Sports
They meet again: Hamilton looks for revenge against Bantam menace
By John Wulf '12, Sports Staff Writer
February 23, 2012
Let’s try this again.
For the fifth straight season, Hamilton enters the NESCAC playoffs as an underdog. And for the second straight year, and the third time since 2008, Hamilton will be playing on the road against Trinity College. In the words of the immortal Yogi Berra, “It’s like déjà vu all over again.”
But as nice as it has been to reach the playoffs, Hamilton hopes to avoid one other familiarity: early defeat. Despite its consistent appearance in the playoffs, Hamilton has lost in the first round in four straight appearances. To be fair, however, Hamilton wasn’t ranked as low as a fifth seed. And to be slightly more subjective, no recent Hamilton team has been this good.
While many people may not know it, the Hamilton women’s hockey team is one of the best on campus. Aside from the golf team and its peculiar conference procedures, the women’s hockey team has the highest seed of any Hamilton team to make the playoffs. Additionally, while its 10-13-1 overall record may not look overly impressive, Hamilton has played the tenth toughest schedule in the country.
From an individual perspective, Hamilton has shown superlative ability, as well. With 11 goals in 16 conference games, Katie Zimmerman ’13 is the NESCAC’s leading goal-scorer. And with 17 goals overall, Zimmerman ranks 12th nationally. Hannah Jaiven ’14 ranks third in assists for defensemen in the NESCAC and Becca Hazlett ’13 is tied for first in shutouts.
All in all, things are looking up for Hamilton as it heads back to a familiar, yet daunting place.
Hamilton has lost five straight games to Trinity, including two this season, and hasn’t won in Hartford since the 2006-2007 season. While Trinity has consistently been a top-tier team in the NESCAC, their dominance is slightly inexplicable. Trinity has never been the best team in the conference and Hamilton has beaten better teams along the way.
“I can’t really explain it,” said Captain Riley Smith ’12. “They have one of the best goalies in the NESCAC, but there’s no reason we can’t beat them.”
In order to crack the Bantam’s egg, Hamilton will have to play with confidence and, most importantly, stay calm in the face of potential playoff jitters.
As forward Abby Runyon ‘13 reflected, “Last year we sort of backed down after Trinity scored the first goal. If it happens again, I know we won’t let that happen.”
In addition, Smith explained that in order to beat Trinity, Hamilton has to play its own game and apply consistent pressure.
“They have a good goalie but we have to put a lot of shots on net and stay patient and persistent.”
In other words, if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.
If you are unable to join the Lobster Claw and attend Saturday’s game at 3 p.m., you can watch it online by following the links on NESCAC.com. Go Blue!