Courtesy of Connecticut College Sports Information
NEW LONDON, Conn. - Forward Brian Belisle scored with 48 seconds remaining in regulation and JC Cangelosi netted the game-winner with 9:02 remaining in overtime, propelling the the third-seeded Connecticut College men's ice hockey team to a 4-3 victory against sixth-seeded Hamilton in a NESCAC Quarterfinal game at Dayton Arena Saturday.
The Camels (14-9-2) advance to next weekend's NESCAC final four to face off against fourth-seeded Williams at Amherst College's Orr Rink in Amherst, Mass.
The Continentals wrap up their 2014-15 season by taking points in four of their final six outings to finish at 9-10-6.
Connecticut College's Tim DiPretoro potted his ninth and tenth goals of the season and team-leading 24th and 25th point of the year in the second period of play. Joe Birmingham dished out three assists for the winning side while Tom Conlin made five of his 33 saves in overtime to continue his terrific season in goal for the Camels, who set a program record for victories in the NESCAC Standing era of hockey.
Hamilton forward Pat Curtis closed out his season with a pair of goals to finish the year as the team's second leading scorer with 10 goals, 17 assists and 27 points. Brandon Willett scored his fifth goal of the season in the second period. Forward Neil Conway and Robbie Murden both contributed with a pair of assists in the setback. Murden closed out the year with a team-best 32 points for the visitors. Goalie Tim Nowacki (New Canaan, Conn.) finished with 24 saves in the contest for Hamilton.
Connecticut College used its timeout with 1:25 remaining in regulation to empty the net. Birmingham won a battle in the corner for a loose puck and cycled the puck out in front for Belisle, who buried the equalizer in the slot with just 48 seconds to play. Sebastian Meltzer contributed with the second assist on the score.
In the overtime session, blueliner Will Leedy helped protect Conlin with a critical blocked shot eight minutes into the extra session. Then, DiPretoro induced a tripping penalty to set up the game deciding power play at 9:12 of the frame. Birmingham was able to make a nice spin move from below the right circle and leave the puck for Cangelosi, who flicked in the game-winner for the Camels.
Hamilton pulled ahead of the Camels with 6:21 remaining in third period. Murden won a battle near the back wall and made a nice feed to Curtis, who buried a low shot from the mid-slot area to make it a 3-2 game.
Hamilton enjoyed a 36-to-28 advantage on the shot chart, but the Camels were 2-for-3 on their power play.
