Sports
Men’s hockey enters national Division III rankings for first time
By Kaitlin McCabe ’16
January 28, 2016
It has been eight weeks since Hamilton’s men’s hockey team lost a game—the longest winning streak the program has seen in 62 years.
Ranked 15th in D3hockey.com’s national poll this week, the Continentals hold the nation’s longest unbeaten streak, posting a record of 9-0-2 since Dec. 6. The statistics don’t lie; the men’s hockey team today is not that which finished sixth in the NESCAC last year with nearly a -0.5 win percentage difference compared to the winning team.
It’s very likely the College is watching the development of Hamilton’s most successful athletics franchise to date, and to its members, the reason for that is obvious: the bond its players foster both on and off the ice.
“We have a fairly veteran team that has learned a lot of valuable lessons along the way,” head coach Robert Haberbusch told. “They’ve ‘grown up together,’ had time to develop chemistry on the ice and understand just how good you have to be to win in this league.”
When asked about the team’s undying success, top Hamilton performers Conor Lamberti ’17, captain Kenny Matheson ’16 and Brad Smelstor ’17 all agree that the devotion and heart of every man on the team—even its athletic trainer, Pat Giruzzi—has built the team into what it is.
“This is one of the deepest teams I’ve ever played on. Every single guy finds a way to contribute everyday,” Matheson explained. Lamberti similarly said, “We have a handful of guys who aren’t in our lineup every night but have meant so much to the team. Their hard work in practice all week and positive attitudes have really helped to propel our team forward this year.”
The Continentals appropriately launched their program into a new era on New Year’s Day, against Skidmore, the first of six games during the winter break. Of their four conference games, Hamilton came out on top with three wins and one bitter tie, exhausting and even slaughtering the Colby Mules, the Bowdoin Polar Bears, the Connecticut College Camels and the Tufts Jumbos in their own territories.
The winter break conquests began at Colby on Friday, Jan. 8. An unstoppable line of 12 players broke through the Mule defense towards the scoring column, seven of which successfully placed the puck into the net. Seven Continentals last scored a goal in one game nearly five years ago, on Jan. 29, 2011.
It was a spectacle of Continental dominance. Xavier Morin ’17, with Seamus O’Neill ’17 assisting, landed the first goal with 6:06 remaining in the first period. Less than a minute later, Colby scored its single goal of the game, when Devin Albert converted a pass from Nick O’Connor to slice the Hamilton lead in half. Neil Conway ’18 reclaimed Hamilton’s lead with the game-winning goal 1:59 into the second; Brad Smelstor ’17 and Bennett Hambrook ’17 assisted on Conway’s game winner. Conway then assisted a goal by Brandon Willett ’18 late in the same period, which was matched by an unassisted shot by Truman Landowski ’17 only minutes later. The third period continued on the Continental’s trajectory of back-to-back, uncontested goals. Jason Brochu ’19 added to Hamilton’s growing lead just 1:45 into the third.
Hamilton’s special teams ultimately claimed control of the final period with power-play goals by Matheson and Rory Gagnon midway through the final period.
The momentum carried into the Continentals’ match the following day against Bowdoin. Though the Polar Bears initiated the scoring midway through the first period and then held off the Hamilton offense over the next 32 minutes, the Continentals found their drive toward the end of the second period with a goal by league-leading scorer Robbie Murden ’17. Murden earned his team-leading third power-play goal to tie the score at 1-1 off assists from Conway and Willett. Like clockwork, Bowdoin took the lead once more with their power-play goal, only to be quenched yet again by Murden.
A hooking infraction gave Hamilton their fifth power-play chance about halfway through the third period, and the Continentals pushed to the lead in no time. Tyler Bruneteau ’18 scored with Lamberti and Scott Vazquez ’16 assisting at 9:52 into the third period. Alternate captain Bennett Hambrook ’17 then fed Conway for an empty-net goal in the last minute of regulation, concluding the contest with an unquestioned show of Hamilton talent.
Hamilton traveled to Connecticut College and Tufts University the following weekend and returned home with a 3-2 win and a 1-1 OT tie in respective matches.
When Hamilton returned to the Hill for its first home game of the spring semester against defending NESCAC champion Amherst on Jan. 22, the team had already claimed third in NESCAC standings, passed only by Trinity (8-2-0 NESCAC) and Williams (7-2-1 NESCAC).
The team refused to succumb to intimidation; Hamilton won its third shutout game of the season 2-0 and improved to 10-3-2 overall (6-2-2 NESCAC), while Amherst left the rink stunned and demoralized. The win ended Amherst’s 14-game series unbeaten streak, who held a 13-0-1 rule over the Continentals since the 2006-07 season. Moreover, Hamilton hadn’t shut out Amherst since a 14-0 win in 1988.
The game’s only two goals came late in the first period: Murden scored his 12th goal of the year 15:49 into the first period, and Willett added another on a power-play 50.9 seconds before the end of the period. Conway, who has scored points in seven straight games, earned his third multiple-assist performance of the year. With 17 points, he is the second-leading scorer in the NESCAC, behind Murden.
What the remaining two periods game lacked goals, it held in Hamilton persistence. The Continentals played smart, cycling the puck throughout Amherst’s territory and sticking to unquestioned game strategies. Haberbusch quite adamantly disagreed in notions that these periods were less dynamic, or less based upon squashed momentum.
“We didn’t need to score in the third, so we weren’t gambling offensively in any way,” he explained. “We locked it down like only a mature team can. It was impressive to watch.”
Evan Buitenhuis ’18—the NESCAC’s leading goaltender in save percentage (.952%) and second leading in goals against average (1.32 GAA)—has allowed just one goal in the last 155 minutes of play, raising his career total to four shutouts.
Hamilton will face off against Trinity this Saturday, Jan. 30; the Bantams, who are fifth in the D3hockey.com poll, are first in the NESCAC standings. The Continentals’ loss to the opponent earlier this season continues to both haunt and motivate the men as they prepare to redeem themselves.
“We know that we let that game slip away,” Lamberti said. “If we play a complete 60-minute game of Continental hockey, and shut them down in the third period like we did against Amherst, we should have a lot of success.”
Smelstor’s confidence has also remained strong. “If we are able to do that,” he stated, “then the score will take care of itself.”