Sports
Hamilton’s offense was dominant with 10 goals over two games this weekend.
Men’s hockey clinches top seed in playoffs with weekend sweep at Sage Rink
By Grace Myers ’19
February 23, 2017
Tags sports
After securing first place in the NESCAC regular season, Hamilton has earned the number one seed in the playoff tournament and aims to remain at the top of the pack. Being the number one seed, Hamilton will play at home as long as it remains in the tournament and, with a win on Saturday, would bring both semifinal games and the finals, to Sage Rink. Here are five key things to know going into the playoffs:
- Last Weekend’s Series
Hamilton cemented its dominance within the NESCAC with a series sweep at home this past weekend. The Feb. 17 game was a 5-2 win for the Continentals against last-place Middlebury College. Middlebury allowed an embarrassing 54 minutes of penalties, and Hamilton took advantage: Hamilton scored four power-play goals, two of which were on the same five-minute penalty. The Continentals carried this momentum into the Feb. 18 game against second place Williams College. A whopping 13 Hamilton skaters tallied at least a point during the game for a 5-1 victory. One of the Hamilton goals came as a shorthanded goal in the third period. A fifth goal put the game out of touch for good, and the Continentals ended the weekend as the first-place seed going into the NESCAC playoffs for just the second time in program history. - Hamilton’s Defense
Hamilton’s defense has been relentlessly strong throughout the season, and look for the defenders to produce both offensively and defensively throughout the postseason. Hamilton has allowed the fewest number of goals all season of any team in the conference, just 38. Bowdoin, in comparison, has yielded 89. Hamilton also boasts the best scoring defense and has an exemplary penalty kill percentage of nearly 90 percent. Backstopping the defense is starting goaltender Evan Buitenhuis ’18, who leads the NESCAC in every goaltending statistic: Goals Against Average (1.50 per game), Save Percentage (0.949), and Winning Percentage (0.762). All of his statistics in these categories rank within the top five among all Division III Men’s Ice Hockey goaltenders who have started more than half of the season’s games, as well. This total defensive effort is a big reason why Hamilton has held their opponents to an average of 1.58 goals per game, number one in not only the NESCAC, but also in all of Division III Men’s Hockey - Scoring
Hamilton College’s scoring is courtesy of a healthy mix of both offensemen and defensemen, and of late has especially excelled on the power play. Forwards Neil Conway ’18 and Brandon Willett ’18 lead the team with 23 and 21 points respectively. Willett and fellow forward Jason Brochu ’19 lead the team in goals with 12 and 10 respectively. Unfortunately, Willett injured his ankle Friday night against Middlebury and will not play this weekend. The forecheck has contributed greatly to offensive success, with defenseman Jon Carkeek ’17 tallying 20 points during the regular season. His 17 assists are third among all NESCAC players, and his 0.83 points per game are second among all NESCAC defensemen. More than seven of Hamilton’s skaters have two or more power play goals, a feat aided by the Continentals’ discipline: Hamilton on average takes 8.4 fewer penalty minutes per game than their NESCAC counterparts. - Players to Watch
For Bowdoin, forward Cody Todesco ’19 has a whopping 25 points. 15 of those are goals, placing him second in the NESCAC for goal scoring. Also watch out for forward Thomas Dunleavy ’20, who has 11 goals and four assists on the season for a breakout first year. Bowdoin’s starting goaltender, Peter Cronin ’18, has a NESCAC save percentage of 0.904, impressive given his high goals against average of 3.40. This means that we can expect Cronin to continue to face a high volume of shots this Saturday.
For Hamilton, Conway and Brochu are sturdy, reliable forwards who bring the power to the offense. Also continue to watch Carkeek in his final NESCAC playoff run as a senior as he continues his strong play. While Hamilton will miss Willett’s presence on the attack, the team has a number of players who could fill his shoes. Breakout stars could come in the form of first-years Nick Ursitti ’20 and Bennett Morrison ’20. Ursitti’s game has improved of late: in his first 10 games he tallied two points; in his last seven, he has managed five, and he will surely bring this momentum into the postseason. Defenseman Morrison has played a steady game during his first year at Hamilton. He has 13 points in 24 games and is a +13 during the regular season, which is behind only veterans Conway and Willett in plus/minus on the team. - First Test: Bowdoin College
Eighth-seed Bowdoin College will be Hamilton’s first test this Saturday at 1 p.m., and Hamilton has the advantage of home ice. Bowdoin was 5-12-1 in the conference this season, and beat out Connecticut College and Middlebury College for the last spot in the playoffs. They have allowed the most goals of any team in the conference this season, and have the last-place defense. Notable however is their offense, which is no. 2 in the NESCAC in scoring, averaging 3.21 goals per game, higher than Hamilton’s 3.17. Hamilton Forward Ian Nichols ’19 attributed Bowdoin’s offensive success to their strong, physical play, noting that “they skate pretty fast; they forecheck pretty hard, and play pretty physical, so it’s always a tough game.” Hamilton’s offense will surely continue their strong back check to help out the defense and prevent Bowdoin from taking offensive domination. The Continentals should look to test Bowdoin’s starting goaltender to get on the board early and to prevent a rally by Bowdoin, who is strongest in the first and third periods. Hamilton, when trailing after the first period, holds a NESCAC record of just 1-1-2. So long as Hamilton’s team effort continues from last weekend into Saturday’s game, the Continentals will have a few bright weeks ahead of them.
Hamilton plays Bowdoin for the NESCAC quarterfinals at 1p.m. this Saturday, Feb. 25 at Russell Sage Rink. Women’s Ice Hockey plays Bowdoin as well for the NESCAC quarterfinals, at 4p.m. immediately following the men’s game on Saturday in the Sage Rink.