Courtesy Hamilton Sports Information

Box Score

CLINTON, N.Y. - The Hamilton College (14-10-1, 12-6-1) men's hockey was defeated by Colby College (15-6-3, 12-5-3), 5-1 in the quarterfinals of the NESCAC Tournament. Colby advances on to the semifinals next weekend at Middlebury College. Hamilton came into the game as the third seed, while Colby was the sixth seed.

In a fast-paced first period each team came out excited and full of energy. Hamilton killed off two penalties early in the first. During the second Colby power play Kevin Audit (King of Prussia, PA) broke free and had a one-on-one chance. He tried to go between the goalie's legs, but Chris Ries (Pittsburgh, PA) closed the hole up quickly, making the stop. Colby had their share of chances including a point-blank shot by David Manning (Saint John's, Newfoundland), but Hamilton's Rob MacNeil (St. Peter's, Nova Scotia) kicked the puck to the right boards. Colby scored the first goal when Mike Higgins (Weymouth, MA) scored on an assist from Cory Ernst (Bridgewater, Nova Scotia). Hamilton had their share of chances in the first period but Ries stopped all six shots he faced. Just before the period ended Colby's Sean O'Grady (London, Ontario) tallied a power-play goal on assists from James Laliberty (Waterville, ME) and Higgins, giving Colby a 2-0 lead after one period of play.

Colby scored the only goal of the second period on an unassisted tally from Evan Kearns (Holland, OH) at the 3:49 mark of the second. Once again Hamilton put tremendous pressure on Ries. The freshman net minder was cool under pressure, making big save after big save.

Hamilton finally got on the board in the third period when Kevin Audit jammed home a rebound. Craig Leger (St. Catharine's, Ontario) took a shot from the point that ricocheted off the boards and came right to Audit who jammed under Ries' pads for the goal. Hamilton's momentum was short-lived as Colby's Cory Ernst gave Colby a three-goal lead, just 26 seconds after Hamilton scored. Nick Bayley (Cambridge, Ontario) added an unassisted goal on a four-on-four situation, making it 5-1 Colby.

Ries finished the game with 29 saves, while Hamilton's Rob MacNeil made 23 saves. Mike Higgins led Colby with a goal and two assists. Cory Ernst tallied a goal and helped on another.