December 5, 2013
Although no oranges hit the ice at the annual Citrus Bowl, the spirit and Hamilton pride were obvious at Sage Rink as the men’s ice hockey team battled Amherst in their first home game of the season, but ultimately fell 3-1.
The Hamilton fan base cheered and supported the team, as the Continentals made hard hits and kept hope alive through the end of the game. Down by two goals with 1:35 left in the third period, Hamilton took advantage of the power play opportunity and pulled goaltender Joe Quattrocchi ’14. The strategy proved rewarding when Kenny Matheson ’16 scored off of an assist from Marko Brelih ’15. The goal sparked both the fans and players with energy. Evan Haney ’14 took a blazing shot at the goal shortly after, but Amherst saved the shot and brought it up to score a goal of their own at 19:49.
Despite losing their first two games, the team stayed resilient and played a superb game against Wesleyan, coming out on top 8-5. Hamilton took control on a power plays, scoring on five out of nine chances.
Mike DiMare ’14 put up a career high six points in the Continentals effort. Robbie Murden ’17 recorded five points, and Matheson contributed four.
Just 28 seconds into the first period, Hamilton capitalized on a Wesleyan kneeing penalty. Pat Curtis ’15 scored 21 seconds into the power play with assists from Murden and DiMare.
At the end of the first period Hamilton lead 3-2, with two goals off power plays. Going into the second period the Continentals did not let up and scored again on the power play. This time it was Brelih with assists from Murden and DiMare.
The Continentals never let up against the bolstering Cardinals offense that kept pace with them through all three periods. Wesleyan outshot Hamilton 38-28, but goaltender Quattrocchi had an excellent outing and stopped 33 pucks from going in the net.
However, in the end, Hamilton was able to put the game away with a comfortable lead thanks to an unassisted shot by Haney at the end of the third period.
DiMare commented,“The key to our teams performance against Wesleyan was a mixture of playing discipline and executing on our power play opportunities. We scored 5 out of the 8 goals on the power play and that’s what sealed the game for us.”
Moving forward, the Continentals faced Trinity College the very next day at home again. Hamilton had a 2-1 lead at the end of the second period. Murden scored unassisted, and DiMare scored again with assists from Matheson and Conor Lamberti ’17.
However, Trinity rallied and came back with three unanswered goals in the third period, ultimately winning 4-2. Nevertheless, Quattrocchi recorded another strong performance, with 21 saves.
Aside from their NESCAC games, Hamilton also beat SUNY Canton 3-0. Charlie Fennell ’17 made his first career start and turned away all 16 shots he faced. Yet again, DiMare and Murden contributed to all three goals.
DiMare expressed that, “Moving forward our teams long term goals are the same as every year. We want to finish top 4 in the league to gain home ice for the playoffs and go on to make the national tournament. We have a great team with a lot of talented young players who will only get better and better as the season progresses.”
With their recent results, it looks like the team will have a very successful season. The next men’s ice hockey game is a NESCAC match up against Williams at home on Dec. 6 at 7:00 P.M.
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