Sports
M. hockey splits last homestand
By Kaitlin McCabe ’16
February 18, 2016
Tags sports
Despite the team’s impressive 9-2 conquest of Connecticut College on Saturday, Hamilton College men’s hockey dropped to fourth in NESCAC standings after dropping a 4-3 decision against Tufts. Hamilton is now 8-6-2 in the NESCAC with an overall record of 13-7-2; whereas the Continentals’ previous third-place ranking clinched the team a home playoff match, the team now joins ranks with other NESCAC teams fighting for the home advantage.
On Sat., Feb. 13, 16 of Hamilton’s 18 skaters contributed either a goal or an assist towards the team’s ultimate victory against Conn College. The Continentals began their onslaught over the Camels less than 10 minutes into the first period. Brandon Willett ’18 opened Hamilton’s scoring on a power-play goal assisted by Jason Brochu ’19 and Tyler Lovejoy ’16; his goal and three assists resulted in his first career four-point game, before the second period had even ended. Willett set up his line mate Robbie Murden ’17 three minutes later; the goal was Murden’s team- and NESCAC-leading 14th of the season.
Scott Vazquez ’16 secured Hamilton’s game-winning goal just 2:15 into the second period, to be followed by two goals from Neil Conway ’18. With 25 points this season, Conway is now second among NESCAC point scorers; teammate Murden continues to hold his first-place position.
The game’s third period, beginning with a score of 5-0, showcased a variety of firsts for the Hamilton squad. Jonathan Stickel ’19 scored about five minutes into the period; Richard Court ’19 and Rory Gagnon ’19 assisted on the goal, making the play Court’s first assist as a Continental. Ian Nichols ’19 contributed another goal to Hamilton’s ever-growing lead midway through the period with his first collegiate goal. On the play, T.J. Daigler ’18 picked up the first of his two assists of both the game and his collegiate career. His second assist arrived with 6:36 left in the third, when he fed Jon Carkeek ’17 the puck for his first goal of the season. Ian Chen ’19 then earned his first collegiate goal 18:13 into the third period.
Evan Buitenhuis ’18 finished with 22 saves to earn his 12th win of the season. Though the game was close to becoming the goalkeeper’s fifth career shutout, the Camels escaped a scoreless game 12:46 into the final period, Just 2:40 later, the Camels’ Sebastian Meltzer gave the guests another goal. The Camels, who were eliminated from playoff contention the previous weekend at Tufts, had been outscored 17-3 against both Tufts and Hamilton.
The Continentals’ season-best nine goals marked their highest total against a NESCAC opponent since topping Williams 9-5 in the quarterfinals of the 2006 NESCAC Championship. Two players scored their first collegiate goal, two picked up their first career assist and four others recorded single-game career highs.
The following day’s match against Tufts proved to be far more competitive than that against the Camels. The guests scored three straight goals to break a 1-1 tie by the end of the second period, while the Continentals scored twice in the final period, they could not match the Jumbos’ score.
“We anticipate every game is going to be a dog fight and that’s exactly what we were involved in,” Tyler Bruneteau ’18 said. “I don’t think Tufts ‘outplayed’ us in any facet of the game. They worked very hard, but our mantra has always been when we are at our best, no team in the league, let alone the country, can outplay us. Plain and simple we beat ourselves that game.”
The game began evenly matched, with the teams scoring just 34 seconds apart midway through the first period. David Lackner ’19 put Tufts ahead 8:57 into the game. Hamilton’s Conway quickly responded with the assistance of Tyler Lovejoy ’16 and Willet. With just 32 seconds left in the first, Lackner broke the tie with yet another Tufts goal; though his efforts against Hamilton were impressive, Hamilton’s Murden and Conway far surpass him in NESCAC goal scoring statistics, in which he is ranked ninth place compared to their respective spots in first and third.
The aggression and competitive energy of the game intensified in the second period, in which both teams racked up penalties; a total of seven penalties were assigned 5:32 into the period, including a game misconduct penalty that expelled Jumbo team member Jefferson Martin from the remainder of the game. With just minutes left in the second period, Tufts pushed its lead to three with a pair of goals.
Hamilton outshot Tufts in the third period 15-7, but the clock ran out before Hamilton could tie the score and send the game into overtime. Murden scored his team and NESCAC-leading 15th goal to pull the Continentals to 4-2 at 7:52 of the third. Then, with 2:40 remaining in the third period, Conway scored his second goal of the game, allowing but a one-goal difference between the teams. Conor Lamberti ’17 assisted on the goal, which was his 12th this winter, along with Willett.
“...We weren’t on our game defensively. When we stick to our game plan, those kind of systems aren’t effective against us, and the results showed we weren’t up to our own standards,” added Buitenhuis finished the game with 21 saves. The goalkeeper, who has dominated NESCAC standings throughout the season, now is ranked third for goals against average and save percentage; he has dropped in both categories from last week’s second-place position.
The Continentals wrap up the regular season this weekend at Middlebury (5-5-6 NESCAC; #6) and Williams (13-2-1 NESCAC; #1).
“Sticking to our game plan is definitely priority number one for us.,” Buitenhuis said. “When we achieve most of our goals in a single night we’re very hard to beat and Middlebury and Williams will have a tough time handling us”
The competition is tight all around, but great attention will be paid to Amherst this weekend, as the team is neck-and-neck with the Continentals. Ranked right behind Hamilton at fifth in the NESCAC standings with a comparable 7-6-3 record, the team will also face the Panthers and the Ephs this upcoming weekend. The results of Hamilton’s and Amherst’s respective games will most significantly determine which teams will have a home playoff game.