Okay. I’m home last night, laptop computer up and ready. I log into the Hamilton College website, then go to the athletics page, and there it is. The one-and-done eliminator match, airing live from Sage Rink on campus, between the Hamilton College women’s ice hockey team and the whatever-they-ares from Nazareth College in Pennsylvania.
This is going to be good.
And good it was.
Hamilton started off sluggish in the first period, coughing up a goal four minutes into the contest. But then, three minutes later, the Continentals scored four seconds into a power play to tie things up.
And that’s where the score stood. 1-1 after one period. 1-1 after two periods. 1-1 after three periods. We’re going to overtime. None of this wimpy-dimpy shootout crapola. Next goal wins the game.
And sure enough, sophomore Lydia Bullock picked up a centering pass and put the biscuit in the basket in overtime. Hamilton wins 2-1, and Nazareth’s 15-game winning streak ends on Sage Rink ice. Hamilton freshman goaltender Teagan Brown stopped 29 of 30 shots en route to the win.
And let me tell you this. Apparently this was Hamilton’s 13th overtime game this year, and the Continental have won seven of those. And we’ve beaten Nazareth four out of the five times both schools have met on the ice, the last two Hamilton victories being 2-1 overtime triumphs at home.
That’s gotta be a long, nasty, depressing road trip back to Pennsylvania. And I hope Nazareth suffers through every pothole and construction zone all the way home.
Hamilton’s next game in the NCAA Division III Women’s Ice Hockey Tournament is against Adrian College of Michigan on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. Adrian is a foe the Continentals defeated in last year’s tournament en route to the school’s first Frozen Four appearance. Hey, you know what? When we beat Adrian again – because, we will – we’re going back to the Frozen Four.
As I said before … during my undergraduate years at Hamilton, our school played in a conference that did not allow appearances in the NCAA tournaments. Thankfully, this myopic decision has been corrected with a better view of the situation. And now Hamilton is just a win away from its second consecutive Frozen Four appearance.
Make this happen.
Oh, and one more time as Nazareth is probably crossing the border into Pennsylvania. Hey Nazareth! NIGHT NIGHT!!!
Chuck The Writer 