s playoff seeding.