Colby at Hamilton Friday 1/4 at 7PM

Who: Colby College Mules at Hamilton College Continentals
Where: Sage Rink Clinton, NY
When: 7 PM Friday 1/4/13
Video/Audio: Hamilton Athletics 

Records: Colby (3-7-0; 1-5-0 in NESCAC) 
                Hamilton (2-5-2; 1-4-1 in  NESCAC)

Stats:       Colby              Offense - 2.80  GPM (6th in NESCAC)
                                         Defense - 3.50 GPM (8th in NESCAC)
                 Hamilton         Offense - 1.56  GPM ( 10th in NESCAC) 
                                         Defense - 2.44 GPM (5th in NESCAC) 

The Lowdown: Battle for Respectability

Hamilton enters the game  for a three-way tie for seventh(Conn. College/Tufts) and Colby sits in the cellar, so there is an urgency to grab this game for both teams.  After playing five of their first six NESCAC games on the road, the Continentals must be happy to be home.  Further, they have lost ALL of their league games by 1 goal and have played all games against top six opponents. Hamilton returns to league play after a New Year's Eve victory over Curry College. 

The Mules had a rough go in early conference play, including a 7-2 beatdown at the hands of Conn. College, but they have won their last two games against Tufts and Salem State. If they win tonight, that's three in a row. To quote Lou Brown from the seminal piece of American cinema, Major League, "That's called a winning streak." 

Key(s) to the game: Getting out to an early lead

Both of these teams have had some trouble putting the puck in the net, so scoring in general will be important (as it always is). Though they are small sample sizes, Hamilton is 1-0 when leading after one period and Colby is 2-0 when entering the first or second intermission with a lead. Hamilton has had some late game heroics that sent a league high four straight games into OT, but I'm sure Coach Haberbusch's team would rather take a lead into the third period for only the second time this season.

Players to Watch

Colby - Nick Lanza (F, Jr.): Lanza has provided some unexpected firepower for the Mules, having already scored six times (6-4-10), matching his goal totals from his Fr. and So. seasons combined. The junior out of Westminster hasn't scored since November, but he has contributed by dishing out assists to the tune of four over the past three games.

Hamilton - Mike DiMare (F, Jr.) : After a slow start, the Continentals 2011-2012 leading scorer finally scored his first goal  of the season against Curry on NYE, giving him 3 points for the year (1-2-3). Perhaps this is his breakout game?