Sports

W.Hockey still seeks 1st NESCAC win

By Daphne Assimakopoulos ’17

As the Clinton weather spiked up to the mid 20s this past weekend, the women’s ice hockey team looked to upset Middlebury, who are undefeated in the New England Small College Athletic Conference. On both Friday and Saturday, the Continentals gave the first place Panthers a run for their money.

On Friday the Buff and Blue dropped the contest 3-0. Middlebury scored all three goals in the first two periods, and outshot Hamilton 27-6 in the same time frame. All Middlebury goals came on the power play.

Hamilton came alive in the third period, attempting five shots on goal and limited Middlebury to just seven. The action picked up and the atmosphere in Sage Rink electrified as screaming fans showed their support for some close shots on goal.

In the end, Hamilton was unable to score and Middlebury recorded their fifth shutout of their season, proving why they are ranked second in the nation.

Despite the tough loss on Friday, the Continentals had a strong showing on Saturday, forcing the game into overtime but losing 3-2 in the end.

The first period progressed with very few scoring opportunities from either side. Middlebury gained a slight edge, with eight shots on goal as opposed to Hamilton’s three.

In the second period Middlebury claimed the first and second goals of the game, but at 14:43 Stephanie Lang ’14 scored her sixth goal of the season to bridge the gap in score. Hamilton riled up the offense, outshooting Middlebury 10-8 in the second period.

Hamilton came into the final period fired up and ready to give the Panthers a scare. Megan Ahern ’17 fired the tying goal, her first of her career, off of assists from Jill Tokarczyk ’14 and Stephanie Lang ’14.

The game went to OT and the crowd roared in support for the Continentals as emotions ran high on both benches. Middlebury slammed their sticks against the boards and did their best to intimidate the Hamilton women.

In the end, Middlebury took the game 17 seconds into overtime off of a backhand shot that made it through goaltender Tori Bogen ’14.

Bogen continued her trend of excellent starts and goaltending, turning away 23 shots in the match, leaving her overall saves percentage at 89 percent.

“Even though the game did not end the way we hoped, forcing Middlebury into overtime said a lot about us as a team” expressed Ahern. “We’ve had a lot of the season slip away from us in close games but giving Middlebury, the team at the top of the NESCAC and number two in the country, a battle like that game shows how great a team we have”.

This loss leaves Hamilton (0-8-2) still without a victory in the NESCAC this season, but there are still plenty of games left to save the season and redeem the Continental’s record.

Ahern commented, “I’m excited for the next three series, especially the upcoming games against Wesleyan to hopefully rock the boat and give us a good chance at the post season”.

The women’s ice hockey team will play a two-game series against  seventh-place Wesleyan this weekend in Middletown, CT.  The Continentals will play a tough game, and hopefully will come out with a couple more wins to their name.

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