Hamilton downed host Oswego 3-1 (Box) and Trinity handled Plattsburgh 4-1 (Box ) to earn the NESCAC 1/4 of the spots in the NCAA D-III Men's Ice Hockey Championship Tournament. Hamilton travels to first seed in the east Norwich while Trinity hosts Endicott, who upset Hobart to earn a trip the final eight.
The Continentals carried a 2-0 lead into the third against the Lakers, thanks to a goal in each of the first two periods by Robbie Murden, who now has a three goals in the two games back from a brutal jaw injury suffered in late January during the Continentals' annual Orange Bowl and alumni weekend. In the first, Murden pounced on a defensive miscue in front of the net by the Lakers defense and in the second he redirected a Bennett Morrison shot from the point on the power play.
The Lakers did not roll over in the third and the Conts survived consistent pressure in the second half of the final frame to hold on for the victory. Jon Stickel netted the empty netter to seal it and Evan Buitenhuis stopped 34 of the 35 shots he faced to help the Continentals do what Bowdoin could not in 2010, 11 and 14: beat Oswego on the shores of Lake Ontario in the NCAA Tournament.
Meanwhile, 280 miles southwest from Oswego, Trinity handled the hot Cardinals thanks to two power play goals on three opportunities and four penalty kills on all four Cardinal man advantages. Trinity outshot Plattsburgh 39-27 for their seventh straight game with a shots advantage, all with at least a +9 in favor of the Bantams. In fact, the Bantams have only been outshot four times in 28 contests this season.
The bevy of Bantam upperclassmen did not score the last time these two met in Hartford just two Marches ago, but things were different last night. Sean Orlando potted two in the first, and fellow senior Brandon Cole netted two more the rest of the way including an empty netter to seal it.
Onwards and updwards for the 'CAC. Hamilton looks to do what no team has been able to do this season - beat Norwich in Vermont - for their first ever trip to the NCAA DIII Frozen Four appearance (this is their first ever NCAA tournament appearance), while the Bantams look to make their second trip to the Frozen Four in three years (they won it all in 2015). It would be an especially special time for the Conts first trip as this year's semis and finals are being held in their backyard at The Aud in Utica.
Recaps from D3Hockey.com for the 1st Round games can be found here for the Trinity game and here for the Hamilton game.
Now for some tweets of support from other CAC schools and let's keep it all the CAC family with Conn Collee alumni band Clap Your Hands Say Yeah for the musical postscript :
Congrats to @ContinentalPuck and @TCBantamsHockey on first round @NCAAIceHockey wins. Showing the strength of the @NESCAC #mensleague— Chris Hall (@chall4431) March 12, 2017
Congrats to our brothers @ContinentalPuck and @TCBantamsHockey on their wins tonight. Keep making us proud. #d3hky
— Amherst Hockey (@AmherstHockey) March 12, 2017
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